July 30, 2018

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THE LIST

1. Decoder Ring - "The Johnlock Conspiracy"
I don't know that I've had a more entrancing television experience in my adult life than watching BBC's Sherlock. It is not surprising for this show to be the centerpiece of a podcast, but it was definitely surprising to hear the enormous impact it had via a long-fought battle over the relationship between the central characters.

Will flag football one day rule America? Maybe not in my lifetime. But there is a professional league for the much-less-violent version of the house, and it seems to be gaining at least a little respect from the NFL. The HUALers also tear the velcro flag off of the strange normalization of patriotism in professional sports and the weird will-she-won't-she struggle between Jaelene Hinkle and US women's national soccer team.

3. Planet Money - "Peak Sand"
Sand is an incredibly valuable resource that comprises a long list of pedestrian items (although let's be real, it's mainly found on coastlines). It would follow, then, that some would stop at nothing to acquire it. Beg, borrow (?) or steal, the grainy base of summer has global implications.

HONORABLE MENTION
The New Yorker Radio Hour - "The Rezneck Riders"
Criminal - "The Job"

SOMETHING NEW

Podcasts have long rallied around TV shows, offering commentary and fan theories for devotees of LOST, The Bachelor, Gilmore Girls, and, probably, lots of other shows as well. In the dawn of the podcast age these shows were primarily indie darlings piloted by fans, with insights ranging from overlong vacuous rambling to well-executed close-reads. More recent years have yielded companion shows from more prominent podcast networks (The Ringer's Binge Mode, Radiotopia's West Wing Weekly, Slate's Spoiler Specials to name a few). Rarely (if ever?) has a television network rolled out an associated audio-only product with a successful show, but that's exactly what fans have been treated to with The Good Place: The Podcast from NBC.

Marc Evan Jackson (who plays stoic master demon Shawn) hosts, bringing the gravitas that comes from nearly 20 years in Hollywood and the humor that comes from of a lifetime of not taking oneself too seriously. The network promises to crank out one podcast installment to parallel each TV episode, typically pairing an actor with a member of the creative team. Guests discuss their role in the story and production, honing in on plot points from their respective episode, delivering behind-the-scenes tidbits from a variety of perspectives. Watching the show first is definitely a prerequisite to listening to the podcast, but I imagine this isn't out of the ordinary for podcasts that rely on another cultural product as source material. Jackson's deep baritone does occasionally beget hard-to-decipher moments, but never to the point of interfering with the flow or obstructing the response from an interviewee. Generally the actors come off as energetic, humble, and grateful to be involved in the success of The Good Place.

As smitten as I am with The Good Place the television show, it would have been pretty difficult for NBC to screw up the podcast adaptation. And whatever their agreement with the creative minds that fuel the podcast, I'm sure it was easier for NBC to line up so many cast members to guest than it would have been for any other entity or indie producer to do so. Still, even with the acknowledgement that the voices on these episodes are actors, the good will that emanates throughout conveys as incredibly genuine. Rolling the podcast out slowly as we march toward the November release of season 3 of the television show teed this up to be a slam dunk touchdown goal home run, and for this fan the end product delivered.

From: NBC
Recommended for: Fans of The Good Place the television show (P.S. If this isn't you, maybe it should be).
Drop Schedule: Friday, Seasonal:Weekly
Average episode length: 40 minutes
Rating: Gotta Have It

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