March 27 - April 2, 2016

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RankPodcastEpisodeLowdown
1This American LifeIt'll Make Sense When You're Older (#538)'It'll Make Sense When You're Older' is a prototypical episode of This American Life, and it certainly showcases why I've listened to this podcast consistently for nearly 10 years. It touches on timely topics that are universal to the human experience, and takes the listener on a journey through stages of life remembered, anticipated or presently inhabited. While the episode's title nods at the clarity that comes with growth, the triumph of this episode is how it hones in on the unknown. Aging often takes on an element of inherent fear later in life, but this episode universalizes the uncertainty people are capable of fearing at any point in life. If nothing else, check out the story helmed by SNL cast member Sasheer Zamata in which she interviews her mother about being one of the first kids to integrate a school in the South. Oh, and did I mention that Ira gets interviewed? Yeah, next level TAL for sure.
2Love + RadioThe Silver DollarPer usual, "Love + Radio" delivers a story via a little-heard-from viewpoint. This mesmerizing tale, originally broadcast in 2014, follows musician Daryl Davis as he seeks to discover how it's possible for someone to categorically hate a group of people that they've never encountered as individuals. The catch? Davis is black, and his journey to understand prejudice involves tracking down members of the KKK. Often misunderstood by people on both sides of the racial divide, Davis strives to have honest conversations and learns that two disparate forces can have a surprising amount in common - even if their grandest ambitions are ultimately miles apart.
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99% Invisible
The White Elephant of Tel Aviv (#206)City planning, check. Transportation, check. Modern day ruin in the making, check. This "99& Invisible" episode comes excerpted from the Israeli-This-American-Life podcast "Israel Story" (so dubbed by Ira Glass) and it is rich with history as well as present day suspense. I've never had a strong desire to visit Israel, but it sounds like beholding the Tel Aviv bus terminal alone may be worth the trip. While the architectural narrative proves to be somewhat of an exercise in design-gone-wrong, this 40 minute show managed to encapsulate the elements of ingenuity and foresight that must prevail for such a massive public project to flourish both short and long term.
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The Cracked Podcast
America's Secret Caste System (#115)Class is one of the most ominpresent yet almost entirely ignored dividers of humans, drawing visible and invisible cultural boundaries. The slippery subject receives the Cracked treatment, and this episode had the resounding effect of the show's best outings - it drove me to consider the topic at hand throughout the week as it applies to my life. It's so hard to separate class from economic, education and race-related dividers in society, but to account for it is to acknowledge that nearly everything is complex. Tempting as it may be to relegate segments of our population as inherently less good, it's just not that simple.

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