May 29 - June 4, 2016
1. Strangers - The Son, The Goddess, and Leopoldo
Any podcast that opens with "I was born into a coven of lesbian witches" is bound to hold ones attention. But that salient salvo of a lead in is bland in comparison to much of what unravels in this enthralling episode of Strangers. It may go without saying that this is one of the more disturbing podcasts I've heard, and as such is only suited for listeners with a tolerance for some graphic and disturbing details. Joshua Safran gives a harrowing first person account of growing up in a mightily unstable environment of transient Luddite hippies, and the remarkable story of how he managed to pull himself out into an adult existence of relative normalcy. The horror of the first part of the show is balanced out by the incredible story of exoneration when Safran connects with an imprisoned woman whose circumstances closely relate with his own volatile upbringing. One of the finest episodes of the year to date.
2. This American Life - The Perils of Intimacy (#587)
TAL has a number of excellent episodes that employ deep diving investigative journalism. These types of episodes are well worth a listen, but at its strongest the show captures the more intimate experiences of living in America. The story about Rachel Rosenthal is as heartbreaking as it is relatable - our ability to trust and our need for connection can form lethal blind spots in logic. And the story about the two men setup on a blind friend date is indicative of a huge unacknowledged issue in modern society: the difficulty of acquiring new friends in adulthood. I'd love to read some sociological research about this phenomenon across cultures, and I bet a podcast centered around this topic would have some legs.
3. Flash Forward - Popnonymous
The idea of avatars performing live music made me cringe in principal, but with the caveat that it's not all-encompassing I think it has merit. Operas and theatre are often simulcast into megaplexes thousands of miles away from where the performance is actually taking place, so wouldn't it be just as fulfilling to have these events performed in regional theaters by realistic holograms? The magic of live performance would still be evident if the graphics were satisfactorily realistic, and the ubiquity of performances may even lead to a healthy decline in star obsessed culture. Of course there are many arguments on the flip side of this issue, but it's a great theoretical topic for Flash Forward to tackle.
4. Song Exploder - Old Crow Medicine Show - Dearly Departed Friend
I listened to this episodes while running - something I've no previously attempted - and found it to be pretty pleasant. This song may appear on its face to be a straightforward country song about patriotism and war and sorrow. While those elements are all present, the episode reveals that OCMS band leader Ketch Secor grew up in Texas but did not blindly adopt a supportive attitude of the US military as war was being waged in Afghanistan. The story is grounded in Secor's experience of young men in a small town who chose the army as the only valid economic option after graduating high school. The whole show had me contemplating just war and pacifism, churning around the various complexities and ultimately not resolving anything. But I'm richer for the experience, and you will be too if you choose to listen.
Any podcast that opens with "I was born into a coven of lesbian witches" is bound to hold ones attention. But that salient salvo of a lead in is bland in comparison to much of what unravels in this enthralling episode of Strangers. It may go without saying that this is one of the more disturbing podcasts I've heard, and as such is only suited for listeners with a tolerance for some graphic and disturbing details. Joshua Safran gives a harrowing first person account of growing up in a mightily unstable environment of transient Luddite hippies, and the remarkable story of how he managed to pull himself out into an adult existence of relative normalcy. The horror of the first part of the show is balanced out by the incredible story of exoneration when Safran connects with an imprisoned woman whose circumstances closely relate with his own volatile upbringing. One of the finest episodes of the year to date.
2. This American Life - The Perils of Intimacy (#587)
TAL has a number of excellent episodes that employ deep diving investigative journalism. These types of episodes are well worth a listen, but at its strongest the show captures the more intimate experiences of living in America. The story about Rachel Rosenthal is as heartbreaking as it is relatable - our ability to trust and our need for connection can form lethal blind spots in logic. And the story about the two men setup on a blind friend date is indicative of a huge unacknowledged issue in modern society: the difficulty of acquiring new friends in adulthood. I'd love to read some sociological research about this phenomenon across cultures, and I bet a podcast centered around this topic would have some legs.
3. Flash Forward - Popnonymous
The idea of avatars performing live music made me cringe in principal, but with the caveat that it's not all-encompassing I think it has merit. Operas and theatre are often simulcast into megaplexes thousands of miles away from where the performance is actually taking place, so wouldn't it be just as fulfilling to have these events performed in regional theaters by realistic holograms? The magic of live performance would still be evident if the graphics were satisfactorily realistic, and the ubiquity of performances may even lead to a healthy decline in star obsessed culture. Of course there are many arguments on the flip side of this issue, but it's a great theoretical topic for Flash Forward to tackle.
4. Song Exploder - Old Crow Medicine Show - Dearly Departed Friend
I listened to this episodes while running - something I've no previously attempted - and found it to be pretty pleasant. This song may appear on its face to be a straightforward country song about patriotism and war and sorrow. While those elements are all present, the episode reveals that OCMS band leader Ketch Secor grew up in Texas but did not blindly adopt a supportive attitude of the US military as war was being waged in Afghanistan. The story is grounded in Secor's experience of young men in a small town who chose the army as the only valid economic option after graduating high school. The whole show had me contemplating just war and pacifism, churning around the various complexities and ultimately not resolving anything. But I'm richer for the experience, and you will be too if you choose to listen.
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