January 22 - 28, 2017
1. Reply All - "Man of the People"
This may be the most timely podcast release I've ever encountered. Dropped on the heels of the Trump inauguration, "Man of the People" delivers a story with an unbelievable analog to the new leader of the United States. In addition to expertly painting a picture of a megalomaniac, the episode serves as a great reminder that human fallibility cannot be erased by any amount of democratizing technology. Populism isn't new, and while an increasingly open media landscape may lead us to assume truth will win out we should be wary of any such conclusion in our current climate. Absolutely essential listening that also happens to be incredibly entertaining.
2. Strangers - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
As a fairly long-tenured listener to Strangers and narrative storytelling podcasts in general, I should not be surprised by the potential for profound emotional impact such things hold. Nevertheless, I was taken aback by this soul-crushingly sad story of loss from the not-so-distant past. There is something about the warmth of the man's voice that made the heartbreak all the more devastating once revealed, and even though I new the story would take a dark turn I still found myself surprised when the inevitable hit.
3. Hidden Brain - "The Deep Story"
Similar to the About Race episode I wrote about a couple weeks ago, "The Deep Story" dissects the idea that ideological enclaves self-segregate into unproductive echo chambers. In doing so, people fail to grasp a comprehensive view of the world and seek only to reaffirm old beliefs whenever challenged with a new perspective. On this episode, Hidden Brain turns to a liberal academic who physically inserted herself into a new bubble far outside her norm - the heart of conservative Louisiana. This begets a larger meditation on the framework that informs an individual's alignment with an ideology in the first place. It's very important to recognize these sorts of things as it can be so tempting to simply demonize an individual without stepping back and viewing the whole picture.
4. 99% Invisible - "The Revolutionary Post"
I'm a sucker for getting mail - one of life's joys that rooted itself in childhood and has yet to let go. Even at a young age I think I marveled at the novelty of something physical traveling a great distance from one precise location to the next. The whole thing was, and is, equal parts romantic and technical, a winning combination that endeared me to the recounting of the early days of the system. "The Revolutionary Post" is a thrill of a listen that made me feel some rare pangs of patriotism for the spirit that lead to the rise of the modern postal system in the United States. As an added bonus, it was nice to hear that a flat-out closure of the system is essentially ensured for the foreseeable future - off-loading the current burden of letters would be nearly impossible for private shipping companies to take on.
This may be the most timely podcast release I've ever encountered. Dropped on the heels of the Trump inauguration, "Man of the People" delivers a story with an unbelievable analog to the new leader of the United States. In addition to expertly painting a picture of a megalomaniac, the episode serves as a great reminder that human fallibility cannot be erased by any amount of democratizing technology. Populism isn't new, and while an increasingly open media landscape may lead us to assume truth will win out we should be wary of any such conclusion in our current climate. Absolutely essential listening that also happens to be incredibly entertaining.
2. Strangers - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
As a fairly long-tenured listener to Strangers and narrative storytelling podcasts in general, I should not be surprised by the potential for profound emotional impact such things hold. Nevertheless, I was taken aback by this soul-crushingly sad story of loss from the not-so-distant past. There is something about the warmth of the man's voice that made the heartbreak all the more devastating once revealed, and even though I new the story would take a dark turn I still found myself surprised when the inevitable hit.
3. Hidden Brain - "The Deep Story"
Similar to the About Race episode I wrote about a couple weeks ago, "The Deep Story" dissects the idea that ideological enclaves self-segregate into unproductive echo chambers. In doing so, people fail to grasp a comprehensive view of the world and seek only to reaffirm old beliefs whenever challenged with a new perspective. On this episode, Hidden Brain turns to a liberal academic who physically inserted herself into a new bubble far outside her norm - the heart of conservative Louisiana. This begets a larger meditation on the framework that informs an individual's alignment with an ideology in the first place. It's very important to recognize these sorts of things as it can be so tempting to simply demonize an individual without stepping back and viewing the whole picture.
4. 99% Invisible - "The Revolutionary Post"
I'm a sucker for getting mail - one of life's joys that rooted itself in childhood and has yet to let go. Even at a young age I think I marveled at the novelty of something physical traveling a great distance from one precise location to the next. The whole thing was, and is, equal parts romantic and technical, a winning combination that endeared me to the recounting of the early days of the system. "The Revolutionary Post" is a thrill of a listen that made me feel some rare pangs of patriotism for the spirit that lead to the rise of the modern postal system in the United States. As an added bonus, it was nice to hear that a flat-out closure of the system is essentially ensured for the foreseeable future - off-loading the current burden of letters would be nearly impossible for private shipping companies to take on.
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