May 14 - 20, 2017
1. Radiolab - "Null and Void"
What are the foundations of our democracy? Should it be ruled by the people or ruled by experts? And what are the exceptions to maintain the long-revered laws and procedures that have held together some semblance of order in our legal system? These are but some of the questions Radiolab endeavors to answer in this deeply thought-provoking inquiry into the life of a woman who sought to bring about justice without regard for the law. But that's just the beginning, as the team probes into the larger and vastly amorphous conversation around the vital functions of government in relation to the governed. I walked away from this feeling both invigorated and unsettled, a rare combination of emotions that merited awarding the top spot on this week's list.
2. The Memory Palace - "The Year Hank Greenberg Hit 58 Home Runs"
The Memory Palace often hones in on the very granular details of a life tossed into the ditch of history's highway. Though the stories are real, the general lack of name recognition can lend a fictional air to the show. After all, I'd wager that a large portion of these tales are keenly re-imagined with only a small morsel of source material available. When the subject is a known entity, however, the narrative takes on a bit more weight. That's the case in this iteration, as famed baseball player Hank Greenberg is at the center of the show. Being the expert raconteur he is, Nate Dimeo doesn't stop with Greenberg's heroic existence against the backdrop of the American Nazi party (Greenberg was Jewish). Another man, whose name has been relegated to a back lot of 15-minute-of-famers, appears on the scene and functions as a thrilling counterpoint to the assumed humility with which Greenberg is couched. This might make a good movie, as rich with intrigue as it is, but the capable hands of The Memory Palace more than satisfy in this episode.
3. Planet Money - "When India's Cash Disappeared, Part One and Two"
On the heels of their excellent two-parter about the developing Georgetown slave reparations, Planet Money is back with another timely miniseries. This time India's move away from currency is central, and the reporting from half way around the world rivals the comprehensiveness of the work done in Louisiana. You may have heard about the radical policy roll out from one of the world's emerging economic powerhouses, but you probably haven't heard about the visionary engineer who catalyzed the movement. This is his story, alongside a nation yearning for a solution to fossilized issues of corruption.
HONORABLE MENTION
On the Media - "The Trouble With Reality"
Hidden Brain - "The Fox and the Hedgehog"
Strangers - "Lea in Trumpland #2: Eugene"
What are the foundations of our democracy? Should it be ruled by the people or ruled by experts? And what are the exceptions to maintain the long-revered laws and procedures that have held together some semblance of order in our legal system? These are but some of the questions Radiolab endeavors to answer in this deeply thought-provoking inquiry into the life of a woman who sought to bring about justice without regard for the law. But that's just the beginning, as the team probes into the larger and vastly amorphous conversation around the vital functions of government in relation to the governed. I walked away from this feeling both invigorated and unsettled, a rare combination of emotions that merited awarding the top spot on this week's list.
2. The Memory Palace - "The Year Hank Greenberg Hit 58 Home Runs"
The Memory Palace often hones in on the very granular details of a life tossed into the ditch of history's highway. Though the stories are real, the general lack of name recognition can lend a fictional air to the show. After all, I'd wager that a large portion of these tales are keenly re-imagined with only a small morsel of source material available. When the subject is a known entity, however, the narrative takes on a bit more weight. That's the case in this iteration, as famed baseball player Hank Greenberg is at the center of the show. Being the expert raconteur he is, Nate Dimeo doesn't stop with Greenberg's heroic existence against the backdrop of the American Nazi party (Greenberg was Jewish). Another man, whose name has been relegated to a back lot of 15-minute-of-famers, appears on the scene and functions as a thrilling counterpoint to the assumed humility with which Greenberg is couched. This might make a good movie, as rich with intrigue as it is, but the capable hands of The Memory Palace more than satisfy in this episode.
3. Planet Money - "When India's Cash Disappeared, Part One and Two"
On the heels of their excellent two-parter about the developing Georgetown slave reparations, Planet Money is back with another timely miniseries. This time India's move away from currency is central, and the reporting from half way around the world rivals the comprehensiveness of the work done in Louisiana. You may have heard about the radical policy roll out from one of the world's emerging economic powerhouses, but you probably haven't heard about the visionary engineer who catalyzed the movement. This is his story, alongside a nation yearning for a solution to fossilized issues of corruption.
HONORABLE MENTION
On the Media - "The Trouble With Reality"
Hidden Brain - "The Fox and the Hedgehog"
Strangers - "Lea in Trumpland #2: Eugene"
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