July 16 - 22, 2017
1. Homecoming - "TERMINATED"
The hit serialized audio drama podcast is back with a bang with it's second season. "TERMINATED" draws listeners in from the start, introducing a new character and unraveling a new problem to be solved. The same rich audio production accompanies this season, and it looks like Gimlet is rolling out a companion piece of short stories in collaboration with iBooks from Apple. It's hard to say too much without giving a lot away or delving extensively into the story that has transpired so far, but if you haven't gotten around to catching this show, take the opportunity to binge the first six episodes and then jump into season 2. "I like the podcast better" is primed to become the new "the book is better" retort for snarky critics everywhere - you're going to want to get in now before the impending TV adaptation with Julia Roberts hits Amazon.
2. Revisionist History - "The Prime Minister and the Prof"
Gladwell takes this week to jump on the story of how a leader is influenced by his or her friends. As is likely the case for many of you, I had of course heard of Winston Churchill but didn't even recognize the name Frederick Lindemann. Lindemann's impact on one of the most respected leaders in the 20th century was as remarkable as it was troubling, and Gladwell aptly captures the intrigue of this figure while not excusing the failures of his actions. This is the kind of history show I want - a dive into a deeply serious subject that grabs my attention but doesn't overwhelm with details, all the while projecting larger implications onto our current political climate.
3. The Cracked Podcast - "How Would You Adjust If The Internet Just Went Away?"
As net neutrality continues to gain traction in the media and the public conscience, Cracked delivers a ponder-heavy episode with a timely thought experiment: how would you adapt if the internet disappeared? What would be the most stable profession? Does your current profession have an analog in the offline or pre-internet world? Could the vast infrastructure of freely available web-based journalism thrive if forced to retrofit itself to print? Hosts Alex Schmidt and Kristi Harrison poll several Cracked staffers, uncovering some interesting overlap and just a little bit of crotchetyness. Along with the thought it provoked about my own attachment to the web, the episode also serves the purpose of introducing listeners to some unfamiliar faces at Cracked. The episode is quite insightful in both practical and mind-exploding ways.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Memory Palace - "The Taking of Tom Sawyer's Island"
Futility Closet - "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky"
This American Life - "To Be Real"
SOMETHING NEW
Interviews on podcasts can take on a complacent blase - so much so that this type of show can turn me off before I even set about listening. The world is so saturated with celebrity talk-abouts that it can be easy to write off the timeworn tradition of the interview. There is, however, a lot to enjoy amidst the expansive sea of mediocrity. Jesse Thorn provides just such an opportunity here in a new series of interviews with professionals that are usually on the delivering end of the questions. Guests range from podcast godfather Ira Glass to trashy TV godfather Jerry Springer to (somewhere between those two?) legend Larry King. Thorn, podcast host and cofounder of the Maximum Fun network, lets his own craft shine in these interviews. He lays bare his own interviewing insecurities, all the while getting these venerable guests to give a little bit more than you may be used to hearing from the format. This is a great mix of candid insidery-ness complemented with some true insight for those of us interested in journalistic mechanisms embraced and spurned by giants in the world of media.
The Turnaround
Recommended for: Media wonks, curiosity seekers wanting a peek behind the curtain, fans of self-deprecating humility from journalistic heavyweights.
Rating: Gotta Have It
The hit serialized audio drama podcast is back with a bang with it's second season. "TERMINATED" draws listeners in from the start, introducing a new character and unraveling a new problem to be solved. The same rich audio production accompanies this season, and it looks like Gimlet is rolling out a companion piece of short stories in collaboration with iBooks from Apple. It's hard to say too much without giving a lot away or delving extensively into the story that has transpired so far, but if you haven't gotten around to catching this show, take the opportunity to binge the first six episodes and then jump into season 2. "I like the podcast better" is primed to become the new "the book is better" retort for snarky critics everywhere - you're going to want to get in now before the impending TV adaptation with Julia Roberts hits Amazon.
2. Revisionist History - "The Prime Minister and the Prof"
Gladwell takes this week to jump on the story of how a leader is influenced by his or her friends. As is likely the case for many of you, I had of course heard of Winston Churchill but didn't even recognize the name Frederick Lindemann. Lindemann's impact on one of the most respected leaders in the 20th century was as remarkable as it was troubling, and Gladwell aptly captures the intrigue of this figure while not excusing the failures of his actions. This is the kind of history show I want - a dive into a deeply serious subject that grabs my attention but doesn't overwhelm with details, all the while projecting larger implications onto our current political climate.
3. The Cracked Podcast - "How Would You Adjust If The Internet Just Went Away?"
As net neutrality continues to gain traction in the media and the public conscience, Cracked delivers a ponder-heavy episode with a timely thought experiment: how would you adapt if the internet disappeared? What would be the most stable profession? Does your current profession have an analog in the offline or pre-internet world? Could the vast infrastructure of freely available web-based journalism thrive if forced to retrofit itself to print? Hosts Alex Schmidt and Kristi Harrison poll several Cracked staffers, uncovering some interesting overlap and just a little bit of crotchetyness. Along with the thought it provoked about my own attachment to the web, the episode also serves the purpose of introducing listeners to some unfamiliar faces at Cracked. The episode is quite insightful in both practical and mind-exploding ways.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Memory Palace - "The Taking of Tom Sawyer's Island"
Futility Closet - "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky"
This American Life - "To Be Real"
SOMETHING NEW
Interviews on podcasts can take on a complacent blase - so much so that this type of show can turn me off before I even set about listening. The world is so saturated with celebrity talk-abouts that it can be easy to write off the timeworn tradition of the interview. There is, however, a lot to enjoy amidst the expansive sea of mediocrity. Jesse Thorn provides just such an opportunity here in a new series of interviews with professionals that are usually on the delivering end of the questions. Guests range from podcast godfather Ira Glass to trashy TV godfather Jerry Springer to (somewhere between those two?) legend Larry King. Thorn, podcast host and cofounder of the Maximum Fun network, lets his own craft shine in these interviews. He lays bare his own interviewing insecurities, all the while getting these venerable guests to give a little bit more than you may be used to hearing from the format. This is a great mix of candid insidery-ness complemented with some true insight for those of us interested in journalistic mechanisms embraced and spurned by giants in the world of media.
The Turnaround
Recommended for: Media wonks, curiosity seekers wanting a peek behind the curtain, fans of self-deprecating humility from journalistic heavyweights.
Rating: Gotta Have It
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