October 8 - 14, 2017
THE LIST
1. Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Attorney At Love (w/Nicole Parker)"
The immensely talented Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino have captivated me since Off-Book launched this past summer. From consistently providing the best podcast advertising spots out there to delivering zany storylines and earworms that regularly stick in my brain throughout the week, the show has ushered in a weird niche in the medium. "Attorney At Love" is worth a listen for the Amtrak subplot alone, but it also benefits from the guest appearance of "a legit musical person, one that actually knows what they're doing" Nicole Parker (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Wicked). Parker showed little hesitation inserting herself into the action quite ably, and showing off her vocal chops. McKenna & Reino have lovely voices, but Parker illuminated how a professional vocalist can expand the scope of a show that's already doing a lot.
2. Hidden Brain - "The Edge of Gender"
Typically a show like Hidden Brain investigates an issue by referencing an agreed-upon angle implicit in the coverage. There is a narrative, biased or not, and a conclusion that the producers reach that ties up the given topic in as neat of a package as possible. When the subject at hand isn't cut-and-dried, flooded with existential bric-a-brac, the temptation for a tidy conclusion still lingers and often wins out in a "time will tell" attitude that can obscure the complexity at hand. Hidden Brain treats gender with requisite ethical tediousness, and the product is an earnest acknowledgement of the research and opinion that canvases a diverse spectrum.
3. More Perfect - "The Gun Show"
The pre-eminent narrative Supreme Court podcast is back with the long-awaited second season! Perhaps the release schedule was rearranged to have this episode correspond with the Las Vegas massacre and it's aftermath, but with the prevalence of gun violence it wouldn't be surprising if the timing was coincidental. If there are other shows in your feed that have covered gun control, you may be tempted to skip this one. Ignore the urge. More Perfect packs a historical punch with all the rich audio design you'd expect from a Radiolab joint.
4. Longform - "Michael Barbaro"
Longform once again captures a vital voice in podcasting, following up the excellent two-parter on the Reply All masterminds a few weeks back. This time, however, the subject comes from a deeply rooted journalistic tradition. Michael Barbaro runs point on The Daily from the New York Times, a five-a-week podcast expanding on current events, and hearing his journey from writing to podcasting is revelatory. How does editing play into the interview process? Just how loaded is each pause from the host? This one is equally valuable to creators and writers as it is to anyone who consumes news-based podcasts or journalism of any type.
HONORABLE MENTION
More Perfect - "American Pendulum (Part I & II)"
The Cracked Podcast - "Which City is the Number 1 Movie Setting of All-Time?"
Embedded - "Trump Stories: The Golf Course"
The Turnaround - "Katie Couric"
SOMETHING NEW
There is a new trend hitting the podcast airwaves, and it can carry a tune. That's right, musical podcasts are becoming a thing. The form dates back as least as far as Lin-Manuel Miranda's made-for-podcast-musical 21 Chump Street. As brilliant as it is, that piece was commissioned for a live performance of This American Life and skimmed the surface of an audio-only musical. Some would argue that Hamilton was essentially this, but the intimacy of a podcast musical is a different thing entirely. Wondery's Wait Wait Don't Kill Me musical parody of smash podcast hit Serial, dropped at the end of 2016. 36 Questions and Stolen Idea(paywall) have dropped into feeds in 2017, and it seems like the floodgates are primed to burst. Audio drama has existed in a multitude of forms since the dawn of radio, and it only makes sense that a mass of musical podcasts would take root as podcasts rise as a medium.
There's no doubt that 36 Questions is exciting on it's face. Proven podcast runners Two-Up Productions (of Limetown fame) team with notable theatrical talents Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton to craft a show based on a popular piece of journalism from The New York Times. It is both ambitious and a little derivative, full of bright spots but also a bit rote and bungled. To be honest, the most titillating thing about the show is the novelty. For decades musical theatre fans have listened to cast recordings in the hope of creating some kind of second-hand experience that must substitute for the real thing. The feeling that new shows could be delivered to all users in the form which they were intended to be heard is exhilarating, for fans of theatre and podcast alike.
The music is pleasant enough, and each actor has a unique and capable voice. But there is a disconnect in the pairing of Shelton's non-traditional pipes with the exuberantly Broadway-tested Groff. Shelton's voice is sweet and mellow, and would be golden on the background stage of indie clubs across the country. Heck, she was probably great in Anaïs Mitchell's folksy Hadestown. The problem seems to be that the tone of the piece was undecided: is it a quirky alt-musical, or simply an intimate two-hander replete with star-vehicle potential? Either way, the script struggles to create both a compelling story arc and a natural transition to each song from the dialogue. Without the advent of music, this would be a disappointing turn in the audio-drama medium. 36 Questions benefits from being the first full-length project in a traditional three act structure, and audiences will likely flock to it out of curiosity. It is worth a listen, even if only to whet an appetite for more content to fill this burgeoning genre.
36 Questions
Recommended for: Musical theatre fans, listeners ready to dream about what the form can encompass
Rating: Make It Work
1. Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Attorney At Love (w/Nicole Parker)"
The immensely talented Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino have captivated me since Off-Book launched this past summer. From consistently providing the best podcast advertising spots out there to delivering zany storylines and earworms that regularly stick in my brain throughout the week, the show has ushered in a weird niche in the medium. "Attorney At Love" is worth a listen for the Amtrak subplot alone, but it also benefits from the guest appearance of "a legit musical person, one that actually knows what they're doing" Nicole Parker (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Wicked). Parker showed little hesitation inserting herself into the action quite ably, and showing off her vocal chops. McKenna & Reino have lovely voices, but Parker illuminated how a professional vocalist can expand the scope of a show that's already doing a lot.
2. Hidden Brain - "The Edge of Gender"
Typically a show like Hidden Brain investigates an issue by referencing an agreed-upon angle implicit in the coverage. There is a narrative, biased or not, and a conclusion that the producers reach that ties up the given topic in as neat of a package as possible. When the subject at hand isn't cut-and-dried, flooded with existential bric-a-brac, the temptation for a tidy conclusion still lingers and often wins out in a "time will tell" attitude that can obscure the complexity at hand. Hidden Brain treats gender with requisite ethical tediousness, and the product is an earnest acknowledgement of the research and opinion that canvases a diverse spectrum.
3. More Perfect - "The Gun Show"
The pre-eminent narrative Supreme Court podcast is back with the long-awaited second season! Perhaps the release schedule was rearranged to have this episode correspond with the Las Vegas massacre and it's aftermath, but with the prevalence of gun violence it wouldn't be surprising if the timing was coincidental. If there are other shows in your feed that have covered gun control, you may be tempted to skip this one. Ignore the urge. More Perfect packs a historical punch with all the rich audio design you'd expect from a Radiolab joint.
4. Longform - "Michael Barbaro"
Longform once again captures a vital voice in podcasting, following up the excellent two-parter on the Reply All masterminds a few weeks back. This time, however, the subject comes from a deeply rooted journalistic tradition. Michael Barbaro runs point on The Daily from the New York Times, a five-a-week podcast expanding on current events, and hearing his journey from writing to podcasting is revelatory. How does editing play into the interview process? Just how loaded is each pause from the host? This one is equally valuable to creators and writers as it is to anyone who consumes news-based podcasts or journalism of any type.
HONORABLE MENTION
More Perfect - "American Pendulum (Part I & II)"
The Cracked Podcast - "Which City is the Number 1 Movie Setting of All-Time?"
Embedded - "Trump Stories: The Golf Course"
The Turnaround - "Katie Couric"
SOMETHING NEW
There is a new trend hitting the podcast airwaves, and it can carry a tune. That's right, musical podcasts are becoming a thing. The form dates back as least as far as Lin-Manuel Miranda's made-for-podcast-musical 21 Chump Street. As brilliant as it is, that piece was commissioned for a live performance of This American Life and skimmed the surface of an audio-only musical. Some would argue that Hamilton was essentially this, but the intimacy of a podcast musical is a different thing entirely. Wondery's Wait Wait Don't Kill Me musical parody of smash podcast hit Serial, dropped at the end of 2016. 36 Questions and Stolen Idea(paywall) have dropped into feeds in 2017, and it seems like the floodgates are primed to burst. Audio drama has existed in a multitude of forms since the dawn of radio, and it only makes sense that a mass of musical podcasts would take root as podcasts rise as a medium.
There's no doubt that 36 Questions is exciting on it's face. Proven podcast runners Two-Up Productions (of Limetown fame) team with notable theatrical talents Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton to craft a show based on a popular piece of journalism from The New York Times. It is both ambitious and a little derivative, full of bright spots but also a bit rote and bungled. To be honest, the most titillating thing about the show is the novelty. For decades musical theatre fans have listened to cast recordings in the hope of creating some kind of second-hand experience that must substitute for the real thing. The feeling that new shows could be delivered to all users in the form which they were intended to be heard is exhilarating, for fans of theatre and podcast alike.
The music is pleasant enough, and each actor has a unique and capable voice. But there is a disconnect in the pairing of Shelton's non-traditional pipes with the exuberantly Broadway-tested Groff. Shelton's voice is sweet and mellow, and would be golden on the background stage of indie clubs across the country. Heck, she was probably great in Anaïs Mitchell's folksy Hadestown. The problem seems to be that the tone of the piece was undecided: is it a quirky alt-musical, or simply an intimate two-hander replete with star-vehicle potential? Either way, the script struggles to create both a compelling story arc and a natural transition to each song from the dialogue. Without the advent of music, this would be a disappointing turn in the audio-drama medium. 36 Questions benefits from being the first full-length project in a traditional three act structure, and audiences will likely flock to it out of curiosity. It is worth a listen, even if only to whet an appetite for more content to fill this burgeoning genre.
36 Questions
Recommended for: Musical theatre fans, listeners ready to dream about what the form can encompass
Rating: Make It Work
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