September 24 - September 30, 2017
THE LIST
1. Rough Translation - "The Refugee's Dating Coach"
An initial look at Rough Translation as it debuted back at the start of the season struck a note of skepticism surrounding how much translating was actually happening in the show. Throwing aside the perilous literalism that can plague even the most well-meaning critic, the new NPR show has delivered a steady stream of episodes covering any number of far-flung topics. "The Refugee's Dating Coach" meditates on a lighter theme, effectively evincing a common humanity on the other side of the world. There is an undercurrent of tragic circumstance, but the team does a great job of balancing the tension of despair and hope in this brilliant season-ending episode.
2. Strangers - "The Continental Divide"
Like many podcasts, Strangers leverages their feed to promote the work of other producers creating content with values aligned with the parent show. This exposes a new audience to a skilled practitioner while also giving the producer a well-deserved reprieve, as churning out a high-quality episode twice a month is a ton of work! Though Lea Thau's editorializing tends to get a little lengthy, it is economical and spot on in the "The Continental Divide" which ties together two episodes from Scott Carrier's America the Brave. The content originated as far back as 2007, but it is still timely in its profile of some voices oft-ignored in the media.
3. Ear Hustle - "Left Behind"
Each episode of Radiotopia's produced-from-prison podcast has a fair amount of shock value, but "Left Behind" has the dystopic glow of another world. From his rough upbringing to his estranged relations with family new and old, the story of Curtis Roberts is tragic throughout. Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor evoke the struggle of inmates with insurmountably long sentences via Roberts' experience, and the resulting picture is compellingly bleak. There is hope and lightness to be sure, but not at the expense of earnesty.
4. Startup - "Make China Cool Again"
Image and optics are really important in a world obsessed with branding and audience perception. This is true in business, celebrity, and, obviously, politics, but what about international communication? Long story short, China has honed in on public relations as a tool for cultural nation building. The specifics may not be familiar...yet. But the mere fact that any country, let alone one as massive and important as China, is funding popstars makes for some entertaining dinner conversation.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Ringer NBA Show - "Arcade Fire's Win Butler on the NBA"
Love and Radio - "For Science!"
Radiolab - "Driverless Dilemma"
Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Shift Your North The Musical: LIVE!"
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SOMETHING NEW
Editors note: It's important to filter one's worldview through the lens and experience of someone who is positioned differently than oneself. Yet reveling in a shared perspective can also be valuable. I'll admit that I listen to and read and watch more content framed within my purview than without it. That said, this week's featured show combines a familiar feel with lived experience that is surely different than my own. I'm still new at writing about anything related to race, but I want to start acknowledging it when appropriate, and attempt to add some nuance to my critiques.
I first came across Still Processing while listening to The Gist when Pesca had on the show's co-host Wesley Morris. Morris struck me as someone who resonated with Pesca - an open-minded critic of all things with an ethos that bends toward the left. Fast forward a couple months in the future, and I finally sat down to parse the show. Morris captains Still Processing with Jenna Wortham, and both are African American employees of the New York Times. These identifying traits alone are certain to reflect on issues in a different way, particularly in the context of a show where the focus is tackling the hot-button issues of the day. There are a lot of parallels to be drawn to The Gist. Each show prizes informed takes on polarizing issues, each (often) features a guest interview, and each is produced by a major New York-based media entity (NY Times and Slate/Panoply). Now don't get me wrong, Mike Pesca is great. His cred as an accomplished journalist far outweighs my professional acumen, and his daily show is one of a handful of pods I make sure to catch in it's entirety. But the very virtue of his gender and skin color render his views closer to my own (yes, to be clear, we are both white males). There is nothing wrong with this, and obviously there isn't anything Mike or myself can do to change the reality of our birth. We can, however, engage a conversation by listening to voices that inherently have a lot more at stake than we do.
Over the course of my sampler platter of episodes, the duo just happened to discuss controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick - both on the inaugural episode in the fall of 2016, and again following the trim of bellicose commentary from a certain high-powered doofus. Each conversation is flush with insight, humor, and truth around a race-inflected issue with broad appeal, rehashing some familiar arguments and adding the nuance as well. A lot of people were talking about how the president shouldn't meddle in the affairs of a private business, or about how protest was more representative of the freedom of speech than blind adherence to a flag. But I didn't hear anyone discussing how the other verses of "The Star Spangled Banner" carry questionably damning views of slaves. This is the show I've been looking for ever since the consummate About Race podcast closed its proverbial doors. It's full of rigorous honesty that can be astonishingly light-hearted considering the gravity of some of the subject matter. Still Processing is a wonderful vehicle to further the modest aspiration of diversifying one's media diet. Long may it live and inform and challenge all who listen.
Still Processing
Recommended for: Acknowledgers of self-serving media habits with a desire to do better
Rating: Gotta Have It
Frequency: Weekly
Episode Length: ~ 40 minutes
1. Rough Translation - "The Refugee's Dating Coach"
An initial look at Rough Translation as it debuted back at the start of the season struck a note of skepticism surrounding how much translating was actually happening in the show. Throwing aside the perilous literalism that can plague even the most well-meaning critic, the new NPR show has delivered a steady stream of episodes covering any number of far-flung topics. "The Refugee's Dating Coach" meditates on a lighter theme, effectively evincing a common humanity on the other side of the world. There is an undercurrent of tragic circumstance, but the team does a great job of balancing the tension of despair and hope in this brilliant season-ending episode.
2. Strangers - "The Continental Divide"
Like many podcasts, Strangers leverages their feed to promote the work of other producers creating content with values aligned with the parent show. This exposes a new audience to a skilled practitioner while also giving the producer a well-deserved reprieve, as churning out a high-quality episode twice a month is a ton of work! Though Lea Thau's editorializing tends to get a little lengthy, it is economical and spot on in the "The Continental Divide" which ties together two episodes from Scott Carrier's America the Brave. The content originated as far back as 2007, but it is still timely in its profile of some voices oft-ignored in the media.
3. Ear Hustle - "Left Behind"
Each episode of Radiotopia's produced-from-prison podcast has a fair amount of shock value, but "Left Behind" has the dystopic glow of another world. From his rough upbringing to his estranged relations with family new and old, the story of Curtis Roberts is tragic throughout. Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor evoke the struggle of inmates with insurmountably long sentences via Roberts' experience, and the resulting picture is compellingly bleak. There is hope and lightness to be sure, but not at the expense of earnesty.
4. Startup - "Make China Cool Again"
Image and optics are really important in a world obsessed with branding and audience perception. This is true in business, celebrity, and, obviously, politics, but what about international communication? Long story short, China has honed in on public relations as a tool for cultural nation building. The specifics may not be familiar...yet. But the mere fact that any country, let alone one as massive and important as China, is funding popstars makes for some entertaining dinner conversation.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Ringer NBA Show - "Arcade Fire's Win Butler on the NBA"
Love and Radio - "For Science!"
Radiolab - "Driverless Dilemma"
Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Shift Your North The Musical: LIVE!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I had a dream about a woman walking towards me with a mountain floating behind her, and I knew that she was really pissed. " - N.K. Jemisin, The Cracked Podcast: The Terrifying Truth About Why We Love Apocalypse Stories--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOMETHING NEW
Editors note: It's important to filter one's worldview through the lens and experience of someone who is positioned differently than oneself. Yet reveling in a shared perspective can also be valuable. I'll admit that I listen to and read and watch more content framed within my purview than without it. That said, this week's featured show combines a familiar feel with lived experience that is surely different than my own. I'm still new at writing about anything related to race, but I want to start acknowledging it when appropriate, and attempt to add some nuance to my critiques.
I first came across Still Processing while listening to The Gist when Pesca had on the show's co-host Wesley Morris. Morris struck me as someone who resonated with Pesca - an open-minded critic of all things with an ethos that bends toward the left. Fast forward a couple months in the future, and I finally sat down to parse the show. Morris captains Still Processing with Jenna Wortham, and both are African American employees of the New York Times. These identifying traits alone are certain to reflect on issues in a different way, particularly in the context of a show where the focus is tackling the hot-button issues of the day. There are a lot of parallels to be drawn to The Gist. Each show prizes informed takes on polarizing issues, each (often) features a guest interview, and each is produced by a major New York-based media entity (NY Times and Slate/Panoply). Now don't get me wrong, Mike Pesca is great. His cred as an accomplished journalist far outweighs my professional acumen, and his daily show is one of a handful of pods I make sure to catch in it's entirety. But the very virtue of his gender and skin color render his views closer to my own (yes, to be clear, we are both white males). There is nothing wrong with this, and obviously there isn't anything Mike or myself can do to change the reality of our birth. We can, however, engage a conversation by listening to voices that inherently have a lot more at stake than we do.
Over the course of my sampler platter of episodes, the duo just happened to discuss controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick - both on the inaugural episode in the fall of 2016, and again following the trim of bellicose commentary from a certain high-powered doofus. Each conversation is flush with insight, humor, and truth around a race-inflected issue with broad appeal, rehashing some familiar arguments and adding the nuance as well. A lot of people were talking about how the president shouldn't meddle in the affairs of a private business, or about how protest was more representative of the freedom of speech than blind adherence to a flag. But I didn't hear anyone discussing how the other verses of "The Star Spangled Banner" carry questionably damning views of slaves. This is the show I've been looking for ever since the consummate About Race podcast closed its proverbial doors. It's full of rigorous honesty that can be astonishingly light-hearted considering the gravity of some of the subject matter. Still Processing is a wonderful vehicle to further the modest aspiration of diversifying one's media diet. Long may it live and inform and challenge all who listen.
Still Processing
Recommended for: Acknowledgers of self-serving media habits with a desire to do better
Rating: Gotta Have It
Frequency: Weekly
Episode Length: ~ 40 minutes
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