February 11, 2018

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This week I'd like to direct your attention to a place where you can find a bit more of my writing. Podcast Review, a channel of the LA Review of Books, just launched this past week, and I've contributed a longer-form review of the excellent show American Suburb. You can find that particular piece by clicking here, along with other great reviews and interviews throughout the site. I'll still continue to write The Pod Piper, while also occasionally contributing to Podcast Review. Now, on with the podcast recs!

THE LIST

The publishing world is awash with countless volumes on the topic of self-care, often seen through the lens of dieting or self-actualizing via positive thinking. But that was back in the olden days, when outlets for anxiety and self-preservation occupied the quiet recesses of the thoughtful reading public's minds. With the rise of social media and instant connectivity, we are now conditioned to be outraged and to present the best version of ourselves any time we interact online. Because it's out there forever, and what would (insert unknown group of condescending onlookers here) think if you remained silent?! Thankfully, Alex Schmidt and Jason Pargin are here to gently coax you to put away the device that is driving you insane. Or, at least acknowledge when to do so, since completely disengaging is all-but-impossible (and undesirable?).

2. Hidden Brain - "Why Now?"
With the #MeToo movement almost daily catalyzing the ouster of powerful figures, it makes sense that the go-to podcast resource for all things psychological examine the phenomenon. This episode largely centers on the long and storied career of harassment and abuse doled out by the playwright Israel Horovitz. That story alone, masterfully crafted around interviews with several victims spanning the past four decades, would be worth the listen for it's narrative impact on a timely topic. Hidden Brain takes it further, exploring why so many victims are coming forward now.

3. Scene On Radio - "Citizen Thind"
The story of Bhagat Singh Thind could easily fill the contents of a tantalizing installment from Futility Closet, but it is more impactful when contextualizing in the "Seeing White" series all about race from Scene On Radio. The whole series is spectacular, but if you've not got the bandwidth to commit to the beginning the episodes are mostly digestible a la carte. Did you know that being white was something the U.S. Supreme Court adjudicated? And could you guess that it wasn't really about fitting into the (admittedly ridiculous) standards set up by racial scientists but rather all about trying to exclude people from entering America? Absolutely fascinating, devastating, and frankly, not too surprising, this pairs well with the Code Switch episode below.

HONORABLE MENTION
99% Invisible - "Border Wall"
Code Switch - "It's Not Just About The Blood"


SOMETHING NEW

How do you mark the moment a trend hits its peak? Is it when you see your parents joining Facebook? When small towns in the midwest start opening cupcake shops? How about when it is skewered by the nation's preeminent satirical news rag? No one does on-the-nose commentary like The Onion, but I'd argue that they are perhaps a bit too prescient. For example, see this article from 2015 and this other one from 2017. Both highlight mouth watering qualities of the now ubiquitous Tide pods far before more prestigious media outlets got hip to the coverage. This penchant for being ahead of the curve might portend well for podcasts reveling in the grimy side of humanity, as The Onion launched the in-depth true-crime podcast A Very Fatal Murder at the beginning of February.

A Very Fatal Murder applies the Onion's patent incisiveness to the entire format of an increasing number of shows. Does it explore the lengths to which a long-winded and questionable metaphor can segue into an episode? Yes. Are there parody sponsors that critique the absurd juxtaposition of an advertisement jammed up against a shocking real-life revelation? Absolutely. And does it contain a host that embarks on an endless quest to find a story that may or may not actually exist? Oh, you'd better believe it. Newer fans of podcasts may have been led to the promised land after the unprecedented success of Serial, which proved a show's power over listeners and long-laid-to-rest court cases alike. Host Sarah Koenig ushered in a slew of shows and personalities who emulated her mix of thematically adept narration and investigatory rigor in search of a story's (hopefully juicy) truth.

But A Very Fatal Murder  is much more than a straight one-to-one Serial parody (something that, consequently, has been done to amusing effect in "Wait Wait Don't Kill Me" from Secrets, Crimes & Audiotapes). It takes aim at the cornucopia of shows that have sprung up in the wake of the This American Life spinoff, and roasts the compulsion so many podcasts seem to pursue - viewing modern American culture through the lens of some hitherto unknown cold case. The show's host, "David Pascall," is as much of a testament to this as anything as he entrenches his New York self inside a small Nebraskan town for way, way too long. Pascall marries a local and becomes the police chief, before, one day, things all fall apart.

More than the murder at the heart of this fictional show, anticipating the host's exodus is essentially what kept me listening. Despite clocking in at just over 10 minutes per episode, the ridiculous premise does get a little tiring, and I think that I would have probably been more captivated if the chapters had been eked out in weekly releases. Avid listeners to shows like S-Town, In The Dark, and most recently Atlanta Monster, (and really anyone vaguely familiar with non-fiction audio storytelling) will find a lot of familiar tropes about which to laugh and hopefully take in stride. Even if this is your first podcast, it is still pretty funny and easy to read as criticism of a thing that, like eating laundry detergent, will one day run its course.
From: Onion Public Radio
Recommended for: Reluctant fans of true-crime podcasts
Drop Schedule: Seasonal, One-off release (All episodes available now)
Average episode length: 10 minutes
Rating: Make It Work

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