March 12, 2018

THE LIST

1. The Dollop - "Ten Cent Beer Night"

Battle is no longer as routine a part of human existence as it once was. Athletic competition, a long-running hallmark of humanity, is a convenient proxy for war. It satiates some innate animal aggression during times of relative peace. But every now and again, people are forced to reckon with the fight-or-flight instinct that lives somewhere inside us all. Usually this is on a very micro level, in an encounter with a perceived individual or small group threat. "Ten Cent Beer Night" captures the absolute insanity that came to fruition on a massive scale, all because some poorly thought-through PR plan attempted to spur on a baseball rivalry with cheap beer. I cannot believe that the mayhem that unfolded in Cleveland isn't recounting more often in the cannon of American sports history. It simply must be heard to be believed.

2. This American Life - "Five Women"

Any subject that enters the collective conscious has some potential to endow an audience with fatigue. Whether it's the tragedy of war or the plight of unemployment, it's human nature to tune something out once it surfaces a certain amount of times. That's the reason longform work is necessary, to entrench within a story from a narrative angle that will provide the requisite amount of perspective shifting for a tired populace. "Five Women" delivers such a story, following the way one man's entitled hustling impacted the life of women in his workplace. It's not gasp-inducing because of the notoriety of the central figure or the brutality of the offense - more of a festering quotidian sore that wriggles its way into the core of our inequitable society. File this one under the "deep diving investigative work with gravitas" section of the This American Life playbook. 

3. 99% Invisible - "Fordlandia"

Throughout history, people with power have ruled from afar (see: every empire that specialized in trans-continental colonization). Doing business long-distance, on the other hand, seems like a newer thing that has come with the availability of technology. Little did I realize that Henry Ford, the well known American car manufacturing tycoon, setup a sem-banana-republic in Brazil in the 1920s. "Fordlandia" gives a whole new meaning to controlling the means of production, as Ford instituted a culture amongst workers on another continent from the comfort of his Detroit home.

HONORABLE MENTION

Track Changes - "101 Fifth Avenue"

Twenty Thousand Hertz - "Hamilton"

SOMETHING NEW

You may be familiar with someone by the name of Barrack Obama. Most of the country would link him to the venerable positions of US Senator and, most likely, American President. There is, of course, much more to the man than the last 11 years of his political career. Public radio giant WBEZ applies the "Making" treatment to Obama, riffing on the idea that personal transformation is more of a collaborative effort than an individual one. It's not a cradle-to-grave biopic type of angle, as the earliest access we get to the young political hopeful is midway through the end of his prestigious college career.  Admittedly, this narrow scope does section off an audience and does not make the show nearly as compelling if you aren't at all interested in Obama.

Shows structured around free-flowing interviews have the potential to hook a listener if a subject is charming or interesting. While there are some nice interview clips in Making Obama, they serve a narrative that has already been crafted by the producers - not that that's a bad thing.  The series provides the context to show how the man rose to his most heralded post as the leader of the free world, and defers focus to local and state-level politics over anything presidential.

If you have any affinity for any person that eventually achieves the country's highest office, regardless of political affiliation, parts of this show will fascinate. If you revere our 44th president to any degree, this is definitely something you should check out. But if you're hoping to be wooed to buy into the imminent glory and wonder of elections and politicians, this is not for you. The system can be messy, and destinies can be written on circumstantial serendipity. And that's the secret counterintuitive hook of Making Obama that might just ensnare a totally blank slate listener.

Making Obama
From: WBEZ
Recommended for: Obama fans, president nerds, and the rare listener who is totally doesn't care about politics but also enjoys wallowing in the world of semi-ambivalent destiny.  
Drop Schedule: Wednesday, Weekly
Average episode length: 60 minutes
Rating: Gotta Have It