The Pod Piper

THE LIST 1. Radiolab - "Oliver Sipple" Oliver Sipple sounds like a fictional character, and some of the things that transpired in his life are more than Hollywood-ready.  Through themes of identity, privacy, and the overwhelming reach of journalism, we find a man whose good will would eventually lead to his demise.  Radiolab  pieces together a story of what happens when a split-second heroic decision sizzles into a slow burn, consuming an individual from the inside out. In addition to the intrigue and tragedy in this bizarre tale, the show posits some big and largely unanswerable questions about ethical media practices. Amazingly, Radiolab  interviews a would-be presidential assassin at the top of the show and manages to craft an episode where this audio is barely a footnote. But at the same time, the intentions of this shooter (long-suffering and seemingly remorseful as she may be for the unintended consequences her actions wrought upon Sipple) go largely unexami...

THE LIST 1. This American Life  - "Essay B" The structure of unpacking complicated issues in the hot-take generation goes a bit like this: a) Bold declaration of rights vs. privilege in some form of media. b) Effective narrative bargaining to sway majority opinion, almost always via social media. c) Societal reckoning of narrative with data, usually generated by some institute or investigatory organization. d) General adoption of truths and/or embedding in a comfort zone. When change happens it can often be slow and unrecognizable, so it's no wonder that this conclusive fourth step is so elusive.  With enough time and distance, does it get easier to make a general pronouncement on a given matter? That's where This American Life comes in, with an episode that looks back in hopes of moving forward. The idea of integrating schools surely seems like a thing of the past to many people in this country, but it is very worthwhile to examine the effects of such a mon...