Reply All: Fog of Covfefe – June 8, 2017
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/98-fog-of-covfefe
Last summer, one of my hipster friends commented on one of my Instagram posts “covfefe,” and I had no idea what he was talking about. And here is the beautiful genius of Reply All’s segment the call Yes. Yes. No., where hosts PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman explain to their boss, Alex Blumberg a tweet he doesn’t understand. Listening to that episode made me understand (better) what my hipster friend was saying.
9. Revisionist History: Hallelujah – July 27, 2016
http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/07-hallelujah/
I’ve always been a huge Leonard Cohen fan. His lyrics could be read as poetry, and I’m sure that somewhere they have been. His most famous song, Hallelujah, is one of the most covered songs ever. I cannot deny that I’ve been brought to tears by a few versions. When it was first released, it flopped. For years, it’s genius remained unrecognized and Malcolm Gladwell shared it’s journey to becoming a masterpiece.
8. This Is Actually Happening: What If the Worst Thing That Could Ever Happen to You Already Had? – July 21, 2017
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/mule-radio/this-is-actually-happening/e/51857364
This Is Actually Happening let’s the subject of the story narrative the piece, leaving the listener without the comfort of interpretation. I remember vividly painting the exterior of my parents’ house when I first heard this piece. I delayed my break for lunch, because the story kept me riveted to my headphones. This mother’s candid simplicity, telling the story about her son, will make you weep.
7. Reply All: On the Inside – Four parts starting May 12, 2016
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/64-on-the-inside
Not only does this story deviate from much of the show’s playful teasing between hosts PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman, but producer Sruthi Pinnamaneni takes the lead. Boy, does she give PJ and Alex a run for their money. Almost like a condensed Serial, Sruthi reexamines a murder from twenty years ago, with the man convicted, Paul, claiming his innocent. Unlike Serial, Paul is on the spectrum and that final forth episode has a seen worth waiting for.
6. Uncivil: The Sentence – December 13, 2017
https://www.gimletmedia.com/uncivil/the-sentence#episode-player
Uncivil tells the stories of the Civil War, not from the traditional perspective of the victors, but from a far less told perspective of the slaves themselves. The Sentence goes even farther back than the war, to the American court ruling that treated white indentured servants differently than black indentured servants. This ruling might have been the precedent early Americans used for the beginnings of slavery.
5. The Heart: No series – Four parts starting May 10, 2017
https://www.theheartradio.org/no-season/advance
The Heart tends to talk positively about sexually, especially female sexual, and often explores stories about exploration, but the No Series takes a more serious examination of female sexuality. In this four episode series, the host, Kaitlyn Prest, revisits the sexual expectations put on her from as early as middle school well into adulthood. Women will recognize these situations, but may not even realize the implications until Kaitlyn questions them. If sexual acts require heavy negotiations, can it still be considered consent.
4. Love + Radio: The Silver Dollar – February 27, 2014
The Silver Dollar
Love + Radio also tells their stories without a traditional narrator, letting the subject of the story speak for themselves and Daryl Davis speaks beautifully in this episode. Daryl describes a younger version of himself, trying to make sense of American racism. “How can you hate me, when you don’t even know me,” he repeats throughout his story. Later, he describes his unorthodox interaction with prominent leaders of the KKK.
3. Radiolab: Tree to Shining Tree – July 30, 2016
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree
Lately, it’s been emotionally strenuous to keep up with current events. One unsolvable problem follows by another, without a suggestion of a proper solution. Use this episode as an antidote. Jad Abumrad describes the mysterious and intricate way trees cooperate with each other, using an under ground fungi to communicate and even transfer nutrients back and forth. If trees can effectively problem solve through their community, maybe we can to the same.
2. This American Life: Break Up – August 24, 2007
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/339/break-up
Listen solely for the first act with Starlee Kine. Not that there’s a problem with the rest of the episode, but Starlee breaks your heart. She records herself fresh off of a break up and shares the parts of the process that the rest of us would hide even from our closest friends. Even though she’s not a musician, she sets out to write a break up ballad, calling Phil Collins for advice in the process. If you need some honesty about heartbreak, Starlee and Phil will tell you.
- Love + Radio: The Living Room – March 3, 2015
The Living Room
The story told in The Living Room converted me from a casual but regular podcast listener to an obsessive podcast fanatic. I originally heard the rebroadcast on Radiolab, driving along the coast just north of Santa Barbara. Again, Love + Radio only narratives their stories through their subject’s voice, as they used Diane Weipert to tell this story of voyeurism, empathy, and loss. I hardly could breathe, afraid I might miss a detail.
Also, this story was the portal from Radiolab to Love + Radio, Love + Radio exposed me to all the shows in Radiotopia, and Radiotopia kicks ass.
Honorable mentions: Second Season of First Day Back, Seeing White Series from Scene on Radio, In the Neighborhood from Story Corps, Monday March 12 from The Daily, Missing Richard Simmons, Mystery Show, and Criminal.