Some good stuff for you today. Our series is a real masterclass in what can be done with podcasting as a form, and how evocative sound can be when used in the right way. Then our episode is an interview with the true master of the form: the guy who pretty much invented it.
Anyway, my friend and I have been playing a game this week where we say stupid and bold statements of opinion as if they are fact (‘nobody is drinking gin anymore, gin is out’). So here are a couple: all films are bad, and all podcasts about parenting are bad. Here are some podcasts that aren’t.
Rabbit Hole, New York Times
The internet, you do not need me to tell you, is a Bad Place, largely populated by Bad People, doing Bad Things. Rabbit Hole is an exploration of this natural law. The series falls into three parts. They are good in descending order. The first is about a man who feels he was radicalised by the YouTube algorithm, and is probably one of the best and most sensitive explorations I have seen of this. We also hear from one of the algorithm’s creators who now regrets his monster. Then we have two episodes on YouTuber PewDiePie - probably the most famous man you’ve never heard of. This is a great exploration of intergenerational and intercultural misunderstanding on the internet. There are ways of joking and talking on the internet which are largely incomprehensible to outsiders. Therein lies chaos and - to be honest - often traditional media organisations embarrassing themselves. Then you’ve got some stuff on the conspiracy theory QAnon which is fine, and you’ve started so you may as well finish.
The soundscaping in these podcasts (particularly the first two) is excellent - really captures the sense of claustrophobia and surrealism.
Without Fail with Ira Glass, Gimlet
Ira Glass invented podcasting as we know it. Or at least, as we know it in this email. He didn’t invent all the ones which are just people jabbering away at random to each other. This email is a safe space from that type of podcast. With This American Life, Glass invented structured storytelling format that now comes to define large (and best) swathes of the industry. From Serial to Planet Money, many of the biggest podcasts are made by Glass’s former producers, and those that aren’t still sound like him.
This interview between Glass and his former producer Alex Bloomberg gives a fascinating insight into what it is to still be working in a creative field that you pretty much invented, and seeing your sound everywhere. Things have moved on a bit since this interview and podcasting sounds a bit different, but you can still see Glass’s influence everywhere.
You also get a sense of the absurd level of attention to detail that goes into making a good podcast - Glass’s technical notes involve increasing the length of pauses by 0.2 seconds. Even if you aren’t a big audio nerd (which in my day job I am paid to be, but frankly I would do it for free) this is a remarkable insight into what it takes to be really really good at something.
I noticed this morning Glass was also the bbc media show’s guest this week. The interview is fine but not as good and the intro opens with ‘have you listened to a podcast recently’ which sounds a bit nineties to my ear. (Although I know that’s what I just did with PewDiePie, so mea culpa).
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-fail/brhj37
Heartburn by Nora Ephron, read by Meryl Streep
I’ll be honest I have been on holiday this week and haven’t listened to anything that even the most generous observer would describe as topical. Frankly Adrian Chiles could be Prime Minister now and I would be none the wiser. So I’ll go rogue and recommend you listen to the audiobook of Heartburn by Nora Ephron, read by Meryl Street.
Heartburn is a fictionalised memoir of of what happened when Ephron’s husband (Carl Bernstein of Woodward and Bernstein fame) left her for another woman when she was seven months pregnant. It is impeccably written and extremely funny (Ephron also wrote When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail). It is perfect on food, perfect on New York and perfect on love. It is one of my favourite books, and Streep is naturally a delightful narrator. Just treat yourself honestly.
(Oh and its free with your audible trial)
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