2015 was a big year for podcasting. After the record-breaking audience numbers for Serial late in 2014, it seems the collective appetite for story-driven audio was whetted. With the promise of bigger audiences, established podcasts could get better advertising deals, which translated to more money for new programs to be launched. Today, the audio eco-system is vast and thriving. As a commuter, podcasts have a central role in my day, keeping me company while I wait for trains or walk home through my Brooklyn neighborhood. They regularly make me laugh out loud, or cry, or think of arguments for an imaginary debate with the hosts. Of the hundreds of episodes I listened to this year, these are the five[1] that really stuck with me.
“The Living Room”, Love and Radio (March 6, 2015)
If this episode hasn’t already won some kind of podcasting Pulitzer, it should. At once voyeuristic and strange, human and heartbreaking - this is an episode to listen to alone.
"Quit Already!”, Reply All (December 2, 2015)
Reply All has been one of the consistent revelations of 2015 for me. Alex Goldman and P.J. Vogt were the first people to be poached from NPR by Gimlet media, and from the quality of the episodes this year, it seems like it was the right move. Every episode contains some beautiful nugget of humanness, plucked out of the weirdness of the internet. This episode tells the story of Lucía Mendizábal, a Guatemalan grandma who accidentally started a huge political demonstration by posting on Facebook. Once you’re deep into a couple of episodes, try skipping to “Today’s the Day” from August 27th, where P.J. and Alex remember that there’s a world outside the studio.
Rukmini Callamachi, The Longform Podcast (February 18 & 19, 2015)
In this two-part interview journalist Rukmini Callamachi discusses her career reporting on terrorism. One of the earliest reporters of the rise of the Islamic State, Callamachi has written important articles about their recruitment methods, their beliefs and the blood-curdling efficiency with which they kidnapped women and children to enslave them. A highlight of the interview is hearing Callamachi speak about her research methods, which include engaging with IS members on Twitter.
“The Problem We All Live With” Part 1 and Part 2, This American Life (July 31 and August 7, 2015)
If you’ve heard of any podcast, you’ve heard of This American Life. Under the watchful editorial gaze of Ira Glass, the program has been syndicated throughout the US since the mid-90s. It’s been a podcast since podcasts have existed, and its influence on the medium can’t be understated (least of all because they’ve trained half of the producers currently making the stuff). In this two-part series, This American Life reporters Nikole Hannah-Jones and Chana Joffe-Walt discuss one of the most burning issues of our time – the systematic inequality of opportunity for people of colour – and tell a story about one really effective way of battling it. Prepare to be shocked, angry, hopeful and determined to make things better.
Fugitive Waves is the podcast of the Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, a production duo who have made some of the best radio documentaries out there since partnering up in the late 70s. Through a mixture of archival recordings and interviews, this episode introduces us to the world of Sam Phillips, the man who discovered Elvis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, to name a few. Listen to this episode when you’re in the mood to time-travel. If you want more mid-century Memphis, try their other episodes, “Electronic Memories: R.A. Coleman’s Memphis” and “WHER: 1000 Beautiful Watts – The First All Girl Radio Station in the Nation”, Parts 1 and 2.
Bonus
I would be remiss to ignore Karina Longworth’s twelve-part series about Charles Manson. This truly is a tour-de-force of podcasting: it is incredibly well-researched, well-written and mainly very well-produced (I have to admit that I found some of the voices, and her tendency to over-articulate, a tad on the irritating side). If you liked Serial, if you’re interested in cults and the 60s and drugs and Hollywood (and who isn’t!) this is definitely for you.
And for Frasier fans, listen to this: https://soundcloud.com/talksaladandscrambledeggs/talksalad-009
[1] Seven if you want to be a stickler about it, plus another thirteen in the bonus section. Sue me!
Image: Rishi Bandopadhay
){kind=link}