The concept of binging used to be more closely aligned with food than media, but Netflix has absolutely taken gluttony to whole new heights and platforms in the past few years. As the culture of binging grows, it is only natural that such habits should collide with our other rising media behemoth, podcasts.
Jonah Baker | Argonaut
As an audio-only form of media, podcasts do not require the full extent of the listener’s attention, and this distinction helps to explain their popularity in a productivity-crazy world. Why not take the opportunity to dedicate a couple of hours to learning something new?
With so many stories to be told and such ease of access, there are few reasons not to sink your teeth into any of the podcasts available today, but a few serial podcasts are worth noting for their airtight storytelling. Some pieces of news and historical events cannot be fully understood without hours of careful research, and these podcasts expertly distill complex issues into binge-worthy products.
“Bundyville”
In the spirit of starting close to home, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s seven-episode foray into the scandal and spite surrounding the Bundy family (no relation to the infamous serial killer) condenses 20-plus years of disagreements into just over three and a half hours of well-founded reporting. Many from eastern Oregon and Nevada will remember the highway standoff with BLM agents and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the latter of which lasting 40 days before the last occupiers left. I never thought that I would find cattle grazing restrictions to draw me into a 270-minute rabbit hole, but I can confidently say that this series gave me a new understanding and appreciation for why so much passion and discourse is dedicated to land use debates.
“The Drop Out”
In a world dominated by the constant search for the next big thing, Elizabeth Holmes and her entrepreneurial unicorn, Theranos, seemed to be the silver bullet for healthcare’s soaring costs and shrinking accessibility. Or at least, that’s the narrative the public was sold as Holmes deceived investors and patients alike on her way to becoming the youngest self-made female billionaire before the real story started to leak out. ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis streamlines hundreds of hours of testimony and depositions into a clean-cut narrative that makes the debacle palatable in about three hours.
Holmes is the latest bright star to emerge from Silicon Valley, and this comprehensive account of her downfall contextualizes just how far some of our brightest minds will go to be the next big thing. Each episode is expertly paced and focused, untying a story that would otherwise take days to fully understand through press clippings alone. After wrapping up this week, “The Drop Out” will get you up to date as one of our generation’s biggest white-collar crimes inches closer to trial.
“Caliphate”
Rukmini Callimachi spent years as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, and “Caliphate” is an invaluable insight into ISIS and conflict in the Middle East. Since its serial release from April to June in 2018, Callimachi’s expert storytelling has garnered thousands of positive reviews across all listening platforms, and her podcast makes an endlessly complicated conflict a little more understandable through more than six and a half hours of well-crafted narrative. “Caliphate” is the New York Times’ first foray into serial nonfiction podcasts, and Callimachi’s success all but guarantees further productions in the future.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker