documentary – A Podcast Club

Unfinished: Deep South

By corbett on Monday, November 16, 2020

Unfinished: Deep South | 👍🏻👍🏽👍🏾👍🏿 Given the current circumstances surrounding racial injustice in America, the release of season one was very timely. Over the course of 10 episodes, the journalists’ investigation leads down several rabbit holes. We were given a glimpse into the normalized practice of racial lynching in the segregated South and its devastating repercussions for generations of Black families and communities. Even 75 years later, we witness how people are still resistant to recognize or admit the racist history and practices of their community leaders, friends, and family. The ending was very thoughtful and inspiring, giving us as listeners an opportunity to look inward at what can be done to help change the narrative of what it means to be Black in America. Although this podcast is left unfinished it does not leave you without answers and we recommend giving it a listen.

@witnessdocs #witnessdocs #documentarypodcast #unfinisheddeepsouth #isadorebanks #truecrime #stitcher #stitcherpodcast

About the show | At the dawn of the Civil Rights era, a wealthy African American farmer and veteran named Isadore Banks was lynched on the Arkansas Delta. More than 60 years later, two journalists join members of the Banks family on a quest to find out who killed Isadore and restore his legacy. What they find will shake a small Southern town from its silence, explore the story of African American prosperity on the Delta, and trace the roots of racial terror from Isadore’s day up through our own.

.✒️Review by: @itsacherrylife 📷Photo by: @ohcando

documentary

The Immaculate Deception

By corbett on Sunday, September 20, 2020

The Happiness Lab | 👍🏻👍🏽👍🏾👍🏿 Lockdown and the anxiety the uncertainty Covid brought made our group seek out a positive and uplifting podcast. We needed more happiness in our lives and this podcast served up what the doctor ordered. Dr. Laurie Santos was an incredible host who made you feel like you were sitting right in her lecture hall, which housed the most popular class in the 300 year history of Yale University. The episodes provided profound and thought provoking ideas on how to achieve happiness, which actually simplified the pursuit of it.

Dr. Santos’ delivery was captivating and engaging as she made our group discuss how our own actions impacted our happiness and affirmed some of the things we were already doing to contribute to our happiness, which included our @aPodcastClub discussions through @marcopolo and subsequent Podcast Club live discussions through @messenger (fun filters added to our happiness of course). It fit into the genre of self-help and was backed by scientific research, a perspective we all could appreciate.

Review …#podcast @pushkinpods #apodcastclub #happinesslabpod #lauriesantos #Yaleuniversity #scienceofhappiness #HappierPodcast

About the show | You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale—the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history—Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

.✒️Review by: @odhuie photo 📷Photo by: @pirate_ali_vega

documentary Lifestyle

The Happiness Lab

By corbett on Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Review …#podcast @pushkinpods #apodcastclub #happinesslabpod #lauriesantos #Yaleuniversity #scienceofhappiness #HappierPodcast

.✒️Review by: @odhuie photo 📷Photo by: @pirate_ali_vega

documentary

The Habitat

By corbett on Monday, March 23, 2020

👍🏻👍🏾👍🏿 This is the true story of a fake planet. This serialized documentary records the experience of six modern day explorers as they simulate life on Mars and live for one year in a small dome-shaped home on a Hawaiian volcano.

From the moment the team touched down into their new life on the faux-red-planet it was clear that each character would offer a very different personality and tempo to the show. Gimlet Media storytellers did a fantastic job of painting a picture of extreme isolation and how different people react to feelings of loneliness and helplessness. The story blends in archived audio of past NASA missions to shed light on the challenges of space exploration. The documenting of the team through the use of voice recordings attempts to probe the human psyche and constantly teased the potential of conflict and romance, but generally there was no planet shattering drama that came to be. Which is good news for humanity, right? Ultimately we want the team to be successful and prove that there is hope for mankind to co-habitat on the surface of Mars.

Although we recommend this podcast, know it will not leave you on the edge of your seat. We would have liked more information about how the data being collected will be used by NASA. Will NASA improve the communication systems in the space suits? Will NASA take Habitats lead — and issue a lavatory schedule? I guess we may never know. @gimletmedia #thehabitatpodcast #podcast #apodcastclub #gimletmedia

About the show | The true story of a fake planet. This documentary follows six volunteers secluded in an imitation Mars habitat simulating the life of astronauts for one very real year. The goal: to help NASA understand what life may be like on the red planet—and what variable humans play in this interplanetary prospecting. Seven episodes, set in the remote mountains of Hawaii, chronicle the experiment from the moment the crew sets foot in the habitat, and documents the crew’s discoveries, frustrations and evolving relationships.

✒️Review by: @ohcando and @pirate_ali_vega 📷Photo by: @pirate_ali_vega

documentary true crime

The Thing About Pam

By corbett on Sunday, January 5, 2020

👍🏻👍🏽👍🏾👍🏿Dateline’s podcast format is just as engaging, if not more, than the TV version. Longtime Dateline host, Keith Morrison, takes us on an intriguing true crime journey with twists and turns that even the best fiction writers could not script. Dateline, the original true crime gurus, investigates the murder of Betsy Faria during Christmas of 2011 and the diabolical schemes of Pam Hupp, that left us on the edge of our car seats. The podcast is short – only six episodes – and each episode fills a standard 30 minute commute. Our club found the podcast compelling and gave us a lot to discuss. Unlike other true crime podcasts we listened to which left us feeling unresolved, this one was wrapped up with a nice bow at the end, a perfect precursor to Christmas! We all agreed that this podcast would rank high on a list of all the true crime podcasts we have listened to this year. We highly recommend this podcast for it’s engaging story telling (Keith’s voice and intonations are killer, no pun intended), stranger than fiction storyline, and satisfying resolution at the end…no spoilers of course. @datelinenbc #apodcastclub #truecrime #thethingaboutpam #datelinepodcast

About the show | Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russ Faria came home from game night to find his wife, Betsy, dead. He was soon charged and convicted of her murder. But Russ Faria insisted he did not kill his wife. Betsy’s brutal murder set off a chain of events that would leave one mandead, another man implicated, and expose a diabolical scheme.

✒️Review by: @odhuie 📷Photo by: @odhuie photo

documentary

Wild Thing

By corbett on Sunday, December 8, 2019

👍🏻👍🏽👎🏾👎🏿 Production & Sound Quality ✔️, Storytelling ✔️, Entertaining & Engaging Host ✔️ Subject ✖️. The podcast follows host Laura Krantz as she explores the scientific research conducted over 30 years ago by her distant cousin, anthropologist Grover Krantz. The podcast covers a wide range of angles about Bigfoot including the influence in pop culture such as “Harry and the Henderson’s” and the exploitation of this character in the retail world. With sightings, locations and descriptions of what this elusive behemoth must look like, it’s fun to follow the myriad of stories out there. As a group we discussed our own opinions and debated the likelihood of the existence of Bigfoot. However, as the podcast highlights there is no definitive evidence that such a creature exists, so it was hard for us to get on the Sasquatch bandwagon. The guiding mission within the season is of DNA testing and the potential to find hard evidence that this mysterious bipedal-being is roaming wild in the Pacific Northwest. We found ourselves asking “why not ask this?” or “why not find out about that?” when it came to the proof. The season was well crafted, with a satisfying ending, but the topic just wasn’t captivating enough for all of us. @wildthingpod #bigfoot #sasquatch #science #cryptozoology #cryptid #legend #lore #myth #encounter #podcast #wildthingpod

About the show | Believe in Bigfoot? Think it’s total BS? Host Laura Krantz spent a year in the woods and in the lab, trying to answer that question. What she found might surprise even the staunchest non-believer. This legendary creature represents a mystery that still captures our imaginations and Sasquatch is as popular now as it’s ever been. Part of this is tongue-in-cheek—Bigfoot as hipster accessory. But many people take Sasquatch seriously—perfectly rational people who swear to its existence. Why does this creature ignite our imagination? Where does that fascination come from? And why does it persist?

Review written by @ohcando photo by @pirate_ali_vega

documentary news true crime

The Killing of Marilyn Monroe

By corbett on Tuesday, December 3, 2019

👎🏻👎🏽👎🏾 👍🏿“This podcast is like a 15 page paper that could have really taken up 2 pages” – a direct quote from our @marcopolo discussion. Needless to say, this story of Marilyn Monroe’s life and death was tragically drawn out. Spread over twelve 25-minute episodes, with the same sound bites recycled throughout, this storytelling was deathly repetitive to say the least. Our lone thumbs up is from a place of appreciation that the podcast served as a reminder of the mysterious demise of this American icon, allowing a whole new generation of people to question if Marilyn indeed committed suicide. This podcast may better seduce its listeners by diving deeper into the intel people thought Marilyn knew, as it seems the consensus she knew far more than she should have. We labored through to the end and suggest if you want to give it a listen to save some time and listen to the first couple of episodes and the last few, and you’ll get the gist. @marilynmonroe @endeavoraudio #podcast

About the show | How did Hollywood’s brightest star become its most tragic victim? From Norma Jeane, casting couch girl desperate for success, to Marilyn Monroe, global icon, it was Marilyn’s turbulent love life that ultimately sealed her final fate. Surrounded by a deadly cocktail of pills, her death was ruled “probable suicide,” but questions remain surrounding just how – and why – she died. This 12-part audio documentary analyzes the tangle of sex, power, corruption, and lies that led the most powerful men in America to silence Marilyn Monroe for good.

Review written by @ohcando photo by @pirate_ali_vega

documentary

The Big One

By corbett on Saturday, August 24, 2019

👍🏻👍🏽👍🏿 Are you prepared? Do you and your family have a plan for when The Big One hits? This 9 episode podcast does a splendid job of making a not-so-fun topic into something entertaining! Opposed to a show focused on “prepping”, with boring lists that make you feel woefully unprepared, this show focuses on the storytelling — making it an enticing listen. During debriefs we discussed our memories of earthquakes growing up in Southern California and what we could do now to develop a plan for our families. Each episode tends to blend together a first person fictional scenario, an interview with a disaster survivor, a scientist & an expert. At the end of the credits the listener is rewarded with tips on how to prepare for a disaster. The overall effect attempts to make listeners feel empowered to make small changes in their life to be ready to brace for The Big One. This was an eye opening podcast into what it will take to survive a major earthquake. Listen to the show to learn why the following tips are life savers:
~Get online and buy all of these items… immediately! a First Aid kit (i.e. taking broken glass out of your feet), a hand-crank radio, “get home kit” for your car, and a paper map of your hometown.
~Find out if your home is on a Fault or Liquefaction zone https://the-big-one.scpr.org/stories/
~Shake Alert LA app, download it
~Drop cover and hold on
~Text don’t call (less bandwidth)
~Rhythmic noise vs yelling; If trapped = bang object
~Always have ½ tank of gas
~Don’t sleep naked and have shoes nearby
~Keep water stored (1 gal = per person per day)
~Fire extinguisher, buy one or know where they are (Pull,Aim, Squeeze, Sweep)
~Put copies of important paperwork on the cloud
~In a car: Pull over and wait for shaking to stop
~Renters: Get renters insurance for your belonging
~Renters: Know what the landlord will do in disaster if your home is unlivable
~Homeowner: Get Earthquake and Fire insurance
~Free temporary housing for disaster survivors https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes
~Talk about the (pending) earthquake
@kpcc #TheBigOne #earthquake

About: When The Big One hits it’ll take under two minutes for more than 10 million Southern Californians to lose internet, power, and a sense of security. Host Jacob Margolis and Producer Misha Euceph take you on a journey to understand what the catastrophic earthquake will mean for Los Angeles, the U.S., and the world. This is what you need to know to survive.

From: KPCC
Genre: Educational (but entertaining!)

documentary true crime

Over My Dead Body

By corbett on Friday, August 2, 2019

There’s no question that @wonderymedia produces a great podcast. The overall experience of listening to not only Over My Dead Body, but other shows in the Wondery arsenal, is captivating because of the simple sound cues that help listeners really picture the story in their head. It’s almost a step ahead of watching a tv show, because the sounds and narration really help you use your imagination to picture the story in a way other podcasts just don’t. While the production value was strong, the resolve was lacking in the end. We can’t expect all stories to have a clear-cut ending, and this one certainly did not have that, nor did it leave us wanting more. As a group, we love to put in our early guesses of “whodunit” before the story really develops, and this one was difficult to do that since the story line didn’t quite follow that format. It’s worth a listen, but for the type of discussion and debate that our group enjoys when listening to a podcast, this one fell short.
@wonderymedia #truecrime #podcast

About: Dan and Wendi are two good-looking attorneys whose wedding is featured in the New York Times. But when this “perfect” couple falls apart, it leads to a bad breakup, a worse divorce, and a murder case involving a menagerie of high-priced lawyers and unexpected co-conspirators. “Tally,” the first season of “Over My Dead Body”, is a story that says as much about love and marriage as it does about justice, revenge, and the lengths some people will go to get what they want.

From:Wondery
Genre: True Crime
Starring: The team that brought you “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death” Hosted by Matthew Shaer

documentary thriller

Atlanta Monster

By corbett on Sunday, June 2, 2019

👎🏻👎🏼👎🏽👎🏾 If you have kids you probably don’t want to listen to a podcast about a serial killer who preys on children. Payne Lindsey’s sporadic storytelling is hard to follow especially in audio format. Ever since Up and Vanished this group has found his true crime investigation unorganized and hard to follow. #podcast #paynelindsey #atlantamonsterpodcast

About: This true crime podcast tells the story of one of the city’s darkest secrets, The Atlanta Child Murders. Nearly 40 years after these horrific crimes, many questions still remain. This podcast aims to find truth and provide closure, reexamining the disappearance and murder of over 25 African American children and young adults.

From:Tenderfoot TV and HowStuffWorks
Genre: True Crime (cold case resurrection)
Starring: Host Payne Lindsey