Podcast Roundup Weeks 38 and 39

Okay, so I have been busy listening to podcasts (97 in the last two weeks - although some have been just short trailers of upcoming shows) and watching The Expanse on Netflix (thumbs up, especially if you've read the books), so I haven't been updating here. Let's discuss.

Serial is back! My life is complete.

When I lived in Minneapolis, I volunteered for an organization that did court monitoring of cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. I went to pre-trial conferences, hearings for orders of protection, felony arraignments, trials, and a variety of other everyday court business.  I sat in courtrooms for hours waiting for court business to begin, I watched judges discuss incredibly inappropriate topics from the bench, and I watched as mothers cried as they testified about how they didn't  know their children were being abused. I saw mostly black victims and defendants surrounded by mostly white lawyers, judges, clerks, deputies, and probation officers.

I was sometimes judgmental. But mostly I was sad. I was sad that people committed crimes, but I was also sad that once someone was in the system it seemed impossible for them to get out. This included victims, too, by the way. If you're the victim of a crime, you could be required to come to court half a dozen times before anything is resolved.  That's time off work, money spent either taking the bus to the courthouse or for parking in the garage, and months of endless worry.  It was a tedious process and a process I found frustrating for its necessity.

So I was excited to hear that Serial was going to be hanging out in a courthouse, just like the one I had hung out it for so many years. A courtroom in Cleveland, a city I know and love. And it didn't disappoint. It started out with a case that never should have been a case. A woman is sexually assaulted and gets involved in a bar fight in which she accidentally touches a cop. She should never have been charged in the first place, but when she is charged, it finally ends up as a misdemeanor on her record, hundreds of dollars in fines and fees, and too many wasted hours of her time and life to count. The second episode followed up with an in-depth look at a well-meaning, but racist and power hungry judge. It's really been everything I could possibly have hoped for.

Okay, well, that's an obvious recommendation. NGS recommends the biggest, most popular podcast in the world. Thanks for a lot of nothing.  Well, here's one that seems to be flying a bit under the radar, but I think is quite fascinating.

CBC's Escaping NXIVM is about a woman who somehow found herself heavily involved in an organization, NXIVM, that billed itself as a self-help group, but the woman now claims is a cult.  It's gripping, really. How can someone fall for this? It's fascinating to hear the story in a member's own voice.  It's also really fascinating to think about what it is in your life that seems innocent, but might have a dark side.  There are seven episodes out right now and each one is an excellent listen.