Podcast Roundup June 2019 Edition

Last month I had a lot to say about podcasts, but this month, much less so. However, there are a few great episodes, so let's dive in.

The Documentary had an episode called "Falling Rock" in which a young Native American man takes his microphone around and talks to people in Indian Nation about issues facing young people, especially suicide, unemployment, and poverty. We know statistics about Native Americans and how dire so many of them are, but this actually takes a look at individual personal stories to make those statistics into real human costs. It's really smart and I love having another (young, contemporary!) voice from this community to use in an attempt to reach my students when talking about racial and ethnic politics.

Code Switch's excellent episode "E Ola Ka 'Olelo Hawai'i" is all about how some Hawaiians are attempting to keep the native language of Hawaiian from going extinct.  They are opening Hawaiian schools, attempting to keep classes full in colleges, and keep kids speaking it. It's just an interesting look at how a lot of language are endangered and whether or not that's a problem and if it is a problem, how to fix it. It also delves into a lot of interesting issues regarding colonialism and how imperial rules are responsible for the deaths of so many cultural traditions. In light of the "Falling Rock" episode, I found June to be the month about issues surrounding indigenous peoples and how those issues are alive and well today.

 In honor of Pride month, the podcast "The Story Collider" devoted at least one story in each episode in June about issues related to LGBTQ+ communities.  The second story in the episode called "Strength: Stories about Searching for What Makes Us" was told by Dan Simpson, a gay statistician.  He told this powerful tale about the problems inherent in tokenism, and the end of his story is a strong message about powerlessness and the seemingly inherent impossibility of changing systematic, institutional oppression, while at the same time really wanting to change it.  It was a funny story at times, but at the end you could really feel his rage and frustration and that humor was turned against you. It was brilliant, I think.

"Big Savage: The Death of Alexander Stevens" is a true crime mystery tale. It's not brilliant - as a mater of fact, I think the podcast is organized in a super confusing way. I didn't really understand what the actual crime (or was it a crime?) was until midway through episode three. That being said, the case is super mystifying. It's a limited, eight-part series, and I binged as quickly as I could.  Basically, two young adults go into a forest along the Savage River and only one comes out alive. She's found guilty of murder, but was it actually an elaborate suicide ritual?  I honestly have no idea what to think of this case. There are missing pets, a possible mutilation, and mysterious circumstances of a 911 call. It's bizarre and chilling and there's enough uncertainty about all of it that I'm befuddled. So, don't be put off by the strange organization of the early episodes - they figure it out soon enough and the case is INTERESTING.  Please listen and tell me where you think the ferrets are.