This review originally appeared in The Tribune on August 5.
There are many ways to tell stories –
and this week's podcast review takes a look at three very different
shows with stories at their heart.
Entwined
Take your mind on a road trip. Try out
Entwined, available on iTunes, which peers into the backstory of our
own world, and how different strands are connected. The episode I
listened to took a loving look at the land of dust, railways and
hobos around Bakersfield, following the paths of different
individuals who became oil barons, teachers at Yale, or got locked up
in prison. There's a real love of Americana here, and the strands as
they entwine really show some of the strengths of the nation, softly
yet boldly spoken in that phrase about it being a land of
opportunity. One key moment is almost heartbreaking, with the moment
that Merle Haggard, the songwriter, tells Johnny Cash that he
remembered being at one of his prison shows. Cash cocks an eyebrow
back at Haggard saying he doesn't remember him being part of that
show, to which Haggard replies that he was in the audience.
The show packs a lot in, but it's a
polished production, with expert pacing from the show hosts, Elliot
Gladstone and PS McKay. There's no rush despite the fairly short
length of the show, and I couldn't help but feel that, coming away
from it, I had a picture painted for me giving a glimpse of the world
that birthed Steinbeck and the Blues.
Website: www.entwinedpodcast.com
Word Count
A disclaimer on this next show – I
know two of those involved in it, but as that's how I discovered the
show, it seems only fair that I give it a listen!
R B Wood's Word Count podcast is a way
of bringing new authors to your attention – right to your ears, in
fact. The show features authors reading their own work. Often, the
host sets a challenge to authors to come up with something based
around certain words, but this time he set people off with a starting
sentence of “I was enjoying the summer holiday when...”
It's kind of like one of those old end
of school summer holiday projects, but in the hands of talented
authors, it goes soaring off in different directions. Rob Edwards
takes us on a jaunt through time via longing and ice cream, Maria
Haskins offers up a more poignant, thoughtful piece that rewards
close attention, while I thanked the heavens for my familiarity with
the Irish accent on C Thomas Smith's darkly funny Doomsday tale.
The audio is sometimes great, sometimes
not so great, as it depends on the quality of recording sent in by
the authors – the piece by Bill Kirton is particularly choppy in
the sound levels – but it's worth sticking with it even when the
audio warbles a bit.
It's a lovely way to discover new
authors – and hearing their own delivery of their work makes it
more personal, more involving. Edwards and Haskins I had already
encountered, but I will definitely be looking up more by C Thomas
Smith and Eden Baylee after this show. A treat to enjoy with a good
drink and a quiet house.
Website: rbwood.com
The Bright Sessions
The Bright Sessions is an oddity. Throw
in one part psychology and one part weird fiction and there sits the
show. It plays out as a series of short, 15 to 20 minute episodes in
which a psychiatrist interviews a number of different subjects, each
of which is there for therapy... but each of which has something
else, something unusual that is plaguing them. Is the woman who says
she can travel through time telling the truth, or suffering from a
delusion? What about the man who feels himself battered by the
emotions he senses from others around him? The production quality is
great, the voice acting spot on, and the pacing just right. Neatly
done, and not overstated, the show has just the right amount of
unnerving possibility to it to make cold fingers trail across the
back of your neck.
Website:
http://www.thebrightsessions.com
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