Podcast Roundup – Serial Season 2 Debuts

The highly anticipated season two of the Serial podcast dropped last Thursday evening. This season’s story will focus on Bowe Bergdahl’s desertion of his post in Afghanistan, his capture by the Taliban, and eventual release.

His story is more fascinating than the pieces I’ve gleaned from media reports since his 2014 release. The first episode introduces us to Bergdahl by way of a series of interviews conducted by film director, Mark Boal. Bergdahl describes his motivations for walking off of his base and his mindset before capture. One line often cited by the media is how he likened himself to Jason Bourne (I encourage you to listen to the entire podcast to hear his comment in context).

As an aside: This Reddit thread speculates that Mark Boal (Bergdalh’s interviewer) is merely a military propagandist. I wonder if this will factor into any of this season’s storylines?

The episode ends with a surprising, yet inevitable cliff hanger in the form of a phone call by the show’s creator Sarah Koenig. I won’t ruin it for you, but it did lead me to tweet the following:

What if @StarleeKine was the one making that phone call at the end of #SerialSeason2 episode 1? #epic #cliffhanger

— Michael Wender (@mwender) December 11, 2015

If you don’t catch my above reference, you also need to add The Mystery Show to your podcatcher. The mashup I’m proposing here would be fabulous.

Surprisingly Awesome

Gimlet Media’s Surprisingly Awesome is a recent addition to my podcast favorites. In it, hosts Adam Davidson (NY Times Magazine economics columnist) and Adam McKay (director/producer Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers) take topics which appear boring at first glance and dive in to reveal their surprisingly awesome aspects. Topics of their first four shows are Mold, Free Throws, Concrete, and Tubthumping. Have a listen and discover the secret kernels of awesomeness hidden inside everyday topics.