Downloading podcasts at work is just something...I do. Admittedly, I have bogarted like hundreds of the free ones, yet have only really listened to maybe ten percent of the deluge. (Isn't this what a hoarder does?)
So, in a conscious effort to saturate my mind with real life, news, and the extraordinary tales of ordinary folks, I loaded up my iPod with broadcasts -- for a recent familial pilgrimage to the bible belt.
Amidst the dozen or so trips to Sonic, and the deeply disturbing discussions about the existence of HELL, I never really took advantage of my digital education.
But my first day back in California, as to refresh the liberal side of my brain, I scanned my nerd-library and happily devoured This American Life's "What I Learned From Television". And so became the thesis of my Thursday, as I listened to it THREE times.
Um, this one was made for me - and perhaps, you too. Get a load of what comes in this podcast:
+Essayist David Rakoff, "off" of TV for the last 20 years, is FORCED to watch 29 hours of it. (Incidentally, the average American watches 29 hours of TV PER WEEK.)
+Sarah Vowell, beloved author of Assassination Vacation, discusses sitcoms and their light commentary on dark American history. Who can blend pop culture resin with fucked up facts about Puritans and the Salem witch trials? SV can.
+MY FAVE! Ira Glass admits to his obsession with Fox's The OC. In his story, he includes an awesomely meta audio clip from the show, and the segment ends with Mates of State (!) covering Phantom Planet's "California"...which EVERYONE knows is The OC's theme song... right? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that.
+The show ends with syndicated sex columnist and Jezebel.com's adversary Dan Savage, who indicts Disney smut, and provides a personal commentary on TV vs familial influence in the upbringing of children (gay or straight) (apparently, you can tell pretty early).
Can you believe one podcast could contain so much?
I can't help myself; I'm half way through my fourth listen.
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