That Good You Need Part XIII
September 8th, 2016
I walk to work every day, about a 25–30 minute commute depending on the route I take. In the past two years or so, I’ve filled that time with podcasts. The subjects and their purveyors vary; NPR, Digiday, Bill Simmons and The Ringer’s extended network, sports, sports entertainment, basically anything that interests me from anyone who’s interesting. Every once in a while, I’ll come across a series that I really enjoy.
That’s what happened recently when I dove into Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History.
The idea behind the series is to present happenings and occurrences from the past that we accept as fact and reexamine them, looking into things to check and see if our assumptions hold up. As you may suspect, they usually don’t.
It’s not just that Gladwell seems quite passionate about the subject material he discusses, or that the show is produced incredibly well, or that there is often a real emotional angle to all of this, it’s also that Gladwell isn’t just reporting or retelling. In many of these episodes he’s telling a story, but he’s also taking a side. He’s expressing to the listener that history and current events aren’t as simple as we often would like them to be, and he’s showing us there are many roads to be traveled, stones to be uncovered, discoveries and improvements to be made.
I would recommend all 10 of these episodes, but I would particularly point those interested in exploring to listen to episode 5, Food Fight. It does a fine job of not only using a primary anecdote to make a much larger point, essentially the method for most of these episodes, but it challenges the listener and ultimately calls them to action. It’s been one of the more controversial episodes, and there are certainly flaws with Gladwell’s line of thinking (I’m being vague on purpose here, you should really listen for yourself), but in the end that’s what makes the podcast interesting and exciting.
Gladwell dares to make a point. An opinionated, sharp, challenging, intelligent point. The podcast almost reminds me of an audio version of Last Week Tonight’s deep dives, and that’s something we can certainly use more of in the current media landscape. I thoroughly enjoyed listening, and I’m sure you would as well.
And now, it’s That Good You Need, kicking off with some content from another opinionated journalist.
The Bill Simmons Podcast: Tony Kornheiser
Bill Simmons is a favorite of mine no matter what he’s discussing, but when he digs into certain topics he often hits another level. When he’s placed with someone he really gets along with, in this case much acclaimed columnist and PTI host Tony Kornheiser it gets really fun.
Bill and Tony discuss journalism, the writing process, taking sides, and how media has developed over the years. It’s easy to forget, given their current roles, that both of them come from print backgrounds. Hearing them discuss their transitions and what they think of the modern climate is fascinating.
BUFFALO
Spencer Hall provides us with a reflective, unabridged, deep dive on America, football, and the intersection at which they meet in this piece for SB Nation. Though it is a bit meandering at times, that’s necessary to create the atmosphere that he’s trying to drive through.
Essentially, it’s a challenge to question our own role in the popularity of football and the violence it promotes. I’ll leave the rest to Spencer, he stated it quite well himself.
Kanye deconstructed: The human voice as the ultimate instrument
Sure, Kanye West has somehow managed to continually innovate and invent in a genre where many artists, even the most acclaimed, tend to struggle through their careers after an album or two, retreading their old work in uninteresting ways. But how has he done this? Specifically, how has he done this on a musical level? Vox provides at least some of the answers to these questions.
Bon Iver Disappeared For Several Years And Then Came Back With Its Best Album
I cannot explain to you how excited I am for Bon Iver to return. It is my very real, very sincere hope that I will, one day, be able to attend their Eaux Claires festival in Wisconsin.
Until then, I’ll be satisfied to vibe out with their old records and read about their new one. Steven Hyden does an excellent job of not only building excitement for the new release, but also of attempting to imagine what it might be like to be in Justin Vernon’s shoes.
Rob Hassler’s Train to AC
A number of my good friends took a trip recently to conduct their annual fantasy football draft. As is often the case during trips on high-volume travel weekends, some of them were bound to run into some interesting travel predicaments.
Thankfully, Rob recorded one of those more humorous encounters.
Presented without comment:
There’s more about this on Rob’s Twitter. The lesson we can take from this? Don’t drink bud light lime.
That’s it for this week. I’m probably going to spend the next few days watching far too much football even though, thanks to Spencer Hall, I’ll have some challenging thoughts about it. Until next time!
