Fun
Knit to This: Slow Burn
Dear Kay,
At dinner the other night with friends, I was struck by how podcast-crazy everybody is. So many podcasts! Everybody’s got some thing they’re bingeing on while working out, cleaning the house, driving around. There is so much content to be absorbed!
A universal favorite at the table was Slow Burn. Rhapsodic praise! You’d think it was a spy thriller from all the talk about how addicting it is, how amazing the storytelling.
Yeah, it’s not a Le Carré novel. It’s an eight-episode podcast about Watergate. A 45-year-old scandal. A piece of history that we think we all know well because we all watched All the President’s Men so surely that’s plenty.
Apparently not.
My podcast fiends tell me that this eight-episode podcast takes us deep into the days of scandal in the White House—really delving into what it felt like at the time to live through a scandal that grew only over a period of two years. Leon Neyfakh tells the story in this production from Slate magazine. His introduction to the series sets the scene.
Judging from the first episode, I can safely say: I am in for the ride. A brilliant eight-episode podcast about Watergate? That sentence wouldn’t have even made sense a few years ago. This golden age of storytelling is such a gift to us knitters, who get to listen endlessly to these beautifully produced podcasts.
Love,
Ann
Podcasts are a definite commute improver! I loved “Slow Burn.” Right now I’m waiting breathlessly for the next episode of “The Gateway” (investigating a cult led by “Teal Swan.”)
Will definitely add to my podcast list. Have also been enjoying Revisioninst History with Malcolm Gladwell. Fascinating!
Yes, I’ve binged on it and it’s wonderful! Can’t wait for season 2 on the Clinton impeachment
And hopefully they’re already working on Season 3, the Trump impeachment.
🙂
Thank you for reminding me of this podcast. I heard it recommended somewhere else and made a mental note to download but, like most mental notes, promptly forgot. I’ve now got all the episodes downloading.
I love Slow Burn and think it’s a valuable reminder of how devious men can so easily corrupt our institutions before most of us start paying attention.
A companion piece for true Watergate junkies and those eager for more is the truly clever novel Watergate by Thomas Mallon. Less trendy and yes, sadly, it’s a physical book (though Audible has an audio version, according to Amazon). Using five relatively obscure but real bit players – Rosemary Woods, Fred LaRue, Eliot Richardson, Pat Nixon, and Teddy Roosevelt’s ancient niece Alice(!) – Mallon reimagines how the whole plot evolved and how and why it turned sour.
Definitely worth the effort to read, but for those new to the saga, probably better after you’ve heard the real story on Slow Burn.
I watched an old Dick Cavett episode recently, where he interviews a group of Senators, both Republic and Democratic. Their concern for the country, rather than party, was heartbreaking.
Thank you, I’ve added it to my queue. I’ve just heard about ‘Stuff Mom Never Told You’. I’m wondering how I’m going to finish the Elena Ferrante trilogy with all of these fabulous podcasts!
How do you all remember what podcasts you want to listen to eventually? I’ve gotten so many good recommendations, but I can never remember them when I want to listen to something. Is there an app for that?
I like the Overcast app.
I have the same problem so I have installed CastBox on my Android tablet and when I hear of something I “subscribe.” This way when I am free to listen to something my list is already there. The app is kinda glitzy and keeps throwing things at me that I’d rather ignore, but once you get it set up and learn what to tap to get to what you want it’s fairly easy to use.
Slow Burn is great — everything you didn’t know that you didn’t know about Watergate, very slickly and beautifully produced, too.
I’m currently obsessed with My Favorite Murders, but I also spend a lot of time listening to podcasts with my kids, so we love Brains On, Wow in the World, Rebel Girls, and But Why.
There are so many good audio drama podcasts to listen to while knitting. Radio Drama Revival is a great place to start, they feature a different audio drama on each episode, so you can get a taste before committing.
I just finished watching (a different concept but useful to a knitter on a garter or stockinette project) 1968 on PBS. Most of it was about the politics of the time and the Presidential election that year. Even though I lived thru it, I learned so much that was new.
Don’t forget about audio books like the Patrick O’Brian naval history series read by Patrick Tull. Even if naval history isn’t what you’d choose (me either) the characters and their development, the geography, politics…bring you along. How Patrick Tull kept track of all those characters voices, cadences, –men from all over the British Empire–was amazing. Course the same could be said of the author
This is the most incredible podcast I have ever heard ‘