Podcast review in historical context
For this assignment, you will listen to and analyze one episode from a list of recommended podcasts about history. The review should be at least 1,200 words in length (between 3 and 4 double-spaced pages) – you can use the Word Count feature on Microsoft Word to ensure you have met this requirement.
An essential feature of a good audio review is the reviewer’s ability to write concisely so that a comprehensive evaluation of the podcast episode can be obtained from a brief reading of your writing.
The point of a podcast review is not only to summarize what you listened to, but to situate the historical merit of the episode and to critically evaluate the author’s purpose, thesis, contentions, and methods of analysis in the research they talked about. Hence, the bulk of the body of one’s review essay will be to conduct a scholarly review of the episode you listened to.
A strong review will:
Discuss the main points or arguments that the podcast’s producers or hosts are trying to get across
Analyze specific moments in the episode
Consider the the aesthetic elements (music, sound effects, editing) that the producers used to tell their story.
Identify the sources and/or experts the podcast drew on or cited in their discussion
Assess the strong points or shortcomings of the episode
Cite at least one other source (article, book, podcast, documentary, etc.) about the same topic covered in the episode, which either supports or contradicts the analysis made by the producers/host
How does the podcast episode you listened to change the way one should think about the topic of discussion?
The challenge will be to do as much of this as possible within the brief length of the essay. In other words, the goal is to find creative ways to give examples from the episode and outside sources to support your analysis, and to do so in a limited amount of space.
As usual, the paper should be composed in double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, correctly using Chicago style footnotes to cite sources.
Here is the list of episodes to choose from:
“The Pardoning of Homer Plessy,” Kitchen Sisters, November 16, 2021.
“Yuri Kochiyama on Internment, Radical Activism, and Her Relationship with Malcolm,” The East Is a Podcast, March 2, 2019.
“Levittown, Where The Good Life Begins,” La Brega, February 24, 2021.
“The Epic of Collier Heights,” 99% Invisible, December 7, 2021.
“Curb Cuts,” 99% Invisible, April 27, 2021.
“Miracle on the Beach,” American Rehab (from Reveal), July 4, 2020.
“Freedom House Ambulance Service,” 99% Invisible, July 7, 2020.
“MOVE Bombing,” Story Search from Special Collections, June 25, 2021. See also Victor Fiorillo, “The MOVE Bombing: An Oral History,” Philadelphia, March 26, 2010.
“America’s Hottest Talkline,” Reply All, October 1, 2020.
“Patient Zero,” Radiolab, November 13, 2014.
“Los Frikis,” Radiolab/Radio Ambulante, March 24, 2015; or “When Havana Was Friki,” Radio Ambulante, January 24, 2017.
“95,000 Names: Gert McMullin, Sewing the Frontline,” Kitchen Sisters, June 22, 2021.
“The Tape,” Slow Burn, November 3, 2021 (on Rodney King beating).
“Colors,” Radiolab, May 21, 2012.
“My Namesake,” The Other Latif, March 10, 2020.
“Return of Oñate’s Foot,” 99% Invisible, June 30, 2020.
“The Promise,” Mississippi Goddam (from Reveal), October 16, 2021.
