S Town Podcast

Missing Richard Simmons And The Queasiness Of Deep-dive Entertainment Journalism

... your body—often sharing painful memories of having been obese as a youth and hating himself because of it. He nearly died at that time, he said, after losing a huge amount of weight in two months, via water and lettuce. Simmons was almost pathologically connected to his fans, indulging celebrity-house-tour passengers by the dozen, meeting people across the United States who needed weight-loss coaching and calling them every week, going on themed exercise cruises where rabid devotees fought for his attention. Apart from such interactions and his relationships with Slimmons regulars, he was, by his own description, a “recluse.”. In 2014, Simmons disappeared abruptly, without explanation. He abandoned Slimmons, retreated into his  Tara -like mansion, and cut off contact with many of his friends and staff—as well as with hundreds of people who had come to rely on him for weight-loss-related friendship and emotional support. Most of those people were confused ...

S-town, Rookie, And Other Great Shows To Watch For

... hub of the resistance being carved out by Crooked Media. As we head into spring, things are shaping up to get even better. Up ahead: a dive into the life and mysterious death of a hip-hop mogul, real talks about weed and adulthood, and of course, the return of the Serial crew. Here are the pods we’re most looking forward to in the months to come. S-Town , Serial Productions (March 28). A small town in the heart of America, a mystery, a hint of death. The first podcast under the newly formed Serial Productions looks to be a soulful, novelistic investigation into something that happens in a small Alabama town. Hosted by veteran This American Life producer Brian Reed, expect a show with vibrant characters, an ornate sense of place, and a bevy of turns that take the story to some truly interesting places. Between its premise and heritage as a Serial spinoff, it’s almost a given that S-Town will be compared to its phenomenon-creating parent, and thus subject to a lot of expectations normally reserved for true-crime fare. But that would be ...

This Is Your Next Podcast Obsession

... murder. Hosted by This American Life alumnus Brian Reed, it will document the investigation into an Alabama murder, and reportedly took 3 years to complete - in fact, the show idea even predates Serial. According to the official press release, the show '… began when a man reached out to This American Life bitterly complaining about his small Alabama town. He wanted a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who had allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. [Reed] agreed to look into it. But then someone else ended up dead, and another story began to unfold—about a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure and the mysteries of one man’s life.'. So far, so The Jinx, right? (Again, if you don't know what we're talking about, get thee to a DVD shop and buy the hit HBO docu-series about murderer Robert Durst ASAP). The short teaser released today highlighted the arty, novelistic approach of the show, which opens with a long-winded analogy about antique ...

Warum Alabama Gar Kein „sweet Home Ist

... doch etwas dran, an der Geschichte von Mc Lemore. Reed fährt nach Bibb County in Alabama und damit in eine Welt, die Dickens auf seiner Amerikareise hätte erfunden haben können. Der Kleinstadtanwalt hier heißt Boozer Downs, die Stadtschreiberin Faye Gamble und der Ziehsohn von Mc Lemore hat tatsächlich den Namen Tyler Goodson. Es wimmelt nur so von Außenseitern, die sich in geheimen Hinterräumen von Tattoo-Salons treffen. Rednecks mit nur einem Zahn, aber voller Lebensweisheiten. Und dann ist da Mc Lemore selbst. Im Haus des Uhrmachers Mc Lemore. Die Hauptperson von „S-Town“ ist ein 47-jähriger Mann, der gemeinsam mit seiner dementen Mutter in einem riesigen Haus mitten im Wald lebt und historische Uhren restauriert. Außerdem kümmert er sich dort um ausgesetzte Hunde, macht sich Sorgen, um den unaufhaltsamen Klimawandel und ist offensichtlich ein hochbegabter Universalgelehrter mit Hang ...

Get Ready To Binge-listen To Serial’s New Spinoff S-town

... This American Life and Serial. Mike Savage, WBAA’s general manager, argued that Pandora, with its profit-making incentive, posed a fundamental threat to public radio’s broadcast model and that by entering into a relationship with the service, This American Life engaged in an arrangement that places it at odds with the public radio system’s incentives. Ira Glass, the show’s creator, argued otherwise, noting that the money gained from the partnership was reinvested to further improve on the programming that will continue to appear throughout the public radio system. Glass also made another point, which to me lies at the heart of this item, about reaching more audiences. “Nationally, we’re not losing audience on the radio because people are getting us on other platforms — we’re just adding audience,” Glass said, as printed in Current. “We’re adding to the number of people who are hearing public radio content by offering it on these other platforms.”. Quah, Nicholas. "Get ready ...

S-town Is The Newest Podcast From The Team Behind Serial

... a four minute preview for a new show, S-Town, appeared without warning on their download queue. S-Town is another true crime series created by Serial’s production team. Serial host Sarah Koenig bookends the teaser by explaining it’ll be a seven-part series, launching all at once on March 28, 2017. The show’s hosted by This American Life producer Brian Reed, who’s worked on the story for three years. “John despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, sparking a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.”. Despite the obvious lack of control over its resolution – being real life and all – many complained that there was no closure to the Hae Min Lee investigation in ...

Connected S-town Podcast Hooks Listeners

... – and I’m absolutely intrigued. Early yesterday morning, starting at about 7 a.m., people started downloading episodes of S-Town to their mobile devices. Twitter and Facebook were alive with S-Town listeners. Here is a sample of their comments: “@cearnett: So I definitely thought @stownpodcast was going to be about some tiny little town well south of me, not somewhere I drive through regularly”; and “@wplittle: The first 15 minutes of @stownpodcast have changed me as a person.”. I tweeted: “People will wonder why productivity is down for March. Blame it on college basketball. Not @stownpodcast. Shh. no one will know better.”. If you didn’t guess, @stownpodcast is the official handle for S-Town. What makes S-Town so successful, and why people like me flock to this kind of content, has everything to do with storytelling on budgeted time. I’m able to listen on my time schedule, on my commute to work, or while I’m exercising. ...

Alabama Murder Mystery Could Be The New Serial

... on which unsolved murder case Serial might be following. Certainly there is no shortage to choose from – in Jefferson County alone, home to the city of Birmingham, there are literally hundreds. The media looked at towns beginning with S, though it may as well be for shit as any place name. It could be the case of Linda Offord, a mother of three working the night shift at a convenience store in Sylacauga who was murdered in November 1987. William “Billy” Kuenzel is on death row for the killing. But his conviction is widely considered suspect , since it was obtained almost exclusively on the testimony of one man, who then received a reduced sentence. But none of the cases fits the producers’ descriptions of S-Town. Bill Rankin, a reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, produced his own Serial-esque murder podcast in 2015. Titled Breakdown, it followed the case of Justin Chapman , a teenager from the small Georgia town of Bremen who was found guilty of setting fire to his home in 2006 to get back at his landlord, killing his 79-year-old neighbour. Bowe Bergdahl was held by ...

Make Room In Your Schedule For Drag Queens And Big Little Lies

... hot dog atop her majestic head) showing everyone how it’s done. — Caroline Framke. Produced by the team behind Serial and destined to be one of the most talked-about podcasts of the year , the much-anticipated S-Town was vaguely billed, before its debut, as a real-life small-town murder mystery. It’s not; instead, it’s an intimate, strange, often-upsetting close read of the life of one man and his curmudgeonly battle to improve the town he lives in — a fight which ultimately becomes a battle within himself. The full story is challenging, beautiful, and sure to be controversial; its seven episodes (which were released simultaneously on March 28) are worthy of a binge. (A note of warning: Part of S-Town’s story deals with mental illness, and the podcast ultimately explores themes that may be difficult for some listeners.) — Aja Romano. Was this ...

Ein Neuer Podcast Mit Sogwirkung

... Werk als Ganzes zu veröffentlichen, hat für die Macher den Vorteil, zu Beginn einer neuen Episode nicht jedes Mal die Vorgeschichte erzählen zu müssen. Und das Ende der Kapitel kommt ohne die üblichen Cliffhanger aus, wo es so unerträglich spannend werden muss, dass man nach einer Woche ungeduldig die nächste Episode herunterladen will. Hochseilakt der journalistischen Empathie. «S-Town» entwickelt einen Sog, der nicht von kurzlebiger Spannung lebt. Besonders deutlich macht dies die Tatsache, dass die Geschichte bereits am Ende des zweiten Kapitels kulminiert, bevor noch fünf Stunden folgen. Der Journalist Reed und mit ihm der Zuhörer werden mit einer völlig unerwarteten, schlechten Nachricht konfrontiert. Worum es sich dabei handelt, wird hier natürlich nicht verraten. Die Nachricht bringt aber Erzähler Brian Reed und den Zuhörer ziemlich aus dem Konzept. Was folgt, ist literarischer Journalismus vom Feinsten, der menschliche Abgründe und Mysterien ausleuchtet und einem unter dem Kopfhörer in den Bann zieht. Reeds Recherche und Erzählung ist ein Hochseilakt der professionellen Empathie – er meistert ihn, ohne in unwürdigen Voyeurismus zu ...

5 Fast Facts You Need To Know

... John B. Mc Lemore. Goodson hasn’t had an easy life, and he witnessed some disturbing things that were discussed in the podcast. Here’s what you need to know about Tyler Goodson. This post has spoilers through Chapter 5 of S-Town. 1. Tyler Goodson Is Devoted to His Children. Tyler Goodson (Facebook). According to Brian Reed’s podcast, Tyler had four children at the time that John Mc Lemore died. When John died, he had a fourth baby on the way, according to the podcast. His girlfriend knew that John sometimes threatened suicide and had advised Tyler not to go over there every time John threatened to kill himself, or Tyler would go crazy from the stress of it all. Tyler appears to be a devoted dad, posting frequently about his children on social media. He often writes about how much he loves them and misses them when he’s away. Here’s just one photo he shared about his children. 2. Tyler and John Had a Father-Son Type of Relationship. On episode IV. I think whatever he left for Tyler is in the maze or ...