Earlier this summer my friend introduced me to a podcast called S Town, otherwise known as Shit Town. I asked her, “What is it about?” and she replied, “It’s about everything. I can’t even explain it you’re just going to have to listen to it.” Intrigued by her response, I began listening to the podcast, a method of entertainment that I had barely used before besides my brief listening of a podcast called Serial. After finishing the show, I can now understand why there was no easy answer to what it is about. If someone were to ask me right now, I would have no answer except that you would just have to go listen to it. However, for this article’s sake, I will try to encapsulate it for you.
S-Town starts off with the host Brian Reed, investigating an alleged murder in Woodstock (Shit Town) Alabama. The first two episodes primarily focus on his attempt to uncover the truth about said murder, however, the show quickly becomes about the life of John B. Macklemore, the eccentric man who first contacted Brian Reed about the alleged murder in his town. Materializing the character John B. Macklemore into its readers' minds is one thing that the podcast did so well that I was completely shocked when he ended up taking his own life at the end of Chapter 2. What unfurls from there is a quest for John’s gold which he has supposedly hidden on his property, but S Town is about so much more than that. The show talks about police corruption, mental illness, LGBTQ issues, poverty, relationships and how hard it can be to maintain them, clocks, and most importantly, the toll that living in a place that you despise can have on you, which is something I think a lot of us can relate to. The podcast is only 7 episodes but during that short time, I had already forged a connection with the characters in the show, keeping in mind that these are real people living real lives.
S-Town encompasses what it’s like to live in a small town in Alabama and unlike other podcasts, I felt like I was transported there myself. What seemed to be yet another “Whodunnit” turned out to be one of the most contemplative pieces of entertainment I have ever consumed. It is brilliantly produced and I could not recommend it enough. I hope that this article has convinced some of you readers to go give it a try.
