It’s been a rough week. Whatever your opinions on the presidential election, I think we can all agree that the country is still adjusting to the results. I’ve already shared my opinions, and there are plenty of writers who have put matters more thoroughly and eloquently. For now, I will continue my recommendations on excellent podcasts. People will be doing good work in the coming days, weeks, and years for the causes and issues close to them. But everyone needs to take a break and take care of themselves before continuing to tend to others. This is for anyone who needs something to help them unwind and take their mind of their troubles.
Presidents Are People Too! by Audible
I don’t blame anyone if they’d rather put this off and take a break from thinking about presidents. But if you want to listen some American history and analysis of the political and personal lives of past presidents in all their complexity and contrariness. Hosted by Elliott Kalan (ex-Daily Show writer) and Alexis Coe (American historian and author) interview journalists, experts, comedians, and others to delve into the lives of the presidents, particularly those relatively forgotten by the popular imagination. Don’t think much about Warren G. Harding? Forgot we had a President James K. Polk? Know Richard Nixon only from vague mentions of a scandal called Watergate? You can learn more about them while Kalan and Coe share interesting bits gleaned from their research and invite friends in for audio reenactments (both dramatic and comedic) of the presidents’ writings. Warning: be careful of who’s around you when you listen to the Harding episode. They read Harding’s letters to his mistress and it gets…weird.
U of M Radio On Your Historic Dial, hosted by Karen Obermeyer-Kolb
This podcast is just starting, but it holds great promise. The University of Minnesota Archives possesses over 11,586 reels of recorded audio. The archives recently received a grant to digitize over 2,000 of these tapes, which contain speeches, ceremonies, and recorded broadcasts of WLB/KUOM and WMMR the historical predecessors of the university’s student-run radio station, Radio K. This digitization is meant to preserve these audio treasures, and allow easier access to them.
As the project archivist, Karen Obermeyer-Kolb, explains in the introductory episode, putting the recordings into a podcast format is all about “getting [U of M radio’s] voice heard again.
We hope to add awareness of our new digital files and have some fun adding context, highlighting award-winning educational programs, and enjoying biographical sketches and interviews of great people, particularly great Minnesotans.”
The podcast will be biweekly and span recordings from the 1940s to the 1980s; its latest episode features excerpts from a 1970s interview with Ada Deer, American Indian and Civil Rights activist.
King Falls AM
Finally, for those who just want a dose of pure weirdness, there’s King Falls AM. Salty journalist Sammy Stevens has moved to the sleepy mountain town of King Falls, having gotten a gig as a late-night/early morning radio host with local producer/co-host Ben Arnold. Sammy quickly learns that all is not normal in his new home when a man is abducted by aliens as he speaks with Sammy and Ben live on-air. From there, it’s all about reporting on apparitions of dead presidents haunting the local library, Loch Ness-esque monsters interrupting the yearly fishing competition, dead bodies-turned-zombies, and werewolves who just won’t leave the local purebred pet pooches alone. The townspeople are quite the characters themselves: crotchety old fishermen who have no qualms about swearing on-air, a mayor who does not hide his dislike of intrepid reporters well, and old librarians who may or may not have torched the library because of presidential phantoms.
Obvious parallels to Welcome to Night Vale could be made with this podcast, but King Falls AM manages to stand on its own and have a good time. And really, who’s going to argue about having two fun shows about community radio and eldritch horror? I’m not.
Presidents Are People Too! can be found on Audible and iTunes. U of M Radio On Your Historic Dial can be found on the From the Archivist Blog on the University of Minnesota’s Continuum webpage, Google Play, and iTunes. King Falls AM episodes come out on the first and fifteenth of each month and can be found on their website, Audioboom, or iTunes.
