Conspiracy theories. Viral performance art. Heartbreak. This year, if nothing else, managed tocompletely avoid being boring. And in 2016, through personal stories, nuanced analysis, and escapist fiction, podcasts helped us make sense of all of itfrom weird Internet phenomena to the election-cycle-that-must-not-be-named. Podcasts also offered proof that when it comes to inventive storytelling, audio is just getting started. Keep reading for the 10 best podcast episodes of 2016. And if these excellent ‘casts give you the audio bug, head back into our weekly roundup archives to listen to more.
Reply All, “Boy in Photo”
The best Reply All episodes are Internet rabbit holes explored to the extreme, and Boy in Photo offers enough twists and turns for eventhe most insatiablesleuths. In 2006, an ILX message board rallied around a photo of two girls and one lonely-looking guy, whom the message board named Wayne. The members of the message board followedthelives of the characters on social media for the next 10 years. In this episode, host PJ Vogt apprehensivelytravels to the Philadelphia suburb where he grew up to track down the real Wayneand find out what really happened that night.
More Perfect, “Imperfect Plaintiffs”
Credit: Getty Images
Meet Edward Blum, Supreme Court matchmaker. In six landmark cases, the “legal entrepreneur” has hand-picked just the right plaintiffs necessary to change American laws through the highest court in the land. More Perfect, the Radiolab spinoff all about the Supreme Court, is worth listening to in its entirety. Start with the unlikely path of how one 911 call led to the end of sodomy laws, and the essential role of strategy in choosing representative cases. Listen here.
Flash Forward, “Revenge of the Retweet”
Each week on Flash Forward, host Rose Eveleth imagines a future based on fictional scenarios, from the strange disappearance of the Internet to nefarious space pirates. This episode, about the political ramifications of our digital histories, is especially prescient as we lurch towards a newadministration. Italso hasan interview with Laura Olin, who ran Obamas presidential campaign Twitter account, in which she discusses changing Americanstandards about a politicians previous beliefs.
Criminal, “Money Tree”
Criminal reliably offers bizarre stories of true crimes that will stay with you. In “Money Tree,” hear about Axton Betz-Hamilton: When she was 11, someone stole her parents identities. As a college student with bills to pay,she realized that they had stolen her identity, tooand then she set out to determine who that person was. What she found hit closer to home than sheor weever would have thought. Stick around for the twist.
The Bright Sessions, “Patient #12-D-10”
Dr. Bright’s therapy patients have some normal concerns: unrequited teenage love, parent-child relationships. But they’ve got some more abnormal worries, too, likeuncontrollable time travel and Kilgrave-like mind control.Part Professor X, part Sigmund Freud, Dr. Bright’s specialtytreating the strange and unusualmakes for very fun audio intrigue. The season finale doesnt disappoint, but start from episode oneand binge away aweekendon Dr. Stranges couch.
99% Invisible, “Miss Manhattan”
One woman’s body adorns libraries and city halls and museum courtyards across the country. But who is she? Like the best 99% Invisible episodes, “Miss Manhattan” investigates an architectural element hidden in plain sight. It’sthe story of Audrey Munson, “America’s first supermodel,” and her path from serving as inspiration for over 30 statues at the Met to a sensationalized murder scandal to becoming a rollerblading eccentric in a small town. Listen here.
Homecoming, Mandatory
2016 has been a great year for fiction podcasts: Archive 81, Hector Vs the Future, Alice Isn’t Dead, The Deep Vault, The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified. But Homecoming, from the inventive brain of Eli Horowitz, offers audio fiction of a different kind: There’s no found footage or reporterly set-up here. Instead, youre dropped right into a psychological thriller about what went downat a military reentry facilityand it stars Catherine Keener, Oscar Isaac, and David Schwimmer.
This American Life, “Tell Me Im Fat”
Credit: Jenny Jimenez
Yeah, This American Life isn’t newbut its storytelling is still the gold standard for a reason. In “Tell Me I’m Fat,” comedian and author Lindy West, producer Elna Baker, and writer Roxane Gay tell vivid, alarmingfirst-person accounts of how living as a fat person means being treated as a second-class citizen. As West says, being fat can feel likea thin person who’s failing consistently for your whole life. This harrowingepisode will stay with you. Listen here.
Radiolab, Seneca, Nebraska
Credit: NPR
What do you do with a populace so divided there’s no hope? We don’t know the answer for America, but in Seneca, Nebraska, the citizens trusted in democracyand put their existence up to a vote. After small-town squabbles became irreconcilable differences, the denizens hit the polls to decide whether to unincorporate, orwhether there was any value in keeping the town together. Listen here.
Heavyweight, “Buzz”
On Heavyweight, Jonathan Goldstein acts as a professional meddler, helping people fix (or at least relive) something from their past. In the first episode, the host starts with his own family, talking his octogenarian dad and uncle through the missed bar mitzvahs, ruined bris, and shirked funereal responsibilities that have kept the brothers apart for 20 years. Like the rest of the Heavyweight season, Goldstein’s prying into his own family history is a delight.
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