I usually don't do an entire article dedicated to an established podcast let alone why you should be listening to it. However, I have recently come to the end of the current run of episodes for You Must Remember This: a show dedicated to chronicling the history of Hollywood's first century, from the Infinite Guest Network. You have likely heard me praise it in the past. You may have even seen it on my end of year lists. As indicative of iTunes rankings, audiences are starting to catch on as well. With this week marking the end of a series called "Charles Manson's Hollywood," I figured that it would be a great time to catch up during the show's hiatus on its many episodes of invaluable information and above and beyond stellar production.
The proper way to start is to share a general description of the show. You Must Remember This is a show hosted by Karina Longworth and focuses on the classic Hollywood era. With majority of her stories taking place before the 1970's, it helps if you have a fascination (like myself) for the icons of the day. While her recent 12 part series on Charles Manson is probably her greatest achievement in narration, the show isn't usually as centralized on a singular figure for more than a handful of episodes. In the past, there have been episodes about Howard Hughes, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Mia Farrow, and a 15 part series cheekily named Star Wars; in which she details how celebrities behaved during World War II from Bette Davis' Hollywood Canteen development to Errol Flynn's sex scandal to why John Wayne didn't enlist. The well of subjects is deep and if those don't interest you, I'm sure that there will be a few others that will get you in the mood. They're all great. Trust me.
Probably the show's biggest attraction is the writing. An average episode - clocking in usually around 45 minutes - is Longworth giving detailed reports of her subject. While the facts are clinical, she is also able to bring personality to her subjects by providing personal accounts lifted from actual transcripts, as read by guest stars such as Looper director Rian Johnson and actor Noah Segan, who play various celebrity figures. If clinical facts sound dull to you, just know that she is prone to pick stories that are far more interesting than brief visits to a Wikipedia page.
In some cases, she even provides her own commentary on the matter and creates a deeper understanding of her subjects. In the case of an episode centering around Audrey Hepburn, she tackles the obvious Katharine Hepburn comparisons by noting that while the latter was more deliberately a strong woman, the former displayed it with a precocious distance (she just happened to be beautiful). Her passion is seen in these small details and makes even the lesser subjects like Ida Lupino come to life and elevates the listener's interest in learning more about them. If consumed separately, each episode is an informative and entertaining look into history. If consumed as a whole, it creates a fuller picture about the icons we adore and the studio system that they inhabited. While the lengthy series is something newer to the podcast, it embodies this ideal perfectly, playing like a perfect audiobook of a History Channel marathon that just happens to have convenient running times for those with limited availability.
With a lot of informational podcasts, you may ask what separates You Must Remember This from the others. Yes, its demographic is still niche and lacks healthy competition. The writing may be superb on a weekly basis. Yet the thing that keeps the show in a league of its own is the production design. Along with the aforementioned guest stars, each episode *sounds* wonderful. What this means is that unlike most shows where the quality is in charismatic conversations, this show is about embracing the podcast landscape to its fullest potential. Each episode - from front to back - is packed with a soundtrack that appropriately compliments Longworth's reading. Even the occasional needle scratch to emphasis awkward moments adds a personal touch. It may sound like a gimmick, but it implicitly will make the listener more attentive. It also makes the episodes stand out from the equally produced shows of acclaim such as Serial and one of my Freshman 2015 favorites Mystery Show (from Gimlet Media).
With podcasts becoming more and more accepted as a legitimate source of media consumption, I feel that You Must Remember This is one of those shows that should be on everyone's must listen list. It has only gotten better with time and has gotten its respectable due with the recent series on Charles Manson. Longworth brings history to life in more ways than one, creating research into a long form audio archive that newbies and experts will love equally. Whether your hook is the Charles Manson series or any older episode, it is worth checking out and becoming obsessed with. With the promise to return in September with an all listener requested series, it will be interesting to see where the series goes next. Hopefully you will be there to join in on the fun.
Comments
Post a Comment