Four essential documentary podcasts


True crime podcasts have been dominating iTunes charts ever since “Serial” first made waves in 2014. But true crime covers only one genre in the vast world of documentary podcasts. Like “Serial,” documentary podcasts feature one story over multiple episodes but don’t limit themselves to a sole murder or criminal investigation. They immerse listeners into an experience brimming with captivating sound design and detailed reporting on topics like California earthquakes or the history of ISIS. Here are four documentary podcasts to start binging today.

Surviving Y2K

Photo courtesy of Topic/Pineapple Street Media

Part of a series that takes deep dives into cultural touchpoints — a person, event or otherwise — “Surviving Y2K” focuses on how entering the new millenium in 2000 impacted populations worldwide.

Host Dan Taberski addresses the Y2K bug everyone thought would plunge the world to its very end, but what stands out about this podcast are the intertwining narratives that came to a head at the millenium.

Each episode gets closer to the start of the millenium until the clocks finally strike midnight in the fourth of six episodes, uniting the stories of the race to deliver the first baby of the millenium in Utah, a family who moves to Israel and lives by the Bible and a hostage situation in Kansas on New Year’s Eve.

Woven throughout the narrative is Taberski’s own experience amid Y2K, a personal story filled with emotion. Taberski is what brings this podcast together — a talented storyteller, he effortlessly crafts each sentence with wit and purpose.

The podcast’s production value also can’t be overstated. Each music choice and every bit of sound design is carefully selected to generate tension, empathy and excitement throughout the scenes.

“Surviving Y2K” is the second season of the “Headlong” series, which started with Taberski’s “Missing Richard Simmons” in 2017. A new season focusing on a different cultural touchpoint is set to be released this spring.

Making Obama

Photo courtesy of WBEZ

This podcast reveals just how essential Chicago was to former President Barack Obama’s ascension into political stardom. Produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, the six-episode series covers Obama’s life from the time he arrived in Chicago until his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention — years before he ran for president.

The podcast is brought together by an interview with Obama himself. Host Jenn White’s reporting skills extract details from Obama’s life and the countless other interviews she conducts for the series. She uncovers aspects of Obama’s past you wouldn’t find anywhere else. She illustrates his experience in Chicago by coaxing her interviewees to tell descriptive stories that make the listener feel like they were present in the moment.

“Making Obama” is by no means a vaulting praise of Obama, as most post-presidency narratives often turn out to be. Throughout the series, he’s portrayed as something of an overly idealistic political novice at the beginning of his career, struggling to find his own voice in a city too cynical to welcome him.

If anything, the podcast is a vaulting praise of Chicago itself — the community let down its initial guard, and the years Obama spent in Chicago as a community organizer ultimately  shaped him into a winning politician and president of the United States.

The Big One

Photo courtesy of KPCC

This podcast from Los Angeles’ own KPCC is particularly attuned to Southern California listeners. Not only does the podcast delve into the scientific backing behind a massive earthquake that could hit California at any moment, but it also acts as a form of service journalism, instructing Angelenos on how they can prepare to survive the impending calamity.

Hosted by KPCC science reporter Josh Margolis, the series opens with an imaginative scenario that should hit close to home for Trojans. He sets the scene: An Angeleno gives their order to a barista when, suddenly, the “big one” hits.

Even though the series can become muddled with complex scientific concepts, Margolis’ narration paints a vivid picture for the listener, focusing on explaining the tangible effects listeners would feel in the event of an earthquake.

This is bolstered with beautiful, expertly executed sound design in each episode. There’s the use of vibrating string instruments, sound effects like enhanced echoes and soft rumbles, but there’s also moments of extended silence. And they all serve to highlight just how devastating a massive earthquake could be and lend listeners moments to reflect on how they would personally be affected.

It’s a great podcast for anyone, but it’s almost a necessary listen for Southern Californians — the podcast gives guidance for how to prepare for such an earthquake, explaining the survival tools and emergency plans that’ll make living through a destroyed Los Angeles a little bit easier.

Caliphate

Photo courtesy of The New York Times

From the start, The New York Times’ “Caliphate” is both captivating and cinematic. The reporting of seasoned journalist Rukmini Callimachi, who plays more of a main character role than a host as she delves into her reporting process with producer Andy Mills, forms the backbone of the narrative.

Callimachi explores three related stories in the the 10-episode series: the tale of an escaped ISIS recruit, a look into Mosul — a major Iraqi city held by the Islamic State — and an arresting investigation into ISIS’ practice of sexually enslaving young girls.

The details are horrific and verge on unbearable, but they present the most honest and unflinching picture of modern terrorism. Callimachi is something of a superwoman in the series; she’s unafraid to confront the most daunting situations in her reporting and is always calm and collected. Yet, as the main voice in the podcast, she’s engaging and emotional, and she explains complex ongoings in the world of ISIS in brilliantly simple ways, such as comparing an ISIS financial ledger to any ordinary American’s credit card statement.

“Caliphate” is raw and showstopping. Listeners who hear the show while doing chores or other menial tasks will find themselves pausing in their tracks — so deeply engrossed in the spellbinding narrative that they’re pulled away from whatever else they’re doing.

The documentary series is The New York Times’ first narrative podcast, displaying the capacity the dominant newspaper has to create wonderfully produced, riveting shows rooted in their expert reporters’ years of experience covering a single topic.