This episode, released on November 6, 2020, discusses six stories of how people will be affected by the presidential election and how they are dealing with the uncertainty. Before I saw this episode come out, I was planning to discuss “Episode 715: Long-Awaited Asteroid Finally Hits Earth,” an episode about the reopening of schools across the country and their responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although this was an intriguing episode, when I saw the most recent episode, “Squeaker,” the description immediately caught my attention: “Stories of people grappling with this endless election.” In both episode 715 and 723 as well as many others in “This American Life,” current events and current issues in the country are expertly discussed through stories of real people.
In the prologue of the podcast, host Ira Glass has conversations with people who helped “cure” ballots in Georgia. By overlapping Kim’s voice as she addresses a crowd of volunteers, and host Ira Glass’ voice the audience is able to both feel immersed in the moment where ballots were being cured in Georgia as well as understand the implications and background of the story laid out by the host. This technique is used often throughout the episode, allowing the reader to hear parts of real conversations that occur within the stories being told. I thought that this introduction was particularly effective however, because of how relatable Ira Glass makes the stories seem. He talks about the massive uncertainty in the country after the election and how he has been “checking the news compulsively,” which I felt that we could all relate to.
We are then passed off to a series of narrators telling election stories from across the country. The first is about a white militia group in Virginia, told by Mike Giglio. We get to know the leader of the Ridge Runners, Joe Klemm, through Mike’s description, but mostly be Joe’s voice, which in a podcast seems to be just as effective as a photograph or video of someone in introducing the audience to a character or making the character relatable. Through listening to the men in the militia, we get the sense that there is a significant amount of racism and that their beliefs come from Donald Trump’s statements. The group patrols their local county polling stations, looking for any problems, by which they meant Black Lives Matter or Antifa. However, when we hear the conversation between another militia member, Doug and a local democrat Janet, we see a different side to the story. Doug and Janet get along, respect each other, and share ideas, and the conversation gives a lot of hope. This is also translated to the listener through the very upbeat music.
Another part of the episode that uses music very well was a story about a man seeking asylum from Cameroon, who closely follows the election that could determine his fate in the United States. As Jonathan talks about how he has been treated while in ICE detention, forced to beg to stop officers from physically forcing him to sign a document that would allow him to be deported, sad, ominous music plays in the background. We also hear a lot of suspenseful music in this act, both while Jonathan escapes death in Cameroon, and when we find out he has disappeared from the detention center, possibly to be deported within the week. We learn that if he does get sent back, he will most likely be tortured and killed on arrival, showing even more how important this election is for so many people across the country. I also found that interviews throughout the episode but especially in this section were incredibly effective in displaying the emotion of the stories and the people being interviewed. “All I know– to be frank, what I know about the United States, I know a country that can protect your human rights,” Jonathan says, and this stands out to me, as I felt that Jonathan’s interviews brought the listeners to empathize with him and care about the issues he talks about.
This episode also includes a story about two friends in the military who support opposite sides in the election. This act provides so much humor but also hope in the sense that we can get along with people even those with very different beliefs. We also hear more about attempts to disrupt poll workers in Michigan with chanting and attempts to break into the building, and how poll workers proudly continue to work and count votes. Finally we hear a story of a Venezuelan family who also vote for opposing sides, which is also a conflict that many listeners can relate to as they also navigate relationships with those whose beliefs differ from their own.
Finally, in the ending act we hear from a man dying from prostate cancer, experiencing his last election. He talks of how he would like to live to see a new president, but his attitude towards life and death is a bit fatalistic but for some reason also inspiring and hilarious. He makes comments saying the next few years will be the perfect time to die because you would avoid all of the tough problems coming up. He also says there are things he would want to live for. He wants to see big questions answered, mentioning, “Is there intelligent life in this universe? Cause there’s not on Earth.” We see how the man is not someone who will really be affected by the results of the election and is simply curious about how the world will look in the future which is a very different perspective than the other stories discussed in the rest of the episode. In this way, I enjoyed how the podcast, mixed together different perspectives from different people, from different areas, to immerse the listeners in the stories, and make them think about what is happening and provide so much more perspective than any news article could.
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Relatable!