You know, for someone who works at NPR, I don’t listen to many long-form, narrative podcasts.
Before you start chanting “shame” at me, it’s not that I don’t like them. It’s more that my ADHD brain just isn’t drawn to sprawling, multipart stories — I’m more of a single-issue-one-off-episode kind of listener. When someone recommends a massive odyssey of a series, I take note, but accept that I probably won’t get around to it.
But last weekend I was doing a DIY project and had hours of listening time to fill. I decided to commit to Reaching Out from Futuro Media, a series multiple people had been nudging me toward. And y'all, I'm really I glad I did.
The six-part series won Tribeca’s Audio Memoir Award and follows twins Sayre and Connor as they set out to find their biological father — and, naturally, themselves. Along the way: Sayre’s quest to fall in love, Connor’s nomadic lifestyle and the sometimes-funny, sometimes-painful gulf between the two brothers.
Creator Sayre Quevedo has been recording his life for years, and there's something special about hearing the twins bicker, or the ennui in Sayre’s voice as he stumbles home drunk.
But what really kept me listening was the writing. Sayre is a poet, and it shows. His second-person narration had me scrambling to write down quotes, marveling at how he managed to articulate muddled emotions. Sometimes I felt like he was too self-aware and honest — but I couldn’t bring myself to turn away.
I might not lock in for every multipart audio deep dive, but this one was well worth it.
Happy listening Pod Club!
🌱 Jules
The week’s best episodes
…to share with your family (blood-related or otherwise)
🎻 When was the last time you experienced flow?
It’s the very first (!) episode of WBUR’s Your Turn, and host Allison Aubrey is starting strong, with a look at what happens when we enter a flow state. You know, the euphoric feeling of focused immersion in a challenging task. What inspires flow is different for each of us and can be a roadmap for finding fulfillment, Aubrey says.
⛪ A surge in Democratic clergy candidates
Democrats are hoping to take control of Congress in a couple weeks, and this Up First episode looks at the new type of candidate that might help them: members of the clergy. In Iowa, Texas, and beyond, these candidates are comfortable talking about both their faith and their Democratic values.
📚 Piano, Appalachia, and reading Marx as foreplay
This conversation with author Barbara Kingsolver’s is a little different from a classic Book of the Day episode. It’s a wide-ranging look at the philosophy and career of the Pulitzer Prize winner, whose 19th novel, Partita, came out last week.
🎙️ “Sorry — you go.” “Oh — no, sorry, you go.”
How do NPR hosts avoid interrupting one other? Stephen Thompson and Linda Holmes answer this and other mailbag questions on this bonus episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour. Get access to this episode (and sponsor-free listening) by signing up for NPR+.
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