Listening to This American Life's Plan B I was impressed with how well the podcast was made. Perhaps it's because I haven't listened to the series in quite a while, or perhaps it's because many of the podcasts I find myself listening to don't sound nearly as professional. But when I think about it, Plan B was a good podcast for one main reason, and a few smaller considerations. The obvious main reason is that the narratives in it are well-written and the interviews engaging and insightful. This will be my main task...and I have a feeling that listening to this particular episode, given the topic I have in mind right now, will set my bar rather high.

I'm hoping to write on the relationship I have with my girlfriend, Colleen, who is currently in Spain. The possible pitfalls are many here, I think. Obviously I want to the reader to connect to the experiences I hope to share in my narrative. But I don't want to force so much emotion into the writing that it's melodramatic or sappy. Currently I'm thinking of using a similar technique This American Life does quite well, breaking up the story into clear parts and giving listeners time to let the preceding part sink in.

Another aspect that I really liked about Plan B was the very well-done integration of both music and background "noise." In some cases there was narration, music, and background sounds including intelligible voice. Had I considered this option before hearing it I would've thought the choice to be confusing and just too much for a listener to handle. But Plan B pulls it off, largely because of the volume levels and specific choices. The narration is still engaging, the music very much background and not overly distracting, and the background noise actually adds a lot. I'm not sure if I'll be able to incorporate all of this, but I hope I can at least choose appropriate music.

In all, I think I've got a lot to live up to, given that This American Life was the first podcast I listened to critically, but if I can achieve even a part of the success I've heard I think my podcast will be a work I'm proud of.