Recap: 40 podcasts, single-elimination brackets — 1 winner will emerge!

If you’re confused, read the first post here, then come back for the results.

We’re down to 8 podcasts, everyone! I can’t believe it! Read on to see which of the elite eight will advance to the final four….

East: Crimetown vs. Criminal

This is becoming difficult, because all these podcasts are strong contenders. In episode 3 of Crimetown, Vincent “Buddy” Cianci goes from being a prosecutor to running for mayor of Providence, RI. He runs on a promise to clean up the town. Unfortunately, to get votes, he engages in some shady behavior and promises jobs to some men who help collect votes for him.

It’s fascinating to see how his good intentions came up against the real problem of getting elected, and he gave into some small corruption for a larger “good” cause. The ends might not quite justify the means….

In Criminal episode 68, “All the Time in the World,” Phoebe (the host) visits a “body farm,” where human bodies are put out in nature so researchers can observe their decomposition.

This was so interesting! It’s a little gross to hear about, but I’m sure it’s quite helpful to law enforcement when they’re trying to figure out how long someone’s been dead, and maybe establish a cause of death (or what’s just natural decomposition).

This episode doesn’t get too graphic, but they do talk about dead bodies and the stages of decomposition, (also, I’m sorry I’ve used the word decomposition so much in this blog post) so you’ve been warned.

Winner: Crimetown. I have to know what happens next.

Midwest: More Perfect vs. Stuff You Missed in History Class

This episode of More Perfect, with the catchy title Kittens kick the giggly blue robot all summer, was about how the Supreme Court started out with very little power, relatively speaking, but the appointment of John Marshall (apparently a nemesis of Thomas Jeferson) changed all that. Marshall found a way to make the court much more powerful — making Federal rulings hold more weight than State rulings. This seems pretty obvious now, but back then, it was almost revolutionary (yes, that was on purpose).

While this podcast has been great, it had a short run and I’m almost at the end of the episodes.

In Stuff You Missed in History Class meanwhile, I listened to the hosts wax rhapsodic on the topic of cheese. The hosts took occasional detours to talk about how much they love cheese, and I really don’t blame them. Cheese is delicious.

They talked about what conditions would have to come together to make cheese, and I’m glad smart people figured out how to make that happen. Listening to the conditions that have to be right makes it sound near-miraculous that we have cheese today. Some would say cheese is miraculous, and I wouldn’t argue with that.

Winner: Stuff You Missed in History Class

Next time: West and South face off with some very different podcast genres.

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