
The Healing Buzz of “Drunk History” - pepys
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/23/the-healing-buzz-of-drunk-history
======
Seanny123
Is there a word for these types of articles that roughly describe why
something works so well? I especially like the acknowledgement of how it could
all go wrong and the limitations of the format. Is this considered "critcism"
in the classic sense or is it something else? I want more of this
compassionate/curious/generous/careful engagement, but don't know how to
search for it.

~~~
klenwell
I thought the end, where Nussbaum compared the British version to the American
version, was especially insightful:

 _Effortlessness like this takes craft. Drunkenness is not enough, which we
know for certain, since the experiment has been tried across the Atlantic. The
British “Drunk History”—which you can catch in clips on YouTube—is terrible.
It’s depressing. It’s not funny, but that’s not really the problem... No one
responds. It’s hard to create chemistry with Big Brother._

I love Drunk History for all the reasons she articulated. I've never watched
the British version. She has persuaded me not to waste my time.

Her appreciation of Drunk History reminds me of a line from Hardy's Tess of
the D'Urbervilles:

 _And it was the touch of the imperfect upon the would-be perfect that gave
the sweetness, because it was that which gave the humanity._

It's a quality Nussbaum seems especially atuned to in her reviews. The show
High Maintenance shares a similar tenderness for the human condition, "sweet,
filthy, and forgiving". It was her review of the show, years ago when it was
still a web series, which turned me on to it.

As humans, sometimes we need humanity. Even Steve Jobs recognized it:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJWWtV1w5fw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJWWtV1w5fw)

~~~
nothrabannosir
I'm going on a slightly controversial limb here, but this comes from a place
of dear love so please bear with me: it is my experience that the U.K. (or
perhaps just England) is woefully outclassed by Americans when it comes to
podcasts, or even radio in general. I have been looking for an entertaining
British podcast for the last two years, and I am coming up depressingly empty
handed.

The only half-redeeming British radio show that I could find was My Dad Wrote
A Porno, but after half a season, the novelty wore off and that too is now but
a note in the history books. I have been asking around (for two years!) for
any other good tips. Alas: nothing I can bear to listen to for more than 1
episode.

Meanwhile, in the Americas, we have Planet Money, Serial, This American Life,
Hidden Brain, SYSK, Freakonomics, Hardcore History, Fresh Air (!), The Moth,
etc etc forever etc. These are all absolute smash hits in their own right.
Americans "get" it.

It kills me. Why?? I don't know if it is the dreary of the English accent, or
just this dry demeanour which perhaps looks engaging with visual feedback, but
just sounds completely vapid over sound only..? What is the secret to good
podcasting?

Why is it that America has Planet Money, and the UK has Moneybox? They are
probably roughly targeting the same audience, but one is a riveting listen
whose only fault is they don't release more, and the other, well.. the other
is Moneybox. I applaud their effort, but it's Just Not There.

Now, this will undoubtedly trigger bad feelings: I'm sorry. Just to be clear:
I don't mean that Americans are better than Brits. I am neither, so I have no
stake in this fight. This is just an outsider's view. I love radio, I love the
format, and I love both Brits and Americans, and I wish everyone did well at
everything. And of course, this is my personal opinion. On the other hand:
this is a pretty stark pattern, and I am anything but surprised it showed up
in Drunk History just the same. And I would love to hear others' opinions on
this, because it's frustrating me to no end.

~~~
tomalpha
I’m a Brit and (possibly causally, possibly not) tend to find US
radio/podcasts and TV programming too emotional and melodramatic and much
prefer Brit ones.

I’m offering this only in the spirit of debate - each to their own of course.

Just in case you haven’t tried them, my personal favourites have to be some of
the many from the BBC. Pretty sure they’re available internationally and being
the BBC they’re all ad-free:

\- More Or Less (a lighthearted but gentle Freakonimics-style critique of
numbers and statistics in the news)

\- The Bottom Line (debates from the world of business) with the superb Evan
Davis

\- The News Quiz (panel show style comedy - might need an appreciation of Brit
humour). Great for the commute home after a tough day.

\- From Our Own Correspondent (super informative non-mainstream news from the
corners of the Earth. Has a tendency to be almost suicidally depressing at
times yet still somehow fascinating).

\- In Our Time (an in-depth discussion of an intellectual topic which can be
anything from Shakespeare to the Mexican-American War to Neutron Stars. Huge
back-catalogue of episodes.)

\- The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry (lighthearted science show about
anything and everything - great presenting team).

There’s a ton of others but they get more UK focussed and perhaps a little dry
(Law in Action falls under this category perhaps but is still in my list).

It’s quite possible these are all ones you’ve tried and found not to be to
your taste. If not then I’d suggest they’re worth trying.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
Fully agree with your take. I find a lot of US podcasts and programming much
too formulaic and predictable, with presenters far too likely to fill in with
endless "OMG, wow this is totally awesome" and other worthless hype when
talking of the deeply mundane and average. Makes it impossible to spot when
something is rare or actually worthy of a little awe.

Occasionally I find them unlistenable thanks to their alternative to the
"dreary of the English accent" turning into accent as an offensive weapon.
Some manage to make a New York accent sound lyrical and poetic. Applies to
some Audible narrators too sadly.

I do enjoy some, Mythbusters for instance.

There's a few more that are worth checking out. Many Radio 4 programmes are
available to download and as podcasts.

\+ 50 Things (that made the Modern Economy). Excellent look at some surprising
things that have made a disproportionate difference. Presented by Tim Harford
(The Undercover Economist). He's also the presenter of More or Less.

\+ The Infinite Monkey Cage. Superb Science and Comedy with Robin Ince and
Brian Cox who make a surprisingly good double act.

\+ Fry's English Delight. Stephen Fry exploring the English language. Deeply
fascinating as most things from Fry are.

\+ I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue for weekly silliness.

\+ Reith Lectures. Often thought provoking, sometimes a bit too "heavy".

Not to forget no end of excellent comedies - Radio 4 being the original source
of Hitchhiker's after all (the books came later).

------
roryisok
Drunk history worked exactly twice for me: Fredrick Douglas, and the Night
Before Christmas. Every other episode I watched after that was so so.

~~~
DoreenMichele
I'm a big fan of Frederick Douglass. Makes me wonder if there are any videos
online of the episode in question.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass)

~~~
roryisok
Pretty sure its on YouTube

~~~
DoreenMichele
Thanks. I'll look around at some point, maybe later today.

------
js2
The episode mentioned at the start of the article is "Game Changers". It's
season 5, episode 3.

