FORUM 6: Office Ladies

Narrative structure is an aspect of media aesthetics that applies to all mediums – from the earliest radio dramas, to television and film, and even to modern formats like video games and podcasting. Our case study this week considered the show *Office Ladies https://officeladies.com/ and how the unique topic of doing a podcast about a television show highlights the influences of older mediums on newer ones. 

For this week's forum, choose any episode of Office Ladies and analyze the episode's structure. You may find it helpful to take notes while you listen, and you should include aspects such as:

The name of the episode (should be in "quotations")
A link to the episode
A description of the format (solo, co-host, 1:1 interview, multiple interview, narrative non-fiction, etc.)
A description of the structure (what was its length, how did it begin, what were the sections or segments of the show, how did it end, etc.)
A description of the audio aesthetics (sound quality, musical arrangement, pacing, vocal delivery, etc.)
Your overall impression of the episode

To receive full credit you should make a meaningful comment on at least two (2) of your classmates' posts. A meaningful comment is defined as 2-3 sentences that demonstrate clearly you have 1) read their original post in its entirety, and 2) you are responding to their thoughts and ideas in a clear and respectful way.


RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Choose one (1) of the established podcasts that you mentioned last week in your pitch. Choose one (1) episode from that show that is a good example of an "average" episode (i.e. don't choose a 5 minute update episode when the show is typically much longer). Conduct an analysis of the episode. You may find it helpful to take notes while you listen. Your submission should include several components:

The name of the show (should be in italics)
The name of the episode (should be in "quotations")
A link to the show
A description of how you listened to the show (direct link online, through a specific podcast app, YouTube, etc.)
A description of the show format (solo, co-host, 1:1 interview, multiple interview, narrative non-fiction, etc.)
A description of the show's structure (what was its length, how did it begin, what were the sections or segments of the show, how did it end, etc.)
A description of the show's audio aesthetics (sound quality, musical arrangement, pacing, vocal delivery, etc.)
Your overall impression of the episode
Construct a bullet point timeline of the show that displays the main sections and their length

Please consult the example provided for more information about how to format your submission.

The Washington Post's Presidential

"Jimmy Carter: Keeping the faith"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ9njPkGEho

I listened to this episode on Apple Podcasts while commuting to work. This is a multiple interview show with a format that would fall in between simple and complex. This episode was 58 minutes in length and it began with a sort of cold open introduction that featured a recording of Jimmy Carter teaching Sunday School while the show's host, Lillian Cunningham, provided context and narration over the recorded audio. The show's stock introduction played and then the host introduced the episode's guest co-host, which is an unusual event in the show as a whole. Two Carter experts are interviewed for this episode. The first expert, Carter biographer Randall Balmer, is interviewed alone for nearly seventeen minutes and is then joined by the second expert, Pat Caddell, who worked for Carter's campaign. Parts of the show seem to be recorded live but the live parts were likely edited for quality and edited together with parts that were recorded by the hosts in a studio. The episode also played clips of historical recordings of Carter speaking. Appalachian and country inspired instrumental music punctuated various places in the show especially at transitions between segments underneath the voices of the hosts. The episode concludes with an announcement about future episodes.

The sound quality is good but not great. As the show is mostly informational, the decent sound quality is fine for this type of format. The music used does support the content and pacing of the show. The main host has a high-pitched voice that can be nasally at times, but she makes a sincere effort to speak clearly. The show is primarily based around interviews. As someone who is personally interested in history and in Carter I found the show to be interesting but I could also see how some listeners might feel that that interviewers are paced too slowly. This might be improved by a different editing style that shortened the average length of interviewee responses. My overall impression of the episode was that it is engaging and informational, but a little bit slow.

    0:00 Cold open 2:45
    2:45 Introduction :20
    3:05 Host/Co-Host Banter 2:10
    5:15 Interviewee 1 16:45
    22:00 Introduction of Interviewee :30
    22:30 Interviewees 1 and 2 19:30
    42:00 Clip of Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" Speech 1:45
    43:45 Interviewees 1 and 2 1:15
    45:00 Interviewees 1 9:15
    54:15 Clip of Carter teaching Sunday School 2:45
    57:00 Music Break :20
    57:20 Outro :40