Entertaining, but not revelatory
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“I have mixed feelings about this podcast. I listened to all the episodes because I wanted to know what happened, which I suppose is a nod to the storytelling. I listened initially because I was curious one, what it was really about, and two, to learn more about Romani culture.
I did learn some about Romani culture. It does seem like there are some real barriers to this material, such as both the historic disdain that dominating cultures have shown for the Romani and the habits of secrecy they’ve developed in response. I appreciated that the reporter was transparent about what she tried to access and could not; I think this podcast does a good (if unintentional) job showing how hard it can be to report a human interest story that’s as much about its surroundings as it is about the central characters.
And yet, even though I listened to the end, the storytelling felt somehow lacking. In part I think this is because it never became clear to me why the reporter was telling this story, whether she ever decided what it was really about, or why when her initial plans evaporated she kept talking to the woman at the center of it all. It feels sometimes like she took a “sunk cost” approach.
I don’t think it’s really responsible to tell a story like this when no one on the “other side” will talk to you. It’s a bummer, but if you have only one side of a story and it’s clear there is a legitimate but unavailable counter-argument and the material is not necessary public information, sometimes you have to decide that you don’t have enough to tell it. *No one* who really knows this protagonist and her story and disagrees with the way she handled it is heard (although they had ample opportunity to speak). And in the end (no spoilers!) I ended up being conflicted about the protagonist I’d been steered into cheering for through 9 episodes.
All this to say, perhaps it’s good to have a podcast out there that doesn’t follow any of the established narrative trajectories. It’s great to have a major publication like LAT focus on the Romani. But be prepared to sit with some contradictions and listen with a grain of salt.”
Future diva? via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
06/15/23
More reviews of Foretold
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“Timing couldn’t be better for a podcast like “Asian Enough” to finally drop. Efforts like this podcast, and the reporting done by Jen and Frank for the LA Times, and Anh Do, too, are contributing to cracking open the narrative and expository space in the USA for the Asian American Experience to...”Read full review »
Mr. Uncle Rico via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
03/17/20
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“75% of Asian American women marry NON-Asian men. Something is wrong with a culture that continues to view the white race as desired and better.”
Ativan415 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
03/30/20
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“Listening to the guests is like taking to my sister if we talked about being Asian instead of the weird things our mom does. Which may constitute talking about being Asian. Also—greatest Asian athlete and you didn’t name tiger woods? I mean, I hate golf, but come on!!”
asianish via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/26/21
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