Too predictable and formulaic
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“This is a show that could have been a decent hour-long traditional radio documentary, yet it’s struggling to be a podcast and suffering as a result. And as a podcast, it’s very formulaic, featuring lots of annoying podcast clichés, like always having to talk in the present tense, trying to turn everything into a narrative drama (with bite-sized portions that end with a fake cliffhanger), excessive repetition and summation, and that seemingly unavoidable annoyance, an inane and irritating musical track - always the same bit, played over and over again (it used to be that adverts had the most annoying music, a million ukuleles let loose on the airwaves, but the podcast has taken this crown now).
Most annoyingly, it veers off from its fairly straightforward thesis too often - what has Ben Santer’s personal life / family situation got to do with the story? At the end of ep 5 it’s suggested that ‘they’ have taken his son; turns out at the start of ep 6 that it has nothing to do with the central topic at all, but nowhere is it explained why this was brought into the programme. Dependence on narrative cliché means that the argument is never really sufficiently established or tested, and dramatisation continually gets in the way of development of that argument - for instance, who are ‘they’, exactly, and why does the programme’s title repeat - if only in ironic implication - the conspiracy-laden tone of the times when it’s meant to be asking us to approach scientific fact more rationally, and to question the conspiracists?
Could have been a worthwhile programme. Unfortunately it’s trying to be something it’s not because Radio 4 doesn’t believe an intelligent documentary would get decent listener figures.”
Djewesbury via Apple Podcasts ·
Sweden ·
07/29/20
More reviews of How They Made Us Doubt Everything
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“Really fascinating. Great insight into the role of PR in selling lies and how it has shaped the modern world.”
CorkyMac11 via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
08/29/20
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“A wide-ranging investigation into highly profitable ‘industries of doubt’ and how their campaigns over decades have led us to a world where facts no longer matter and everything is down to our tribal affiliations & ideologies.
Fascinating insight into deep polarisation experienced on both...”Read full review »
JonSlack via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
10/01/20
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“compelling, shocking.”
fjugssjhgvns via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
08/11/20
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