A good listen, but a few annoyances
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“First of all, I love this podcast. I've listened to every episode at the time of writing. I'm always on the hunt for good modern history-type podcasts. Another fav of mine is Slowburn, for example. American history is one of those topics I feel I don't know enough about, at least not in a nuanced way, and this and other podcasts are helping me to develop a more complex knowledge of that history, beyond the simple narrative I was taught in school.
The stories are well researched, the individuals who are discussed are throroughly examined, often from their origin up through their adolescence and on into their careers in the mafia. One of my favorite aspects of this podcast is the format. Piecing together clips from experts and people who were there (in the case of the more recent figures, obviously) with the narration to create a complete story is a style that I find to be really compelling.
The reason for four stars instead of five is two-fold.
One: I'm not super sold on the background music or even the narrators themselves sometimes, since they try to build the drama in an unnecessary and often clunky way. The stories are already dramatic, these embellishments sometimes take me out of it, they're so late-90s reenactment-y. The sound effects I find tolerable most of the time, but the unsubtle way the music builds at a potentially tense spot in the story just makes me want to laugh, its so cheesy.
Second: The ads. Obviously I know this is one of the ways that podcasts are funded, the fact that there are ads doesn't surprise me and isn't my complaint. My complaint is that one, they are often unanounced, and two, they are geared towards men men men. The unanounced part is the more annoying of the two, since obviously the ads are geared toward the main demographic, which I'm guessing is men. I just wish they would introduce the ads with a "and now a quick break" or "thanks to the sponsor this week, blank". It's very annoying to be in the middle of a scene where a man is about to get taken out by the mafia because he knows too much to be trusted in jail, and after a pause in between the narrators and the experts, to just be surprised with an ad about viagra or razors. If they were introduced at all I think this wouldn't have bohtered me and would have been a 5 star review. The pauses that happen in the storytelling happen throughout the whole podcast, so you never know when it will be an ad, beyond the typical pattern of one at the beginning somewhere, one somewhere in the middle, and one towards the end.”Read full review »
_raegun via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
08/31/18
More reviews of Mafia
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“One episode in and I'm all about this show. Seriously I'm telling everyone I can about it because it's a must-listen!”
Rink Wink Link Pink via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
02/07/18
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“What is with the awful mixing in episode 4? Voices over top of one another, random pauses, repeat quotes?”
bdh914 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
02/28/18
“Exceptionally well-researched, excellent production values. Very professsional presentation. Lots of detail that I've never hear elsewhere, despite having been a serious mafia buff for decades. This one is headed for the top ten list..”Read full review »
Montanatroutbum via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
02/19/18
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