Podcast Review: Other People's Mail / Act 3: Saviors

Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons  Amada44

By Madison Fassiotto

This American Life has a variety of podcasts, but I listened to one of the staff favorites which showcased people's urge to look at other's mail. This episode was called Other People's Mail.

Within the 58 minute podcast there was a prologue and 4 acts. I personally listened to the prologue and Act 3. Each act had a different speaker, narrator and setting. In Act 3: Saviors, it offered insight to the three mail sorting locations in the United States. At these three locations, they decipher 150,000 letters a day that were sent to the wrong address or to an address that doesn't exist. These people's jobs are to figure out where the envelope was supposed to end up. The entire act is describing some of the strange and common things they find being sent in the mail, as well as what their job entails.

Throughout the entire podcast, upbeat music is used as a transition sometimes between speakers, or between acts. Very seldom was it used in the background while people were talking. The speakers themselves each had their own style. You could tell some felt more uncomfortable, while others who were telling funnier stories were able to have a happier tone.

Overall, I enjoyed this podcast, especially the personal stories and funny aspects. Personally though, I think it is aimed for adults. The way the speakers presented their stories made me feel like it wasn't set up for teens to hear or to be completely interested in. There was a lot of background information given and overall it was more serious than funny, which is less intriguing to me.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/70/other-peoples-mail