Even though I have a prestigious job as staff writer for The Main Maller, I am just like you in that I lost the housing lottery and therefore must commute to school.
To pass the time, I could listen to what my peers listen to: “rap” music or “rapp” music (music by Broadway actor Anthony Rapp). But to distinguish myself, I listen to incredibly dry podcasts that are clearly produced in a basement suite. My latest ’casting obsession is “Meas Est.”
“Meas Est” takes all your expectations for a history podcast and throws them against a closed window.
Hosted by three bland guys speaking at the same time into an iPhone 4S, the podcast dares to go where most refuse: the library. It is clear that they feel they have done substantial archival research and their liner notes show they have truly done the bare minimum required to discuss history.
In episode 230, one of the three truly indistinguishable men accidentally walks into the university archives but gets too embarrassed to ask anyone anything. What follows is 45 minutes of silence. It’s dead air but it’s symbolic — did you get that? I’m pretty sure the episode is supposed to be a historical perspective on a conceptual story of what it’s like to wait for office hours.
What really sets “Meas Est” apart from being different at all is that it really goes the extra mile to refuse to cover anything other than the dominant historical narrative. Like, it somehow actively avoids discussing any event that impacted marginalized people. Would it kill them to talk about BIPOC or women or Queer & Trans people or people with disabilities? I guess it would. I assume this is also some kind of meta statement: that by purposely leaving people out of ‘history,’ they are really making you do the work — deep and thoughtful and deep and brave.
I would recommend “Meas Est” for those times when you need to stare out of a bus window and look pensive. It is also a great conversation topic when you have run out of everything else to talk about while on a date.
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