Courtney Heard · · 1 min read

Every Atheist Needs: S-Town

Even though I have no fucking time these days to do anything I want, really, I had to check out the S-Town podcast because so many people were yammering on about it like it was the second coming. I have to admit, it kinda was. A couple of years ago, Serial kicked the podcast community’s ass with a gripping, suspenseful true crime story we’re all still keeping up to date on. These same talented podcasters did S-Town and with three years in the making, it’s worth every luscious moment immersed in Woodstock, Alabama. It’s like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on salvia, just dripping sweet podcast nectar that you can’t help but lap up. When it was over, I was straight up jonesing for some more. I still am.

S-Town podcast

The story starts out with an email requesting a reporter’s assistance with investigating a murder. You’re drawn into this little Shit Town and it’s strange culture because you want to find out whodunit… and that’s when the story twists and turns into something so unexpected it leaves you with a kind of mental whiplash. The story becomes this rich, beautiful, twisting tale that will leave you breathless. It’s utterly gorgeous and the best part is that it’s true. The characters are real. There’s really an attorney named Boozer Downs and a hardware store named like the KKK. There are real treasure hunters and real dungeons and a real, living maze with 64 possible solutions and one null set. This is a real place, a real atheist genius horologist and a real story that will, god’s honest truth (no holy), leave you completely fucking mesmerized.

If you haven’t already checked out the S-Town podcast, you really ought to, as they’ve been saying, before someone ruins the twist. Check it out here and let me know what you think when you’re done.

Have you listened to the S-Town podcast? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

If you like what I do here and want to support my work, you can chip in here or become a member here.

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