S-Town

S-Town is an investigative podcast that tells the story of a man in a small, Alabama town called Woodstock, or "Shit-Town," as he liked to call it. The seven-episode podcast begins with the story of how John B. McLemore contacted the host of the podcast, Brian Reed, asking him to investigate a murder which we later find out never happened. Despite this, Reed and McLemore become good friends, and keep in touch over the course of a few years. At the end of the second episode, we learn that McLemore committed suicide, and the rest of the podcast becomes a voyeuristic look into who McLemore was when he was alive, and what happened to the citizens of Woodstock, Alabama after he died.

I have very mixed feelings about this podcast. On one hand, I appreciate that they shed a light on mental illness, which is a growing problem that needs more attention. McLemore was not afraid to talk about his desire to end his life, showing his suicide note to people that he had written "just in case," and mentioning that he was going to do it one day. The citizens of Woodstock were concerned, but they clearly did not give his cries for help the attention they deserved. Maybe if the residents of this quaint, rural Southern town opted to find him adequate therapy, McLemore would still be alive today. Hopefully the listeners of this podcast recognize that, and are more cognizant of the warning signs of mental illness, and know the measures to take to help their friends who may be struggling. On the other hand, I feel the way they tried to uncover "the mystery" of his sexuality posthumously is wrong. If McLemore did not want to come out of the closet during his life, even if it was because he was worried about how his small Southern town would react, there is no way to know if he would have wanted to be outed after death.

S-Town was an interesting podcast to listen to, and despite its questionable ethics, it shed light on the archetype of people who don't fit in with society,