Podcast Review - Imagined Life
When we think about successful people, people we often look up to and admire, we usually just see the success, the money and the fame. We do not consider their journey to their current status. We forget that they are people just like us—that they had regular and often difficult lives before their success. But what if we could consider their whole lives? What if we could see their lives through their eyes, from their time as children to their lives as we know them today, and everything in between?
The podcast Imagined Life, produced by Wondery, allows you to do just that. Every episode of Imagined Life explores the life story of someone that we have, more likely than not, already heard of. The podcast addresses the listener directly, putting you at the center of the story. The listener experiences the ups and downs, the triumphs and tribulations of the subject’s life. The artistically narrative hosts and realistic sound effects immerse you in the story. The vivid detail makes you feel as if you are truly experiencing the things being described.
The catch is, the listener doesn’t know who the subject is until everything is said and done. The true identity of the subject is not revealed until the last minute or so of the podcast. While listening, the listener finds themselves constantly trying to grasp at the subtle clues provided and guess who the subject is. The suspense is frustrating yet thrilling. The listener finds themselves wanting to skip until the end to figure out who the subject is, but the immersive storytelling and events discussed make them reluctant to miss anything by skipping until the end.
The stories discussed in Imagined Life are often hard to believe when the subject is finally revealed. It is difficult for most of us to imagine that the successful people that we might look up to went through unimaginable hardships. Whether they were bullied to the point of hospitalization, or experiencing deep depression, the subjects of the podcast fought through great struggles to become who they are today. But the listener also gets to experience the subject’s greatest achievements, learning in detail how the subject felt in achieving their goals and in experiencing great things in their life.
Imagined Life reminds us that behind every triumph, there is tribulation. It is important for us to have this reminder when we are experiencing difficult times, so that like those people that Imagined Life discusses, we can continue to push through our struggles and achieve great things.