Popular Reviews of Slow Burn

Very well researched show, and really interesting even to non-americans.

This is a thoughtful deep dive into two of the most profound scandals in recent American History.

Slow Burn has a new team for season 3 but is still providing in depth looks at stories that once rocked the nation. The Tupac/Biggie story for season 3 is a well told story that keeps your interest week to week. Looking forward to season 4.

I grew up in the time of Biggie and Tupac - I was a little young to make sense of what happened when they died, but I sure remember it and ohhhh, do I remember the music. I coincidentally just took out Tupac's book of poetry from the library a couple weeks ago (it's pretty good) - it was a great accompaniment to the podcast, which digs in more to Tupac's life and death than B.I.G.'s. I loved the interviews with the guys who knew them best.

No Slate podcasts for me. I'm not interested in their twisted views on Clarence Thomas or anything else.

A great concept and wonderfully investigated show. But I'm really frustrated at season 5 which claims to explore how America deluded itself into going to war in Iraq but not once looks at the many countries who knew this was bogus and tried to avert it. So much talk about Colin Powell's UN speech but not one mention of Dominique de Villepin's UN speech ! Why did the truth just not get through? There would be a lot to learn from that.

listen to blowback instead

Just finished Season 3 and it was a really good dive into the history of Roe v Wade

4 stars for season 1, the only season I have listened to

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 on Season 5, Road to Iraq. For invaluable list of show notes & transcripts, see the homepage: https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s5/road-to-the-iraq-war

Well researched. Interesting subject matter. Overall, well put together and definitely worth the listen.

This new season (5) is very disappointing so far. They skipped over 9/11 and the reasons why that happened, in fact they haven't touched on the reasons why there is a conflict in the middle east at all including all of the misadventures the US had in the region up to that point. They seem to be portraying this as the US just sort of bumbling into this conflict rather than aggressively pushing for it. They only barely touched on the media's complicity in the selling of the war and then only mentioned it in passing. The host has a really wooden delivery which I normally don't mind but in this case it accentuates the surface level information being presented. There also isn't any insight or any analysis whatsoever.To me, when I hear a documentary like this, I want to know the why of it. Why are you telling this story? Is there some new information to convey or is there some larger reason why telling this story right now is important? Unfortunately Slow Burn seems to think the answer to these questions is no which just doesn't make for compelling listening.At best, this is a completely uncritical wikipedia level retelling of the events. At worst it's a whitewashing of recent history and they should know better.

The fifth series of Slow Burn totally lives up to what I've come to expect from the makers. To start with, this series concerns one of the most important and controversial subjects of our time, one that is in dire need of serious discussion. It is moreover thoroughly researched, and lays out a clear timeline, complete with in-depth investigation of the major players and their motives. As with all historical processes, the benefit of hindsight is inevitable, but, as in previous series, the narrator and the team do make a serious effort to bring us back into the mindset at the time, and make the listener question with the choices made. Bottomline: Slow Burn presents podcasting at its best in this fifth installment, and again lives up to the reputation it earned in its first two series. Excellent stuff, deeply engaging, and definitely a must-listen.Slow Burn has produced four series since its inception. The first, about Watergate, was top-notch, as was the second, about the Clinton impeachment. Both great stories that are interesting from a historic perspective, well produced, thoroughly researched, and convincingly narrated. I didn't much care about series 3, about the murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G, but I guess it might appeal to other listeners. Series 4 was a good comeback, this time about the rise (and fall) of David Duke.

Cons: Most seasons are disingenuous attempts to portray fools and monsters as reasonable peoplePros: the Tupac Biggie season was great!