If reviews are credible it looks like Wondery really blew it with its “Apology Line” podcast. Such an incredible opportunity to mine an ocean of content…
I listened to not one minute of the Apology Line podcast, despite the fact that I should have been an easy target.
But the opinions of people I trust (people who knew Apology in its day) and discussions like this one at Reddit seem to confirm that 6 hours of my life spent listening to that series would have been hard to take. The focus seems to have been mostly on trolls and liars, not the genuine Apologistas (a term Allan once used in reference to Apology callers) who had genuine crimes and transgressions to recount.
Where were Ted, the child molester, and the dude who only identified himself as “CM” (Child Molester)? What of the mysterious John Hinckley call? Pupfuck? Where is the Pupfuck takeover?
With much of the focus on a self-described serial killer who almost certainly never killed anybody the series seems like an empty exercise. Even the famous “Bernie. Telephone call” message is almost certainly an act, as Allan himself once admitted to me.
Maybe I give too much credit to that Reddit thread. I don’t do Reddit but find the place often devolves into something of a mob mentality when flames of negative energy get stoked.
Or maybe trolls and liars are, indeed, relevant. Even my bottomless capacity for empathy makes that a hard pill to swallow but maybe the fantasy and wish-fulfillment found in Apology’s endless hours of statements from trolls and liars is itself a subject for analysis.
Lying works, after all. Honesty rarely gets one ahead in life. Lies, half-truths, and outright fabrications are what keep livelihoods and media alive and prospering.
Whatever the case, I am glad I avoided the “Apology Line” podcast, a “True Crime” podcast seemingly devoid of crime.
Read my comments about Apology over on The Payphone Project: “The Apology Line Revisited” or browse my Apology Line category on this site.
