Podcast: Imagined Life
Avg. Episode Length: 40-50 minutes
Content Warnings: Varies by episode; host includes content warnings after the episode introduction.
Think of this podcast as the history of people you think you know. Written in second person, Imagined Life paints an intimate picture of the lives of well-known figures—inventors, writers, performers and popular icons—by placing listeners in their shoes.
After a short preview and introduction, the podcast launches into the story, placing listeners in the starring role without providing a nametag. It becomes a fun game to see if listeners can guess who the person being profiled is before the big reveal at the end of the episode. Some stories are dark, some are inspiring and others have twists and turns, but all stories give a more human face to people listeners might see in the news or on the big screen. (Listeners might find out they’re closer to celebrity than they imagined.)
Where should listeners start? Because episode titles are intentionally ambiguous, listeners won’t be able to pick episodes by virtue of the featured person, so I recommend just starting at the beginning.