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If you subscribe to one of Gimlet Media's podcasts, you might have noticed that that show had a new episode in the feed over the past couple of weeks.
If you're anything like me, you got excited and immediately clicked on the cover art to check out the episode title.
And then: PSYCH! It wasn't a new episode of that podcast, but a promo episode for a new Gimlet podcast.
Gimlet recently dropped multiple episodes of the new podcast We Came to Win, and full seasons of Sandra and The Habitat. To make sure you didn't miss these launches, all other Gimlet shows featured them in promo episodes.
To be fair, Gimlet isn't the only podcast network that does this. Wondery and Radiotopia employ this tactic all the time. That's the benefit of being part of a podcast network when you're a brand new show.
More often than not, I skip these promo episodes. But I was intrigued by Reply All's promo of the new show The Habitat. Gimlet dropped 7 episodes of this true story/docudrama style podcast, and I listened to all of them all over one weekend (I practically lived in my handy FlipBelt for 2.5 days).
Bad Press for The Habitat
Before I get into a quick synopsis of The Habitat, and my thoughts after listening, I have to mention all of the bad press about this show. I've read so many bad reviews about it!
From the quality of the story, to the number of episodes, to the fact that Gimlet released them all at once...the interwebs have been cruel to this show.
Here's a spoiler about the end of this blog post: I liked The Habitat. A lot. And I don't think the bad press is deserved. Keep reading to find out why.
The Habitat Podcast: What It's About
The Habitat follows six people who participated in a NASA-sponsored research experiment that simulates the early stages of colonizing Mars. For one year, they lived together in isolation in a small dome called The Habitat, located on a volcano in Hawaii.
Right from the get-go in episode 1, the host of The Habitat - science reporter Lynn Levy - likens this experiment to MTV's Real World. "The true story of 6 strangers, picked to live in a dome, to find out what happens when people go to Mars".
And that's basically what the podcast is: a reality show. (Although I thought it was more like Big Brother.)
Photo courtesy of Big Island Now
Episode 1: Expectation Setting
I thought Episode 1 of The Habitat did a great job of setting my expectations for the rest of the podcast.
Episode 1 includes excerpts from an interview with the NASA researcher who led the project. She explains what NASA hopes to do with the data it collects from the project.
And just like on a reality show, you're introduced to each of the 6 participants. You hear what they're like, how they spend their free time, why they applied for the experiment, and what they hope they'll get out of it.
This is where I think a lot of the negative reviewers needed to listen more closely. Episode 1 is clearly about the people involved in the experiment.
Many online comments and reviews have criticized this podcast for not being more about science, or for not getting into the details about colonizing Mars.
If you really listen to Episode 1, you'll understand what this podcast is really about: human nature.
The Rest of the Story
The Habitat develops via audio recordings from the participants who live in the dome. Over the course of the year, host Levy emailed the participants questions about the experience, often getting personal and specific to encourage them to spill their guts.
These recordings were similar to real transmissions sent from astronauts. The transmissions, and other real-life experiences in space, are mixed into each episode. They help demonstrate how this experiment is like a real space mission.
The combination of audio recordings and real transmissions paint the picture of how unpredictable and complicated a space mission can be, whether you're really in space or just in a simulation. At times, it can be exciting and surreal; other times it is boring and aggravating.
Each episode of The Habitat also has a theme, which helps keep the audio recordings from the dome from becoming a huge jumble of thoughts and complaints. Again, this reminded me of a reality TV show, which is often edited to exploit the most interesting events of the last few days.
Levy introduces the theme of each episode delicately, by slowly unraveling bits and pieces of the latest audio recordings, and the questions she has about them. What do they mean? What are the participants thinking? Is this a normal consequence of confining people together in a small space?
The themed episodes also meant that, after giving my husband a quick summary of the podcast, he could pop in for one or two episodes without being totally lost.
Too Long or Not Long Enough?
A lot of the online criticism about The Habitat podcast is that it was too long. Many reviewers and commenters have said that the whole thing could have been wrapped up in three episodes.
Personally, I would have loved twice as many episodes. With Episode 1 being more of an introduction, I found that the other six episodes left me wanting more. With a year's worth of audio footage, the show definitely could have been expanded into a longer production.
The thematic approach of each episode also could have allowed Gimlet to drop one per week, over the course of a couple of months. I don't have a problem with releasing all of the episodes at once, but I would have subscribed to a weekly release all the same.
The Habitat Soundtrack
I enjoyed the overall sound and mixing of The Habitat, but the soundtrack deserves a mention.
Each episode of this podcast ends with a different cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity. The song might seem like an obvious choice for a podcast about space, but I have to give props to whoever came up with the idea of using different covers for each episode.
I don't consider myself a big Bowie fan, but this was such a smart creative choice that I found myself itching for the very end of the episode just to hear the closing credits music.
Recommendation: Go Listen To The Habitat
I already told you that I like this podcast, so I'm obviously recommending it to all readers of this blog. It's real, sometimes raw, and will strike a chord with you on some level.
If you're looking for an in-depth conversation about space missions and Mars exploration, this isn't that show. But if you're into science, don't be fooled; the scientific study of humans is just as interesting as space science.
With only 7 episodes (and now, a bonus - see below), listening to The Habitat is a no-brainer.
Update: On May 8, The Habitat released a bonus follow-up episode. It includes an interview with the Chief Historian at NASA about when - if ever - NASA is actually going to send humans to Mars. I don't think that this episode was produced because of listener feedback, but it does address a lot of criticisms in the negative reviews.
Have you listened to The Habitat? What did you think? Do you agree with my opinions, or more with those who have been critical about this podcast?