| S-Town | |
| Host: | Brian Reed |
| Language: | English |
| Audio Format: | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 7 |
| Length: | 6:23:55 |
| Theme Music Composer: | Daniel Hart |
| Endtheme: | "A Rose for Emily" by The Zombies |
S-Town is an American investigative journalism podcast hosted by Brian Reed and created by the producers of Serial and This American Life.[1] All seven chapters were released on March 28, 2017. The podcast was downloaded a record-breaking 10 million times in four days[2] and had been downloaded over 80 million times by May 2020.[3]
In 2012, horologist John B. McLemore[4] emailed the staff of the show This American Life asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place he claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails and several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate.[5] He investigated the crime and eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with McLemore, a "depressed but colorful" character. He recorded conversations with McLemore and other people in Woodstock, which are played on the podcast.
McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015,[6] while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode, and subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life and character. Though the podcast was promoted under the name S-Town, Reed reveals in the first episode that this is a euphemism for "Shit-Town", McLemore's derogatory term for Woodstock.[1] Reed calls the podcast by its non-euphemized name during its episodes.
All episodes were released simultaneously on March 28, 2017. The podcast is available to stream or download for free on the official website, iTunes,[11] Stitcher,[12] Radiopublic,[13] or through the RSS feed.[14]
| Title | Length (minutes:seconds) | Original release date |
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S-Town incorporates various specially composed pieces of music by Daniel Hart, Helado Negro, Trey Pollard, and Matt McGinley, including a theme produced by Hart. The show's closing music, used at the end of each episode, is "A Rose for Emily" by The Zombies.[15]
Shortly after the podcast's release, John's online obituary was flooded with support and shared reflections from around the world.[16] In an April 2017 interview, Tyler Goodson said he sometimes regrets "ever speaking into that microphone because I was probably upset, or wasn't thinking clearly" since he faced trial for criminal actions the podcast describes.[17] In October 2017, Goodson pleaded guilty to burglaries described in the podcast. He was sentenced to five years on probation with a ten-year suspended sentence.[18]
On December 3, 2023, police shot and killed Goodson at his home after a three-hour confrontation in which he allegedly brandished his weapon at them.[19] [20]
In July 2018, McLemore's estate administrator filed a lawsuit against S-Towns production company, Serial Productions. The suit, which was filed without McLemore's family's knowledge, alleged that by selling advertisements with the podcast they violated McLemore's personality rights. In March 2019, a judge declined to dismiss the complaint, leading to depositions, a discovery phase, and mediation. Discovery revealed that McLemore actively participated and cooperated with the podcast. The case was settled in May 2020 and subsequently dismissed.[21] [22]
S-Town was culturally popular and received mixed critical reviews. The Boston Globe Ty Burr found it complex and voyeuristic. He asked, "is S-Town a freak show for the NPR crowd?", and called the series "seven chapters of provocative red herrings that almost but never quite add up to a place, a people, or a man".[23] Jessica Goudeau of The Atlantic questioned the series' ethics, asking, "is it okay to confess another person's pain for the sake of a good story?"[24] Goudeau also wondered how Flannery O'Connor, Robert Lowell, or Elizabeth Bishop would have reacted to the podcast and the exploration of poor, white, rural America. Slate Katy Waldman wrote that S-Town feels more like a new genre, "something more like aural literature".[25] Vox's Aja Romano called the podcast "stunning" but suggested it was too invasive and should not have been made.[26]
The podcast's critics claimed that the studio took advantage of John's death to gain publicity. Crixeo, an online arts monthly, argues that Reed did not have the right to publicly out John as queer.[27] At the same time, others contend that S-Town was a way for them to take the story of John's death and shed light on mental health in the U.S.[28] The Atlantics Spencer Kornhaber praised S-Town for its journalism and humanism, as the series "hints at the possibility of cultural reconciliation" within the community.[29] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian called the series "a noble attempt at understanding life", as the series showed "the great hope that resides within" by showing a person trying to survive within their surroundings.[30]
The Guardian gave S-Town a critical review, calling S-Town "a good story, but an indefensible one" that doesn't fully address its central quandary.[31]
By May 2017, the podcast series had been downloaded over 40 million times.[32] It retained a high ranking in the iTunes chart and continued to be analysed in the press well into 2017.[33] Since then, the podcast has remained popular and had been downloaded 77 million times by the anniversary of its release.[34]
S-Town received the 2017 Peabody Award in the category Radio/Podcast.[35] It won the Directors' Choice award at the 2017 Third Coast International Audio Festival.[36]