Hi Stephen,
first of all the usual praise that has to be repeated over and over again because you deserve it: Your show is the best thing that could happen to the media “Podcast”. Keep it up, no matter what other people might say. I really hope for many many many more new stories.
But now to the topic of my mail:Every Friday evening when I start iTunes and see a new file downloading I know what to expect… and sometimes what not to.
See, I’m German and I really love history and stories. From history (especially the German but far from exclusive) and stories (even fictional ones) all people can learn… no, HAVE to learn. Some things should never happen again and some things have to happen. So I saw the name of the episode and hesitated. “Could he mean it?” and “Will there be some weird story about some movie that has been shot in/about Auschwitz?” where my first thoughts.
I hesitated. I was afraid I couldn’t listen to you anymore. Yes, maybe I’m a bit naive and emotional about some things. Its something I really have to work on.
Normally I listen to your stories on my walk to work on Monday after the release. I got a 20 minute walk each way so your 40 minutes episodes fit perfectly. Not this time. At first I didn’t want to listen to it. Today (Tuesday) on my way back home I had no podcasts left, only your episode was still marked as “new” on my iPod. So I started it.After 20 minutes I came home and I didn’t stop listening. I stand there, my shoes still on, my bag over my sholder the remaining 20 minutes until the episode finished. I didn’t even really realize I was at home already. And it wasn’t even your story! But the way you tell your (and others) stories is something that has to be described as a gift… or maybe magic. I even don’t care anymore if they are real or not. Thank you SO much for sharing your and others stories. I really really hope they’ll never end.
And of course thanks to Dave for making this whole project possible. Keep it up!