And yet I continue to listen, cringing, as I reformat TOCs

Itunes recommended "To The Best of Our Knowledge" as a podcast I might like since I like This American Life and Radio Lab, and on the surface, TtBooK is similar: each hour-long show explores one topic, and a bunch of different people with various personal stories and viewpoints are interviewed. But I think I have figured out why I listen to TAL and RB as soon as they come out, and TtBooK episodes hang around until I'm desperate for something to listen to. It isn't the production values (admittedly superior in RB and TAL), or the voice of the host (I like Jad and Ira but Jim Fleming has a very soothing voice too), or even the selection of topics. The problem is that "To The Best of Our Knowledge" embodies a single attitude.

Crankiness.

Some of the topics they've covered in recent memory:

Reading I like reading! I like books! I work in publishing! The only way they can ruin this is if they take it in a "reading is a lost art" type direc--yup, there it is.

Loneliness Yes, this is the same show that had the exchange about why sometimes we might need to talk to people even if we don't want to.

Religion Oh, they're showing both sides of the issue! Segment 1: Openly disapproving interviewer talks to snappy nasal atheist whippersnapper with unnecessarily inflammatory things to say about, specifically, Islam, for some reason. Segment 2: Pleasant-voiced middle-aged British woman argues that all religions are great and wonderful and peaceful and harmonious and it's important to believe in things.

The Internet Specifically, "Is it killing our culture?" Someone complains that the Wikipedia articles for "truthiness" and "truth" are about the same length. I laboriously staple my palm to my forehead.

Generations Seriously. "What is it with kids today" = secret subtitle. Confirmed my supposition that Baby Boomers are the only people who care about generations.

Teen Angst I haven't listened to this one yet but I bet it will be delicious.