Imagined Life is a podcast produced by Wondery and hosted by Virginia Madsen and Robbie Daymond.[1] The podcast presents biographies of famous people in an unusual format. The first episode premiered on November 4, 2018 and 48 episodes have been produced by the end of the third season.[2] Imagined Life won the 2018 podcast award by online publication Quartz in the categories "Best podcast on the human condition" and "Best new podcast".[3] The podcast will be developed into a TV documentary series by Universal Content Productions.[4]

Imagined Life
Podcast art for Imagined Life
Presentation
Hosted byVirginia Madsen, Robbie Daymond
GenreBiography
FormatSecond-person narrative
LanguageEnglish
Length40–50 Minutes
Production
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes48
Publication
Original releaseNovember 4, 2018 –
present
ProviderWondery
Related
WebsiteImagined Life – Wondery

Format

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Each episode tells the life-story of one famous person. The subjects often include entertainers, political leaders, businessmen or sportsmen. An episode begins with a dramatic unresolved moment in the person's life, before going through the biography of the person in chronological order. The life events are presented in a dramatized way with reenactments of conversations.[5]

The defining feature of "Imagined Life" is its second-person narration. Listeners are invited to imagine themselves being the famous person, although the person's identity is not revealed until the end.[6] Identifying characteristics, such as gender, profession or country of origin, are intentionally omitted in the beginning and only gradually revealed among with other "clues" as the episode progresses. The creators describe this format as "second person biographical guessing game".[7] Each episode ends with a reveal of the subject and recommended further reading.

The podcast also produces shorter episodes labeled as "Imagined Life Family" that cater to younger listeners, or for families to listen to together.

Episodes

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# Title[2] Date Subject Recommended reading
1 The Outsider November 4, 2018
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
2 The Daydreamer November 4, 2018 None
3 The Performer November 11, 2018 None
4 The Bride November 18, 2018 None
5 The Warrior November 25, 2018
  • Ali: A Life
  • The Greatest - My Own Story
6 The Trailbrazer December 2, 2018 None
7 The Advocate December 9, 2018
Podcast "Ellen on the go"
8 The Chameleon December 16, 2018
  • My Life So Far
  • Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman
  • Jane Fonda in Five Acts
  • Jane Fonda's Original Workout Series
9 The Perfectionist December 23, 2018 None
10 The Officer January 13, 2019
  • The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin
  • The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
11 The Commoner January 27, 2019 None
12 The Winner February 3, 2019 None
13 The Everyman February 17, 2019
  • Never Grow Up
  • I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action
14 The Achiever February 24, 2019 None
15 The Student March 10, 2019 None
16 The Grown-Up March 17, 2019
  • Wlidflower
  • Drew Barrymore: The Biography
17 The Misfit March 31, 2019 None
18 The Entertainer February 24, 2019 None
19 The Traveller April 14, 2019 None
20 The Firecracker April 21, 2019
  • Reba: My Story
  • Comfort from a Country Quilt
21 The Lover September 6, 2019
Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders
22 The Ballerina September 13, 2019 None
23 The Captive September 20, 2019 None
24 The Passenger September 27, 2019 None
25 The Troublemaker October 4, 2019
Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life
26 The Reject October 11, 2019 None
27 The Model October 18, 2019 None
28 The Eccentric October 25, 2019
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee
29 The Loudmouth November 1, 2019
I'm the One That I Want
30 The Patron November 8, 2019 None
31 The Searcher November 15, 2019 None
32 The Wannabe November 22, 2019
33 The Handler November 29, 2019
  • Jim Henson: The Biography
  • Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal
34 The Hothead December 6, 2019
  • The Rock Says...
  • Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson: The Life, Lessons & Rules for Success
35 The Pioneer December 13, 2019 None
36 The Widow December 20, 2019 None
37 The Workhorse April 3, 2020 None
38 The Survivor April 10, 2020
  • All In a Lifetime
  • Ask Dr. Ruth
39 The Idealist April 17, 2020
Permanent Record
40 The Exile April 24, 2020
Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone
41 The Wanderer May 1, 2020
The Big Sea
42 The Fugitive May 8, 2020
Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy
43 The Caretaker May 22, 2020
"Personal History" by Katharine Graham
44 The Dreamer May 29, 2020 None
45 The Orphan June 5, 2020 None
46 The Secret Agent June 12, 2020
Roald Dahl: A Biography
47 The Striver June 19, 2020 None
48 The Soloist June 26, 2020
  • "Wham! George & Me"
  • George: A Memory of George Michael

References

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  1. ^ "Imagined Life". Wondery. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Imagined Life". ART19. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ Wolfson, Elijah (23 December 2018). "The best podcasts (and podcast episodes) of 2018". Quartz. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ Porter, Rick (2020-09-02). "Seth MacFarlane, Jim Henson Company Land Unscripted Projects at UCP". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  5. ^ Jackman, Robert (2 July 2020). "Why haven't podcasts cracked the recipe for audio drama?". Spectator. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  6. ^ Soltes, John (2018-12-12). "INTERVIEW: New Wondery podcast keeps audience guessing until the end". Hollywood Soapbox. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  7. ^ Chhetri, Priyam. "'Imagined Life' is changing podcasts as we know it, Wondery's chief content officer Marshall Lewy explains how". MEA WorldWide. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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