Bomber: Inside the mind of the Austin bomber

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

Over the course of 19 days in March 2018, 23-year old Mark Anthony Conditt planted a series of homemade bombs around Austin neighborhoods, killing two, injuring five others, and paralyzing an entire city. Bomber tells the untold story of how law enforcement hunted down the 2018 Austin serial bomber and brought 19 days of terror to a sudden, cataclysmic end. Bomber is produced in collaboration with Austin’s ABC affiliate KVUE. ⠀⠀⠀

Series or standalone:

Series

Begin listening to:

A Loud Boom

Format:

Investigative reporting

Sound/production quality:

Very good

Rating/age suitability:

Adult

Approximate length of episodes:

30 minutes

Curricular ties:

N/A

Similar recommended pods:

N/A

Podcast Librarian’s Review:

This pod chronicles the events surrounding the Austin serial bomber and the investigation leading up to the identification of the bomber. The bombings happened in 2018, and I have to admit I had no memory of hearing about these bombings (I live on the east coast, so I’m guessing it wasn’t covered much here). The pod is hosted by a news reporter who covered the story as it was unfolding, and if you’re an Austin local, you may have heard the gist of the story already. However, for someone like me who had no prior knowledge, this was an interesting binge because I wanted to find out who the bomber was and what his motive was. Most, but not all, of these questions are answered—and when you find out what happens, you understand why some questions had to go unanswered. The style is more or less long-form reporting and not particularly dramatized, but it works well for what it is. I found the pod interesting and well-produced, and it was a relatively quick, easy binge. ⠀⠀⠀⠀