It's a Wonderful Lie: An Ode to the Unsolicited Holiday Newsletter

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

It’s a Wonderful Lie is a short-form comedy podcast that imagines the hilarious “truth” hidden in your holiday newsletters. They come via mail, email, and Facebook post. The ubiquitous “holiday newsletter” from friends and family reminding you just how great life has been for them over the past year. From boring to bragging, and always chock full of BS. It's a Wonderful Lie imagines the messy stories hidden behind the perfect holiday newsletters. Of course, we’re reading between the lines— but that’s the fun of the podcast. It’s for anyone who has rolled their eyes at receiving a Christmas update.

Series or standalone:

Standalone (limited series)

Begin listening to:

Any episode

Format:

Comedy

Host(s):

Comedians Holly Laurent and Greg Hess; Ashley Flowers of Crime Junkie and other Audiochuck shows

Sound/production quality:

Very good (minus the annoying sound effects)

Rating/age suitability:

Curse words are bleeped out, so this can technically be a listen for the whole family--but the appeal is probably mainly to adults.

Approximate length of episodes:

25 minutes

Curricular ties:

N/A

Similar recommended pods:

Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet; Endless Thread; Let’s Not Meet

Podcast Librarian’s Review:

This is the only podcast in my 12 Days of Podmas series that actually has something to do with the holidays (unless you count Crisis, which I posted my review of yesterday, about the Catholic church sex abuse scandal...but that’s a stretch). IAWL is from Ashley Flowers and the huge podcasting company Audiochuck, which is known more for true crime (Crime Junkie) than for comedy. Instead, this fun, fluffy podcast is a limited run series meant to tease people who write annual Christmas letters to their friends to share (read: brag about) all the great things that happened to them that year. Ashley and two comedians--who happen to be married to each other--dramatically read and comment on the letters, which were submitted by listeners and are, evidently, real. Many of them are truly ridiculous, which is very much the point.

There’s not much more to say about this podcast--it’s something you can listen to casually without paying much attention, and it’s entertaining enough. Fans of podcasts that comment on stuff posted on the internet, like Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet, Endless Thread, or possibly even Let’s Not Meet, will enjoy this. My only real qualm is that the record scratch sound effect is used WAY too much; it stopped being funny very early on. Other than that, though, this show seems pretty evergreen (because even in the 2020s, people will still be sending out unsolicited holiday update newsletters to friends/family who never asked for them), and if it returns next year, I will definitely listen.