I finally finished S-Town this afternoon, a podcast released on March 28 by the makers of This American Life and the smash hit Serial. S-Town, short for “Shit Town”, is set in a small town in rural Alabama called Woodstock. It begins as a murder investigation, but ends up somewhere else entirely.

I can’t recommend the podcast highly enough, but not because of plot twists or a whodunnit murder investigation. It is, by its creator’s admission, structured as a piece of literature rather than a serialized drama, and takes a microscope to a sexually-confused, generous, and ultimately lonely man’s life. In the process, it tells us a lot about ourselves. Put aside some time, and give it a listen.