Surreal Estate

A show about real estate? Yes. And, it's good. Actually, really good. Surreal Estate brushes aside the mantra that real estate is all about "location, location, location;" in favor of, perception. Perception. This fresh new podcast from Kate Osborn and Lila Shapiro, isn't so much interested in the market or flipping houses as it is our relationship to property and the less answered questions we ask ourselves about our homes. Who lived here before me? What happened to them? Do you think something bad? If so, who cleaned-up? Wait, was it cleansed after? Would I have paid so much for this ocean front property if I knew a mass suicide was committed here? Who sings "grandfather sage?" This is not your beautiful house, but this askance view of real estate seems to offer surprisingly fertile ground in the deft hands of Osborn and Shapiro. The worst part is, its a brand new series with only one episode, so we'll have to wait a long time before we can binge it all in one go.

Nearly everyone in the U.S. spends a decent amount of their time thinking about housing, but New Yorkers take it to a new level. It's wonderful to have this exploration of a unique aspect of real estate, even if it is a bit creepy. As Lila may recall, I grew up in a condo that was once a funeral home. IF ONLY this podcast episode existed when my parents bought it, they could have had it shamonically cleansed! I cannot wait for the next episode of this fantastic podcast!

Been a big fan of Lila Shapiro's reporting (award-winning coverage of LGBTQ stories for HuffPo for years) - and knowing that Kate Osborn worked for heroes like Rachel Maddow & Melissa Harris-Perry made me super psyched for their joint venture. The first episode delivers hard! These two are so funny, such great reporters - can't wait for more episodes!