Storytelling Assignment -  Abbie Merker 

https://www.gimletmedia.com/heavyweight/10-rose#episode-player

Context 

Heavyweight episode Ten: Rose, released October 26, 2017

Hosted by Jonathan Goldstein 

Heavyweight is a series of 40 minute podcasts that come out once a week on the website. 

Synopsis
The long lost mystery of why a girl named Rose got kicked out of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, is uncovered by Jonathan Goldstein. Jonathan interviews sisters, ex boyfriends, and even Alpha Chi headquarters to try and figure out why Rose was forced to quit.

Form
Act One: 
-Rose is introduced as a rebel who never planned on hanging with the popular kids or joining a sorority or participating in greek life during her time at North Florida University. She then explains that she met a boyfriend in a fraternity, and got to know some Greek kids very well. She then rushed and got a bid from Alpha Chi Omega. She then said she started to love sorority life as well as being in the "in" crowd. She ended up getting cancer, but her sorority sisters would take her to concerts and check up on her constantly. Her cancer went into remission her spring semester, and she went back into normal college life able to enjoy parties and things again. About 5 weeks later, they asked her to resign from Alpha Chi. They won't tell Rose why she is being kicked out, just that "She knows what she did." Years later, Rose is still dying to know why she got kicked out.

Act Two:
-Jonathan begins to reach out to Rose's old sorority sisters via phone, but none of them have time to talk. Once Jonathan started getting rejected for phone calls, all the girls started talking to themselves about the weird guy snooping around, and all the girls remained rejecting him. Jonathan then called the Alpha Chi Omega headquarters. The lady looks up Rose's information, and informs Jonathan that if Rose called in herself, she might be able to receive her file. Rose ends up having to make an appointment with a lady named Mindy, and she can't get a hold of her for months. They eventually send her a document, stating that Rose RESIGNED OF HER OWN ACCORD, with no other information to share. Finally, Rose gets on the phone with one sister named Trisha. Trisha said that after Rose got cancer, she started to revear down a bad path and got "angry at life" with a "no one can tell me what to do attitude." Trisha said she wanted to give Rose specific examples of why she got kicked out, but she said "She just can't." Rose if frustrated, because trisha mentioned that sometimes one or two people have to be removed for the overall health of the organization, like cancer.

Act Three: 
-Rick, Rose's college boyfriend, gave Jonathan a call and told him that he was also kicked out of his fraternity Kappa Alpha. This was new news to Rose, and she was quite shocked. Rose calls Rick, and he shares that he was kicked out via phone call. Rose recalls that she broke up with Rick after she went into remission, Rick took that well and thought she needed to experience life. Rick thought other people thought she wasn't being very considerate or nice by breaking up with him after he had taken care of her all through cancer. Rick also thought that after the broke up, people took sides, and each sides started rumours about the other. Both of their names started getting ruined through a series of crossed gossip. Rumours like cheating, Rose doing Sleezy things, and being a party animal that Rick's friends started were what the sorority most likely went off of to kick her out. Rose decides that ultimately she just wasn't an Alpha Chi and they may have forced her out earlier if it hadn't been for her cancer.

Storytelling Elements:  
-a catchy theme song plays in the beginning of the podcast while the speaker introduces himself.
-interesting chime like music that plays while Rose talks about her story
-Rose's voice got blurred out in the background while the speaker Jonathan summed up what all she was saying
-sounds like the phone ringing and going to voicemail are included in the series
-you can hear things like children screaming in the background
-catchy closing song with actual singing