I started listening to “S-Town” again this evening.

JOHN DESPISES HIS ALABAMA TOWN AND DECIDES TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. HE ASKS a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, sparking a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.

I listened to it first the day it came out, and actually listened to the entire thing in one stretch. Listening to it the first time felt like two, almost contradictory experiences: (1) reading a Victorian novel with a rollicking, unpredictable plot, and (2) listening to a carefully constructed classical piece, in which every element has purpose, and was purposely placed exactly where it is in the piece, so that it call comes together in the end to take you to new places.