Monocular

Monocular

By Mikkel ElbechSociety & CultureDocumentary
Download on the App Store

Monocular episodes

  • Corporate Sellout
    A liberal arts student suddenly finds himself working for the quintessential kind of massive corporation: An insurance company. This is a classic fish-out-of-water story about colliding attitudes and the impossibility of adapting to this otherworldly universe. The liberal arts student in question was obviously me, and I was 25 years old at the time. I learned a lot from holding this job, and my views of what big corporations are all about were forever shaped by the experience.
    30 min
  • Checking in at the Tokio Hotel

    Angry Danish teenagers clash with older music fans who try to lecture them on why they will eventually grow out of their obsession with a certain German emo band. A story about the concert review that generated more discussion than any other in the history of Denmark’s biggest music magazine.

    30 min
  • Yes, today, Satan (part 3)

    When you’re 17 years old and have just left satanism behind, what comes next on the long road of intellectual self-discovery? Regular old atheism? Nihilism? Or something else entirely? This is part three of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

    22 min
  • Yes, today, Satan (part 2)

    A newly minted 16-year-old satanist goes to highschool. His teacher, who will be forced to read all of his devilish essays, is an older woman, who also happens to be a former priest. Now, there’s a match made in heaven – or is it hell? This is part two of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

    21 min
  • Yes, today, Satan (part 1)

    Satanism can be surprisingly appealing to a white, middle-class teenage boy in Denmark, if he’s sufficiently ripe for taking a stand against the hypocrisy of Christianity. Part one of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

    18 min
  • Sunny Down Snuff, I'm Alright (part 2)

    How do you discover a band that you thought you already knew and had maybe even written off as an uncool oldies band? That’s one of the main questions I ponder in the second part of this marathon episode about the Beach Boys. The episode contains an exclusive performance by Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle.

    27 min
  • Sunny Down Snuff, I'm Alright (part 1)

    This is a story about the Beach Boys. But it’s also a story of how identities are formed. About how music is not simply the soundtrack to your life, but also something that influences it and offers many new and inspiring perspectives on it. It’s also a story about friendships and, not least, love. Part one of a two-part episode.

    30 min
  • Dark Sarcasm in the Classroom
    It’s one thing to be bullied by the other kids in school. But it’s quite something when your teacher decides to join in. This story serves as an account of my relationship with a teacher that I endured for nine years of public school. It’s not just a tale of woe, however, as it also covers how I finally confronted him many years later.
    20 min
  • 4th of July, 2011
    It’s the 4th of July, and you’re going to a party. Snacks are out, decorations are up, spirits are high. What should y’all be talking about? Well, at this particular party the topic of choice was everyone’s various sexual fetishes – from domination and submission to the joy of getting peed on. But, above all alse: Puppy play. So tune in, take part in this peculiar party – and you just might learn a thing or two along the way.
    18 min
  • “Starbucks is Satan”
    Wander the streets of New York with a cup of Starbucks in your hand – and you just might encounter someone trying to convince you to get your coffee from a different company. That is, a company that does not embrace the devil. PS: This story is so short that this episode actually contains a bonus story.
    7 min

About Monocular

From the publisher's feed

Monocular is a storytelling podcast that offers you a one-eyed look at the distant and not-so-distant past. Each episode presents a complete story in the form of an autobiographical essay written by Mikkel Elbech, a professional writer and Danish expat living in Hillsborough, North Carolina.