A somewhat complicated behind the scenes history with translations from Spanish is made harder by its first couple of episodes. “Blum” is a blend of “Untold Virginia’s” podcast within a podcast format and “Six Cold Feet” or “Searching for Salai’s” person of interest plots.

Blum: Fast-Paced Exposition in a Podcast Format

It hits the ground running a bit too hard and fast when you aren’t giving it 100 percent of your attention. Most audio dramas I’ve listened to have a 90-95 percent of a brain needed to understand the plot. That 5-10 percent difference I used for exercising or household chores. Because of this, I had to go back and re-listen to the first couple of episodes before moving forward.

The odd numbered episodes introduce followable story beats. The connective tissue between episodes are logical and follow a certain narrative pattern. That being “discover a new fact, find that someone who is an expert on fact.” The one exception is the midpoint.

Research and Worldbuilding

Between episodes five and six, some psychological manipulation and subliminal messaging may be a factor. While it makes sense that Emma would talk to a neurologist, it feels like a weird tangent to take in the moment. By the end of episode six and beginning seven we’re back to focusing on Clara Torres and Ursula Blum. It feels a bit too much like obvious foreshadowing for the end. Like one of these things is not like the other.

The investigative journalism aspect isn’t that well-suited for a podcast about a fictional artist. Even if it is accurate to how a journalist might research a person or subject. The creators did a Q&A about “Blum” and their fictional artist and how she wasn’t based on any real artist. One of the creators, Carmen Pacheco, said that in order to “lend credibility to her story, we [Pacheco and Manuel Bartual] made sure most of the facts and historical figures mentioned are real.” Bartual and Pacheco were writing partners for the original Blum podcast in Spanish.

Blum: A Podcast Tour of Switzerland’s Art Scene

As stated above, this podcast shares a lot in common with similar stories like “Searching for Salai.” Where “Blum” uses history as a way to lead credence to a fictional Swiss artist, Salai uses biography to tell a story about a real person from history with plenty of mystery and intrigue to keep the audience listening. Comparisons between the two don’t end there. Just as Salai was a marketing campaign for a product or service, so too is the Blum podcast. While it wasn’t clear what Salai was trying to market, Blum is clearer with its call to action. That being to get eyes on Switzerland’s art scene.

While “Blum” may have a clearer goal for why the creators made it, the story ultimately goes nowhere and ends on an unsatisfying note. It felt as if the final two scenes of the last episode were tacked on because the main mystery of what happened to Clara and Ursula wasn’t resolved. How the creators solve the mystery introduces new problems more so than answers old ones. There’s also too much emotional distance between Ursula and Emma, mostly due to Clara being an unnecessary complication that probably could’ve been cut to allow a more direct connection between the artist and the podcaster.

7/10 Stars