Edith!

Edith! is a historical fiction podcast written and created by Gonzalo Cordova and Travis Helwig, produced by QCode and Crooked Media starring Rosamund Pike about Edith Wilson. It was directed by Maureen Bharoocha.

Edith!

Background

The podcast is a collaboration between QCode and Crooked Media.^[1] The podcast takes place soon after the Treaty of Versailles and the Spanish flu when Woodrow Wilson fell ill while working to establish the League of Nations.^[2] The podcast follows Edith Wilson who took over much of her husband's responsibilities while he was struggling with his health.^[3] Rosamund Pike stars as Edith Wilson in the podcast.^[4] Other voice actors included Clark Gregg, Adam Conover, Esther Povitsky, Brandon Scott Jones, Chris Mulkey, Diedrich Bader, Tom Amandes, and Stephen Root.^[5] The story is based on historical events, but the show is a dramatization of the events and does not aim for historical accuracy which is evident by the subtitle—"The Untold True-ish Story of America's Secret First Female President".^[6][7] The podcast was an eight episode series.^[8]

Reception

Nicholas Quah wrote in Vulture that the podcast is "too eagerly and cavalierly clever for its own good".^[9] Ammar Kalia wrote in The Guardian that the podcast "is a wry take on the historical machinations of power."^[10] Podcast Review, a channel of Los Angeles Review of Books, called the podcast "Quirky, stylish, and probably historically inaccurate".^[11] Patricia Nicol praised Pike's acting in The Times saying that she "is superb as the snarky, steely, manoeuvring Edith, always two steps ahead of the men"^[12]

Awards

Award	Date	Category	Result	Ref.
Adweek Awards	2021	Best Storytelling Podcast	Won	[13]
Ambies	2022	Best Performer in Audio Fiction	Won	[14][15]
Webby Awards	2022	Scripted Fiction Podcasts	Honoree	[16]

References

1. "Crooked Media Partners With QCode for Its First Venture Into Fiction Podcasts". Inside Radio. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
2. Marks, Andrea (June 10, 2021). "Historical Fiction Podcast 'Edith!' Stars Rosamund Pike as Former First Lady: New Series Offers a Satirical, Irreverent Take on the Story of First Lady Edith Wilson Following President Woodrow Wilson's Stroke". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
3. "Who Run the World?: 'Edith!' Tells the Story of the First Unofficial Female President". Podsauce. Audacy. August 7, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
4. Jarvey, Natalie (March 11, 2021). "Rosamund Pike to Star as Former First Lady in Podcast From QCode, Crooked Media (Exclusive): 'Edith!' is a Limited Series About Former First Lady Edith Wilson From Writers Gonzalo Cordova and Travis Helwig". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
5. Fenwick, George (August 14, 2021). "Edith! Rosamund Pike Podcast Brings US' Unofficial First Female President to Life". Stuff. Stuff Limited. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
6. Sturges, Fiona (June 28, 2021). "Rosamund Pike Stars as a Formidable First Lady in Podcast Edith!: New Series Tells the Story of Edith Wilson, Described by Historians as 'The First Female US President'". Financial Times. Nikkei, Inc. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
7. "The Week's Pick of the Best Podcasts to Listen to in July 2021. Featuring Coming in From the Cold, Edith! Starring Rosamund Pike, and Revisionist History". The Week. Future plc. July 9, 2021. ISSN 1533-8304. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
8. Clayton-Lea, Tony (July 10, 2021). "Edith Wilson... the First Lady Who 'Ruled America': Podcast of the Week. Rosamund Pike, Star of Gone Girl and I Care a Lot, Plays Edith Wilson in a Scripted Series Which Looks at How the First Lady Filled the Role of Her Ailing Husband". Irish Independent. Mediahuis. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
9. Quah, Nicholas (July 28, 2021). "Rosamund Pike is First Lady Edith Wilson (And Three More Podcasts Worth Trying)". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
10. Kalia, Ammar (April 7, 2022). "Best Podcasts of the Week: The Writers of HBO's Insecure Add Some Joy to the 'Dumpster Fire' That is Modern Life". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
11. "Three Podcasts to Listen to in July". Podcast Review. Los Angeles Review of Books. July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
12. Nicol, Patricia (June 27, 2021). "Song of the Reed: Swallowtail Review — Drama to Go Wild For". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
13. Collins, Kennyatta (December 13, 2021). "Podcasts of the Year: Here Are Adweek's 2021 Winners". Adweek. Shamrock Holdings. ISSN 0199-2864. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
14. Poelker, Kelly (April 2022). Olsher, Steve (ed.). "The Ambies: The Podcast Academy Second Annual Award Winners" (PDF). Podcast Magazine. Vol. 3, no. 3. San Diego, CA. pp. 84–86. ISSN 2690-4608. OCLC 1140254648. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
15. "2022 Winners and Nominees: Best Performer in Audio Fiction (Sponsored by Audible)". Ambies. 2022. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
16. "Honoree: Edith!". Webby Awards. 2022. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

External links

• Edith! at Crooked Media
• Edith! at QCode