The podcast flatters the Department and its goals, of course, but there's a nice surprise: you might actually enjoy it. It's slickly produced (there's even an NPR spoof), touts capable hosts and strikes a careful balance between information and telling an accessible, engaging story. This is a real, concerted effort to create something entertaining, not just a dry attempt to prove that the government is relevant in the Serial era. Whether or not you like it, the podcast suggests that officials can do more to spread their messages than send out the occasional press release or social update.