The Just Enough Family

I loved this podcast. It’s about a kind of life much different from my own, but the themes are universal: marriage, family dynamics, mental illness, the fragility of wealth, the desire to fit in, the danger of finding one’s identity in appearance and material things. The people who say there’s no point to this story didn’t hear it the way I did, because it taught me a lot.

True insight into the ups and downs of how the 1 percent live is rare and appreciated. The underdog aspect in the description of family’s modest beginnings and the struggles they faced as Jewish people in a very waspish arena added relatability. At the height of their success, they lived a life that is unimaginable to most people. The telling of how one of their associates had a passenger booted off a flight so that one of the sisters could have their seat was kind of sickening, but it does add to the overall honesty of the podcast. This story demonstrates that even the seemingly most fortunate of people can lose it all in the blink of an eye. This was an entertaining and bingeable podcast.

Couldn’t stop listening, such a great slice of life story of a truly interesting and dysfunctional family.

I absolutely loved the story of the family, told from different family members points of view. However, I couldn’t always distinguish voices as they are almost never introduced before they speak- it’s especially hard to tell which of the sisters is speaking at any given time. That led to confusion while trying to focus on the details they’re communicating. Production should’ve been better about making sure the listener knows who they’re listening to at all times. Otherwise, it was a fascinating story and I really enjoyed it.

The first episode of this series was intriguing. I was interested in this family’s story. I stopped listening after episode four. Everything after the first episode was the family going on and on about how rich they were. I was expecting to hear about their extravagant lifestyle but I also expected to hear about what happened that led them to losing it. How society might’ve treated them differently, how losing money and status affected relationships within the family…The story got boring listening to them go on and on about what life used to be like for them.

I’m not sure what the point of this podcast was. Similar to other reviewers I found this tough to listen to. The family is vapid and extremely self important. There is no one really likeable and there was no real purpose other than a wealthy family reliving their glory days. I don’t recommend this podcast.