Forever is a Long Time
4.9/5
Critic Rating
When Ian Coss decided to get married, every living member of his family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced: parents, grandparents, and all his aunts and uncles on both sides — some of them twice. Today, he has questions: What is the value of a lifetime commitment? Are we doomed to recycle the patterns of behavior we get from our ancestors? Are we all just better off alone? Forever is a Long Time is a five episode series that weaves reflection and original music through Ian’s conversations with his wife and divorced family members — a look at love w...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Reggie Ugwu • New York Times • Dec 1, 2021
"Ian Coss’s five-part meditation on the improbability of lifelong commitment couldn’t have been more personal...quietly reflect the irreducible mysteries of human intimacy."
Score: 4.8
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Aug 15, 2021
"It is one thing to make a podcast about your own life, it’s another to get your entire family on board. On this front alone, the series is quite an achievement. There is no bitterness or cruelty here — no doubt a result of the emotional distance travelled by Coss’s relatives — just honest reflection. The series reveals much about the ripple effects of broken relationships and how people get through difficult times. Hearteningly, most of Coss’s family appear to have emerged happier and wiser."
Score: 4.9
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Aug 14, 2021
"Coss’s style is intimate and questioning, especially of himself; it’s a PRX (Public Radio Exchange) approach that seemed everywhere 10 years ago but is less common now. I like it when the author is a likable person, which Coss is; the intimacy leads to small but intense revelations."
Score: 5
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter • Aug 9, 2021
"Each story is worth a deep plunge, particularly the story about his grandmother in episode two. This podcast is no bummer-fest, it’s a very real and nuanced look at partnership, why we do it, and what it means."
