Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Shylock's line's adherence to the Jewish faith. Literary critics have historically viewed the character negatively, highlighting her theft of her father's gold, her betrayal of his trust, and apparently selfish motivations and aimless behaviour. Since the end of the 20th century their views have been more moderate and nuanced, pointing to an alternate reading that allows her actions to be motivated by love and generosity, and being driven by Shylock's own tyrannical and immoral behaviour. The central plot of "The Merchant of Venice" is relatively straightforward: Antonio borrows money from Shylock to help his friend, Bassanio, court Portia, but, through
S-Town while exploring more of McLemore's life and character. Though the podcast was promoted under the name "S-Town", Reed reveals in the first episode that this is a euphemism for "Shittown," John B. McLemore's derogatory term for his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama. Reed generally refers to the podcast by the non-euphemized name in the episodes themselves. All episodes were released simultaneously on March 28, 2017. The podcast is available to stream or download for free on the official website, iTunes, Stitcher, Radiopublic, or through the RSS feed. "S-Town" incorporates various specially composed pieces of music throughout the episodes from composers Daniel