You have really hit the nail on the head. I couldn't really articulate why some episodes really irked me but this is exactly it. One episode that highlights were this process not only goes wrong but really disastrous is the yellow rain episode:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/23954...

At some point, the story of yellow rain took over and a narrative was pushed. The hyperfocusing on the story is unfortunate because within the yellow rain narrative was another, potentially even more interesting: the persecution of the Hmong people and the chemical warfare in vietnam.