More true crime debuts this week, and the pods were all over the finale of “The Americans.” I’m still reeling from Paige’s decision.
8 Pod Takes: Provocative Thoughts From This Week’s Podcasts
1) “Memes are people too.”
Listen: Endless Thread: I, Ken Bone (23:50)
- Ben Brock Johnson advocates for humanity on the internet, specifically regarding those who’ve been memed. Like Ken Bone.
- Bone guests on the pod, sharing what it was like being a meme and lessons learned from the experience.
- Refresher: Bone and his red sweater became a meme at a 2016 U.S. presidential debate. You may also know his “Make America Bone Again” leisurewear.
- My take: The pod takes something most of us gave two seconds of thought and gives it a lot of thought, recontextualizing it and making us see that thing a different way. One of my favorite kinds of pods.
2) “You can say a lot of things about pineapple pizza, but you can’t call it boring.”
Listen: Episode 5: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Hawaiian Pizza and Viral Meningitis (9:40)
- That’s John Green, near the end of a winding and highly entertaining review of Hawaiian pizza.
- Stops along the way: The Islamic calendar, the agricultural revolution, the Columbian Exchange, King Ferdinand’s first taste of pineapple, lead poisoning, Canada and Australia’s affinity for pineapple as a pizza topping.
- Spoiler: Green awards Hawaiian pizza two stars.
- My take: Too many stars, John Green.
3) “He wasn’t changing lanes. He was being sucked into the inflow of the tornado.”
Listen: Weather Geeks: El Reno – Storm Chasing’s Deadliest Tornado (13:21)
- That horrifying observation comes from Mike Bettes, who was on the scene during the 2013 El Reno tornado, the largest tornado ever measured.
- The pod marks El Reno’s 5-year anniversary with a difficult yet enlightening look at the storm’s impact and those who chased it.
4) “I’m talking to you about what the spirit can do, and it’s not measurable.”
Listen: Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations: Diana Nyad, Part 1: The Swim of Her Life (2:53)
- That’s Nyad, legendary swimmer. New and not-so-legendary swimmer Oprah says Nyad has “transcended her humanness” in pursuit of physical feats. Like swimming for 53 hours straight.
- Adds Nyad: “There is something beyond what the body is capable of.”
5) “You don’t need to be in a different country to have problems given to you by parents.”
Listen: Remade in America with Bassem Youssef: Don’t Play a Terrorist and Other Lessons from Maz Jobrani (8:01)
- That’s Youssef, aka “the Jon Stewart of Egypt,” during the debut of his new pod. It’s about being an outsider in America.
- Youssef moved to the U.S. recently after living in Egypt for more than 40 years.
6) “I’m a hispanic woman and you’re a black woman, and yet we both related to this blonde white lady.”
Listen: This Movie Changed Me: Bridget Jones’s Diary (16:44)
- That’s Lily Percy, talking with Samantha Powell about the significance to their lives of Renée Zellweger’s portrayal of Bridget Jones.
- Percy adds: “It says something about the writing.”
7) “Somebody’s entire body of work and their fate in history, at least for some period of time, can depend upon the actions of a single human being.”
Listen: Otherppl with Brad Listi: Michelle Dean (21:40)
- That’s Listi, talking to Dean about the fickleness of artistic legacy and her book, “Sharp: The Women Who Make an Art of Having an Opinion.”
8) “It took a year of marriage to love my husband more than cheese.”
Listen: Modern Love: Love Stories in 13 Words (1:53)
- That’s one of 9,000 people who responded to Modern Love’s call for 13-word love stories. This bonus pod highlights dozens of them, in the tellers’ own words. Some standouts:
- “He said ‘I love you.’ I whispered ‘I love you,’ to his dog.” (4:55)
- “Both widowed young. Never going to try again. Married 31 years.” (8:51)
- “I was sad. He sent me dinosaur erotica. I knew it was love.” (11:05)
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Go Deep
1) “The Americans” Finale
Listen: Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air, I Think You’re Interesting, The Americans Podcast
- The pods go deep on Wednesday’s series finale of “The Americans,” with analysis and guests ranging from the show runners, to stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, to the guy who played the other FBI agent.
- Spoiler: Paige got off the train.
- If you’re looking for answers about why Paige got off the train, good luck finding them here.
- My take: WTF Paige? You shouldn’t have got off the train.
2) Video Game Wars
Listen: Business Wars: Nintendo vs. Sony
- The six-part series chronicles the ongoing battle between two tech giants.
- Spoiler: Sony’s PlayStation almost didn’t come out.
- Binge time: 2 hours, 54 minutes
3) “The Wizard of Oz”
Listen: Unspooled
- A 1 hour, 1 minute deep dive into the No. 10 movie on the AFI top 100 list.
4) “Training Day”
Listen: The Rewatchables
- A 1 hour, 26 minute reassessment of the Denzel Washington/Ethan Hawke crime thriller.
Guest Appearances By…
Apatow, Judd The Treatment
Aronoff, Kenny The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
- Convo with drummer who’s played with everyone.
Avenatti, Michael Trumpcast
- Stormy’s lawyer takes time away from promoting himself to promote himself.
Barnes, Julian Men in Blazers
- Man Booker Prize-winning author talks novels, Leicester City.
Brosnahan, Rachel WTF with Marc Maron
- Convo with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star.
Clapper, James The Axe Files
- Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence talks security challenges.
Coppola, Sofia A24 Podcast
- In conversation with Paul Schrader.
Davidson, Adam The Josh Marshall Podcast
- The New Yorker writer talks Trump.
Emmerich, Amy The Limit Does Not Exist
- Convo with Refinery29’s content chief.
Enten, Harry I Have to Ask
Feig, Paul Late Night Whenever with Michelle Buteau
Friedberger, Eleanor This Must Be the Gig
- Still love this song.
Gethard, Chris The Gist with Mike Pesca
Hader, Bill Sooo Many White Guys
Hefner, Christie Skimm’d From the Couch
Jacobs, Gillian Comedy Bang! Bang!
Jordan, Lindsey Celebration Rock
- Convo with the “wisest teenage indie rocker,” according to Pitchfork.
Jurvetson, Steve The Tim Ferriss Show
- An almost 3-hour convo with the venture capitalist.
Klepper, Jordan It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders
Knoxville, Johnny Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Krasinski, John The Director’s Cut
Lawson, Nigella The Sporkful
Legend, John Pod Save America
- Singer talks about elections for local prosecutors.
Mars, Roman Recode Media with Peter Kafka
- The 99% Invisible host talks about the state of podcasting.
Neyfakh, Leon Longform Podcast
- Convo with the host of Slow Burn.
Pollan, Michael Waking Up with Sam Harris, How to Be Amazing With Michael Ian Black
- He’s baaaack!
Rankin, Molly Celebration Rock
- Convo with the writer of one of my favorite songs of the last few years.
Retta Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
Roberts, Michele The J.J. Redick Podcast
- The podcaster/NBA player talks to National Basketball Players Association executive director.
Rosner, Helen The Dave Chang Show
- The New Yorker food correspondent talks food journalism, #MeToo.
Schrader, Paul A24 Podcast
- In conversation with Sofia Coppola.
Sedaris, David Fresh Air
Smith, Kevin The Joe Rogan Experience
- Three hours, 17 minutes with the filmmaker/comedian/podcaster/comic book writer.
Talley, André Leon Fresh Air
Tompkins, Paul F. Comedy Bang! Bang!
Wagner, Aly Planet Fútbol
- Convo with the first woman to do game commentary on U.S. English-language TV for men’s World Cup soccer.
Warren, Elizabeth Pod Save America
Whitford, Bradley The West Wing Weekly
Wu, Tim Why is This Happening? with Chris Hayes
- Exploring why the internet “feels pretty crappy these days.” Only pretty?
Yates, Sally The Axe Files
- Convo with the former acting U.S. Attorney General.
Pick From a Podcaster
This week’s podcasters: Bryan Gould and Peter Villa, co-creators and co-hosts of the weekly show “How Was Your Run Today?”a comedy and interview podcast about their love/hate relationship with running.
- Peter adds: Bryan and I both ran the Boston Marathon in 2015 and couldn’t stop talking about the experience of training for, and actually completing, the historic race. Our friends and family got tired of hearing us talking about it, so we decided to start recording our conversations and posted them on the internet. Turns out runners LOVE to listen to other runners talk endlessly about running!
Bryan’s pick: 99% Invisible’s Curb Cuts.
- He says: If you’re not familiar with the show, they explore design, mostly in architecture, which most people either don’t notice or take for granted, thus it is 99% invisible. This episode is a mini-documentary about the history of the sidewalk curb cut. While this, of course, is interesting on its own, the second half of the show explores the “Curb Cut Effect,” including how everyone can benefit from universal design in buildings and digital curb cuts.
- Peter adds: You are going to be amazed by the origin story of the football huddle.
Notable New Podcasts
1) Covert
- The pod “takes listeners on a heart-pounding journey through the most dangerous military operations of all time.” Hosted by Jamie Renell.
3) Unravel True Crime: Blood on the Tracks
- It chronicles a five-year investigation into the death of 17-year-old Mark Haines, whose body was found on an Australian railway line in January 1988.
4) She Says
- Sarah Delia’s working to “unwrap the case of ‘Linda,’ a Charlotte-area woman who was sexually assaulted by a stranger in 2015… and is still struggling to find answers.”
5) Cover-Up
- The first podcast from People Magazine investigates “the hours after Ted Kennedy’s car went over the bridge in Chappaquiddick.”
6) The Gateway
- The six-part series focuses on Teal Swan, “a new brand of spiritual guru, who draws in followers with her hypnotic self-help YouTube videos aimed at people who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.”
7) The Good Place: The Podcast
- Marc Evan Jackson hosts “a rotating slate of co-hosts and special guests, including actors, writers, producers and more” in an official deep dive into the NBC show.
- As the pod’s promo goes, “Holy motherforking shirtballs!”