Two of the top pods on iTunes today are about the Kennedys. Guess in 50 years the charts will be dominated by pods about the Trumps.

The rest of this week’s newsletter? Trump free.

Thanks to everyone who sent feedback during the last few weeks. I tightened things a bit, and I’ll continue to calibrate. Send more suggestions my way and, as always, thanks for subscribing!

7 Pod Takes: Provocative Thoughts From This Week’s Podcasts

1) “Computers don’t understand brains. Brains don’t understand computers.”

Listen: WSJ The Future of Everything: Hacking the Brain’s Code (6:07)

That’s Justin Sanchez, director of the biological technologies office at DARPA, setting the playing field for a discussion about hacking human brains.
Sanchez adds: “We’ve got to figure out what the dialog is going to be there.”
Scientists are already connecting computers to paraplegics.
My take: Fascinating pod. Humans can be amazing.

2) “There’s no cost to cruelty.”

Listen: Crazy/Genius: Is Online Dating Destroying Romance? (10:25)

Host Derek Thompson sums up the position of his guest, sociologist Eric Klinenberg, who argues online dating is destroying romance.
Spoiler: When dating outside of our traditional communities, he says, there’s less incentive to be polite.
Adds Klinenberg on the rise in cruel behavior: “It can be a little titillating. People get off on it.”
My take: Fascinating pod. Humans can be awful.

3) “You don’t have to be a natural to get really, really good at something.”

Listen: Hidden Brain: When Everything Clicks (41:49)

That’s Shankar Vedantam, stating the position of his guest, Martin Levy, who uses a clicker — you know, the kind used to train dolphins and animals — to teach skills to humans without verbal feedback.
Spoiler: It works. Removing emotions from learning can improve it.
Levy adds: “Everyone isn’t going to be a wizard. We just want you to be really, really good.”
My take: Another terrific, enlightening Hidden Brain ep.

4) “If you look at moon rocks, most of ‘em are kind of boring to look at. They have a bit of an image problem.”

Listen: Houston We Have a Podcast: Moon Rocks (2:31)

So says planetary scientist Ryan Zeigler, who does his part to rehabilitate that image. The NASA pod goes 34 minutes on rocks from the moon.
My take: It’s 34 riveting minutes.

5) “Imagine having that much power that people just want to applaud you for existing.”

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour: Ocean’s 8 and What’s Making Us Happy (4:11)

That’s Bim Adewunmi on the power of Rihanna, as evidenced by audiences’ responses to her on-screen appearance in early screenings of “Ocean’s 8.”
My take: I love heist movies. Can’t wait to see this.

6) “All the stat nerds are like, ‘Momentum doesn’t matter. Momentum’s a myth. There’s no statistical proof for momentum.’ Momentum exists.”

Listen: The Bill Simmons Podcast: Curry’s Electric Game 2, Plus Andy Samberg and Desus and Mero (40:14)

Simmons gonna Simmons. His Exhibit A: Overtime of game one of the Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals, in the wake of J.R. Smith’s boneheaded play that extended the action.
He and Samberg talk basketball and the parallels between NBA teams and “Saturday Night Live” casts.

7) “If you’re not punchable in your twenties for a while you’re doing something wrong.”

Listen: Inbox: Snickers Bar Mysteries with Rembert Browne (1:13)

That’s co-host Matt Stroup, highlighting a pitfall of youth.

Go Deep

1) Stories of the World Cup

Listen: Men in Blazers, Ringer FC, American Fiasco, We Came to Win, Planet Futbol with Grant Wahl

Soccer pods are acing Cup coverage before the games even start. Previews are table stakes. Deeper coverage abounds. Binge-worthy highlights:
American Fiasco dropped the first five episodes of its series about how not to win a World Cup, aka the story of the U.S. men’s soccer team’s failure at the 1998 World Cup.
We Came to Win has so far dropped nine episodes chronicling the Cup’s most memorable historical moments.
Ringer FC covers the USMNT’s failure to qualify for 2018.
On Planet Futbol, Wahl poses a question to Russian chess master Garry Kasparov: “Should we feel conflicted about being excited to watch a World Cup from Russia?”
MIB goes the preview route, but host Roger Bennett deserves shouts. He recently became a U.S. citizen. Welcome, Rog!
My not-so-hot World Cup take: Go Iceland!

2) What’s Happening in “Charm City”

Listen: The Daily

The daily news pod goes long with a five-part series “about the life and death of a Baltimore teenager known as Nook, who was fatally shot by a police officer a year after the killing of Freddie Gray.”
Binge time: 3 hours, 54 minutes.

3) “The Dynamo of DNA”

Listen: American Innovations

The pod wraps up its seven-part series on the revolution spurred by our knowledge of DNA.
Binge time: 5 hours, 1 minute.

4) An Outsider in Silicon Valley

Listen: StartUp

StartUp completes its six-part series on Silicon Valley outsider Arlan Hamilton.
Hamilton’s “a venture capitalist like no other — black, female, gay — and she’s out to prove that investors in the Valley are overlooking big returns they could tap into by investing in more outsiders.”
Binge time: 3 hours, 3 minutes.

5) “Blue”

Listen: Sound Opinions

A 59-minute dissection of Joni Mitchell’s classic album by hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot.

Guest Appearances By…

Aster, Ari The Big Picture

Convo with the filmmaker behind “Hereditary.”

Auletta, Ken The Moment With Brian Koppelman

Author and The New Yorker writer talks curiosity.

Baker, Simon Talkhouse

Actor-turned-director in conversation with actor-turned-director Griffin Dunne.

Batuman, Elif Longform Podcast

Convo with the novelist and writer of “Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry” for The New Yorker.

Brand, Russell The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

Brewster, Paget Curious with Josh Peck

Brooker, Charlie The Watch

Brooks, David Conversations with Tyler

Writer and New York Times columnist on Springsteen, “religious bisexuality” and why failure is overrated.

Burke, Doris The Lowe Post

Byrne, David This Must Be The Gig, The New Yorker Radio Hour

Chang, Dave Eater Upsell

Convo with the chef recorded at the Code Conference.

Chastain, Brandi Upon Further Review with Mike Pesca

Soccer star on “the mixed legacy of women’s soccer in the U.S.,” with Julie Foudy.

Christensen, Erika Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Clapper, James The Gist with Mike Pesca

Cusack, John This Song

Actor talks about the influence of The Clash on his life and politics.

Dunne, Griffin Talkhouse

Actor-turned-director In conversation with actor-turned-director Simon Baker.

Farrow, Ronan The Axe Files

Fitzgerald, Pat Stay Tuned with Preet

Convo with the former federal prosecutor, current attorney for former FBI director James Comey.

Foudy, Julie Upon Further Review with Mike Pesca

Soccer star on “the mixed legacy of women’s soccer in the U.S.,” with Brandi Chastain.

Fuzz, Fakkah Lost in America

Convo with the Singaporean comedy star.

Gaitskill, Mary Bookworm

Griffin, Kathy Keep It

Guthrie, Savannah The Axe Files

Harbour, David WTF with Marc Maron

Hardwick, Chris Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum

Hart, Hannah Forked Up

YouTuber talks pasta, food texture.

Hayden, Gen. Michael The Josh Marshall Podcast

Hernandez, Keith Fresh Air, Pardon My Take

Convo with baseball player arguably best known for his guest appearance on “Seinfeld.”

Khosrowshahi, Dara Recode Decode

Convo with Uber’s CEO, recorded at the Code conference.

Kim, Chloe The Dave Chang Show

Gold medal-winning snowboarder talks Pyeongchang Olympics, growing up Korean American.

Klein, Naomi If Then

Writer/activist on how corporations and politicians are approaching Puerto Rico’s rebuild.

Jae, Lady Ear Hustle

On being transgender in San Quentin State Prison.

Long, Brock Weather Geeks

Convo with the head of FEMA.

Mandel, Howie ID10T

Mayer, Jane The Ezra Klein Show

One of the investigative reporting greats talks breaking stories, right-wing politics.

Mendelsohn, Spike Beyond the Plate

Convo with the chef who made his name on Top Chef.

Murdoch, James Recode Media with Peter Kafka

Media mogul talks about the media biz.

Oakley, Charles The Bill Simmons Podcast

Simmons calls him “the toughest guy in NBA history.”

Peace, Metta World Bullseye

The man formerly known as Ron Artest talks about his new book, “No Malice: My Life in Basketball.”

Prine, John Death, Sex & Money

One of Bob Dylan’s fave songwriters talks about his elevated, late-career profile.

Reynolds, Dan Pardon My Take

Imagine Dragons singer (and musical invader of my house, whenever I give my 10 year old DJ power) talks songwriting, show riders.

Rose, Jalen The Bill Simmons Podcast

Scovell, Nell Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Spiegel, Evan Recode Decode

Convo with Snap’s CEO, recorded at the Code conference.

Thurston, Baratunde Remade in America with Bassem Youssef

Writer/comedian/activist on being black in America.

Taitz, Hope Skimm’d From the Couch

will.i.am Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Notable New Podcasts

1) The RFK Tapes

The creators of the excellent Crimetown are back with a 10-part series on the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

2) American Fiasco

3) Great Women of Business

The pod “spotlights inspiring careers, savvy decisions, and catastrophic failures.”

4) Obscure with Michael Ian Black

In reading “Jude the Obscure” out loud and commenting along the way, Black does some “light caressing” of the classic. Also, “a lot of complaining.”

5) Smashed

Ali Bloom and Olly Robinson “get smashed and talk SMASH, episode by episode.”

6) Committed

Jo Piazza promises to chronicle “the hilarious, heartbreaking and inspiring stories of couples of all kinds who’ve soldiered through unimaginable circumstances”

RIP Anthony Bourdain

I’m devastated by Anthony Bourdain’s death. He was such a lively, intelligent and important voice. We once published one of his stories on World Hum. It’s a highlight of my career as an editor.

Of course, Bourdain once went long with Marc Maron, who re-posted their 2011 interview yesterday. It’s a snapshot of the man’s depth and brilliance. The New Yorker, where Bourdain got his big writing break, also re-posted an interview.

RIP Anthony Bourdain.