The new season of Slow Burn started this week and, yeah, it’s great. It’s now at the top of my pod queue for my upcoming vacation.

Reminder: While I’m away, I’ll be taking a break from the newsletter. The next full edition comes out August 31. Thanks again for reading.

7 Pod Takes

1) “It’s got a bigoted attitude, but you can dance to it.”

Listen: Popcast: Can Guns N’ Roses, or Any Artist, Erase an Unflattering Moment (6:17)

• That’s host Jon Caramanica on “One in a Million,” the GNR song that “includes offensive and bigoted language” — and that has been disappeared from the band’s new box set.
• Caramanica and his guests address the question: “What happens when artists take control of their legacy and say, ‘Nah, we didn’t do that’?”
• My take: Fascinating look at the impermanence of art and culture in the digital age.

 

2) “There’s definitely a thing in American culture where if it looks like you’re putting in effort, gross.”

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour: Punching Bags and What’s Making Us Happy This Week (2:15)

• Audie Cornish puts her finger on the pulse of an unfortunate strain of American culture in explaining her solidarity with cultural “punching bag” Anne Hathaway.
• Adds Cornish, of that popular perception of Hathaway: “It had that feel of she’s raising her hand in the front of the class all the time and everyone hates that kid. Guess what? We get the last laugh.”
• Also defended by the PCHHers: Jennifer Aniston, pumpkin spice, Guy Fieri.

 

3) “‘No justice, no peace’ is a statement of fact.”

Listen: Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations: Mitch Landrieu, Part 2: A White Southerner Confronts History (18:17)

• That’s former New Orleans’ mayor Landrieu in a two-part conversation about race in the United States.
• Adds Landrieu: “If there is no justice. If I don’t feel like I’m being fairly treated. If I’m not given the same opportunity. If I’m not afforded the same responsibility. If I don’t have the same kind of hope. I feel alienated from you. And when we’re alienated we can’t be together. There can be no sense of peace.”
• Start with part one.

 

4) “Newt Gingrich is a Typhoid Mary of the divisiveness that exists in our politics.”

Listen: Stay Tuned with Preet: Why I Quit the GOP (with Steve Schmidt)(21:50)

• So says Schmidt, explaining his decision to leave the Republican party.
• Schmidt’s timeline for the GOPs evolution into a cult of personality begins with Gingrich’s rise in 1994 and runs through the party’s change from being strong in the North and West to becoming a “Southern, Evangelical Christian party fueled by resentment.”

 

5) “YouTube was that friend that always out-edges you.”

Listen: The Ezra Klein Show: Why online politics gets so extreme so fast (5:47)

• That’s Zeynep Tufekci, pointing out how YouTube’s “Up Next” algorithm forces extreme views into its users’ media diets.
• Her theory: “Slightly edgier content is interesting. It’s novel. It’s not the same old, same old.” And that edginess is attractive, especially to young people.

 

6) “There is no place more alone at a party than the dishwashing station.”

Listen: Dear Hank and John: Let’s Be Mermaids (17:14)

• That’s a good thing, says John Green, best-selling novelist and guy who apparently spends 45 minutes avoiding people and listening to podcasts while the party winds down.
• Says Green: “It is a slightly selfless act, but mostly selfish.”

 

7) “The Hope Diamond’s curse can smell fear.”

Listen: Sidedoor: The Curse of the Hope Diamond (3:24)

• So says half-joking — but maybe half-serious! — host Tony Cohn, who illuminates the stories and the truth behind the infamous gem’s dark side.
• My take: Play it safe, friends. Don’t get all National Treasure-y with the Hope Diamond.

Go Deep

1) Startup Churches

Listen: StartUp

• Gimlet’s five-part series on “planting” new churches like they’re tech companies concludes.
• Binge time: 3 hours, 9 minutes.

2) eBay vs. PayPal

Listen: Business Wars

• The six-part series dissects the rivalry between the two pioneering internet powerhouses.
• Binge time: 2 hours, 33 minutes.

3) “The Dark Knight”

Listen: Filmspotting

• The pod marks the 10th anniversary of the landmark superhero movie with a deep dive.
• Binge time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

4) Depression and Creativity

Listen: The Great God of Depression

• The five-part series on depression as it relates to creativity dropped all of its episodes last Friday. I missed it before sending last week’s newsletter.
• Binge time: 1 hour, 56 minutes.

5) “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”

Listen: Binge Mode

• Premature with this last week, too. Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion continue their summer of Harry Potter immersion with an eight-part deep dive into the fourth book in J.K. Rowling’s series, plus the movie.
• Binge time: 12 hours, 21 minutes.

Guest Appearances By…

Almond, Steve The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Armstrong, Jesse The Watch

• Convo with the showrunner of “Succession.”

Blacc, Aloe Required Listening

Black, Michael Ian The Sporkful

Brady, Wayne Curious with Josh Peck

Byrne, Rose Off Camera With Sam Jones

Chu, Jon M. Playback

Clapper, James R. Trumpcast

Couric, Katie Stay Tuned with Preet

Culkin, Macaulay The Joe Rogan Experience

D’Onofrio, Vincent Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Falco, Edie Remote Controlled

Finnegan, William The New Yorker Radio Hour

• Remnick goes surfing with the Pulitzer winner.

Fogel, Susanna The Treatment

• Convo with director of “The Spy Who Dumped Me.”

Gill, Vince Walking the Floor

Huang, Eddie The Bill Simmons Podcast

Kaling, Mindy Scriptnotes

Kemper, Ellie Modern Love

• The actress reads Susan Perabo’s essay about the emotions of parenting.

Kroll, Nick The Dave Chang Show

Landgraf, John I Think You’re Interesting

• President and CEO of FX Networks on the future of TV, the problems with bingeing.

Lennon, Thomas The Adam Carolla Show

Leno, Jay WTF with Marc Maron

Lessin, Jessica The Digiday Podcast

• The Information founder on building a subscription-based media business.

Matlock, Glen Geoff Lloyd’s Hometown Glory

• Former Sex Pistols bassist talks about London.

Moynihan, Bobby Comedy Bang! Bang!

Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria Pod Save America

O’Dowd, Chris WTF With Marc Maron

O’Neal, Shaquille Oprah’s Master Class

O’Rourke, Beto Pod Save the People

Promaulayko, Michele Skimm’d From the Couch

• Convo with the EIC of Cosmo.

Pryce, Jonathan I Think You’re Interesting

Rich, Nathaniel Longform Podcast

Rollins, Henry The Joe Rogan Podcast

• Punk legend goes almost 3 hours, promotes his new Showtime show.

Samuelsson, Marcus Eater Upsell

Schur, Mike The Good Place: The Podcast

Simmons, Bill Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Talev, Margaret NPC Update-1

• Bloomberg News White House correspondent on covering the Trump administration.

Watts, Shannon Off Message

• Convo with founder of Moms Demand Action about gun regulation, knowing where to find the closest hospital.

Woodruff, Judy The Axe Files

Notable New Podcasts

1) Slow Burn: The Impeachment of Bill Clinton

• The second season of the hit pod takes on the saga of the president’s impeachment. Leon Neyfakh hosts.

2) Kalki Presents: My Indian Life

• Kalki Kanmani hosts the pod about “life for young Indian adults in the 21st century.”

3) Words Matter

• Elise Jordan and Steve Schmidt talk to “journalists, elected officials, policy-makers and thought-leaders” to “analyze the week’s news and get at the real truth behind all the distracting headlines.”

4) The Great God of Depression

 

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