Another Saturday issue, another glorious mix of podcasts. The Reply All episode highlighted in the Pod Take of the Week is an all-timer. This week’s counts: 38 notable guests, 14 new podcasts, five deep dives and one tweet that triggered a global crisis.
Pod Take of the Week
“I’m not saying feral hogs is the only thing we should talk about as a country. I get that there’s a lot going on right now. But I just feel like feral hogs should be in the top 10.”
Listen: Reply All: 30-50 Feral Hogs (7:29)
- That’s PJ Vogt, doing what he and Reply All do so well: He investigates an issue that flared on the internet, and tells an incredible story about a pressing modern-day concern.
- At the center: A viral tweet from Willie McNabb, who wrote, “Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?”
- Vogt interviews McNabb and many others to show how what much of the internet took as an opportunity to mock is a bonkers critical issue.
- Stat: More than 5 million feral hogs roam the U.S. It’s a massive problem.
Go Deep
1) China and the NBA
Listen: The Journal, The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Gist, The Daily, Today, Explained
- Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey tweeted about the protests in Hong Kong. With a single image and seven words, a global crisis erupted.
- These podcasts do a good job of breaking down the state of play.
2) Outrage
Listen: Hidden Brain
- The NPR pod takes a deep dive into “how outrage is hijacking our conversations, our communities, and our minds.”
3) Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN.
Listen: Dissect
- The pod kicks off a season-long deep dive into the Pulitzer Prize-winning album.
4) The Best Rappers of All Time
Listen: expediTIously with Tip “T.I.” Harris
- The rapper picks the best 50 rappers in a two-part series.
- Binge time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
5) Rooney v. Vardy
Listen: Ringer Dish, Who? Weekly
- Take a deep dive into the saga of Wagatha Christie, aka Colleen Rooney.
- The wife of soccer/football star Wayne Rooney played detective on Instagram and…well, if you don’t know the story, I won’t spoil it.
- Or, just wait for the inevitable six-part podcast series.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive.
Abagnale, Frank The Perfect Scam
- The “Catch Me if You Can” man quizzes you on scams.
Brown, Brené In Pursuit
Brown, Karamo Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Brownstein, Carrie This Song
- The Sleater-Kinney mainstay talks about Rihanna’s “Stay.”
Budden, Joe Hotboxin with Mike Tyson
Busey, Gary Pardon My Take
Chriqui, Emmanuelle Life is Short with Justin Long
Colvin, Shawn The National Podcast of Texas
Conway, George Stay Tuned with Preet
Dennings, Kat Wine & Crime
Dessa The Open Ears Project
Diggs, Daveed Bullseye
Eisenberg, Jesse The Open Ears Project
Ellroy, James Monocle 24: The Big Interview
Fiorina, Carly Recode Decode
Hamilton, Argus WTF with Marc Maron
Harjo, Joy Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
Hill, Jemele Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air
Jones, Radhika Longform Podcast
- Convo with the editor of Vanity Fair.
Kroll, Nick The Bill Simmons Podcast
Kunis, Mila Andrea Savage: A Grown-Up Woman #buttholes
Letterman, David Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Maddow, Rachel Pod Save America
Marshall, Winston The Road Taken
Pitbull Latino USA
Phair, Liz Studio 360
Platt, Ben The Big Ticket
Rajskub, Mary Lynn Doughboys
- The actress reviews Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Redban, Brian The Joe Rogan Experience
Robertson, Robbie The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Serrano, Shea Recode Media, Yo, Is This Racist?, Unspooled, The Bill Simmons Podcast
- Internet hero makes the pod rounds to promote his new book, “Movies (and Other Things)”
Shields, Brooke The Ron Burgundy Podcast
Singh, Lilly Anna Faris is Unqualified
Tippett, Krista Pod Save the People
Tollefson, Carrie Another Mother Runner
Tweedy, Jeff Rolling Stone Music Now, All Songs Considered
Tyler the Creator Broken Record
Wu, Constance The Thrive Global Podcast
Notable New Podcasts
1) The Last Voyage of the Pong Su
- The Australian true crime pod tells the tale of a “North Korean dictator, bags of heroin, drug lords, spooks, sailors, Australian cops and a web of lies.”
2) Striped: The Story of the White Stripes
- A deep dive into the White Stripes’ debut album and how Jack and Meg White “sowed the seeds of worldwide rock and roll domination.”
- The podcast looks at the life and work of undercover federal law enforcers, and includes “unbelievable, adventurous, shockingly, violent, and harrowing stories.” Ed O’Neill hosts.
4) American Elections: Wicked Game
- The Wondery podcast “will explore all 58 presidential elections to discover if there ever was a ‘good ol’ days,’ or if presidential politics have always been played dirty.”
- The North State Public Radio podcast investigates how California’s “fire-prone forests have been managed and examines how we can all be better stewards of the land and avoid catastrophic wildfires in the future.”
6) Derailed
- The Wisconsin Public Radio podcast tells the story of a failed high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee.
- On “the rise and fall of the world’s biggest touring music festival.” From Australia’s Triple J.
8) Andrea Savage: A Grown-Up Woman #buttholes
- A “comedy podcast that every week is going to introduce another weird, hilarious, unique ‘grown up’ celebrity guest to prove that even though you are technically an ‘adult,’ you don’t have to be a total loser.”
- Actress Amy Brenneman leads conversations about challenges we face “and how they have the potential to be our greatest teachers.”
- A weekly podcast from friend-of-the-newsletter Earbuds Podcast Collective that corresponds with the weekly EarBuds podcast newsletter.
11) Moonface
- A scripted podcast about “a Korean American son who wants to come out to his mom, but can’t because they don’t speak the same language.”
12) Camp Monsters
- The REI podcast reveals “the stories of impossible encounters with impossible creatures in the wildest corners of North America.”
13) Good Game: How Games Play Us
- A pod about video games and how they can “tell you about yourself and the way you see the world.”
14) The Storyteller: Murder Most Foul
- A true-crime podcast set in Scotland on the 20th anniversary of a brutal murder.
And One to Look Forward To: Bad Batch (Oct. 23)
- A six-part investigative series about patients who are “offered a miracle cure, but instead they end up rushed to the hospital in critical condition.”