Podcastland, meet Shondaland. News broke this week that Shonda Rhimes will create more than a dozen original podcasts for iHeartRadio. Podcasting continues to add amazing voices.
This week’s counts: 42 notable guests, 11 new podcasts, five deep dives and one beloved pod comes to an end.
Pod Take of the Week
“Answering their questions felt sort of like describing the human body to an alien.”
Listen: StartUp: Exit (14:04)
- That’s Alex Blumberg, Gimlet Media CEO sharing the feeling of answering queries from Spotify during the latter’s acquisition of the former.
- Blumberg offers his take during the last episode of StartUp, the influential and beloved pod that followed Gimlet Media from idea to its sale to audio streamer Spotify.
- StartUp’s open-heartedness, occasionally cringey confessionals, and insight into the process of starting and running a business will be missed. But Blumberg and team have earned a spot in the podcast hall of fame.
Go Deep
1) Men Singing Really High
Listen: Switched on Pop
- A deep-dive into male falsetto in pop music. If you like the pop music of 1996 — the peak year for falsetto — this one’s for you.
2) Detectives’ Sidekicks
Listen: Shedunnit
- Caroline Crampton looks at the “fundamental building block of the classic whodunnit.”
3) Stan Culture
Listen: All Songs Considered
- An in-depth conversation among NPR’s music experts on exuberant fandom and how it empowers artists — and fuels cancel culture.
4) “The Godfather”
Listen: Unspooled
- A 2-hour, 5-minute deep dive into the 1972 classic.
5) “Plantation” Foods
Listen: The Sporkful
- The pod kicks off a multi-part series on how the word plantation “pops up a lot in the food world,” and what it means regarding race in America.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive.
Akers, Michelle Planet Futbol with Grant Wahl
Amanpour, Christiane StarTalk Radio
Cameron, Susy Amis Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
Cardi B expediTIously
Chance the Rapper expediTIously
Corddry, Rob Jordan, Jesse GO!
Culkin, Macaulay Curious with Josh Peck
Eilish, Billie All Songs Considered
Epstein, David The Next Big Idea
Farrow, Ronan Fresh Air, Pod Save America, The New Yorker Radio Hour
Fey, Tina Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Ginsberg, Ruth Bader Why Am I Telling You This?
Gladwell, Malcolm The Next Big Idea
Glover, Crispin Inside of You
Gordon-Levitt, Joseph Talkhouse
Gross, Terry Pop Culture Happy Hour
Harrelson, Woody WTF with Marc Maron
Hilty, Megan Keep It!
Hill, Jonah Life is Short with Justin Long
Hsieh, Tony Talkhouse
Johnson, Jake Off Camera with Sam Jones
Jones, Saeed Death, Sex & Money
Kerr, Miranda Women in Blazers
- The Aussie soccer star joins the Men in Blazers spinoff.
Klein, Naomi Chapo Trap House
Kroll, Nick Without Fail
Lake, Ricki The Dan Wootton Interview
Leo, Ted Wheels Off
Lewinsky, Monica Armchair Expert
Long, Justin Anna Faris is Unqualified
Maddow, Rachel WTF with Marc Maron
Marling, Laura The Road Taken
Modine, Matthew ID10T
O’Hara, Kelley Women in Blazers
Pelosi, Nancy The New Yorker Radio Hour
Phair, Liz The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Pixies, The Rolling Stone Music Now
- Black, David, Joey and Paz talk about their career and their new album.
Punk, CM ID10T
Quah, Nicholas Longform Podcast
Romano, Ray The Adam Carolla Show
Serrano, Shea The Gist
Snow, Brittany Skimm’d From the Couch
Steinem, Gloria Danica Patrick Pretty Intense
Notable New Podcasts
- Each week, Officemates and friends Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey “break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind the scene[s] stories that only two people who were there can tell you.”
- It’s the No. 1 podcast on iTunes.
- It’s “a 9-episode journey into the Dollyverse,” hosted by Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad.
- It’s No. 6 on iTunes.
3) Oddball
- The pod tells “a story about a UFO investigation, a mansion in the woods and how one shiny object sent a Jacksonville, Florida family into hiding.”
- The Bello Collective says it’s “a true-crime podcast where nobody dies and you don’t have to feel gross listening to it.”
4) ShortWave
- The short-form NPR pod — episodes clock in around 10 minutes each — promises “discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines.”
5) Tradeoffs
- Former Marketplace reporter Dan Gorenstein co-hosts a series that explores “our confusing, costly, and often counterintuitive health care system.” Sayeh Nikpay is the other co-host.
6) Reset
- In this Vox podcast Arielle Duhaime-Ross “explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.”
- The 10-part series about a “little-known WWII rescue story.” The story “shows what happens when ordinary people won’t ignore the horrors that surround them.”
- The Wondery pod focuses on “groundbreaking ideas that have the power to change the way you live, work, and think.” Rufus Griscom hosts.
- Host Ezra Klein attempts to “slow down the news cycle long enough to separate the signal from the noise.”
10) Sick
- An “investigative podcast about what goes wrong in the places meant to keep us healthy.” The hosts: Jake Harper and Lauren Bavis.
11) Ripper Magoos with Bob Menery
- It’s a “raw, unfiltered, R-rated dive into the weeks most prevalent sports and entertainment topics.”
- It’s No. 54 on iTunes.
And One to Look Forward To: ESPN Daily (Oct. 21)
- The worldwide leader gets into the daily podcast game. The pod will take a “deep dive into the biggest sports story of the day.” Mina Kimes hosts.