Excellent news for those who, like me, are finding solace these days in all things “The Office” — another podcast about the show launched this week. And, as usual, we’ve got a couple popular true crime debuts.
This week’s counts: 46 notable guests, 19 new podcasts, five deep dives and one Michelle Obama podcast coming soon.
Pod Take of the Week
“You see their fear and their embarrassment and their insecurity, and that’s very appealing to me.”
Listen: An Oral History of The Office: Ordinary Looking Losers (4:31)
- That’s Allison Jones, on the “non-networky” and “non-beautiful” people she cast for “The Office,” “Freaks and Geeks” and other shows.
- She adds: “And funny, when the writing is beautiful.”
- Jones reveals her sympathies in the second episode of the oral history, which chronicles the rise of the beloved show via interviews with its stars and creators. Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin on the show, hosts.
- “The Office” remains podcast gold: Oral History sits at No. 1 on Spotify’s new Trending Podcasts chart, and Office Ladies, a rewatch pod hosted by stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, ranks No. 14 on Apple Podcasts.
Go Deep
1) Karen
Listen: Code Switch, Decoder Ring
- The Karen phenomenon is having a(nother) moment, and podland has it covered.
- Code Switch says “we all love to hate a good Karen” and goes deep on the archetype and the pitfalls of focusing on the Karens of the world.
- Decoder Ring dives into the history of the Karen character type, which “has been with us for centuries.”
2) The Price of Gold: Women’s Gymnastics in the U.S.
Listen: 30 for 30
- The seven-part “Heavy Medals” series covers the “influential coaching duo of Bela and Martha Karolyi, how they transformed women’s gymnastics in the United States, and the steep price of all that gold.”
- Reported by Alyssa Roenigk and Bonnie Ford.
3) Diamond Wars
Listen: Business Wars
- Another seven-part series, which covers more than a century of bloody battles over diamonds.
4) “The Cam Chronicles”
Listen: The Ringer NFL Show
- The six-episode narrative series tells “the story of one of football’s best quarterback talents.”
5) “Casablanca”
Listen: Unspooled
- A 1-hour, 5-minute dive into the No. 3 movie on AFI’s list of all-time best movies.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. Bananas, Johnny The Bill Simmons Podcast
Baumgartner, Brian The Last Laugh, Playing a Round With Paige Renee, News O’Clock
- “The Office” co-star makes the pod rounds to promote his new pod — and breaks down his chili scene on News O’Clock.
Bell, W. Kamau The Three Questions with Andy Richter
Blanchett, Cate The Awardist
Bolton, John Kickass News
Bryan, Luke Pardon My Take
Bryson, Bill Conversations
Carrey, Jim WTF with Marc Maron
Cooper, Sarah Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out
- “America’s Funniest Lip-Syncer-In-Chief” opens up about her process and her Trump vids.
Cruz, Ted The Adam Carolla Show
Dayani, Mandana Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Dennings, Kat Karamo ($L)
Duckworth, Tammy The Argument
Fairey, Shepard People Have the Power
Fauci, Anthony America Dissected: Coronavirus
- He’s still out there doing the work. Go get ‘em, Tony.
Gardner, Heidi Comedy Bang! Bang!
Hayes, Sean The Gift of Forgiveness
Honnold, Alex a16z
- A two-parter with the climbing legend.
Hudson, Kate and Oliver At Home with Linda & Drew Scott
Jackson, Christopher Ringer Dish
Jost, Colin Fresh Air, WTF with Marc Maron
- Jost’s memoir title might be the best memoir title ever: “A Very Punchable Face.”
Kail, Thomas Ringer Dish
Kerr, Steve Road Trippin’
Key, Keegan-Michael Off Camera with Sam Jones, Literally! With Rob Lowe
Kind, Richard The Last Laugh
Larson, Erik The Axe Files
Lee, Spike Questlove Supreme
Legend, John Armchair Expert
Messing, Debra Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Milioti, Cristin The Big Picture
O’Brien, Soledad Full Release with Samantha Bee
Porter, Billy The Zane Lowe Interview Series, Keep It!
Povitsky, Esther Everyday Decisions with Jo Firestone, Anna Faris is Unqualified, TigerBelly
Price, Margo Broken Record
Ross, Tracee Ellis Pop Culture Happy Hour
Saget, Bob The Joe Rogan Experience
Sanders, Bernie In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt
Shinoda, Mike Angry Americans
Shire, Talia I’m So Obsessed
Shrier, Abigail The Joe Rogan Experience
Simien, Justin Scriptnotes
Sittenfeld, Curtis The Gist
- A two-parter with the author of “Rodham.”
Slate, Jenny Good One
Winter, Alex The Bill Simmons Podcast
Zayid, Maysoon The Margaret Cho
Notable New Podcasts
- Pulitzer Prize-winner Jake Halpern tells “the true story of an FBI agent in Detroit who goes undercover in an outlaw motorcycle gang and makes a series of bizarre discoveries that inadvertently lead to the US invasion of a foreign country.”
- It’s No. 11 on Apple Podcasts.
- A weekly ranking of “ten unsettling true crime stories centered around a common theme.”
- It’s No. 12 on Apple Podcasts, and No. 3 on Spotify’s Trending Podcasts chart.
3) An Oral History of the Office
- Brian Baumgartner, aka Kevin, “pulls back the curtain on what went into creating this unstoppable force in American popular culture and why it continues to resonate with new audiences.”
- It’s No. 1 on Spotify’s Trending Podcasts chart.
4) Apple News Today (A)
- Apple debuts its own daily news podcast.
- It’s No. 7 on Apple Podcasts.
5) Once Upon a Time In…the Valley
- The C13Originals pod about the life of Tracy Lords is billed as a “real-life psychological thriller and porno-noir mystery. Just think Boogie Nights—if Boogie Nights had a three-way with Gone Girl and A Star is Born.”
- It’s No. 32 on Apple Podcasts.
- Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt “explores what forgiveness means, how it affects us mentally and physically, and what it takes to truly move on.”
- It’s No. 60 on Apple Podcasts.
7) Full Release with Samantha Bee
- The Full Frontal host conducts “unscripted, in-depth conversations with the best and rightest people about how to navigate the worst year of all our lives.”
- It’s No. 68 on Apple Podcasts.
8) Happy & Healthy with Jeanine Amapola
- The popular YouTuber promises “a genuine and candid conversation on topics from her personal experiences, dating, faith, health, trending topics, and so much more!”
- It’s No. 79 on Apple Podcasts.
9) GET REAL with Peniel, BM, and Ashley Choi
- The K-pop stars “open up about all the ups and downs of work, love, and adulthood.”
- It’s No. 10 on Spotify’s Trending Podcasts chart.
10) California City
- Emily Guerin “tells a story of money, power and deception” about “a little town with a big name and a bizarre history: California City.”
- Roger Bennett hosts the network’s official podcast for the hit show.
12) Mind Canyon
- Steve Dawson and Charlie Kemp lead the mockumentary podcast in the style of Radiolab.
- The pod from American Songwriter features artists making “their choices for the greatest songs of social justice and change of all time.”
14) Everything Everywhere Daily
- Gary Arndt “tells the stories of interesting people, places and things from around the world and throughout history.”
15) The Orange Tree
- Tinu Thomas and Haley Butler report on the 2005 death of Jennifer Cave in Austin, Texas, and “what justice means for three families whose lives were turned upside down that horrible night.”
- From Pushkin Industries, original short stories “inspired by the news—exploring what it means, why it happened, and why it matters.”
17) Jury Duty: The Trial of Robert Durst
- Another true crimer about “Robert Durst and his possible involvement in the deaths of three people,” which was also the basis for HBO’s “The Jinx.”
18) Abuse of Power
- David Rudolf and Sonya Pfeiffer “examine 10 wrongful conviction cases” and discuss “the various ways in which law enforcement and the justice system have victimized the very people they are supposed to protect: us.”
19) There Are No Girls on the Internet
- Bridget Todd chronicles “the ways marginalized voices have shaped the internet from the very beginning.”
And One to Look Forward to: The Michelle Obama Podcast (S, July 29)
- The former First Lady dives “deep into conversations with loved ones—family, friends, and colleagues—on the relationships in our lives that make us who we are” in a Spotify exclusive.