Two new podcasts crack the Apple top 10, with Bunga Bunga (No. 1), the story of the rise and fall of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, edging out Oprah’s Book Club (No. 6).
The next highest-ranked debut: Blindspot: The Road to 9/11. #NeverForget
This week’s counts: 56 notable guests, 11 new podcasts, seven deep dives and a guy who lives his dream of talking about the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Pod Take of the Week
“The benefits of bringing nature into your indoor space are almost endless.”
Listen: The Indicator from Planet Money: Making Most of Scarce Space (2:46)
- That’s Emily Anthes, author of “The Great Indoors,” which examines the science of indoor spaces.
- Anthes shares what we’ve learned from astronauts and others about how to make your residential space more hospitable, which includes making it more like the outdoors.
- My not-so-hot take: Knowing how to adapt your indoor spaces for maximum appeal and benefit is pretty important in the time of Covid. Keep hanging in there, everyone.
Go Deep
1) 9/11
Listen: Blindspot: The Road to 9/11, What Was That Like, Fresh Air
- Many podcasters remember the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, including these:
- WNYC releases the first two episodes of an eight-part telling “of the long, strange wind-up to the attack that remade the world… and the chances we had to stop it.”
- What Was That Like features first-hand stories from Lori Brody, who worked at the World Trade Center and survived, and New York City firefighter Joe Falco.
- Fresh Air talks to former FBI agent Ali Soufan about the CIA’s use of torture post September 11.
2) The Killing of Breonna Taylor
Listen: The Daily
- Rukmini Callimachi and Yoruba Richen dive deep into the life of the medical worker in Louisville, Kentucky, who was “fatally shot in a police raid of her home.”
- The two-part series explores Taylor’s life, how law enforcement ended up at her door and how her name has become a “national rallying cry.”
3) The Death of Lori Klausutis
Listen: Conspiracyland
- The Yahoo! News pod returns with a three-part series that investigates the death of “an aide to then Congressman Joe Scarborough, and how it spawned nearly two decades of conspiracy theories.”
- Michael Isikoff hosts.
- Listen time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.
4) Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Listen: Switched on Pop
- The four-part deep dive into one of the most iconic pieces of music in history asks: “Of all the symphonies of the great, bewigged classical greats, why is this one still stuck in our heads over two centuries later?”
- Says co-host Nate Sloan of Beethoven: “For someone so old and so dead, he still manages to stir up controversy in 2020.”
5) Childish Gambino’s “Because the Internet”
Listen: Dissect
- The Spotify pod devotes its seventh season to a song-by-song breakdown of Gambino’s 2013 album.
6) Pizza Hut vs. Domino’s
Listen: Business Wars
- The Wondery pod takes a six-part dive into the battle between the pizza giants.
7) The Oklahoma Panhandle
Listen: Gone Ramblin’
- Guest Robert Reid, travel writer and host of OETA’s Gallery America on PBS, goes 1 hour, 14 minutes on America’s Outback.
- The pod’s exclusively about the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.
Banks, Paul Talkhouse
Baran, Madeleine Crime Writers On…
Bassett, Angela The Awardist
Bolton, John The Jamie Weinstein Show
Bon Iver The Zane Lowe Interview Series
- Are we still listening to this?
Brady, Tom Armchair Expert
Buteau, Michelle Not Too Deep
Chang, David Kickass News
Curry, Ayesha Second Life
Delaney, Rob The Three Questions with Andy Richter
Difford, Chris The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
Edwards, Kellee Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
Esparza, Felipe Good One
Esposito, Giancarlo The Awardist
Fauci, Anthony Epidemic
Fairey, Shepard Talkhouse
Feldman, Liz Queery
Fonda, Jane Hysteria, Conversations
Funches, Ron Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best
Glaser, Nikki Literally! With Rob Lowe
Gomez, Selena The Big Ticket
Goodwin, Ginnifer Good for You
Hawk, Tony Pardon My Take
Ice Cube expediTIously
Kaufman, Charlie The Big Picture
Kid Cudi Red Table Talk
Klausner, Julie The Bechdel Cast
- The comedian and actor guests on a dissection of “Ghost World.”
Klepper, Jordan Here’s the Thing
Lane, Nathan Life is Short with Justin Long
Leguizamo, John Dads: The Podcast.
Levy, Dan The Awardist
MacFarlane, Seth Armchair Expert
Munn, Olivia Anna Faris is Unqualified
Nadella, Satya Hello Monday
Nealon, Kevin Your Mom’s House
Nwodim, Ego Comedy Bang! Bang!, Culture Kings
Olsen, Elizabeth Off Camera
Palladino, Daniel The Treatment
Phillipps, Busy Comedy Bang! Bang!
Rapinoe, Megan Full Release with Samantha Bee
Rudolph, Maya The Awardist, Smartless
Santana, Carlos People Have the Power
Shaq Russell Wilson’s DangerTalk Podcast
Sherman-Palladino, Amy The Treatment
Short, Martin WTF with Marc Maron
Skerritt, Tom The Adam Carolla Show
Slater, Kelly The Tim Ferriss Show
Smith, Kenny I’m So Obsessed
Souza, Pete Kickass News
- The former White House photographer is a solid follow on Instagram.
Strayed, Cheryl The Jordan Harbinger Show
Sykes, Wanda The Awardist
White, Ron The Joe Rogan Experience
Williams, Robbie Three Little Words
Wittman, Robert The Jordan Harbinger Show
- I’ll listen to anything about stolen art, like this convo with the founder of the FBI’s art crime team and author of “Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures.”
Youssef, Ramy The Awardist, The Last Laugh
Zaccaro, Donna Our Mothers Ourselves
- A two-part convo with the daughter of former Democratic candidate for Vice President, Geraldine Ferraro.
Notable New Podcasts
1) Bunga Bunga
- The Wondery pod chronicles the rise and fall of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the “charismatic multi-millionaire real-estate mogul who set out to up-end the Italian political order.”
- Apple Podcasts rank: No. 1.
- Spotify trending podcasts rank: No. 16.
- Oprah hits Podland, starting with an eight-part series with the author of “Caste,” Isabel Wilkerson.
- Apple Podcasts rank: No. 6.
3) Blindspot: The Road to 9/11
- The WNYC pod about the lead-up to the September 11, 2001 attacks debuts at No. 27 on Apple Podcasts.
- The Yes Theory co-founders “reflect upon how Discomfort actually might hold the keys to meaning and happiness.”
- Apple Podcasts rank: No. 33.
- Spotify trending podcasts rank: No. 7.
5) The Deciding Decade with Pete Buttigieg
- The former Democratic presidential candidate hosts “an original 20-episode podcast series on the issues and choices that will define America’s next chapter.”
- Apple Podcasts rank: No. 54.
- The NPR investigative series “takes you deep into the most uncompromising corner of the gun debate.”
7) Russell Wilson’s DangerTalk Podcast
- The Seattle Seahawks quarterback “will share his authentic thoughts on sports, culture, and entertainment.”
8) Baby Steps
- YouTubers Ned and Ariel Fulmer “reveal the dirty, messy truths behind raising a blissfully Instagram-ready family.”
- John Bishop and Tony Pitts “ask guests to bring three words that mean something to them.”
10) Our America with Julián Castro
- The former HUD Secretary “reimagines America in conversation with real people all over the country who are struggling, aspiring, and trying to reach their dreams.”
11) Hell & High Water with John Heilemann
- The author and TV host “explores how the country is grappling with this apocalyptic moment and its existential stakes… and attempting to pull through and rise above it.”
And One to Look Forward to: The Heist (Sept. 22)
- The pod from the Center for Public Integrity tells “the story of a huge political swindle, how it happened, and how power works in a Donald Trump presidency.”