I go away for two weeks and come back to everyone talking about Serial again? Thanks, Kim.
It’s been great catching up on the pods, though. So many excellent eps this week.
7 Pod Takes
1) “Just as a warning, if you’re listening with kids, today’s episode features Mel Gibson.”
Listen: Today Explained: Don’t call it a comeback (:27)
- That’s host Sean Rameswaram, with a #MeToo-era twist on the adult-content advisory.
- Moments of silence follow, so parents can stop their kids from hearing about Gibson and other men attempting comebacks, like Louis C.K. and Matt Lauer.
2) “An absurd, ridiculous faux-poetic romp through an imaginary America with absurd language and terrible dialogue and over-the-top performances, and it makes me cry every single time I watch it.”
Listen: The PosCast: PosCast Draft: US States with Actor Nick Offerman(46:55)
- That’s Mike Schur on “Field of Dreams,” the movie he and Offerman pick apart with hilarity — only to succumb to its magic.
- Offerman hammers the film for its bad logic and continuity errors — have you really paid attention to Archibald “Moonlight” Graham’s mustache? Yet, Offerman says, “Despite all these complaints, I cried my eyes out three times.”
- My take: Indeed. Every. Single. Time.
3) “So many bad things happened you would think that it was like God telling you not to make Legos.”
Listen: Nerdificent: Episode 22: LEGO (1:36)
- That’s co-host Dani Fernandez, setting up the pod’s deep dive into the turbulent history of Lego founder Ole Kirk Christiansen.
- My take: Thanks for persisting, Ole. I spent a day of my vacation with my family at Legoland. Legos are amazing.
4) “The internet has made the right, particularly among younger people, the new counterculture in a way.”
Listen: Conversations with Tyler: Claire Lehmann on Speaking Freely (14:10)
- So says Quillette editor Lehmann, in a nuanced, open conversation with host Tyler Cowen about a range of topics, including which strands of the right are being emboldened by the internet and which are falling away.
5) “There is no Twitter worse than political figure passes away Twitter.”
Listen: Pod Save America: “Florida man.” (3:41)
- That’s Dan Pfeiffer, commenting on the predictable reaction on social media to Senator John McCain’s passing.
- He adds: “Everyone thinks this is the moment they have to offer their hot take because the moment for the hot take will pass if they don’t do it right there.”
- My take: I abstain.
6) “I don’t know much about either of these topics, but if I’ve learned anything from cable news it’s that having a strong opinion is much more important than having an informed one.”
Listen: Anthropocene Reviewed: The Yips and CNN (:17)
- So says John Green, prefacing his nuanced, 10-minute review of CNN. His verdict: Two stars.
- Green also reviews the malady known as The Yips, in which athletes with pinpoint accuracy or incredible grace somehow lose their ability to perform a heretofore simple sporting act. His verdict for The Yips: One and a half stars.
- He adds: “I can almost feel the muscle twitch inside the word itself.”
- My take: Too many stars for The Yips, John Green.
7) “People are at their best naked.”
Listen: Everything is Alive: Tara, Bar of Soap (5:34)
- That’s Tara, a bar of soap, being interviewed by host Ian Chillag. Tara certainly has the experience to know.
- My take: I can’t get enough of this pod. It’s so good.
Go Deep
1) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Listen: RBG: Beyond Notorious
- The six-part deep dive into the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg builds off the doc “RBG.”
- The last ep debuted last Friday, but I had to grandfather in RBG.
- Binge time: 3 hours, 28 minutes
2) “L.A. Woman”
Listen: Punch Up the Jam
- Paul F. Tompkins joins the pod to work on the train wreck that is The Doors’ tune “L.A. Woman.”
- Binge time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
3) “Crazy Rich Asians”
Listen: The Bechdel Cast
- The pod takes a deep dive into the hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians.”
- Binge time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Guest Appearances By…
Aduba, Uzo Off Camera with Sam Jones
Bachman, Randy The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
Bateman, Jason Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Bridenstine, Jim Weather Geeks
- Convo with NASA’s new administrator.
Brooks, Arthur Kickass News
Byrne, Rose Ask Me Another
Caramanica, Jon Longform Podcast
Carden, D’Arcy The Good Place: The Podcast
- Janet!
Chaganty, Aneesh The Big Picture
Clark, Tom You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes
Crews, Terry Pod Save the People
Delsener, Ron Here’s the Thing With Alec Baldwin
- Convo with the man “who basically created the genre of the massive outdoor concert.”
Dennings, Kat Anna Faris is Unqualified
Dougherty, Dale Recode Decode
- Maker Faire founder talks about the maker movement, with Make Magazine editor Mike Senese.
Gupta, Sunil HBR IdeaCast
- Harvard Business School professor says your digital strategy needs work, businesspeople.
Hall, Regina Creative Conversation
Hardwicke, Catherine Maltin on Movies
Harper, William Jackson The Good Place: The Podcast
- Chidi!
Hawke, Ethan The A24 Podcast, This Song
- Actor talks Steve McQueen and Nova Scotia with Alia Shawkat, and with This Song about singer/songwriter Blaze Foley.
Hurwitz, Gregg The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
James, Steve I Think You’re Interesting
Jamil, Jameela Ways to Change the World
Koy, Jo WTF with Marc Maron
Lanier, Jaron Waking Up with Sam Harris
Levien, David The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Newsom, Gavin Pod Save America
- Convo with candidate for governor of California.
Ourand, John Sports Media with Richard Deitsch
Peterson, Eugene On Being
Quigley, Mike The Axe Files
- U.S. Rep from Illinois talks polarization, Russian election interference.
Riggle, Rob Pardon My Take
Salbi, Zainab Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
Senese, Mike Recode Decode
- Make Magazine editor talks about the maker movement, with Maker Faire founder Dale Dougherty.
Shawkat, Alia The A24 Podcast
- Actor talks Steve McQueen and Nova Scotia with Ethan Hawke.
Simon, David The New Yorker Radio Hour
Stoner, Alyson Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig
Sutter, Kurt Remote Controlled
- Convo with the creator of “Sons of Anarchy,” “Mayans M.C.”
Syd It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders
- Convo with “a breakout star of the hip-hop collective Odd Future.”
Theroux, Justin Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
Twitty, Michael W. Forked Up
- James Beard-award winning author talks food and race.
Wasser, Laura The Bill Simmons Podcast
- Celebrity divorce attorney talks prenups.
Wilson, Rick Kickass News
Yang, Jimmy O. Bon Appetit Foodcast
Notable New Podcasts
- A deep dive into “six key but lesser known stories” from the tumultuous year of 1968. Hosted by Phillip Martin.
- American Innovations’ four-part series on the rise of artificial intelligence kicks off.
3) The Punies
- Kobe Bryant created the show for kids about “an eclectic group of neighborhood friends who play sports and take on adventures together.”
4) 70 Million
- The pod focuses on “how locals are addressing the role of jails in their backyards.” The 70 million refers to the amount of Americans over 18 with a criminal record.
5) More than Seven Dirty Words
- The FCC now has an official pod. Its goal: “Maybe we’ll even achieve the impossible: make telecom interesting.”
6) Sleuth
- New true crime pod covers a 2010 double murder in Southern California. The pod’s release dates overlap with an accused accessory’s trial.
- The latest season of the true crime pod, which focuses on the disappearance of Kristal Reisinger from a Colorado mountain town, debuted while I was on vacation. The debut episode — and all the episodes from the first season — are dominating the U.S. iTunes chart this week.
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