Newsletter – This Week in Podcasts http://weekinpodcasts.com New podcasts. Deep dives. Notable guests. Occasional hot takes. Fri, 12 Feb 2021 05:20:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.8 http://weekinpodcasts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-twip-icon-32x32.jpg Newsletter – This Week in Podcasts http://weekinpodcasts.com 32 32 To the Moon Edition (#143) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2021/01/29/to-the-moon-edition-143/ Fri, 29 Jan 2021 05:19:30 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=969 Huge week for new podcasts, short squeezes, and rocket emoji. Podcasters were all over the GameStop stock market saga.

Other things of interest to podcasters this week: Murder, God, Tom Cruise, grandmothers, and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

The counts: 41 notable guests, 19 new podcasts, four deep dives and one spinoff newsletter. Subscribe to my music-related podcasts spin-off that launches tomorrow.

Pod Take of the Week

“They hang out in chat rooms and they call themselves things like sveltepants and protomoleucular. We don’t know who they are. They could be chipmunks, for all we know.”

Listen: The Indicator from Planet Money: GameStop and the Short Squeeze (6:13)

  • That’s Paddy Hirsch, who, like a lot of people this week, is just trying to figure out what the hell’s going on with the rocketing GameStop stock and the Reddit forum partly responsible for shaking things up.
  • Hirsh and The Indicator offer a short but solid overview. Also worth your listening time:
  • Bloomburg’s Odd Lots has a much longer deep dive.
  • Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly runs three good pods on different aspects of the situation.
  • Endless Thread talks to a Redditor about his GameStop experience.
  • “Billions” co-creator Brian Koppelman offers a pop culture perspective on Pardon My Take.

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Go Deep

 

1) “We Didn’t Start the Fire”

Listen: We Didn’t Start the Fire

  • Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce launch a pod that breaks down Billy Joel’s song line by line.
  • Every episode examines a different topic from the song, starting with Harry Truman.

2) Bonnie and Clyde

Listen: Infamous America

  • The pod’s two episodes through a multi-episode dive into the lives and crimes of the criminals and folk heroes.

3) “Infinity War”

Listen: Binge Mode

  • Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion’s deep, deep dive into the Marvel Cinematic Universe reaches “Infinity War,” which they tackle in a two-parter.
  • Binge time: 4 hours, 59 minutes

4) The Great Chicago Fire

Listen: American History Tellers

  • A multi-part dive into the 1871 blaze that destroyed the city begins.

Guest Appearances By…

 

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem Kickass News

Berkley Lauren, Elizabeth Anna Faris is Unqualified

Birbiglia, Mike Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Bird, Sue Road Trippin’

Bovingdon, Jethro Armchair Expert

Brosnahan, Rachel The Envelope

Chopra Jonas, Priyanka The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Your Fave’s Faves

Cooper, Sarah You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Corddry, Rob Armchair Expert

Dennings, Kat Keep It!

Ellin, Doug Berning in Hell

Fogel, Bryan The Gist

Gibb, Barry The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Givhan, Robin It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Glassman, Rick WTF with Marc Maron

Grody, Kathryn Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Haim, Alana Talkhouse

HAIM Song Exploder

Harris, Sam SmartLess

Huebel, Rob Too Long; Didn’t Watch

Jobrani, Maz The Adam Carolla Show

Kidman, Nicole The Big Ticket

Lebowitz, Fran Bullseye, The Treatment, Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Lurie, John The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Macchio, Ralph Life is Short with Justin Long

McConaughey, Matthew Red Table Talk, The Table with Anthony ONeal

Morril, Sam The Last Laugh

Mortensen, Viggo Creative Conversation

Nanjiani, Kumail Lovett or Leave It

Nealon, Kevin Literally! With Rob Lowe

Oz, Frank Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

Patinkin, Mandy Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Rowe, Mike Pardon My Take

Sackhoff, Katee Inside of You

Seyfried, Amanda The Big Picture

Steinem, Gloria What’s Her Story

Timberlake, Justin Armchair Expert

Trufelman, Avery Follow Friday

Wallace, George WTF with Marc Maron

White, Verdine Broken Record

Wilson, John Bullseye

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) The Ezra Klein Show (Jan. 26)

  • The former VOXer moves to The New York Times and “invites you into a conversation on something that matters.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 11.

2) Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer (Jan. 27)

  • The Investigation Discovery pod “is a search for answers in one of the biggest murder mysteries in American history.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 14.

3) Anything Better? (Jan. 23)

  • The new comedy pod’s from Bill Burr and Paul Virzi.

4) We Didn’t Start the Fire (Jan. 24)

  • Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce break down Billy Joel’s song line by line. Every episode examines a different topic from the song.

5) The Daily Crime (Jan 25)

  • Will Johnson and Reed Redmond host Vault Studios’ five-day-a-week look at various crimes.

6) Evil By Design (Jan. 25)

  • The CBC Podcasts’ true crimer investigates “Canada’s Jeffrey Epstein,” fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

7) Objections: With Adam Klasfeld (Jan. 25)

  • The senior investigative reporter and editor for Law & Crime “navigates listeners through the top legal stories of the week with experts in a straightforward, analytical and factual manner.”

8) Joyride with Jools Holland and Jim Moir (Jan. 26)

  • Every week the hosts “take a trip with a special showbiz guest: sharing stories, revelations and memories on this tribute to transport.”

9) Longshot: Return Man (Jan. 26)

  • It’s “an investigation into the life and mysterious death of the only Super Bowl champion from Lancaster, S.C.,” Jim Duncan of the Baltimore Colts.

10) Meeting Tom Cruise (Jan. 26)

  • Jeff Meachum and Joel Johnstone interview celebrities about their encounters with the actor.

11) Doing Justice (Jan. 27)

  • Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara “explores the key elements of a case from the unique perspective of the prosecutor.”

12) Godcast (Jan. 27)

  • The pod’s based on the “universe’s most popular unverified Twitter account, @TheTweetOfGod.”

13) Inside Jokes with Kevin Hart (Jan. 27) 

  • The comedian “will pair with comedic tastemakers for “ear-opening” dialogue that takes listeners on a wild and crazy ride through some of the world’s top comedic minds.”

14) Out for Blood: The Story of Carrie the Musical (Jan. 27)

  • Chris Adams and Holly Morgan tell “the surprising story behind the show’s creation and its infamously disastrous run.”

15) Call Your Grandmother (Jan. 28)

  • The pod features “less-than traditional Jewish grandmothers and the unbreakable bond they have with their favorite grandchildren.”

16) Sports Card Nonsense (Jan. 28)

  • The Ringer pod looks at the hot sports card market “and how to make money with this hobby.”

17) The History of Sketch Comedy (Jan. 28)

  • The Audible original comes from Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key.

18) New Jersey Is The World (Jan. 28)

  • It’s “a loose, hilarious, loving exploration of America’s greatest and strangest state.” Ha. It’s “spearheaded” by comedian Chris Gethard.

19) Follow Friday (Jan. 29)

  • It’s a “podcast about the best people on the internet.”

For eight more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Relief Edition (#142) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2021/01/22/relief-edition-142/ Fri, 22 Jan 2021 05:17:07 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=967 Not a bad week, yeah? For podcasts, too. Let’s get to it.

The counts: 43 notable guests, seven new podcasts, six deep dives and one malarkey-free new president.

Pod Take of the Week

“If I choose not to speak out of fear, then there’s no one that my silence is standing for.”

Listen: Ted Talks Daily: Using your voice is a political choice (2:07)

  • That’s National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, whose reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb” transfixed the U.S. at Wednesday’s inauguration of President Joe Biden.
  • Gorman explains the power of poetry in her Ted Talk: “Poetry has never been the language of barriers. It’s always been the language of bridges.”

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Go Deep

 

1) President Joe Biden

Listen: The Daily, Pod Save America, FiveThirtyEight, Checks and Balance

  • Yes it really happened and podcasters are on it. A few highlights:
  • The Daily took the temperature of Biden supporters. The overwhelming sentiment: Relief.
  • Pod Save America breaks down Biden’s inauguration ceremony and his first day in office.
  • The Economist’s Checks and Balance asks, “How will the new administration reboot Washington?” while FiveThirtyEight wonders if Biden’s vision of unity is even possible.

2) Was Donald Trump Good for Comedy?

Listen: Good One

  • Six comedians — Anthony Atamanuik, Sarah Cooper, Roy Wood Jr., Ayo Edebiri, Jenny Hagel and Hayes Davenport — wrestle with the question for 1 hour, 29 minutes.

3) Junk Food

Listen: Doughboys, A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich, Stuff You Should Know

  • Three shows for the stress eaters in Podland:
  • Doughboys visits Popeyes with Phil Rosenthal.
  • A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich asks: Is deep dish pizza really a casserole?
  • Stuff You Should Know investigates the “most disgusting candy on the planet”: Necco Wafers.

4) The Beer Hall Putsch

Listen: Behind the Bastards

  • The two-parter looks at Adolf Hitler’s failed 1923 coup in Munich.

5) Mission to Mars

Listen: American Innovations

  • The multi-part series looks at the efforts to reach the red planet.

6) The Eagles Feuds

Listen: Rivals

  • The series on the many, many feuds among the band’s members and with others in the music biz spans three parts.
  • Binge time: 2 hours, 57 minutes.

Guest Appearances By…

 

Allende, Isabel Spark & Fire

Anderson, Anthony Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Bettany, Paul You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Brennan, John The Jordan Harbinger Show

Bridgers, Phoebe Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

Brown, Samantha Women Who Travel

Burr, Bill Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson

Carlson, Gretchen Your Fave’s Faves

Common Armchair Expert

Cooper, Sarah The Last Laugh

Couric, Katie Life is Short with Justin Long

Cranston, Bryan Sway

Gates, Melinda Unlocking Us with Brené Brown, What’s Her Story with Sam & Amy

Glazer, Ilana Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

  • She reads a bio of new U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

Hackett, Grant The Tim Ferriss Show

Hudson, Ernie Inside of You

Kesha Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know

  • It’s UFOs. UFOs and paranormal activity, according to the singer.

Kimmel, Jimmy The Bill Simmons Podcast

Knox, Amanda Good For You

  • The second of a two-parter with the exoneree and journalist.

Lanois, Daniel WTF with Marc Maron

Lee, Tommy Walking the Floor

Lethem, Jonathan Working

Longoria, Eva Table Manners with Jessie Ware

Lopez, George Literally! With Rob Lowe

Louis-Dreyfus, Julia SmartLess

Madden, Steve The Jordan Harbinger Show

Mattel, Trixie Las Culturistas

McConaughey, Matthew Talks at Google

Mosseri, Adam Decoder with Nilay Patel

Myles, Eileen Bookworm

Nanjiani, Kumail Too Long; Didn’t Watch

Nas Broken Record

Pelosi, Nancy You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Phelps, Michael The Tim Ferriss Show

Scheer, Paul The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Schreck, Heidi All Ears with Abigail Disney

Schumer, Amy Anna Faris is Unqualified 

Sharapova, Maria Skimm’d From the Couch

Shue, Elisabeth ID10T

Sorkin, Aaron The Treatment

Springer, Jerry The Adam Carolla Show

Tweedy, Jeff Sodajerker on Songwriting

Zaltzman, Andy WTF with Marc Maron

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) The Apology Line (Jan. 19)

  • Marisa Bridge hosts the Wondery show, which recalls the “groundbreaking conceptual art project developed and operated by Allan Bridge from 1981 to 1995. Using repurposed telephone answering machines not long after they first introduced to the market, Allan recorded messages from anonymous callers.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 1.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 4.

2) How It Happened (Jan. 18)

  • Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan “reveals the inside story of Donald Trump’s last few months in office.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 5.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 8.

3) The Kennedys (Jan. 19)

  • The pod marks the 60th anniversary of JFK’s inauguration with “some of the most important moments in the Kennedy dynasty.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 2.

4) Race to 270 (Jan. 20)

  • The podcast/game show spinoff from Armchair Expert features two friends “on a race to see who can reach 270 pounds first. Aaron starts out the competition at 306 pounds and has 36 pounds to lose. Charlie starts at 230 pounds and has 40 pounds to gain.”

5) First Take, Her Take (Jan. 21)

  • Charly Arnolt, Kimberley Martin and Chiney Ogwumike “discuss and debate the biggest sports stories while also providing insight into their personalities as the three women delve into other topics about their lives and culture in the First Take style.”

6) Life Skills (Jan. 21)

  • Tavi Gevinson’s Audible pod “dives into difficult situations with nuance and specificity, defying platitudes and embracing the expertise of the writers featured,” according to Teen Vogue.

7) Facing Forward (Jan. 22)

  • Margaret Brennan “asks the tough questions of key business and political leaders, CEOs, and economists to get answers about how the fallout and recovery affects you, your family, and your future.”

For five more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> All-Too-Human Edition (#141) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2021/01/15/all-too-human-edition-141/ Fri, 15 Jan 2021 05:14:52 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=965 The new podcast release schedule seems back up to speed, including an iHeartRadio production about insurrections. Yeah, the events of last week are still the talk of Podland.

Covering that and much more this week. Let’s get to it.

The counts: 47 notable guests, 10 new podcasts, seven deep dives and one actor with some thoughts about “Gossip Girl.”

Pod Take of the Week

“The definition of mental health — and if we could leave the pandemic with this intact I would be so grateful — it’s that you have the right feeling at the right time, and the capacity to weather it.”

Listen: Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction: What Kids Want and Need Right Now (13:06)

  • That’s psychologist and author Lisa Damour, attempting to reclaim the definition of mental health from the wellness industry as the Covid-19 pandemic rages.
  • She says: “We came into the pandemic…with the wrong definition of mental health. And this was a definition that was handed to us by the wellness industry. And that definition was, ‘You know you’re mentally healthy if you feel calm and relaxed all the time.’ Okay, this is total nonsense. That’s not a human possibility.”

Go Deep

 

1) The U.S. Capitol Insurrection and President Trump, Continued

Listen: Trump, Inc., Common Sense with Dan Carlin, Reply All

  • We’re learning more about the insurrection every day, and more thoughtful voices are weighing in about the events of Jan. 6 and the aftermath. Here are a few:
  • The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold and 1100 Pennsylvania’s Zach Everson look at the state of Trump’s businesses and what the future might bring for them.
  • Common Sense’s Dan Carlin “examines the damage caused by the iceberg we recently hit when Americans stormed the U.S. Capitol and tries to suggest how we might avoid hitting another one.”
  • Reply All explains Twitter’s ban of Trump.

2) Sleep

Listen: What I’ve Learned, with Arianna Huffington

  • The HuffPost founder launches a four-part series with celebs talking about getting a good night’s sleep.
  • Those celebs: Lisa Kudrow, Melinda Gates, Lindsey Stirling and Charli XCX.

3) SpaceX vs. Blue Origin 

Listen: Business Wars

  • The Wondery pod begins a series on the rivalry between the two space travel pioneers.

4) The O.J. Simpson Trial

Listen: You’re Wrong About

  • The pod continues its sporadic ongoing series on the trial of the ‘90s.
  • They’re now 12 episodes deep into their O.J. coverage.

5) The Birth of Disney World

Listen: Business Movers

  • Another Wondery pod launches with a four-part series on Walt Disney’s vision and development of Disney World.

6) The James Harden Trade

Listen: All the Smoke, No Dunks, The Bill Simmons Podcast

  • A few deep dives into the deal that shook up the NBA, shipping the superstar out of Houston to Brooklyn.

7) “The Royal Tenenbaums” 

Listen: The Rewatchables

  • The Ringer pod goes 1 hour, 40 minutes on the Wes Anderson classic.

Guest Appearances By…

 

Ahmed, Riz Keep It, Grounded with Louis Theroux

Armisen, Fred Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Bell, Kristen Here’s the Thing

Berninger, Matt People Have the Power

Bloom, Rachel Why Mommy Drinks, Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

Brie, Alison Too Long; Didn’t Watch

Carey, Mariah Questlove Supreme

  • The two-part conversation goes 3 hours, 11 minutes.

Chuck D Hip Hop Raised Me

Cook, Dane You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Corcoran, Barbara The GaryVee Audio Experience

Corddry, Rob Life is Short with Justin Long

Cranston, Bryan SmartLess

Flannery, Kate Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig

Gadsby, Hannah Sue Perkins: An hour or so with…

Grant, Hugh The Envelope

Hamm, Jon Too Long; Didn’t Watch

  • The actor watches the first and last episode of “Gossip Girl.”

Jackson, Randy Armchair Expert

Khosrowshahi, Dara Sway

  • The Uber exec talks about restaurants, the “menace economy.”

Kidman, Nicole WTF with Marc Maron

Knox, Amanda Good For You

  • Part one of a two-parter. Knox’s current Twitter bio says she’s an exoneree and a journalist.

Krakauer, Jon The Press Box

  • The author of “Into the Wild” reflects on the book on its 25th anniversary.

Kudrow, Lisa Literally! With Rob Lowe

Mann, Aimee I Said No Gifts!

McConaughey, Matthew The Jordan Harbinger Show, The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Danica Patrick Pretty Intense

Morgan, Alex TRAINED

Moynihan, Bobby Good One

Ninja Your Fave’s Faves

O’Brien, Conan Why Don’t You Date Me?

Olsen, Elizabeth Table Manners with Jessie Ware

Parker, Candace The School of Greatness

Partridge, Andy The Vinyl Guide

Quinn, Colin The Last Laugh

Rae, Corinne Bailey Toure Show

Reichl, Ruth Green Eggs and Dan

Robinson, Lisa Broken Record

Rowe, Mike Kickass News

Rush, Bobby Joe Bonamassa’s Live from Nerdville

Saunders, George The Maris Review

Sharapova, Maria Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Stefani, Gwen And the Writer Is…

Tweedy, Jeff Wheels Off

Warren, Diane Rolling Stone Music Now

will.i.am The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Winslet, Kate WTF with Marc Maron

Winter, Alex I’m So Obsessed

Yusuf Song Exploder

  • The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens breaks down a new recording his song “Father and Son.”

Zappa, Ahmet I’m So Obsessed

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Power: The Maxwells (Jan. 11) 

  • The pitch: “Everyone’s heard of Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged partner in crime). But there’s a shadowy figure who hangs above her who you likely don’t know: her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwell.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 3.

2) RELAX! with Colleen Ballinger & Erik Stocklin (Jan. 13)

  • Colleen Ballinger and Erik Stocklin spend “an hour each week discussing anything, everything and sometimes nothing at all.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 10.

3) Norco ’80 (Jan. 11)

  • LAist Studios and Antonia Cereijido tell “the unbelievable true story about God, guns, survivalism and the bank robbery that changed policing in America forever.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 88.

4) How To Be a Better Human (Jan. 11) 

  • In the TED podcast, comedian Chris Duffy talks with guests and past TED speakers “as they uncover sharp insights and give clear takeaways on how YOU can be a better human.”

5) Bialik’s Breakdown (Jan. 12)

  • Mayim Bialik’s upcoming pod will take “a holistic approach in discussing mental health.”

6) Too Long; Didn’t Watch (Jan. 12)

  • TV critic Alan Sepinwall talks with “a celebrity guest who has never seen an extremely popular and groundbreaking television series. Together Alan and his guest watch the pilot and the finale episodes of a series- and nothing in between.”

7) Anything for Selena (Jan. 12)

  • WBUR and Futuro Media launch a pod to explore “what the legacy of slain Mexican American pop star Selena Quintanilla shows us about identity and belonging.”

8) Hip Hop Raised Me (Jan. 13)

  • DJ Semtex launches “a celebration of the culture that continues to shake the room, move the needle, and change the world.”

9) Business Movers (Jan. 14) 

  • Lindsay Graham hosts the new Wondery show “that brings you the true stories of the brilliant but all-too-human businesspeople who risked it all.”

10) Behind the Insurrections (Jan. 14)

  • “In the wake of the January 6th insurrection in D.C., Robert Evans and co-host Propaganda take a look at fascist insurrections throughout history.”

For 11 more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Getting Real Edition (#140) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2021/01/08/getting-real-edition-140/ Fri, 08 Jan 2021 05:12:02 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=963 Can’t say I listened to much this week beyond coverage of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. I did add some promising new podcasts in my queue, though. Hope you find some good stuff here, too.

Remember: I keep a longer, evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts, and you can sign up now for the upcoming spinoff newsletter, This Week in Music Podcasts.

This week’s counts: 43 notable guests, 11 new podcasts, four deep dives and one healthy book club.

Pod Take of the Week

“It’s 9/11, if they had told you 9/11 was going to happen and you didn’t prepare for it.”

Listen: Pod Save America: “Two Americas” (8:53)

  • That’s Dan Pfeiffer, on Wednesday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the “absolute failure where we lost control of the home of one of our three branches of government.”

Go Deep

 

1) The U.S. Capitol Insurrection

Listen: The Daily, The Gist, Post Reports, Global News Podcast, CBC’s Front Burner

  • Pod Save America was one of many podcasts that chronicled and tried to make sense of Wednesday’s events. A few worthy listens:
  • The Daily had reporters on the scene and pieced together the outlines of what transpired.
  • The Gist spoke with U.S Rep. Dan Kildee, who shared “his experience of what it was like inside the chambers before and after the electoral vote count had been certified.”
  • Post Reports also covered the events, and followed with a forward-looking “What happens after an insurrection?” episode.
  • The BBC’s Global News Podcast and the CBC’s Front Burner are among the international news pods covering the events.

2) Dave Chappelle’s 2000 HBO special “Killin’ Them Softly”

Listen: Good One

  • The Vulture pod previews a spinoff where Jesse David Fox, Dave Schilling and Jessamine Molli watch “a noteworthy stand-up special from the history of comedy and have as much fun as possible analyzing it as deeply as they can.”
  • Listen time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

3) “Bridesmaids”

Listen: The Rewatchables

  • Mallory Rubin and Mina Kimes join Bill Simmons for a 1 hour, 55 minute dive into the 2011 comedy.

4) Life After 60

Listen: Death, Sex & Money

  • The WNYC pod asked its “listeners to get real about getting older.”
  • Why? “We don’t talk enough about getting older in our society, and when we do, we don’t often do it well.”
  • The episode’s paired with a live, national call-in radio show next Wednesday.

Guest Appearances By…

 

Adlon, Pamela It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Arie, India Toure Show

Albright, Madeleine Kickass News

Armisen, Fred Life is Short with Justin Long

Blanchard, Terence The Backstory with Jason Bentley

  • The jazz musician talks with the “Soul” co-director about how human experience affects creativity.

Brooks, James L. You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Brown, Brené Red Table Talk

Cohen, Michael The New Abnormal

Collins, Bootsy Talkhouse

Crowe, Cameron Sound Opinions

Daniels, Jeff The Treatment

Elias, Marc Inside the Hive

  • The lawyer who defended the U.S. election results talks about the last two months of litigation.

Eminem The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Fauci, Anthony The Joe Budden Podcast

Fennell, Emerald Anna Faris is Unqualified

Folds, Ben Broken Record

Frampton, Peter Good Life Project

Fry, Stephen The Rest is History

Gibb, Barry World Cafe

Gupta, Sanjay Armchair Expert

Howard, Ron The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Ice Cube Red Table Talk

Lil Nas X Zach Sang: Just the Interviews

Jobrani, Maz Bald Talk

Johnson, Jake Hollywood Handbook

Loftus, Jamie The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Mizrahi, Isaac Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Mulligan, Carey Anna Faris is Unqualified

Orlean, Susan Spark & Fire

Patinkin, Mandy WTF with Marc Maron

Powers, Kemp The Envelope, The Backstory with Jason Bentley, Spark & Fire

  • The “Soul” co-director makes the pod rounds.

Reagan, Ron Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Rundgren, Todd The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Saunders, George Otherppl with Brad Listi

Schneider, Fred Turned Out a Punk

Short, Martin SmartLess

Slate, Jenny Literally! With Rob Lowe

Smoove, JB Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Stone, Oliver Grounded with Louis Theroux

Thundercat WTF with Marc Maron

Tohn, Jackie Armchair Expert

Valentine, Kathy Wheels Off

Williams, Lucinda Sodajerker on Songwriting

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Chicano Squad (Jan. 5)

  • The pod tells the story of five police officers in Houston 40 years ago who “were placed in an audacious experiment: A new all-Latino homicide squad, with little training and few resources, assigned to solve the city’s most vicious crimes.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 5.

2) Because We Got High (Jan. 7)

  • The Barstool Sports pod promises a “dive deep into every topic that surrounds daily life, A-Z.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 11.

3) Morning Announcements (Jan. 4)

  • Betches co-founder Sami Sage “gives you quick daily updates with the most important info you need to know about politics and current events.”

4) Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles (Jan. 4)

  • It’s “a collection of limited anthology style episodes exploring true stories as told by journalists from regional newspapers around America.”

5) To Catch a Hacker (Jan. 4)

  • It’s a “series about cybercrime, what really happens, how we find the people behind the crimes, and how they are brought to justice.”

6) Salute the Songbird with Maggie Rose (Jan. 5)

  • The musician “hosts candid conversations with her female musical heroes about their lives in and out of music, and a lot more.”

7) Spark & Fire (Jan. 5)

  • The pod from WaitWhat promises to follow the “hero’s journey behind the world’s most iconic creations.”

8) The Messenger (Jan. 5)

  • Ugandan pop star Bobi Wine leads a movement to overthrow corrupt revolutionary leader Yoweri Museveni.

9) Broccoli Book Club (Jan. 6)

  • The pod focuses on “books which we believe push us to be inquisitive and give us a better understanding of society today.”

10) 94 & More (Jan. 6)

  • It’s a “love-letter” to basketball, from Bristol Studio.

11) Food Network Obsessed (Jan. 8)

  • Jaymee Sire talks to Food Network favorites “and nothing will be off the menu as they dish on their road to success, their go-to guilty pleasures, and the trends they’re watching closely.”
]]> Sleuthing the Truth Edition (#139) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/12/18/sleuthing-the-truth-edition-139/ Fri, 18 Dec 2020 05:09:15 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=961 I expected a slow week in Podland. I was wrong. Some notable happenings:

And ICYMI, here’s This Week in Podcasts’ list of 21 Essential Podcast Episodes of 2020.

This is the final newsletter of the year. I’ll still be tweeting and updating my list of new and upcoming podcasts over the holidays, though. I’m also developing a spin-off newsletter, This Week in Music Podcasts. Sign up now.

Thanks so much for reading this year! Hit me up with any suggestions or feedback for 2021.

On to this week’s counts: 56 notable guests, 10 new podcasts, five deep dives and one killer clown.

Pod Take of the Week

“I like to say it was Facebook before there was Facebook.”

Listen: It’s a Wonderful Lie: “Bathing Suit & A Smile” (3:31)

  • That’s Ashley Flowers, on the phenomenon of braggy, over-the-top holiday letters.
  • Flowers, best known for hosting true crime pod Crime Junkie, teams with comedians Holly Laurent and Greg Hess on a pop-up pod to skewer the “wonderful and extravagant and beautiful” and “chock full of BS” letters that mark the holiday season for many.
  • The trio reads letters — names and locations changed — and tries to sleuth out the truth amid the suspected lies.
  • It’s this week’s highest-ranking debut on Apple Podcasts (No. 3).

Go Deep

 

1) Taylor Swift’s “evermore” (and More)

Listen: Popcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Switched on Pop, Ringer Dish, The Zane Lowe Interview Series

  • Taylor Swift’s surprise sister album to her surprise quarantine release “folklore” received at least four deep dives.
  • And she talks about it with Zane Lowe.
  • For more about “folklore”: The Sound and the Story released another deep dive on that Grammy-nominated album.

2) Christmas Villains

Listen: We Got This!

  • Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin rank the worst of the Christmas-season baddies.

3) George Mallory’s Everest Expeditions  

Listen: The Explorers Podcast

  • The pod’s three episodes deep into a series on the British mountaineer’s efforts to climb Mount Everest.

4) Reconciliation in Rwanda

Listen: Ideas

  • The CBC pod begins a three-part series on “genocide, truth, and reconciliation looking at how Rwandans collectively decided to move forward and rebuild their society after the 1994 genocide.”

5) The Unabomber 

Listen: American Scandal

  • The Wondery pod goes deep with a multi-part series on domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski and his 17 years of attacks.

Guest Appearances By…

 

Ahmed, Riz The Treatment, Fresh Air

Alexander, Jason Angry Americans

Andrés, José The Journal.

Astley, Rick Ad Age Ad Lib

Ball, LaVar The ETCs with Kevin Durant

Bautista, Dave Life is Short with Justin Long

Bell, Kristen The Backstory

Blake, James Broken Record

Brennan, John O. Armchair Expert, Conversations with Tyler

Bridgers, Phoebe It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Brown, Brené Sway

Chieng, Ronny Black Frasier

Chung, Connie The Originals

Clinton, Hillary The Deciding Decade with Pete Buttigieg

Cohen, Michael Inside the Hive 

Collins, Bootsy WTF with Marc Maron

Common Song Exploder

  • The artist breaks down his track “A Riot in My Mind.”

Cotter, Andrew The Gist

Cuban, Mark The Bill Simmons Podcast

Cuoco, Kaley Good for You, Anna Faris is Unqualified, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Delaney, Rob The Brian Butterfield Pod-Pod-Podcast

Diaz, Cameron Second Life

Dorsey, Jack Distributed

Dyson, Michael Eric Kickass News

Esmail, Sam The Watch

Ferriss, Tim Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Fleming, Renée PORTRAITS

  • The soprano talks about the space in our brains dedicated to music.

Fox, Michael J. Literally! With Rob Lowe

Glass, Ira Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

Glenn, Scott WTF with Marc Maron

Graham, Ashley Creative Conversation

Hamm, Jon Kickass News

Handler, Chelsea The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Howard, Raon SmartLess

James, Jim Broken Record

Mantzoukas, Jason The Last Laugh

Marsalis, Branford Questlove Supreme

Mendes, Shawn Armchair Expert

Nancherla, Aparna I Said No Gifts!

Obama, Barack The Bill Simmons Podcast

Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria The Axe Files

Odom Jr., Leslie Your Fave’s Faves

  • He shares his favorite Christmas songs.

Offerman, Nick Talkhouse

  • In conversation with Jeff Tweedy.

Philipps, Busy U Talkin’ Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head

  • She helps break down the Talking Heads’ album “Naked.”

Plaza, Aubrey The Envelope

Pollan, Michael The Ezra Klein Show

Saget, Bob expediTIously

Shepard, Dax Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Snoop Dogg Red Table Talk

Thiessen, Tiffany Pardon My Take

Thompson, Tessa FANTI

Tweedy, Jeff Talkhouse

  • In conversation with Nick Offerman.

Walter, Jess The Maris Review

Williams, Pharrell The goop Podcast

Williams, Robbie Table Manners

Zaltzman, Helen Home Cooking

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Gaining Ground: The New Georgia (Dec. 17)

  • Against the backdrop of the two Senate seats up for grabs in Georgia, Rembert Browne and Jewel Wicker “detail what made this historic moment possible and talk to the key organizers, strategists, and voters who are hoping to see years of hard work change the South forever.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 79.

2) It’s a Wonderful Lie (Dec. 14)

  • The 12-part comedy pod “imagines the hilarious ‘truth’ hidden in your holiday newsletters.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 3.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 7.

3) Our Thing (Dec. 16)

  • The pod chronicles the life of Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, “an American gangster who became the underboss of the Gambino crime family.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 66.

4) Disgusting Hawk with Jessica Kirson (Dec. 14)

  • The comedian “presents a variety podcast featuring a series of eccentric characters.”

5) The Ladies Room (Dec. 14)

  • Jane McManus and Julie DiCaro “take a deep dive into issues surrounding women and sports, with lots of laughs along the way.”
  • It’s from Deadspin.

6) The Clown and the Candyman (Dec. 15)

  • A true crimer about two serial killers: Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy.

7) The Backstory (Dec. 15)

  • Jason Bentley teams with Soho House to “pair innovators and creators together to unlock the secrets of their creative DNA.”

8) Parental Advisory Podcast (Dec. 15)

  • Jack Gilinsky, Jack Johnson, Sammy Wilk and Brant Carter “talk about how their impulsive decisions have led to crazy experiences.”

9) Soul Stories (Dec. 16)

  • The Spotify exclusive’s a companion to the upcoming Pixar movie “Soul.”

10) HGTV Obsessed (Dec. 17)

  • Influencers and HGTV superfans Kat and Mike Stickler “dive deep into all things HGTV—interviews, episode recaps, games, inside scoop, and more.”

And Two to Look Forward to Next Week: 

From Now (Dec. 21)

  • The QCODE sci-fi show tracks a lost spaceship that “returns to Earth after vanishing thirty-five years prior. The lone survivor disembarks mysteriously​ looking the exact same age as when he left​.”

Checking In with Michelle Williams (Dec. 22)

  • Former Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams and “her famous friends let it all out as they reveal their intimate experiences with depression, anxiety and their mental health journeys.”

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

]]> Essential Episodes Edition (#138) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/12/11/essential-episodes-edition-138/ Fri, 11 Dec 2020 05:06:13 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=959 Best-podcasts-of-the-year season continues:

I’ve also posted This Week in Podcasts’ 22 Essential Podcast Episodes of 2020. Have a read and let me know what you think.

Quick note on the TWIP schedule. The last newsletter of 2020 (good riddance!) goes out Dec. 18. Then a holiday break. Then the next newsletter: Jan. 8, 2021.

On to this week’s counts: 62 notable guests, nine new podcasts, six deep dives and one more very popular true crime podcast debuts.

Pod Take of the Week

“The majority is not the goal. I’m not gonna be proud that 94 percent of families know what’s going on right now. I want 100 percent of families.” 

Listen: Every Little Thing: Essential Workers (16:39)

  • That’s Tamasha Emedi, assistant principal at an elementary school outside of Seattle, on the gap in internet connectivity and access to online school among students.
  • Emedi says 94 percent of students have internet, but anything except 100 percent access means too many kids fall through the cracks.
  • Emedi’s one of several essential workers ELT spoke with for the second time about their work during the pandemic — the first was in April.
  • My take: A sobering, honest, on-the-ground look at the still-raging pandemic.

Go Deep

 

1) “The 12 Most Important Dates in Culture History”

Listen: Las Culturistas 

  • Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang are two episodes into their offbeat “seasonal” countdown.
  • How offbeat? The day McDonald’s opened its doors makes the cut. So does the emergence of Mary M. Cosby of “Real Housewives.”

2) Secrets of the Founding Fathers

Listen: Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know

  • A two-part dive into “some of the strangest, most obscure alleged secrets of the founding fathers.”

3) Mariah Carey

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour, The Zane Lowe Interview Series, The Journal.

  • One of the most enduring pop stars, as Pop Culture Happy Hour describes her, continues her holiday season high-profile.
  • PCHH looks at her career and staying power.
  • On Zane Lowe’s show, Carey shares her fave holiday songs.
  • On The Journal she traces the rise of her Christmas anthem, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

4) Holiday Movies 

Listen: The PosCast with Joe Posnanski & Michael Schur

  • The pod’s annual holiday draft goes after the best holiday movies.
  • Drafters include Nick Offerman, Linda Holmes and Jason Kander.

5) “Hiroshima” 

Listen: Writ Large

  • A deep-dive into John Hersey’s famed chronicle of Hiroshima, which MIT Professor Christopher Capozzola says every American should read.

6) Roy Cohn

Listen: Behind the Bastards

  • A two-part look at the notorious political fixer, aka “the man who made Donald Trump.”

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Andersen, Kurt This Day in Esoteric Political History

Bell, Lake Life is Short with Justin Long

Bloom, Rachel The Adam Buxton Podcast

Braff, Zach WTF with Marc Maron

Brie, Alison Keep It, Good for You

Buteau, Michelle The Maris Review, Bananas

Byer, Nicole Green Eggs and Dan

Carey, Mariah The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Cleese, John Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Cook, Tim Outside Podcast

Crawford, Cindy Skimm’d From the Couch

Fauci, Anthony Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction

Ferriss, Tim You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Fillion, Nathan Inside of You

Galanis, Steve Sway

  • Convo with the founder of Cameo.

Garten, Ina Homemade

George, Paul All the Smoke

Gervais, Ricky SmartLess

Gladwell, Malcolm Book of Basketball 2.0

Godin, Seth The Jordan Harbinger Show

Grace, Laura Jane The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Green, Seth Anna Faris is Unqualified

Hall, Carla Your Fave’s Faves

Hamilton, Laird The Rich Roll Podcast

Hamm, Jon The Bill Simmons Podcast

Hardstark, Georgia I Said No Gifts!

Hough, Julianne Danica Patrick Pretty Intense

Jones, Norah Talkhouse

Judd, Wynona Biscuits & Jam

Kid Cudi The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Kilar, Jason Sway

  • The CEO of WarnerMedia talks about releasing Warner Bros. 2021 films on HBO Max and whether it’s the “final death blow” for theaters.

Kirson, Jessica The Last Laugh

Lyonne, Natasha Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

McCartney, Paul The Adam Buxton Podcast

McDormand, Frances The Kitchen Sisters Present

McQueen, Steve The New Yorker Radio Hour

Melanie C Homo Sapiens

  • A two-parter with the former Spice Girl.

Morgan, Leanne Why Mommy Drinks

Mosley, Walter Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Oates, John Eric Krasno Plus One

Obama, Barack Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

O’Hara, Catherine Literally! With Rob Lowe

Portman, Natalie Armchair Expert

Samberg, Andy The Envelope

Sedaris, David Good One

Seinfeld, Jerry The Tim Ferriss Show

Shriver, Maria Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Sia Grounded with Louis Theroux

Slate, Jenny The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Soderbergh, Steven The Big Picture

Sterling, Gabriel The Daily

  • The Republican official from Georgia who said enough to President Donald Trump tells his story.

Taylor-Joy, Anya The Envelope

Thompson, Wright Longform Podcast

Tweedy, Jeff Talkhouse

Vonn, Lindsey Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Wallace, Bubba Talks at Google

Warwick, Dionne Toure Show

Watts, Shannon What’s Her Story 

Williams, Brad WTF with Marc Maron

Williams, Pharrell Broken Record

Wilson, Russell Pardon My Take

Winslet, Kate Fresh Air

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Death of a Starlet (Dec. 8)

  • Another Wondery true crimer. This one focuses on the August 1980 death of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 4.

2) Catfish: The Podcast (Dec. 9)

  • Nev Schulman revisits “shocking episodes” of the MTV series.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 12.

3) MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast (Dec. 10)

  • The pod recaps the new season of “The Challenge.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 23.

4) That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast (Dec. 8)

  • Liza Treyger and Kara Klenk “break down episodes of “Law & Order: SVU,” deep dive into the true crimes they’re based on, and interview on-screen talent.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 38.

5) OTHERtone with Pharrell, Scott, and Fam-Lay (Dec. 7)

  • Pharrell Williams co-hosts “a glimpse into the minds of our culture’s unicorns, and how they think about life, art, and everything in between.”

6) LEGO Bits N’ Bricks (Dec. 9)

  • The LEGO Games podcast explores “some of the many fascinating stories and lessons learned from a quarter century of game development.”

7) Where the Internet Lives (Dec. 9)

  • The Google podcast dives into “the unseen world of data centers.”

8) The Envelope (Dec. 9)

  • The Los Angeles Times unveils its awards-season pod.

9) Cadaver Gals (Dec. 9)

  • Three friends “discuss all the fun and flirty ways people die to cope with their own mortality.” FWIW, it’s listed as a comedy.

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

]]> ‘Tis the Season Edition (#137) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/12/04/tis-the-season-edition-137/ Fri, 04 Dec 2020 02:02:58 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=917 Happy best-podcasts-of-the-year season! Some highlights:

More best-of lists next week for sure, including This Week in Podcasts’ essential episodes of 2020. Any I should consider? Hit me up.

This week’s counts: 68 notable guests, 10 new podcasts, five deep dives and one hot show about “real-life American Psychos.”

Pod Take of the Week

“There’s no failed experiment if you’re paying attention to the world.”

Listen Broken Record: Jeff Tweedy’s Songwriting Master Class (49:48)

  • That’s Tweedy, on the lack of downside to simply noticing what’s going on around you.
  • The leader of the band Wilco and the author of “How to Write One Song” adds: “I am aware that my brain wants to make sense of stuff, and I give it an opportunity to make sense of stuff.”
  • My take: A shot of inspiration for creators.

Go Deep

 

1) “All I Want for Christmas is You”

Listen: 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s

  • The Spotify-exclusive pod goes 40 minutes on Mariah Carey’s modern Christmas classic that you now can’t get out of your head. ‘Tis the season!

2) America’s Homelessness Crisis 

Listen: 99% Invisible

  • Katie Mingle spent “two years trying to understand how we’re helping the hundreds of thousands of people living without adequate shelter in America today.”
  • The result: A five-part series, According to Need.

3) TikTok vs. Instagram

Listen: Business Wars

  • The Wondery pod’s two episodes into a series on the battle between the social media giants.

4) The Lives of Seniors

Listen: Everyday Decisions with Jo Firestone

  • The comedian, who teaches comedy to seniors, talks to her students about how they spend their mornings.
  • It’s a three-part series. Total listen time: 3 hours, 7 minutes.

5) Hacking Schools

Listen: What Next, The Journal.

  • The Slate and Wall Street Journal pods investigate what’s driving ransomware attacks on school.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

21 Savage expediTIously

Acho, Emmanuel Armchair Expert

Baldwin, Alec The New Abnormal

Belushi, Jim Literally! With Rob Lowe

Berninger, Matt Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

Bodden, Alonzo Green Eggs and Dan

Boreanaz, David The Big Ticket

Brand, Russell The Jordan Harbinger Show

Bridgers, Phoebe The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Brockovich, Erin I Don’t Know About That, Useful Idiots

Brosh, Allie You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Burke, Kareem The ETCs with Kevin Durant

  • Convo with the Roc-a-Fella Records co-founder.

Burton, Levar The Sporkful

Caan, James WTF with Marc Maron

Carlos, John I’m So Obsessed

Catmull, Ed The goop Podcasts

  • The Pixar co-founder tells Gwyneth Paltrow about creating company culture and effective leadership.
  • He says: “One of the rules for the powerful people is they’re supposed to shut the hell up for the first ten or fifteen minutes.”

Chang, David The Bill Simmons Podcast

Chenowith, Kristin Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Clinton, Hillary Armchair Expert

Coel, Michaela Grounded with Louis Theroux

Corgan, Billy The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Cranston, Bryan Pardon My Take

Cross, David Life is Short with Justin Long

Densmore, John WTF with Marc Maron

DiFranco, Ani Bullseye

Ek, Daniel The Tim Ferriss Show

Feimster, Fortune Do You Need a Ride?

Godin, Seth Design Matters

Goldsmith, Taylor Never Not Funny 

Heller, Marielle Sway

Higgins, John Michael The Last Laugh

Holland, Mary Las Culturistas

  • Thank you for “Happiest Season,” Mary.

Hollis, Rachel Danica Patrick Pretty Intense

Jackson, Randy At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

James, LeBron Road Trippin’

  • Part one of a two-parter with the basketball superstar.

Jewel Song Exploder

  • She breaks down her hit “You Were Meant For Me.”
  • Spoiler: That’s Flea on bass.

Kelly, Scott Armchair Expert

Kerman Langston Why Won’t You Date Me?

Kesha Good For You

Kimmel, Jimmy The Dave Chang Show

Klebold, Sue Nobody Told Me!

Kornheiser, Tony The Bill Simmons Podcast

Kroll, Nick Impaulsive

Kwapis, Ken Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Lapkus, Lauren Bananas

Lee, Dr. Sandra What’s Her Story with Sam & Amy

  • Dr. Pimple Popper talks about the community of “pop-aholics.”

Louis-Dreyfus, Julia The New Abnormal

Martindale, Margo Maltin on Movies

McConaughey, Matthew Kickass News

  • He’s been a podcast guest six of the last seven weeks!

McDonald, Audra You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

McHale, Joel Anna Faris is Unqualified

Murphy, Ryan Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Ndegeocello, Meshell Switched on Pop

Nielsen, Rick Rockin’ the Suburbs

  • The Cheap Trick guitarist sits for the pod’s 1,000th episode.

Nuñez, Oscar You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Oluo, Ijeoma The Cut

Palamides, Natalie Good One

Parton, Dolly Table Manners

Peretti, Chelsea Doughboys

  • She and the Doughboys review Peet’s Coffee.

Royce Da 5’9 Cannon’s Class

Silverman, Sarah SmartLess

Smith, Stephen A. expediTIously

Sullivan, Andrew The Megyn Kelly Show

Symon, Michael Beyond the Plate

Taylor, Shelli Decoder

  • The CEO of Alamo Drafthouse talks about reopening theaters, streaming.

Trainor, Meghan Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Tweedy, Jeff Broken Record

Watts, Reggie Eric Krasno Plus One

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Red Collar (Dec. 1)

  • Catherine Townsend “dives into the minds of…real-life American Psychos.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 1.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 4.

2) The Mismatch (Dec. 4)

  • In the Ringer pod Kevin O’Connor and Chris Vernon “discuss all the news, trends, and transactions happening in the NBA.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 18.

3) Duck Call Room (Dec. 3)

  • Si Robertson and Justin Martin “share hilarious stories, tall tales, hunting adventures, pop culture commentary, and all the antics and escapades you know and love.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 24.

4) Little Stories Everywhere (Dec. 1) 

  • Virginia Madsen and Robbie Daymond read classic children’s books.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 168.

5) Say Yas to the Guest (Nov. 30)

  • Patrick Starrr and “friends chat about how they met, how they got success and how they overcame the status quo.”

6) American Coyote (Dec. 1) 

  • It’s a 10-part story “of a legendary man and unlikely hero, Elden Kidd, who supported his family of five as a Coyoté and gave countless others a chance at a better life.”

7) About a Girl (Nov. 29)

  • The scripted narrative anthology series “brings to light the stories of women who inspired some of the most celebrated and enduring music of the modern age.” Eleanor Wells hosts.

8) Half-Forgotten History (Dec. 2)

  • Former ESPNer Trey Wingo’s pod features “Super Bowl Champs, Hall of Famers, and stories you won’t want to miss.”

9) What They Don’t Tell You With Jordyn Jones (Dec. 3)

  • The singer/actress/influencer shares “how to stay true to yourself while on your life path”.

10) Podland (Dec. 3)

  • James Cridland and Sam Sethi “analyse the news from the world of podcasting and interview some of the biggest names that matter in Podland.”

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

 

]]> Quintessential American Craze Edition (#136) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/11/27/quintessential-american-craze-edition-136/ Fri, 27 Nov 2020 02:00:39 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=915 This American Life celebrated its 25th anniversary by dropping several classic episodes into its feed. Great timing, because it’s been a relatively quiet week in Podcastland. Few new podcasts, few ambitious deep dives. Ample coverage of U.S. Thanksgiving, though.

The counts: 59 notable guests, 12 new podcasts, four deep dives and one re-evaluation of “Lolita.”

Pod Take of the Week

“[He] strutted brilliantly, a spectacularly squat, impudent, omnipotent part urchin, part prince.” 

Listen: Men in Blazers: Diego Maradona Emergency Pod (4:03)

  • That’s Roger Bennett, recalling the contradictory pinnacle of the life and career of the late Diego Maradona.
  • MIB and other sports pods paid tribute to the Argentine footballer, a global firestarter who passed away this week at age 60.
  • Adds Bennett: “He was a footballing wonder. He was also a human cautionary tale.”
  • Here’s a taste of the remembrances from top English-language sports pods:
  • Football Weekly’s tribute includes an interview with Asif Kapadia, director of the documentary “Diego Maradona,” and Marcela Mora y Araujo highlights the reaction in Argentina.
  • Ringer FC interviews Ian Wright and discusses Maradona’s greatest goals.

Go Deep

 

1) Thanksgiving

Listen: All My Relations, Code Switch, Everything Everywhere, A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich, We Got This!, This American Life

  • U.S. Thanksgiving got solid play in Podcastland this week, including these thoughtful takes:
  • All My Relations investigates “the real story of Thanksgiving and the complex history undergirding this event in relation to Indigenous people.”
  • Code Switch revisits a previous episode about Thanksgiving, asking, “How do you deal with family members who have really, really different political beliefs than you?”
  • A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich asks: “Does turkey kinda suck?”
  • Everything Everywhere provides a quick overview of the history of the holiday.
  • We Got This! debates the best potato food.
  • And Ira Glass picked seven more This American Life episodes from the archive for Thanksgiving weekend listening.

2) Cabbage Patch Kids

Listen: Decoder Ring

  • Willa Paskin goes deep on the “soft bodied, plastic headed dolls with eyes that are just a little bit too close together.”
  • Context: During a two-year period in the ‘80s, “Americans would buy 20 million of them, worth one point two billion dollars, and the dolls would become known as a quintessential American toy craze, a well chronicled moment when we lost our minds over something we should not have.”

3) Racing Video Games

Listen: Past Gas

  • The pod wraps up a three-episode series on the history and influence of racing video games.
  • Total listen time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.

4) Garth Brooks 

Listen: Hit Parade

  • Chris Molanphy goes deep into the hitmaker’s country and pop careers over two episodes.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Adejuyigbe, Demi Punch Up the Jam

  • The comedian returns to the pod he once co-hosted to take on Weezer’s “Beverly Hills.”

Andres, Jose You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Armisen, Fred The A24 Podcast

Bridgers, Phoebe Talkhouse

Brie, Alison The Playlist Podcast Network

Buress, Hannibal Good One

Campbell, Mike WTF with Marc Maron

Cenac, Wyatt Wheels Off

Cross, David Bullseye

Cyrus, Miley The Zane Lowe Interview Series

David, Susan Armchair Expert

  • The Harvard Medical School psychologist addresses “the dangerous narrative that success equals happiness.”

DeFazio, Rocco You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Densmore, John The Rhino Podcast

Flynn, Johnny WTF with Marc Maron

Friedlander, Judah Fake the Nation

Gadsby, Hannah You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Goodall, Jane Sway

Grant, Hugh The Watch

Hart, Kevin Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Hirway, Hrishikesh Servant of Pod

Holland, Mary The Three Questions with Andy Richter, The Last Laugh

Jewel Armchair Expert

Judge, Mike The Joe Rogan Experience

Kelly, Scott Kickass News

Koch, Charles The Jordan Harbinger Show

Koy, Jo Literally! With Rob Lowe

Knox, Amanda Tig and Cheryl: True Story

Lapkus, Lauren Green Eggs and Dan

LaVette, Bettye Talkhouse

Lin, Jeremy ESPN Daily

  • The basketball player who bequeathed us Linsanity talks about his efforts to return to the NBA.

Mackey, John The Joe Rogan Experience

Mara, Kate Anna Faris is Unqualified

Mars, Roman Extra Spicy

McBride, James It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

McCartney, Paul SmartLess

McConaughey, Matthew Good Life Project

  • The man continues his incredible guesting presence. He’s been out there for five of the last six weeks.

Mochrie, Colin Bald Talk

Moore, Demi Red Table Talk

Morris, Errol The Big Picture

Nosrat, Samin You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, Servant of Pod

Obama, Barack Inside the Hive

Odom Jr., Leslie Broken Record, Talks at Google

Parker, Priya Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Paulson, Sarah Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Reilly, John C. The A24 Podcast

Rinella, Steven The Tim Ferriss Show

Robinson, Smokey Rolling Stone Music Now

Rowland, Kelly Pretty Big Deal

Ruffin, Amber Las Culturistas

Smart, Elizabeth Nobody Told Me!

Spencer, Phil Decoder

  • The guy in charge of Xbox talks about how gaming has become a dominant part of mainstream culture.

Trainor, Meghan Table Manners with Jessie Ware

Vardalos, Nia Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

Wade, Dwyane Road Trippin’

Willie D The Joe Rogan Experience

Wilson, John The Last Laugh

Wilson, Mara Night Call

Winter, Alex The Treatment

Youssef, Ramy Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Tenfold More Wicked (Nov. 23)

  • The true crimer offers “a gruesome trip through history with chilling campfire stories of true crime.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 27.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 16.

2) Lolita Podcast (Nov. 23)

  • Jamie Loftus “traces Lolita — the person, Dolores Haze — from her literary origin to current status as a doomed icon.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 96.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 23.

3) The Ringer Music Show (Nov. 22)

  • Charles Holmes “digs deep into the stories that are driving the conversation in the music world, drawing on reporting, expert discussions, and his own sharp analysis.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 9.

4) Big Man on Basketball (Nov. 23)

  • It’s Barstool Sports’s “all encompassing basketball betting podcast.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 93.

5) Uprising: A Guide From Portland (Nov. 23)

  • The iHeartRadio pod offers “[b]ackground and breakdown on 100 days of Portland insurrection” in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank:  No. 24.

6) Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette (Nov. 24)

  • “Uncensored, unscripted, in-depth conversations” from the WWE personality.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 20.

7) The Shattered Window (Nov. 22) 

  • An “investigative true crime series” that “dissects a case that has polarized and puzzled the minds of those who know it”: The disappearance of 7-year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby from her bedroom in the middle of the night.

8) Ghost Gate Road (Nov. 23)

  • A true crimer about Australian serial killer Vince O’Dempsey.

9) I’m Not a Monster (Nov. 23)

  • The FRONTLINE and BBC Panorama production attempts “to uncover the truth about an American family’s journey from Indiana to the Islamic State group’s caliphate and back.”

10) Temporary (Nov. 25)

  • The Guardian’s eight-part series “showcases stories from those seeking asylum in Australia.”

11) Surviving Life with Les Stroud (Nov. 26)

  • The “Survivorman” aims to “pull deep and inspiring life stories from artists and motivated individuals who continue to forge new pathways while surviving life itself.”

12) Shaking Out the Numb (Nov. 22)

  • The experimental pod from Sylvan Esso “weaves together found sounds from nature, conversations, memories, and songs” from the band’s new album.

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

]]> Dubious Series of Events Edition (#135) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/11/21/dubious-series-of-events-edition-135/ Sat, 21 Nov 2020 01:58:03 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=913 Congrats to Bill Gates and Rashida Jones on their new pod, which hit No. 1 on Apple Podcasts.

Bigger props to Dolly Parton. The legend made a large donation to help fund coronavirus vaccine research. Learn more about her awesomeness in Dolly Parton’s America, which, though it released last year, rose to No. 62 on the chart yesterday. She also guested on at least three pods this week.

The rest of the counts: 61 notable guests, 17 new podcasts, seven deep dives and one spectacular ad for a Welsh trailer company.

Pod Take of the Week

“A lot of people will tell me, ‘That’s not a taco. My grandmother, my abuela, made real tacos. She made real Mexican food and everything else is not Mexican food.’ Well, what if your grandmother’s a bad cook?”

Listen: The Sporkful: Hitting the Texas Taco with José Ralat (11:07)

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions (Nov. 16)

  • The business mogul/philanthropist and the actress/writer “tackle some of the biggest questions facing us today: Is it too late to solve climate change? Does everybody lie? Is inequality inevitable?”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 1.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 9.

2) Sweet Boys (Nov. 18)

  • YouTubers Garrett Watts and Andrew Siwicki conduct “a blissfully chaotic and curious conversation about what it means to live in this beautiful, crazy, and confusing modern world.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 35.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 2.

3) Gamblers (Nov. 18)

  • David Hill hosts the Ringer pod about the lives of six professional gamblers.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 87.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 15.

4) Recipe Club (Nov. 17) 

  • David Chang and Chris Ying “are joined by a rotating cast of culinary experts to prepare, eat, and judge three different recipes of the same dish.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 99.

5) Jacked: The Rise of New Jack Swing (Nov. 17)

  • Taraji P. Henson hosts the Wondery podcast about the sound that “dominated the pop music charts” in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

6) American Prodigy (Nov. 17)

  • Former Sports Illustrated soccer reporter Grant Wahl tells the story of former American soccer prodigy Freddy Adu.

7) Stuff the British Stole (Nov. 20)

  • The British Empire “stole a lot of stuff. Today those objects are housed in genteel institutions across the UK and the world. They usually come with polite plaques. This is a series about the not-so-polite history behind those objects.”
  • Marc Fennell hosts.

8) Add to Cart (Nov. 17)

  • Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak take “funny-but-meaningful looks at modern consumerism and anything we ‘buy into,’ such as products, philosophies, lifestyles, and entertainment choices.”

9) POOG with Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak (Nov. 17)

  • The hosts go on an “obsessive quest through the highs and the lows of the healing world” for Will Ferrell’s Big Money Players Network of comedy podcasts.

10) The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass (Nov. 18)

  • The pod tells the story of “the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.”

11) Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast (Nov. 18)

  • The singer says her pod “is like chilling with that friend who says what everyone wants to say but is too afraid to – times three.”

12) Your Fave’s Faves (Nov. 18)

  • Rachel Hollis “sits down with celeb guests to get real about their ultimate ‘Top Five,’ in any category they want.”

13) Greetings from Somewhere (Nov. 18)

  • Zach Mack hosts a “documentary-style travel podcast that explores and celebrates unique places.”

14) Hunting Ghislaine (Nov. 19)

  • John Sweeney investigates Jeffrey Epstein’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell, telling “a fairy story which happens the wrong way round, of how a princess ends up accused of being the monster and no-one at all ends up happily ever after.”

15) Kesha and the Creepies (Nov. 20)

  • The pop star “explores supernatural subjects and alternative lifestyles with today’s most exciting pop culture guests & supernatural experts.”

16) [X] on [Y] (Nov. 20)

  • Artists invite listeners “on a deep dive into a musician and catalogue that has influenced their artistry.”

17) Curveball (Nov. 17)

  • Kellie Riordan “tracks down our boldest and brightest leaders and asks them to reveal the tips, tricks and hacks that help them tackle life’s toughest moments.”

For 10 more new podcasts plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> No Chaos Edition (#134) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/11/14/no-chaos-edition-134/ Sat, 14 Nov 2020 01:55:29 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=911 Quick note: This Saturday edition was unplanned. Thanks for your patience. Next week’s edition will arrive on Saturday by design. Same podcast love, just a day later.

This week’s counts: 45 notable guests, 12 new podcasts, five deep dives and one president-elect who believes in math.

Pod Take of the Week

“You can’t litigate math. Math doesn’t respond well to your opinions.”

Listen: Sway: Math Lessons from Pennsylvania (11:31)

  • That’s John Fetterman, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania and breakout social media star, on the granite foundational fact of the results of the U.S presidential election in the Keystone State and, of course, everywhere else.
  • Reminder: Despite all the shouting, math says Joe Biden won Pennsylvania and the presidency.
  • Says Fetterman: “This was all designed to look chaotic when, in fact, there was no chaos.”

Go Deep

 

1) Anthems

Listen: Switched on Pop

  • The SOP guys are three episodes through a four-part series breaking down pop music anthems, examining “what makes a song the one that a whole stadium or arena can sing as one, a song that soundtracks our public life.”
  • The first three songs: Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready for This” and Smash Mouth’s “All Star.” Missy Elliot’s “Work It” rounds out the series next week.

2) The State of the Coronavirus and COVID-19

Listen: Public Health on Call, Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction, Checks and Balance

  • A good news/horrible news week on the COVID-19 front:
  • Good news: Pfizer reported “encouraging early results from Phase III” of its vaccine clinical trials. Public Health on Call discusses what might happen next.
  • Also good news: President-elect Biden has plans to address the pandemic in the U.S. Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction and The Economist’s Checks and Balance investigate what difference the Biden administration might make.
  • Horrible news: Case numbers are rising — skyrocketing, in some countries like the U.S. It’s a humanitarian crisis. Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction analyzes what that could mean.

3) The Death of James Le Mesurier

Listen: Intrigue

  • The BBC podcast dropped a 10-part series investigating the “tangle of truths and lies about [Le Mesurier’s] involvement with the White Helmets first responders in Syria.”
  • Le Mesurier helped pull survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria. His detractors believe him to be a British secret agent.
  • Le Mesurier fell to his death in Istanbul in 2019.

4) “A Day in the Life” 

Listen: Strong Songs

  • A 58-minute breakdown of the Beatles’ masterpiece.

5) The Science of “Children of Men”

Listen: Bad Science

  • A 35-minute breakdown of Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian masterpiece through the lens of science.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Abrams, Stacey You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, Pod Save America

  • The politician and voting rights advocate continues her push to change Georgia’s political representation.
  • Correction: Sorry about the missing e in your name last week, Stacey!

Adejuyigbe, Demi Home Cooking

  • The comedian talks quarantine cooking. About his baking he says, “I love to be called ignorant in a nice way for once.”

Armisen, Fred The Last Laugh

Bird, Sue Bananas

Black, Rebecca Terrible, Thanks for Asking

Brockovich, Erin How To! with Charles Duhigg

Bruckheimer, Jerry Literally! With Rob Lowe

Cuban, Mark Decoder

Cuoco, Kaley Armchair Expert

DMX People’s Party with Talib Kweli

Fetterman, John Sway, Lovett or Leave It

Fleck, Béla Eric Krasno Plus One

  • Convo with the with legendary banjo player.

Gladwell, Malcolm Anna Faris is Unqualified

Groban, Josh Off Menu

Halford, Rob Bullseye

Hamm, Jon Black Frasier

Healy, Fran The Adam Buxton Podcast

Heidecker, Tim The Last Laugh

Hinchcliffe, Tony The Joe Rogan Experience

Karr, Mary The Tim Ferriss Show

  • The writer says, the “solution to fear is curiosity and presence. I can’t be terrified and curious at the same time.”

Keys, Alicia Red Table Talk

Killam, Taran Life is Short with Justin Long

Kravitz, Lenny Broken Record

Kreischer, Bert Good One

Langella, Frank WTF with Marc Maron

Melua, Katie Sodajerker on Songwriting

Moby You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

O’Brien, Conan SmartLess

Porter, Katie Hysteria

Reilly, John C. The Last Laugh

Retta The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Rivera, Gabby Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

  • Convo with the first Latina to write for Marvel Comics.

Robinson, Phoebe Pretty Big Deal

Rosenthal, Phil Green Eggs and Dan

Roth, Eric Scriptnotes

Rubin, Gretchen Nobody Told Me!

Sedaris, David Kickass News

Seehorn, Rhea WTF with Marc Maron

Serrano, Shea Throwing Fits

Simpson, Sturgill Broken Record

Steinem, Gloria TED Talks Daily

Thompson, Wright Gangrey: The Podcast

Vaynerchuk, Gary Just B with Bethenny Frankel

Wambach, Abby The goop Podcast

Yang, Bowen Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out

  • The SNLer discusses conversion therapy and Googling yourself.

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Do No Harm (Nov. 10) 

  • The Wondery and NBC News co-production focuses on “a medical and legal system so focused on protecting children from abuse, it has targeted innocent parents.”
  • Mike Hixenbaugh hosts.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 2.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 5.

2) A New Untold Story (Nov. 12)

  • Another rambling pod from Barstool Sports.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 65.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 9.

3) The Oyster (Nov. 13)

  • A sci-fi pod about an uninhabitable future earth and an underground shelter.
  • Carla Gugino and Giancarlo Esposito are among the stars.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 111.

4) I Saw What You Did (Nov. 10)

  • Millie De Chirico and Danielle Henderson “program a double-feature of their favorite movies with a different wild theme every week,” and they “dissect the films and explore the weird ways we respond to and learn to love movies.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 157.

5) 90210MG (Nov. 9)

  • “90210” cast members Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth join the TV show recap pod gold rush.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 170.

6) Thin Black Line (Nov. 7)

  • The true crimer from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation investigates the “1993 death of Daniel Yock [that] sparked a wildfire of anger fuelled by decades of bad blood between police and the Aboriginal community.”

7) Good Influence with Gemma Styles (Nov. 8)

  • Each week features “a guest who’ll help us pay attention to something we should know about, but maybe don’t.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 4.

8) 13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre (Nov. 9)

  • Sarah Ritchie leads a 13-part series that “will try to piece together exactly what happened and what could or should have been done to prevent it.”

9) Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums (Nov. 10)

  • The Amazon-exclusive pod tells the “stories behind some of the most essential albums of all time, told by the artists who made them and Rolling Stone’s writers and editors.”

10) Decoder (Nov. 10)

  • The show from The Verge is “about big ideas — and other problems.”
  • Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel hosts.

11) Under Construction (Nov. 11)

  • Tamar Braxton “gives you a glimpse into her life, by sharing her experiences as she navigates relationships, motherhood and her career.”

12) Constantly Evolving (Nov. 12)

  • Musician Eve hosts the BBC pod about “how to get the most out of life.”

For 13 more new podcasts plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> We Got This Edition (#133) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/11/06/we-got-this-edition-133/ Fri, 06 Nov 2020 01:52:17 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=909 The U.S. presidential election has been inescapable. A few notes on how it played in Podland:

  • Five of the top 10 Apple Podcasts episodes today focus on the election.
  • Two of the top five Spotify Trending podcasts focus on the election.
  • I couldn’t find one podcast debut in the Apple Podcasts top 200. I assume launching amid the madness seemed unwise.

More election podcast coverage below. For now, the counts: 53 notable guests, six new podcasts, five deep dives and one more week of McConaughey.

Pod Take of the Week

“For the last four years we’ve all been on a plane that’s making a crash landing. The pilot’s like, ‘Okay, we’ve got this. We’re foaming the runway. Don’t worry. We’re gonna make it.’ But it still doesn’t feel great, even towards the end.”

Listen: Pod Save America: “We won.” (8:24)

  • That’s Jon Favreau, on the white-knuckling of much of the country during the President Trump years.
  • Favreau and the rest of the Pod Save America guys allowed themselves a subdued mini-celebration, as Joe Biden edges ahead in the critical battleground states and finds himself on the brink of the presidency.

Go Deep

 

1) The U.S. Presidential Election

Listen: This Day in Esoteric Political History, The Daily, The Journal.

  • A few episodes that provide context to ongoing events and (I hope) won’t feel stale by the time you listen.
  • This Day in Esoteric Political History crowdsources an episode that asks, “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?”
  • The Daily’s episode today drills down into President Trump’s statement where “he lied about the legality of the votes against him” and layed “a conspiracy at the feet of the democrats.”
  • The Journal “looks ahead to possible legal challenges and recounts.”

2) The Ocoee Election Day Massacre

Listen: Flashback: History’s Unintended Consequences

  • The IHeartRadio and OZY production launches a multi-part series on “the worst incident of election violence in American history.”
  • The tragedy took place in 1920 in Ocoee, Florida, where black citizens were massacred for trying to vote.

3) The Van Halens vs. Van Halen’s Singers 

Listen: Rivals

  • The two-part series examines the two eras of the band led by the late Eddie Van Halen.
  • Listen time: 2 hours, 9 minutes.

4) “Dazed and Confused”

Listen: The Big Picture

  • The Ringer pod goes 1 hour, 40 minutes on the Richard Linklater classic.
  • Linklater guests, as does Melissa Maerz, author of “Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.”

5) Denim Wars

Listen: Business Wars

  • The Wondery pod kicks off a six-part series about Levi Strauss and the big business of denim.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Abrams, Stacy The Ezra Klein Show

  • One of the architects of the newly blue Georgia talks about the fight for democracy.

Atamanuik, Anthony The Last Laugh

Bee, Samantha Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Berninger, Matt Sodajerker on Songwriting

Brody, Adam Armchair Expert

Carlin, Dan Artificial Intelligence with Lex Fridman

Cooper, Sarah Sway

Coppola, Sofia The Treatment

Costello, Elvis The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Cross, David WTF with Marc Maron

Doyle, Glennon Design Matters

DiFranco, Ani Eric Krasno Plus One

Frankel, Bethenny Life is Short with Justin Long

Gill, Vince Biscuits & Jam

Grace, Laura Jane Bullseye

Handler, Chelsea Red Table Talk

Hawke, Maya Broken Record

  • The pod calls the songs on her debut album “clever, poetic and raw.”

Hayes, Chris The Ezra Klein Show

Heidecker, Tim Kickass News

Hirway, Hrishikesh The Sporkful

Hudson, Kate and Oliver How To! with Charles Duhigg

Jacobson, Abbi Queery

Jefferies, Jim You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Kelly, Scott The Tim Ferriss Show

Lapkus, Lauren Good One

Linklater, Richard The Big Picture

Lovitz, Jon Literally! With Rob Lowe

Lynch, Jane Working

Mackey, John Freakonomics Radio

  • Convo with the Whole Foods CEO.

Mandel, Pam Deviate with Rolf Potts, Leif Pettersen Makes a Podcast Podcast

Mantzoukas, Jason Comedy Bang! Bang!

Marsalis, Wynton Democracy Works

McConaughey, Matthew On Purpose with Jay Shetty

  • He’s still out there on his book tour.

Middleditch, Thomas Comedy Bang! Bang!

Milioti, Cristin Bullseye

Minogue, Kylie The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Morello, Tom People Have the Power

Nosrat, Samin The Sporkful

Oswalt, Patton The Dave Chang Show

  • The comedian talks bad movies with the chef.

Parsons, Jim Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Rinella, Steven The Joe Rogan Experience

Rippon, Adam Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins

Rivers, Doc ESPN Daily

Schrek, Heidi WTF with Marc Maron

  • Convo with the creator of “What the Constitution Means to Me.”

Shanahan, Brendan SmartLess

Shearer, Harry Kickass News

Smith, Will Red Table Talk

Thompson, Emma Sue Perkins: An hour or so with…

VanderMeer, Jeff Sway

Wambach, Abby Design Matters

Wilson, Dan The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Ziering, Ian Hustling with Vivica A. Fox

  • Steve Sanders!

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Play Me a Recipe (Nov. 6)

  • Food52 cooks “measure, chop, stir, and sauté their way through a recipe.”

2) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Vault (Nov. 6)

  • The Rock Hall rolls out induction speeches “from the biggest names in music ranging from the Beatles to NWA.”

3) Source Material (Oct. 30)

  • The Vice pod “presents world events through the recordings of those who lived it.”

4) Music Saved Me (Nov. 3) 

  • Danny Clayton hosts the Musicians Making a Difference pod, talking “to different artists to see how music has shaped and changed their lives.”

5) Life Raft (Nov. 3)

  • Lauren Malara and Travis Lux “explore your questions about living with climate change.”

6) The Miseducation of John Mark (Nov. 1)

  • The drama pod follows John Mark, an activist who, after a killing, “sets out to unite his divided city together and stop both sides from descending into chaos.”

For upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Brain Overload Edition (#132) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/10/30/brain-overload-edition-132/ Fri, 30 Oct 2020 19:23:36 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=882 Heading into the last weekend before the U.S. presidential election Podland is obsessed with…Dr. Death. The second season of the hit pod ranks No. 1 on Apple Podcasts and No. 5 on Spotify’s Trending Podcasts list.

The rest of the counts: 42 notable guests, 13 new podcasts, six deep dives and one total eclipse.

Pod Take of the Week

“I’m just kind of constantly under a cognitive DDoS attack. The browser tabs are open but nothing’s coming up.”

Listen: Still Processing: ‘Waiter, There’s a Fly in Our Bubble’ (16:53)

  • That’s Jenna Wortham, aptly describing the 2020 vibe.
  • Wortham feels like the world is overloading her brain. Sound familiar?
  • The episode’s not all doom and gloom. Wortham and co-host Wesley Morris look for and find “moments that point us beyond the present, to be our best and greatest selves.”
  • My take: Keep hanging in there.

Go Deep

 

1) The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Listen: Binge Mode

  • Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion return with a deep, deep, deep dive into the 23 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • They’re also adding context with character studies and analysis of wider Marvel lore.
  • Two episodes of The Ringer series are live: “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.”

2) The Feds vs. the Activists

Listen: American Scandal

  • The Wondery pod dives deep into clashes between private citizens and the federal government.
  • First two episodes in the series: Billie Holiday and Martin Luther King, Jr.

3) Black Holes

Listen: Science Weekly

  • It’s a two-part dive into one of the “most enigmatic phenomena in the universe.”

4) The History of Jane Fonda’s Workout

Listen: Decoder Ring

  • Willa Paskin delivers another two-parter. This one analyzes the bestselling VHS tape of all time, and the “decadeslong relationship of Jane Fonda and Leni Cazden, a fraught friendship that birthed the…workout that changed the world.”

5) Trump, Explained

Listen: Today, Explained

  • The Vox pod approaches the end of a five-part series that looks back “at what Donald Trump did during his four years as president of the United States and what it means for the future of the American political experiment.”
  • You may not want to think back on the last four years. Or maybe you just don’t remember all that’s happened since early 2017. It’s a lot.
  • It explores “President Trump’s legacy, from health care to the coronavirus pandemic, from the economy and immigration to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and impeachment. Remember impeachment?”

6) The Jim Steinman Audio Universe

Listen: Hit Parade

  • The man behind ‘70s and ‘80s epic pop-music dramas like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” gets a two-part deep dive.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Biden, Joe Pod Save America

Campbell, Mike The Moment

Clinton, Hillary Just B with Bethenny Frankel, Sway

Common All the Smoke

Cooper, Sarah It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Coyne, Wayne All Songs Considered

Cross, David Fake the Nation

Cuban, Mark The Strategerist

Demie, Alexa The A24 Podcast

Dillon, Tim The Joe Rogan Experience

Faulkner, Grant The Upgrade

  • It’s almost NaNoWriMo time, y’all. Good luck to everyone writing. If you are, listen for some tips from the Executive Director.

Fielder, Nathan The A24 Podcast

Graham, Ashley Skimm’d From the Couch

Handler, Chelsea Pretty Big Deal, The Last Laugh

Harry, Debbie Homo Sapiens

  • The music legend talks Blondie, entitlement.

Hill, Melinda WTF with Marc Maron

Hodgman, John Life is Short with Justin Long

John, Daymond The Strategerist

Jones, Alex The Joe Rogan Experience

  • Another appearance by the conspiracy theorist. People are not happy. Spotify has apparently defended the decision to provide him a platform.
  • As usual, I don’t link to Alex Jones.

Kasparov, Garry Stay Tuned with Preet

Kondabolu, Hari WTF with Marc Maron

Kravitz, Lenny Kickass News

Markoe, Merrill Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

McConaughey, Matthew The Rich Roll Podcast, Armchair Expert

  • He’s still out there making the pod rounds.

McFarland, Billy The Jordan Harbinger Show

Miele, Liz Self-Helpless

Miguel On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Miranda, Lin-Manuel Questlove Supreme

MrBeast The CouRage and Nadeshot Show

  • The YouTuber talks about his YouTube success.

Patinkin, Mandy The Axe Files

  • The actor talks about his rising social media popularity.

Rather, Dan Kickass News

Reinhorn, Holiday At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Russell, Karen Bookable

Sanders, Deion The David Banner Podcast, Pardon My Take

Smith, Sam The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Shriver, Maria Literally! With Rob Lowe

Springsteen, Bruce Broken Record, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Trump, Mary L. Work in Progress

Van Zandt, Stevie People Have the Power

West, Kanye The Joe Rogan Experience

Wilson, Rainn At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Witherspoon, Reese SmartLess

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Crimes of the Centuries (Oct. 26)

  • Amber Hunt “will examine a case that’s lesser known today but was huge when it happened. The cases explored span the centuries, and each left a mark: Some made history by changing laws. Others were so shocking they changed society.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 39.

2) Giggly Squad (Oct. 30)

  • Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo “make fun of everything, but most importantly themselves.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 62.

3) Sway Way (Oct. 25)

  • Sway House’s Griffin Johnson “takes you on a journey through the life of the sway house.”

4) Document (Oct. 26)

  • The first season of the new New Hampshire Public Radio podcast investigates “secret lists kept by government lawyers.”
  • The pod “looks at one state’s decades of secrecy around police misconduct and asks: why do these lists exist?”

5) Chronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? (Oct. 26)

  • The San Francisco Chronicle pod traces “the life, career and controversies of the first Black woman and first South Asian person on a major-party presidential ticket.”

6) Ghost Tape (Oct. 26)

  • The drama pod follows “Tessa Dixon at a remote army base in Texas as she deals with the psychological and physical trauma of basic training. When she finds a tape of her grandfather’s labeled ‘Ghost Tape’ and plays the haunting audio, she unknowingly unleashes a deadly manifestation of her own family’s horrible misdeeds.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 82.

7) Gun Play (Oct. 26)

  • The pod from KERA in Dallas chronicles a tiny theater company of teen actors who “set out to create an original stage play about our deep divisions over Second Amendment rights, mass shootings, background checks and automatic weapons.”

8) Death in Denmark (Oct. 27)

  • The Bauer Media pod “revisits some of the most spectacular Danish homicide cases of our time.”

9) Better Etc. (Oct. 27)

  • Trista Sutter “chats with experts and everyday people about how we can all be better versions of ourselves.”

10) Positively Gam (Oct. 28)

  • Adrienne Banfield Norris of Red Table Talk has “conversations with close friends and experts. Topics range from aging, relationships, wellness, sex, and what’s happening in the Black community.”

11) The Marianne Williamson Podcast: Conversations That Matter (Oct. 28)

  • The politician and activist “discusses love in politics, chats with her peers, and answers questions from her audience.”

12) Transmissions: The Definitive Story (Oct. 29)

  • It promises the definitive story of the bands Joy Division and New Order.

13) Finding Desperado (Oct. 30)

  • “Pop culture detectives” Alexei Toliopoulos and Cameron James “have uncovered a bizarre Guinness World Record from 2005. A record held by an elusive European aristocrat. A record that they believe to be fake.”

For nine more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Afloat on Combustible Gas Edition (#131) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/10/23/afloat-on-combustible-gas-edition-131/ Fri, 23 Oct 2020 19:21:24 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=880 Eleven days until the U.S. Presidential election. Three days before a scheduled vote on a new Supreme Court Justice. Keep hanging in there! And props to the podcasters keeping us informed and offering much-needed context. So many good political and news pods this week.

Avoiding politics? How does some McConaughey sound? He clocks at least 8 hours, 21 minutes of guest time.

The rest of the counts: 49 notable guests, 11 new podcasts, five deep dives and one scary debut.

Pod Take of the Week

“If a team of experts were assessing it anew, they didn’t know how we did things, they’d probably find it inadequate. And not just inadequate, but like the Hindenburg, afloat on combustible gas.” 

Listen: The Gist: Calling It: Steve Kornacki and Brian Stelter (2:13)

  • That’s Gist host Mike Pesca, on the state of the electoral system in the United States.
  • He adds: “We know the election system in America is antiquated. And inconsistent. We know it’s rickety and vulnerable.”
  • All week The Gist focused on one critical link in the chain: Election night and “how different news organizations handle making the winning calls,” and the unique challenges of this election cycle.
  • During the week-long series Pesca consults: Steve Kornacki (NBC News), Brian Stelter (CNN), Julie Pace (AP), Brian Rosenwald (University of Pennsylvania) and Dan Rather (longtime news anchor.)
  • My take: Vote!

Go Deep

 

1) The U.S. Supreme Court’s Rightward Turn

Listen: Deep Background with Noah Feldman

  • The five-part series from the Pushkin pod tracks “the historic rise of the Federalist Society, how a small group of students 40 years ago started a club that changed the face of the federal judiciary.”

2) Abuse in Sports

Listen: The Running Man

  • ESPN Investigates culminates a 14-month investigation with a four-part series into “an obscure former Olympian and alleged serial sexual predator.”
  • The crux: “It’s the tale of more than 50 men who say that, over the course of the past 40-plus years, they were physically abused and mentally manipulated by their ‘coach.’ And it’s the story of how they banded together, decades later, to find justice.”
  • Listen time: 2 hours.

3) “Tusk” 

Listen: Rockin’ the Suburbs

  • A deep dive into the album by the Internet’s current favorite band, Fleetwood Mac.
  • The album’s producer Ken Caillat and engineer Hernan Rojas join the show.
  • Listen time: 51 minutes.

4) Indonesia’s Refugee Community

Listen: Full Story

  • The Guardian Australia’s two-part series investigates “the forever in-between” for “almost 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in Indonesia.”

5) SAT vs. ACT

Listen: Business Wars

  • Wondery’s five-part exploration into the rise and impact of the college entrance exams lies behind a paywall on Wondery+.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Abrams, Stacey SmartLess

Alam, Rumaan The Maris Review

Arkin, Alan ID10T

Biden, Joe Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Bird, Sue All the Smoke

Bridgers, Phoebe Bananas, Rolling Stone Music Now

Brown, Austin Channing The goop Podcast

  • The author of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” says, “Hope is what we owe to one another as human beings.”

Butler, Win Broken Record

  • The Arcade Fire leader discusses the band’s album “The Suburbs” with Rick Rubin. It’s been 10 years since the album won the Best Album Grammy.

Cenac, Wyatt Off Menu

Chang, David Anna Faris is Unqualified

Cleese, John Kickass News

Cohen, Sacha Baron The New Abnormal

Copeland, Miles The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Doudna, Jennifer Sway

  • Convo with the co-developer of the gene-editing technology CRISPR.

Fauci, Anthony Public Health on Call

  • Keep it up, doc!

Frampton, Peter I’m So Obsessed,  Kickass News

Fulton, Sybrina You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

  • Trayvon Martin’s mother talks about “finding purpose after a terrible loss.”

Glazer, Ilana The New Yorker: Politics and More

Goldman, Alex Hollywood Handbook

Goldsmith, Taylor Sodajerker on Songwriting

Handler, Chelsea Armchair Expert

Hill, Katie How To! With Charles Duhigg

  • The former U.S. rep talks about surviving a public shaming.

Horan, Niall Men in Blazers

Jones, Rashida Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

July, Miranda Design Matters

Klepper, Jordan The Last Laugh

Kroll, Nick Life is Short with Justin Long

Kwan, Michelle At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Lacamoire, Alex Working

  • Convo with the music director and conductor of “Hamilton.”

Lakshmi, Padma Bullseye

Lenker, Adrianne The Pitchfork Review

  • Convo with the singer and Big Thief leader.

Lynch, Jane Literally! With Rob Lowe

Madden, Steve The Originals

McBride, Danny Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

McConaughey, Matthew WTF with Marc Maron, Pardon My Take, The School of Greatness, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Rachel Hollis Podcast, The GaryVee Audio Experience

  • The podcaster and Oscar-winning actor makes the pod rounds pitching his memoir.

Nanjiani, Kumail You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Nasser, Latif Longform Podcast

Netta This Must Be the Gig

  • The Eurovision winner talks music, working with Will Ferrell.

Oates, John Past, Present, Future, Live!

  • Half of Hall and Oates discusses his career, life in Colorado.

Oswalt, Patton You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Philipps, Busy I Weigh

Reid, Robert This Week in Travel

Rubin, Rick The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Run the Jewels Song Exploder

  • Killer Mike and El-P break down their song “JU$T.”

Smith, Kevin Inside of You

Smith, Patti WTF with Marc Maron

Springsteen, Bruce The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Stoker, Dacre Leif Pettersen Makes a Podcast Podcast

  • A two-part convo with the great grand-nephew of “Dracula” writer Bram Stoker.

Torres, Shane Good One

  • The comic dissects his “legendary defense of Guy Fieri.” Host Jesse David Fox credits the joke for turning around public perception of the chef. At least the public perception of a certain too-cool group.

Union, Gabrielle Keep It

Warren, Elizabeth Hysteria

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Aaron Mahnke’s 13 Days of Halloween (Oct. 19)

  • The pod from the creator of Lore promises an “auditory adventure that tows the line between ethereal horror and thrilling campfire tales.”
  • The caretaker, played by Keegan-Michael Key, guides the proceedings.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 26.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 24.

2) Dare to Lead with Brené Brown (Oct. 19)

  • The Spotify exclusive based on Brown’s book “Dare to Lead” “will be a mix of solo episodes and conversations with change-catalysts, culture-shifters, and as many troublemakers as possible.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 2.

3) Dumpster Fyre (Oct. 20) 

  • Fyre Festival fraudster Billy McFarland apparently has recorded a podcast from prison with Jordan Harbinger.

4) The Stuff Dreams are Made Of (Oct. 22)

  • “Veep” showrunner David Mandel and screenwriter/producer Ryan Condal “share their love of Hollywood memorabilia, revealing unbelievable stories around some of the most famous and culturally important props, costumes, art, and ephemera in silver screen history.”

5) Untold Killing (Oct. 22)

  • To mark the 25th anniversary of Srebrenica, the podcast “tells the little-known story of genocide and ethnic cleansing right in the heart of Europe through the voices of those who survived it.”

6) The Get Up (Oct. 22)

  • Spotify’s new morning show mixes music and news.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 20.

7) The Miami Chronicles (Oct. 21) 

  • The first season of the true crime pod investigates “the murder of a 14-year old boy in the suburbs of North Miami Beach, Florida, during the summer of 1979.”

8) What Does it Profit? (Oct. 21)

  • Dawn Carpenter, an investment banker who became a business ethicist, asks, “Can we align growing returns with the greater good?”

9) Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams (Oct. 21)

  • The attorney “cross-examines news-making cases and famous faces to peer into the court of law.”

10) Halloweeen in Hell (Oct. 18)

  • The four-part pod features “stars from the world of music [who] have mysteriously ended up on Satan’s newest game show stage.”
  • Tommy Lee stars as the Devil.

11) Ruthless (Oct. 22)

  • Comfortably Smug and Josh Holmes promise to “bring next generation conservative talk to the next level.”

For nine more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> You Oughta Know Edition (#130) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/10/16/you-oughta-know-edition-130/ Fri, 16 Oct 2020 19:18:45 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=876 Nostalgia runs deep this week, particularly when it comes to ‘90s music. Two dedicated pods launched, and one hair metal song from the decade stars in another.

I queued up all three.

The counts: 48 notable guests, 15 new podcasts, six deep dives and one more true crime podcast at the top of the Apple chart.

Pod Take of the Week

“It has really been exciting, though. Coming home, being able to get up when you get ready. Eat when you get ready. Lay down when you get ready. Those things have really been awesome.”

Listen: In the Dark: Curtis Flowers (5:27)

  • That’s Flowers, finally sitting for an in-person interview with Madeleine Baran, on what it feels like to be released from prison after almost 20 years.
  • Flowers “endured six trials for the same crime and survived nearly two decades on death row at the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary,” and In the Dark chronicled his story and the case against him that fell apart.
  • It’s the interview listeners of the acclaimed podcast have been waiting for. Flowers also talks about his life before prison and the day police came to his door.

Go Deep

 

1) The Music of the 1990s 

Listen: My 90s Playlist, 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s, 50 Years of Music w/ 50 Year Old White Guys

  • 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s comes from The Ringer and Rob Harvilla. First song dissected in the Spotify original: Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughta Know.”
  • My 90s Playlist comes from Sony Music. First song dissected: TLC’s “No Scrubs.”
  • 50 Years of Music narrows the scope, picking the best three songs from 1992.

2) Nostalgia

Listen: Deviate with Rolf Potts

  • Potts’s essayistic take on the subject encompasses a motorcycle wreck in Sri Lanka, found audio, Don Draper, Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” and falling in love during the pandemic.

3) The Integrity of U.S. Elections

Listen: Sway, The Chuck ToddCast: Meet the Press, 5-4

  • On Sway, Kara Swisher launches a two-part series on election integrity.
  • Chuck Todd completes a five-part series on the 2000 election and lessons learned from it. Total listening time: 3 hours.
  • 5-4 looks at the Electoral College and “all the ways it could be used to stage a procedural coup in the upcoming election.”

4) The Future of the U.S.

Listen: Soonish

  • The first episode of the two-part series tried to make sense of 2020 “in all its perverse complexity.” Part two “moves beyond the election to ask how we might reconfigure our politics to defuse the kinds of tensions that got us into this mess.”
  • Total listening time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.

5) The Canadian Football League

Listen: North Americana

  • Robert Reid explores the entwined roots of American and Canadian football.
  • It’s an American love letter to the game of Canadian football, which, he admits, gets “a little weird.” In a good way.

6) The Godfathers of Wine

Listen: Business Wars

  • The Wondery pod continues a six-part series on Ernest and Julio Gallo and the rise of the largest wine company in the world, E & J Gallo Winery.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Alam, Rumaan Working

Black, Lewis WTF with Marc Maron

Carlisle, Belinda The Margaret Cho

  • The first of two Go-Go’s making the pod rounds.

Chuck D People Have the Power

Ciara Red Table Talk

Cleese, John ID10T

Clinton, Hillary Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Cooper, Sarah You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Costas, Bob The Axe Files

Coyne, Wayne WTF with Marc Maron

Cuban, Mark Pardon My Take

Duckworth, Angela You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

France, Tan You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes, Homo Sapiens

  • Convos with a “Queer Eye” guy.

Frankel, Bethenny Skimm’d From the Couch

Gaiman, Neil David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

Gilbert, Sara Armchair Expert

Glazer, Ilana Full Release with Samantha Bee

Hall, Tamron Going Through It

Hudson, Kate The goop Podcast

Janney, Allison At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Jones, Norah Anna Faris is Unqualified

Jones Jr., Roy The Joe Rogan Experience 

July, Miranda Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

Kerr, Steve All the Smoke

Keys, Alicia Black Frasier

Killam, Taran Comedy Bang! Bang!

Killer Mike expediTIously

Kloss, Karlie Second Life

Lee, Tommy The Adam Carolla Show

Mantzoukas, Jason Home Cooking

McCarthy, Jenny Danica Patrick Pretty Intense

Nelson, Willie Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Nyad, Diana You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton

Obama, Barack Pod Save America

  • The PSA guys host their former boss. Pretty good get, no matter the circumstances.

Papa, Tom The Joe Rogan Experience 

Parker, Kevin Talkhouse 

Richie, Nicole Keep It

Robinson, Marilynne The Ezra Klein Show, Bookworm

  • Convos with one of Barack Obama’s favorite authors. Her latest book: “Jack.”

Sandler, Adam SmartLess

Sarandos, Ted Strictly Business

  • Netflix’s chief content officer talks business strategy, the controversy over “Cuties.”

Seidel, Erik The Moment

Sorkin, Aaron Literally! With Rob Lowe

Stiles, Julia Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins

Tench, Benmont Broken Record

Valentine, Kathy Sound Opinions

  • The second of two Go-Go’s making the pod rounds.

Vogel, Frank The Lowe Post

Wilson, Rainn StarTalk Radio

Wilson, Russell The Bill Simmons Podcast

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Anatomy of Murder (Oct. 14)

  • Former New York City homicide prosecutor Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and former Deputy Sheriff Scott Weinberger examine “homicide cases and paths to justice for the victims.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 1.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No 16.

2) Sofia With an F (Oct. 9)

  • Sofia Franklyn, formerly of Barstool Sports’s Call Her Daddy, returns with a solo pod.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 5.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 1.

3) Dead and Gone (Oct. 15)

  • A true crimer about “the Grateful Dead and their missing and murdered fans.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 7.

4) BFFs featuring Josh Richards and Dave Portnoy (Oct. 13)

  • The TikToker and the Barstool founder “talk about everything from dominating Tiktok in LA to running a media empire in NYC.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 19.

5) Brave New Planet (Oct. 11)

  • Eric Lander hosts the “seven-part series that delves deep into powerful technologies changing our world.”
  • Produced by a partnership of the Broad Institute, Pushkin Industries and the Boston Globe.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 76.

6) My 90s Playlist (Oct. 13)

  • In the Sony Music pod, Tracy Clayton and Akoto Ofori-Atta break down “why we love the hits of the 90s so much, what made our favorite songs so popular back then, and why we are so nostalgic for them now.”

7) 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s (Oct. 14)

  • The Ringer podcast argues that the “1990s were a turning point in music.”

8) The Trial of The Chicago 7 (Oct. 13) 

  • Wondery delivers a pod about the anti-war demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, and the charges against them of inciting riots and conspiracy.

9) Resistance (Oct. 14) 

  • Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. hosts a new Gimlet show “about refusing to accept things as they are. Stories from the front lines of the movement for Black lives, told by the generation fighting for change.”

10) The Motörcast (Oct. 12) 

  • Motörhead’s celebrating the 40th anniversary of its “Ace Of Spades” album.

11) Days Like These (Oct. 14)

  • The Australian Broadcasting Corporation pod “introduces you to one regular human as they live through something wild.”

12) Love Under Lockdown (Oct. 14)

  • The Stitcher Premium pod chronicles “the intimate daily lives of four couples quarantining together in the pressure cooker of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
  • It’ll be available on other platforms starting Oct. 29.

13) Port of Entry (Oct. 14)

  • The KPBS and PRX pod takes the place of the “Only Here” podcast. The retooled show tells U.S./Mexico cross-border stories.

14) Vice News Reports (Oct. 15) 

  • Vice’s weekly news pod “takes you to the story as it unfolds, giving you the unfiltered sounds of the world today.”

15) The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends (Oct. 14) 

  • It’s an Audible exclusive from the Sesame Workshop.

For 12 more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Sounds Like the Future Edition (#129) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/10/09/sounds-like-the-future-edition-129/ Fri, 09 Oct 2020 19:16:47 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=874 Here come the TikTokers. Charli and Dixie D’Amelio hit the top 10 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify’s Trending Podcasts list. The No. 1 this week on Apple, though, goes to a show that’s not out yet: Sofia With an F, a solo pod from former Barstool Sports personality Sofia Franklyn.

The counts: 54 notable guests, 10 new podcasts, six deep dives and one comedian who launched a podcast because she believes it’s important “to get in on these things late.”

Pod Take of the Week

“Eddie Van Halen invented the future.” 

Listen: The Bill Simmons Podcast: A 12th L.A. Lakers Title and Remembering Eddie Van Halen with Ryen Russillo and Chuck Klosterman (2:05:53)

  • That’s Klosterman, invoking Marty McFly and “Back to the Future” to make his point about the late, great EVH.
  • Context: In the movie, when Marty pretends to be a space alien, he wakes up George McFly playing music from “Edward Van Halen” via his cassette player.
  • Imagine yourself in the 1980s, says Klosterman. If you could go back in time and share with someone what the future would sound like, in terms of hard rock music in the 1980s, Eddie Van Halen would be the best choice.
  • Klosterman, who famously ranked every Van Halen song, provides an excellent overview of EVH’s career and what made him such a revolutionary musician. RIP, Eddie.

Go Deep

 

1) “Are the World’s National Parks Failing Nature?”

Listen: Science Weekly

  • The Guardian podcast features The Age of Extinction project’s two-part exploration of the purpose and goals of national parks.

2) Princess Diana

Listen: You’re Wrong About

  • The pod reconsiders the life of Princess Diana over two parts.
  • Binge time: 2 hours, 56 minutes.

3) “A Nightmare on Elm Street” 

Listen: With Gourley And Rust

  • Matt Gourley and Paul Rust kick off a deep dive into every Freddy Kreuger movie.

4) “Portland, Prisons and White Supremacy”

Listen: The Documentary Podcast

  • The BBC podcast completes its two-part dive into Portland, Oregon’s struggle with white supremacists.

5) Marco Polo

Listen: The Explorers Podcast

  • The pod’s three episodes into a deep exploration of the 24-year journey of the 13th century Venetian merchant.

6) Bernard Sumner vs. Peter Hook

Listen: Rivals

  • Steven Hyden and Jordan Runtagh go 1 hour, 4 minutes on the squabbles between two forces in Joy Division/New Order.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Albom, Mitch Nobody Told Me!

Arellano, Gustavo The Dave Chang Show

  • The Los Angeles Times columnist talks Trump and tortillas.

Black, Lewis The Last Laugh

Bloom, Rachel Scriptnotes Podcast

Bon Jovi, Jon People Have the Power, Armchair Expert

Charlamagne Tha God All the Smoke

Cho, Margaret Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig

Clinton, Hillary The Ticket

Consentino, Bethany Pass-Through Frequencies

Cusack, John WTF with Marc Maron

Foley, Mick Angry Americans

Frankel, Bethenny Pardon My Take, Keep It

Haddish, Tiffany Literally! With Rob Lowe

Hall, Carla Burnt Toast

Hardison, Kadeem Touré Show

Harrison, Jerry U Talkin’ Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head

  • The Talking Heads guitarist talks “Stop Making Sense.”

Hayes, Chris Full Release with Samantha Bee

Hilton, Paris Just B with Bethenny Frankel 

Hornsby, Bruce Questlove Supreme

Jennings, Ken People I (Mostly) Admire

Jepsen, Carly Rae Talkhouse

July, Miranda Monocle 24: The Monocle Culture Show

Kendi, Ibram X Black Frasier, I Weigh

  • The author of “How to Be an Antiracist” makes the pod rounds.

Kershaw, Clayton SmartLess

  • Go Dodgers!

Killer Mike Sway

Kim Booster, Joel It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Koechner, David The Adam Carolla Show

Koontz, Dean Otherppl with Brad Listi

Letterman, David Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

Lipa, Dua Song Exploder

  • The Grammy winner breaks down her song “Levitating.”

Longoria, Eva Anna Faris is Unqualified

Mars, Roman Kickass News, Servant of Pod

Marsalis, Wynton WTF with Marc Maron

Mel C Three Little Words

Moss, Elisabeth David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

Newmark, Craig Thirty Minute Mentors

Nye, Bill America Dissected: Coronavirus

Okatsuka, Atsuko I Said No Gifts!

Patel, Ravi Self-Helpless

Philipps, Busy The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Quinn, Colin Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, The Joe Rogan Experience 

Richie, Nicole Good One

Ripken Jr., Cal Meditative Story

Robbins, Tim Kickass News

Robinson, Marilynne The New Yorker Radio Hour

Seymour, Jane ID10T

Shires, Amanda The Moment

Steinem, Gloria You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton 

Strzok, Peter The Gist

Sudeikis, Jason Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Taymor, Julie The Treatment

Tucker, Tanya Biscuits & Jam

Wilson, Rebel Celeste & Her Best ($L)

Woodward, Bob Armchair Expert

  • The legendary investigative journalist fields the question: Who portrayed him better, Robert Redford or Will Ferrell?

Yang, Bowen Everyday Decisions with Jo Firestone

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) Charli and Dixie: 2 Chix (Oct. 8)

  • Ramble produces the pod from TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio.
  • The crux: “Through in depth conversations with each other and the people closest to them, Charli & Dixie will dive into the trends that are lighting up their social channels, talk about what excites them, what inspires them and whatever else is on their minds.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 4.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 7.

2) The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo (Oct. 6)

  • The “grizzled gay ghouls” explore “the culture boundaries of modern beauty through interviews with gorgeous guests who inhabit various facets of the beauty industry.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 21.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 4.

3) “See, the Thing Is…” (Oct. 6)

  • Bridget Kelly, Mandi B and Olivia Dope host the first new podcast from the Joe Budden Network.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 31.

4) Kamala: Next in Line (Oct. 5)

  • Joy Reid hosts the Wondery pod that traces the VP candidate’s bio.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 33.

5) Louder Than a Riot (Oct. 8)

  • The NPR pod “reveals the interconnected rise of hip-hop and mass incarceration.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 42.

6) The Sarah Silverman Podcast (Oct. 8)

  • She says: “I decided to start a podcast because I believe it’s important to get in on these things late.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 65.

7) Because Mom Said So (Oct. 8)

  • Four “Dance Moms” stars — Melissa Gisoni, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, Kelly Hyland and Jill Vertes — share their “opinions, stories, laughs and advice related to motherhood, womanhood, and anything else they encounter in life.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 67.

8) The Edge (Oct. 7)

  • Ben Reiter and Slow Burn co-creators Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons are behind this look at the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

9) Go For Broke (Oct. 8)

  • The Vox pod “examines historical moments of irrational confidence — when large groups of people get caught up in a moment that, because of their enthusiasm, expands into a bubble that eventually pops.”

10) One by Willie (Oct. 9)

  • Texas Monthly’s John Spong hosts “intimate conversations with a range of prominent guests about the Willie Nelson songs that mean the most to them.”

For 15 more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> Accountability Edition (#128) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/10/02/accountability-edition-128/ Fri, 02 Oct 2020 19:13:11 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=872 So many emergency pods today chronicling President Donald Trump’s positive test for COVID-19 — and to speculate on what happens next.

Also, the name of the No. 2 podcast on Apple Podcasts this evening: Full Body Chills.

This week’s counts: 61 notable guests, 13 new podcasts, six deep dives and one American hero.

Pod Take of the Week

“I can live with myself. I sleep well at night. I can look my young daughter, who’s 9 years old, in the eye now and when she gets older and understands the role I played and not have to equivocate like many dozens of other people will have to do.”

Listen: Sway: Alexander Vindman Knew Trump Would End His Career (24:17)

  • That’s Vindman, talking to Kara Swisher on her new-ish podcast about his role as a key witness in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
  • Vindman says, of those who didn’t step up as he did: “There will be an accounting with their future selves where they’ll kind of have to live with their decisions. There will be an accounting with their loved ones, their children.”
  • He adds: “You had an opportunity to protect America and you chose to be silent, you chose to protect yourself or serve yourself. That is not who I am.”

Go Deep

 

1) President Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19 

Listen: FiveThirtyEight Politics, Pod Save America, The Daily

  • Many podcasts are wrestling with the news about President Trump and what it means for the country and the presidential race, including these late-in-the-day releases.

2) High School Movies

Listen: Unspooled

  • Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson wrap up a seven-episode series on iconic movies about high school with a 1-hour, 45-minute breakdown of “Dazed and Confused.”
  • Other movies covered: “Mean Girls,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Cooley High,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Stand and Deliver” and “The 400 Blows.”
  • Total binge time: 11 hours, 24 minutes.

3) The Troubling State of Water

Listen: In Deep

  • The American Public Media pod finishes an eight-part series on underground water infrastructure.
  • Binge time: 3 hours, 22 minutes.

4) Good Intentions

Listen: With Friends Like These

  • Ana Marie Cox dedicates the latest season of the Crooked Media pod to “people and organizations who set out to make positive change, as well as the ones who ended up doing more harm than good.”
  • She asks: “What’s the brain science behind warm fuzzy feelings? How does altruism change the way we feel about the world? And could trying too hard somehow get us killed?”

5) Prince, Revisited

Listen: Rockin’ the Suburbs, Rhino Podcast, Prince Official Podcast

  • Rockin’ the Suburbs counts down the top 15 Prince songs over five episodes.
  • On the Rhino Podcast, Prince historian Duane Tudahl dives deep into Prince’s “masterwork” “Sign O’ the Times.”
  • And the official podcast of the Prince estate reaches episode six of its season-long look at the album.

6) “Back to the Future” (and Every Other Movie Directed by Robert Zemeckis)

Listen: Blank Check

  • Griffin Newman and David Sims go 3-hours, 3-minutes deep (!!!) into the movie classic.
  • It’s the fourth episode and the fourth Zemeckis movie in their mini-series dissecting all of the director’s movies.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Aniston, Jennifer SmartLess

Bacharach, Burt Broken Record

Baker, Nicholson Longform Podcast

Berninger, Matt You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

  • The frontman for the National has a new solo album.

Big Freedia The Nod

Birbiglia, Mike Make My Day with Josh Gondelman

Black, Michael Ian The Adam Carolla Show

Brockovich, Erin Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Buteau, Michelle The Last Laugh

Common Cannon’s Class

Copeland, Misty Skimm’d From the Couch

  • The famed ballet dancer says of her upbringing: “I learned to be a survivor and I was just constantly in survival mode. So, stepping into the world of ballet, it was, like, peace and balance and security and consistency.”

Coppola, Sophia Armchair Expert

Corddry, Rob Bald Talk

Cox, Brain David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

Cuban, Mark Capital University, Just B with Bethenny Frankel 

  • The billionaire guests on two top-10 debut pods.

Dayglow Talkhouse

DeMaro, Mac Talkhouse

Dillon, Tim The Joe Rogan Experience 

El-P The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Ferrera, America Hysteria

Garlin, Jeff The PosCast

Gellman, Barton The Ticket

  • The writer talks about his viral magazine cover story that asks: “What happens if a president loses reelection, but won’t accept the outcome?”

Guyton, Mickey Switched on Pop

Hawley, Noah The Treatment

Harris, Kamala You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton 

  • Current VP candidate talks to former POTUS candidate.

Hilton, Paris The School of Greatness

Holland, Jules Three Little Words

Jacobs, Gillian Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

Keys, Alicia Questlove Supreme

Killer Mike The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Kopple, Barbara WTF with Marc Maron

Legend, John You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton 

Lithgow, John Kickass News

Mandvi, Aasif You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton 

McMaster, H.R. Kickass News

Michaels, Al Sports Illustrated Media Podcast

Mould, Bob The Distraction

Musk, Elon Sway

Obama, Michelle Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Raisman, Aly Armchair Expert

Rannells, Andrew Queery

Ray, Amy People Have the Power

Rogan, Joe Artificial Intelligence

Sailers, Emily People Have the Power

Sanders, Bernie The Axe Files

Santino, Andrew H3 Podcast

Schwartz, Tony The Indicator from Planet Money

  • Trump’s “Art of the Deal” ghostwriter talks Trump’s taxes.

Scovel, Rory The Three Questions with Andy Richter, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Shetty, Jay Good For You

Short, Martin Literally! With Rob Lowe

Smith, Will Red Table Talk

  • He and Jada Pinkett Smith “share their journey of finding peace through pain.”

Steinem, Gloria I Weigh

Stone, Oliver The Jordan Harbinger Show

Strong, Cecily WTF with Marc Maron

Wallace, Chris Monocle 24: The Big Interview

Wallace, George Good One

Warren, Elizabeth Girls Gotta Eat

Weir, Bob Politics of Truth

Yang, Bowen It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Yorke, Thom The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Zimmer, Constance Work in Progress with Sophia Bush

Notable New Podcasts

 

Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

1) You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton 

  • She “sits down for candid, in-depth, and sometimes hilarious conversations with people she finds fascinating.”
  • Future guests include: Gloria Steinem, Samin Nosrat and Patton Oswalt.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 5.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 14.

2) The Megyn Kelly Show

  • The former FOX News personality promises “open, honest and illuminating conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures today.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 9.

3) Just B with Bethenny Frankel

  • The reality show star and “self-made mogul” promises “unapologetic takes on food, investing, relationships, fame, parenting and beyond.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 10.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 9.

4) Capital University

  • YouTuber and TikToker Bryce Hall teams with Anthony Pompliano for “a new age business/entrepreneurship podcast, geared towards helping young entrepreneurs and influencers create long term wealth.”
  • First guest: Mark Cuban.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 13.

5) Tom Brown’s Body 

  • Texas Monthly has been chronicling true crime for decades.
  • This pod, with Skip Hollandsworth steering the narrative, “digs into a question that’s been plaguing the small Texas town of Canadian for four years: What happened to Tom Brown? The popular high school senior disappeared on Thanksgiving eve of 2016. His whereabouts were unknown until two years later, when his body was found—but what happened to him is still a mystery.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 15.

6) The ETCs with Kevin Durant 

  • The NBA star and co-host Eddie Gonzalez “will have candid conversations about the best of sports, music, entertainment and culture.”
  • First guest: Kyrie Irving.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 17.

7) Canary 

  • Amy Brittain hosts an investigative series from The Washington Post that follows an “Alabama woman’s decision to come forward with a claim of sexual assault against a high-ranking figure in the D.C. criminal justice system, and the spiraling effects of that choice.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 26.

8) The Art of Asking Everything

  • Amanda Palmer talks to “guests from all walks of life: doctors, sex workers, musicians, writers, teachers, painters, parents, activists, TED speakers, friends….basically anyone who wants to have a deep and honest conversation with me about The Big Stuff.”

9) Chameleon 

  • It’s billed as the “true story of one of the longest and strangest cons in history.”
  • That story: Hollywood “strivers” get “a phone call or email offering the job of a lifetime….All these strivers have to do is get on a plane, for Jakarta, immediately. But when they land, there is no producer.”

10) The Fault Line 

  • BBC’s David Dimbleby recounts the 18 months between 9/11 and the beginning of the Iraq war, “[t]alking to prime ministers, politicians, spies and weapons inspectors.”

11) Appearances 

  • From Mermaid Palace, it’s billed as an “audio mind trip about an Iranian-American woman, the family she carries around in her head, and the family that she wants to have.”

12) No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast 

  • James King hosts the six-part series.

13) Blind Dating 

  • Tara Michelle “introduces a hopeful single to two charming strangers from the comfort of their separate couches. They’ll get to know each other in a virtual hangout, chatting, flirting, and making the case for why they deserve a second date—without ever turning on their cameras.”

For 15 more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> How She Saw the World Edition (#127) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/09/25/how-she-saw-the-world-edition-127/ Fri, 25 Sep 2020 19:10:57 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=870 Investigations. Brainwashing. COVID-19. Fears of voter suppression. Mourning RBG. It’s been a week for serious podcasts. Let’s get to it. The counts: 53 notable guests, 12* new podcasts, seven deep dives and one notorious icon.

* More than 12, if you want. Details below.

Pod Take of the Week

“The time and space for anyone’s private grief over this loss of a national heroine has just been trampled by the pounding hooves of outrage and whiplash.”

Listen: Amicus: Quiet Words That Remain (:41)

  • That’s Dahlia Lithwick, talking about the political reaction to the death of Supreme Court Justice and American icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • Lithwick steps back from the public mourning and fear of what comes next to “honor the justice by reflecting on her legacy and maybe some of the lost details of her work.”
  • She says: “I don’t think RBG herself would have wanted us to be girding for an all out take no prisoners civil war as the result of her death. That’s just not how she saw the world.”

Go Deep

 

1) RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Listen: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, The Daily, The Ginsburg Tapes, NPR

  • Tributes to and remembrances of RBG rang out among many podcasters. Among the outpouring:
  • Priscilla Chan narrates the story of her life and legacy for Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.
  • The Daily produces a two-parter, one on her life and the other on the battle for her vacant seat on the court.
  • The Ginsburg Tapes rebroadcasts a five-episode series on six cases RBG argued in front of the court in the 1970s, before she was a justice.
  • NPR’s Nina Totenberg recounts her five-decade-long friendship with the justice. She says, “If you are lucky enough to be friends with someone like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, you both understand that you each have a job and that it has to be done professionally, and without favor.”

2) Voting Rights in 2020

Listen: The Weeds

  • The Vox pod begins By the People, a series on the issues “facing voters in the upcoming election, and [lays] out various policy proposals and practical ways to overcome that obstacle.”

3) 1980: A Critical Year in Music

LIsten: Lost Notes

  • Poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib explores “the brilliant, awkward and sometimes heartbreaking opening to a monumental decade in popular music.”
  • Seven episodes dropped, including ones on Stevie Wonder, The Sugarhill Gang, and the connection between John Lennon and Darby Crash.

4) Washington D.C. Statehood

Listen: What’s With Washington

  • It’s a six-episode series focused “on Washingtonians’ fight for representation and why attempts to secure statehood have been repeatedly thwarted.”

5) David Fincher’s Work, Ranked

Listen: The Big Picture

  • The Ringer pod goes 3 hours, 12 minutes over two episodes to “analyze the filmmaker’s work and build a hierarchy of his top 25 works.”

6) COVID-19 and Sports

Listen: Death, Sex & Money

  • The WNYC pod launches Game Changer, a series about “how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives and livelihoods of athletes.”

7) Whitney Houston (and Mariah Carey)

Listen: The C-Word ($L), Rivals

  • Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett finish a two-episode arc on “‘The Voice,’ the myth, the legend” that is Houston. Listen time: 1 hour, 41 minutes.
  • Rivals goes an hour deep on Houston’s competition with Carey.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Abagnale, Frank The Perfect Scam 

  • The “Catch Me If You Can” con man answers questions about scams.

Arnett, Will The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Atwood, Margaret Full Disclosure with James O’Brien

Bamford, Maria Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out

Bareilles, Sara Armchair Expert

Bass, Lance Uncool With Alexa Bliss

Black Thought This Must Be the Gig

Bolton, John The FRONTLINE Dispatch

Bridgers, Phoebe People Have the Power, You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Brown, Millie Bobby The Big Ticket

Buress, Hannibal Sound Opinions

Burgess, Tituss Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Burke, Cheryl The Gift of Forgiveness

Cattrall, Kim Skimm’d From the Couch

Colbert, Stephen Angry Americans

Daniels, Jeff The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Axe Files, Kickass News

Desus & Mero The Bill Simmons Podcast

Dudamel, Gustavo Smartless

Earnhardt Jr., Dale Danica Patrick Pretty Intense

Fauci, Anthony Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction, Today, Explained

Fonda, Jane Full Release with Samantha Bee

Gomez, Selena Song Exploder

  • The singer and actress breaks down her song “Lose You to Love Me.”

Hasselhoff, David At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Hadfield, Chris The Jordan Harbinger Show

Hastings, Reed TED Talks Daily

Heckerling, Amy Unspooled

Iverson, Allen All the Smoke

Jeff, Jazzy Questlove Supreme

Jones, James Earl Conversations

July, Miranda The Treatment

Kennedy Jr., Robert Hotboxin with Mike Tyson

Keys, Alicia WTF with Marc Maron

Khan, Sal How I Built This with Guy Raz

Leguizamo, John WTF with Marc Maron

Levinson, Barry WTF with Marc Maron

Lo Truglio, Joe The Last Laugh

Marley, Ziggy Eric Krasno Plus One

Mould, Bob The Moment, Talkhouse

Navratilova, Martina Holding Court

Newsome, Gavin Sway

Pelosi, Nancy Sway

Phetasy, Bridget The Joe Rogan Experience 

Ratajkowski, Emily Ringer Dish

Ross, Alex Conversations with Tyler

Rucker, Darius Biscuits & Jam

Sandler, Adam That Scene with Dan Patrick

Stevens, Cat Yusuf All Songs Considered

Urban, Keith Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Vanallen, Lisa Red Table Talk

  • In a two-parter, the R. Kelly accuser “shares the details of her decade-long ordeal with the R&B singer.”

Waithe, Lena Going Through It

Way, Gerard Pass-Through Frequencies

Weiner, Eric The Gist

Notable New Podcasts

 

Schrödinger’s format update: I’m contracting and expanding coverage of new podcasts. Starting today, the newsletter will include a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days. Think high-charting debuts, pods with buzz and a bit of my own critical judgement.

Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. The list currently includes more than 70 just-released and upcoming podcasts. I’ll update it regularly.

Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.

 

1) Suspicious Activity: Inside the FinCEN Files

  • The five-part pod investigates ”how the most powerful banks in the world facilitate the worst of humanity.”
  • It’s a co-production of Pineapple Street Studios and BuzzFeed News.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 17.

2) The Dave Portnoy Show with Eddie & Co 

  • Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and Chicago Eddie talk about “the inner workings of Barstool.”
  • It’s the highest-ranking debut on Apple Podcasts: No. 7.

3) Sway 

  • Kara Swisher’s new pod for the New York Times is “about power – and holding those who have it accountable.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 13.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 11.

4) Brainwashed

  • The CBC pod investigates “the CIA’s covert mind control experiments – from the Cold War and MKULTRA to the so-called War on Terror.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 27.

5) Uncool With Alexa Bliss

  • The WWE superstar and her guests “dish on their most cringeworthy moments from before the fame and success.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 12.

6) Mr. 80 Percent

  • Mark Shanahan “shares a deeply personal, sometimes harrowing, often funny, always true story about prostate cancer.”

7) The Red Note

  • Lydia Cacho and a Mexico-based creative team examine “the story of the Juarez femicides through the voices of investigators who tried to solve the mystery of these crimes, and the families of the victims, whose lives have been reshaped by tragedy.”

8) Whirlwind

  • Pulitzer Prize-winner Tim Weiner “provides a penetrating look at the decisions, mistakes, and mischief that led us to this point” where “America is edging toward autocracy under the leadership of a president that Russian spies helped elect.”

9) Timber Wars 

  • Oregon Public Broadcasting chronicles the 1990s fight to save ancient trees in the Pacific Northwest and “the most controversial bird in the country,” the Northern Spotted Owl.
  • The seven-part series tells the story of how “this conflict reshaped the Northwest and the nation as a whole, in ways we’re dealing with still.”

10) Living & Learning with Reba McEntire 

  • It’s “inspired and informed” by the way the musician and actress “approaches life: with an insatiable curiosity, dedication to expanding her knowledge, and reliance on her own lived experience.”
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 3.

11) Daughters of DC 

  • It’s “an original scripted teen political thriller” from iHeartRadio.
  • The plot: “At Washington DC’s most elite prep school, Jaymes – the tech-savvy daughter of the Speaker of The House – and her best friends Peyton, Natalie, and Celia share their deepest secrets on a private app called DODC. When the girls are hacked by a mysterious figure, they’re thrust into a global conspiracy that threatens to expose DC’s most influential families.”

12) Two Minutes Past Nine

  • In the BBC pod, Leah Sottilet investigates the legacy of the Oklahoma City Bombing, the “largest domestic terror incident in American history.”

For 14 more podcasts that launched this week, plus upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.

]]> So Many Choices Edition (#126) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/09/18/so-many-choices-edition-126/ Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:38:28 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=868 Welcome to Podcastland, Matthew McConaughey! He’s starring in and producing a new one — as are many, many others.

Question: Do you prefer an extended list of new podcasts every week? Or would you rather see a curated list, with additional coverage during the week on Twitter and/or at WeekInPodcasts.com? Reply and let me know about that, or about anything else you’d like to see in the newsletter.

This week’s counts: 54 notable guests, 26 new podcasts, six deep dives and one podcast about being bald.

Pod Take of the Week

“I can’t imagine a wave of anything like nostalgia for this very crappy time.”

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour: Predictions of How COVID-19 Will Impact Pop Culture (9:21)

  • That’s Glen Weldon, who believes that once we get through the COVID-19 gauntlet we’re not going to want to look back on it right away. For years, even.
  • The “helpless dread,” he says, resembles the feeling people felt in the wake of 9/11. But the narrative is different.
  • The COVID-19 experience doesn’t fall into an easy-to-digest narrative, and artists will need some time to process it.

Go Deep

 

1) The State of the Coronavirus 

Listen: America Dissected: Coronavirus, Technopolis, Public Health on Call, Epidemic, Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction

  • Staying on topic, a few more podcasts with insight on developments surrounding COVID-19:
  • America Dissected: Coronavirus looks at how “COVID-19 has changed so much of the fabric of our lives, especially our relationship with music.” Among the guests: singer/songwriter Zola Jesus.
  • The CityLab podcast Technolopolis is two episodes into a series of episodes on how the coronavirus is changing cities.
  • Public Health on Call features a Q&A with Tom Inglesby, about what we’re learning from universities that are opening their campuses and other pressing issues.
  • Epidemic looks at “what sports can teach us about mass testing.”
  • CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction talks to a mental health advocate about coping with all of this.

2) The Kennedys

Listen: Even the Rich, 60/20

  • The second season of the series about prominent family dynasties focuses on Ted Kennedy and “the tragic saga of Chappaquiddick,” a single-car crash that killed Mary Jo Kopechne.
  • In 60/20, an eight-part series from the JFK Library Foundation, tells the story of the 1960 John F. Kennedy presidential campaign and “how it has influenced American campaigns since.”

3) The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Listen: You’re Wrong About

  • A two-part series about the “longest ‘non-theraputic’ experiment in medical history, a highly unethical study of untreated syphilis in African-American men.
  • Listen time: 2 hours, 27 minutes.

4) Falling

Listen: Radiolab

  • The beloved pod dives deep into what falling means. It promises to ”plunge into a black hole, take a trip over Niagara Falls, and upend some myths about falling cats.”

5) The Victims of Samuel Little 

Listen: The Fall Line 

  • The four-part series looks at the serial killer Samuel Little and “how he nearly got away with four decades of murder.”

6) Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Listen: Rivals

  • The three-part series on the rivalries among the members of the group goes 3 hours, 26 minutes.

Guest Appearances By…

 

($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.

Baldwin, Alec Literally! With Rob Lowe

Banks, Tyra Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Berninger, Matt The Pitchfork Review

Black, Ashley Nicole Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

Black, Jack Kickass News

Brockovich, Erin Work in Progress with Sophia Bush, Forever35

Buress, Hannibal People’s Party with Talib Kweli

Chang, David The Sporkful, Stay Tuned with Preet

Collette, Toni WTF with Marc Maron

Coon, Carrie Kickass News

Cross, David Dads: The Podcast

Erskine, Maya Bullseye

  • Convo with the co-creator of PEN15.

Etheridge, Melissa Rolling Stone Music Now

Fridman, Lex The Joe Rogan Experience 

Gass, Kyle Kickass News

Gibney, Alex The New Abnormal

Hayes, Sean Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Hilton, Paris Anna Faris is Unqualified, I’m So Obsessed

Hilton, Perez The Adam Carolla Show

Howerton, Glenn Pardon My Take

Karamo Bald Talk

Keys, Alicia The Zane Lowe Interview Series

Kimmel, Jimmy Smartless, Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out

Kiwanuka, Michael People Have the Power

Koechner, David Bald Talk

Konkle, Anna Bullseye

  • Convo with the other co-creator of PEN15.

Lowe, Rob Doughboys

  • The actor and podcaster weighs in on In-N-Out Burger, the best fast-food burger on the planet.

Manning, Taryn Hustling with Vivica A. Fox

McHale, Joel Life is Short with Justin Long

Moriarty, Erin ID10T

Mutzabaugh, Ben On Air

Neistat, Casey Impaulsive

Oswalt, Patton Full Release with Samantha Bee

Paltrow, Gwyneth On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Pierce, Wendell WTF with Marc Maron

Price, Margo Sodajerker on Songwriting

Ratajkowski, Emily The Cut

Raz, Guy The Jordan Harbinger Show, a16z

Robertson, Ed The Rhino Podcast

Roy, Arundathi Touré Show

Scott, Adam The New Abnormal

Shetty, Jay The goop Podcast

Shore, Pauly The Last Laugh

Siddiq, Ali Good One

  • The stand-up comic breaks down his story “Mexicans Got On Boots.”

Sidibe, Gabourey Good For You

Sonnenfeld, Barry The Originals

Souza, Pete The Press Box, I’m So Obsessed

Snowden, Edward The Joe Rogan Experience 

Stiller, Ben Star Trek: The Pod Directive

Trump, Mary The FRONTLINE Dispatch

Urban, Keith Armchair Expert

Villaseñor, Melissa The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Was, Don Broken Record

Wilmore, Larry It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Notable New Podcasts

 

1) Paper Ghosts

  • M. William Phelps hosts a true crimer about “[f]our separate cases, four young girls. All of whom go missing in the early to mid-1970s, all within miles from one another in neighboring New England towns. And not one arrest has been made in over 50 years.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 2.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 7.

2) Hank the Cowdog 

  • Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey stars in and executive produces the pod about the dog — the “self-declared ‘Head of Ranch Security’” — who “finds himself smack dab in the middle of a host of tangled mysteries and capers that span the universe of the Texas Panhandle cattle ranch Hank calls home.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 10.

3) Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen

  • The pod from President Donald Trump’s former fixer claims to offer “a candid conversation with the self proclaimed ‘gangster lawyer,’ as he sets to dismantle the Trump legacy and finds the truth and nothing but the truth.”
  • My take: Probably not the place you’re gonna find truth.
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 23.

4) All Things Vanderpump

  • Lisa Vanderpump “spills the ‘English Tea’ about today’s hottest topics.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 28.

5) Battleground with David Plouffe & Steve Schmidt 

  • They’re “friends, former rivals and two of the top strategic minds in America” and “they’ll draw on 50+ years of combined experience inside campaigns and in government to break down how the Democrats and Republicans are fighting for votes.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 44.

6) Unjust and Unsolved

  • Maggie Freleng tells stories of “innocent people locked away in US prisons.”
  • Each week she focuses on “one of those people and takes a deep dive into the crime they were convicted of. Through her original interviews with the convicted, their lawyers, families, and friends, Freleng chronicles each inmate’s fight for exoneration and their hope that justice can still be served.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 48.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 22.

7) Incredible Feats 

  • Dan Cummins profiles people who’ve “broken records, made history, and turned the impossible into the incredible.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 49.
  • Spotify Trending Podcasts rank: No. 6.

8) Driving the Green Book 

  • BBC broadcaster Alvin Hall and activist and former attorney Janée Woods Weber host this one.
  • They “drive from Detroit to New Orleans, collecting powerful, personal testimony about how Black Americans used the historic travel guide The Negro Motorist’s Green Book during the height of segregation as a vital resource to quell fears, find safe havens, and travel with dignity.”
  • Apple Podcasts rank: No. 52.

9) Say Yes! with Carla Hall

  • The chef will “talk with people who have found success all while overcoming personal and professional challenges.”
  • Spotify trending podcasts rank: No. 12.

10) Come On, Come Out

  • It’s a “satirical, hybrid podcast where lesbians tell their real coming out stories.”
  • The crux: “The guests are real, LGBTQIA+ women from all walks of life but the host is the fictionalized character ANGELA ROSSERMAN, an inept, inappropriate, narcissist who is obsessed with her ex-girlfriend.”

11) Ecstasy: The Battle Of Rave

  • The BBC pod focuses on the moment Ecstasy and Acid House “first swept Britain,” and how “a group of lives would be changed forever.”
  • It’s billed as, “One Story. Half real life. Half drama.”

12) Election 101

  • The CNN pod promises to get “back to the basics of what’s at stake when you cast your vote.”

13) Star Trek: The Pod Directive

  • Tawny Newsome and Paul F. Tompkins offer “a wide-ranging and often hilarious take on the Star Trek universe.”
  • First guest: Ben Stiller.

14) Detours

  • Adam Monahan, a producer with “Antiques Roadshow,” goes “behind the scenes of the hit PBS series.”

15) Rotten Tomatoes is Wrong

  • In an official Rotten Tomatoes pod, Jacqueline Coley and Mark Ellis “go deep and settle the score on some of the most beloved – and despised – movies and TV shows ever made.”

16) One Strange Thing

  • The pod “digs deep into the forgotten experiences of everyday Americans.”

17) The Dershow

  • Attorney Alan Dershowitz “hits the hot political and legal topics of the day.”

18) Pretty Messed Up

  • “Dancing With the Stars” stars AJ McLean and Cheryl Burke like their CAPS.
  • They promise to “share more than just their dancing journey…they are going to share EVERYTHING…and we mean EVERYTHING with you.”

19) Crisis: Clergy Abuse in the Catholic Church

  • Karna Lozoya interviews “bishops, survivors, reporters, lawyers, social workers, and many more, to help navigate a systemic problem that has plagued the modern church for at least 70 years.”
  • It’s a production of The Catholic Project.

20) Generation Green New Deal

  • The pod “tells the story of this youth movement: who they are, what they’ve accomplished so far, and where they go from here.”

21) Death of a Sports Star

  • A chronicle of “the unforgettable, tragic stories of superstars we loved and lost.”

22) The Genius Recipe Tapes

  • Host Kristen Miglore digs into “all the uncut gems from the weekly ‘Genius Recipes’ column and video series” at Food 52.

23) Pop Chat

  • Elamin Abdelmahmoud and “the Pop Chat round-table invite you in to the group chat to help make sense of the cultural drama blowing up the internet.”

24) People Still Read Books

  • Will Leitch hosts a “weekly (or mostly weekly) podcast with authors about their books and the process of writing, marketing and promoting them.”

25) In Vogue: The 1990s

  • Experts from Vogue magazine “highlight the stories in fashion history that reflected this new era of connectivity.”

26) Bald Talk

  • Bald comedians Brian Huskey and Charlie Sanders “interview bald performers, bald celebrities, and anyone bald about being bald.”
  • They add: “While the conceit of the show is silly, the interviews and conversations are a platform for discussions about vulnerability, vanity, insecurity, and self image.”

And One to Look Forward to: Tom Brown’s Body (Sept. 29)

  • Texas Monthly has been chronicling true crime for decades.
  • This pod, with Skip Hollandsworth steering the narrative, “digs into a question that’s been plaguing the small Texas town of Canadian for four years: What happened to Tom Brown? The popular high school senior disappeared on Thanksgiving eve of 2016. His whereabouts were unknown until two years later, when his body was found—but what happened to him is still a mystery.
]]> Charismatic Mogul Edition (#125) http://weekinpodcasts.com/2020/09/11/charismatic-mogul-edition-125/ Fri, 11 Sep 2020 16:26:07 +0000 http://weekinpodcasts.com/?p=866 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.

2) Oprah’s Book Club

  • 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.

4) The Yes Theory Podcast 

  • 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.

6) No Compromise 

  • 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.”

9) Three Little Words

  • 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.”
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