This week’s counts: 53 notable guests, 13 new podcasts, four deep dives and one interview…with a podcast.

Pod Take of the Week

“I always wondered about the marketing cat who came up with that one. Personal watermelons. It’s like a watermelon you could have as a friend.” 

Listen: Over the Road: The Biggest Tailgate in Trucking (:27)

• That’s “Long Haul Paul” Marehoefer, on one kind of precious cargo he’s delivered as a long-haul trucker. 
• Marehoefer hosts this new pod, which aims to give “voice to the trials and triumphs of America’s long haul truckers.”
• He adds: “Everything you see at the store, everything you buy online, moves by truck at some point. Add it all up, we’re talking about a $700 billion industry.”
• This podcast’s got traction: It’s No. 51 on iTunes.

Go Deep

1) False Confessions

Listen: Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions

• The new series explores the sprawling question: Why would anyone confess to a crime they didn’t commit?
• Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin, co-directors at Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, host.

2) Writing a Breakup Song

Listen: How To! With Charles Duhigg

• Ben Folds helps a Canadian dentist channel his emotions and write a breakup song — and uplifts creativity as a basic human need.
• Spoiler: Rhymes include ice cream store/adore and welts/somebody else.

3) “I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”

Listen: Punch Up the Jam

• A 1-hour, 15-minute dive into Meat Loaf’s 1993 epic.

4) The Criminal Underworld of Child Abuse

Listen: The Daily

• The two-part series investigates “a digital underworld of child sexual abuse imagery that is hiding in plain sight.”

Guest Appearances By…

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

Apatow, Judd Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Biggs, Jason Pardon My Take

Braff, Zach Curious with Josh Peck

Bresler, Jacob Walk-Ins Welcome w/Bridget Phetasy

Brie, Alison Armchair Expert

• The actress talks apples, wrestling, deciding to do nudity.

Carraba, Chris The Watch, Ernie Ball: Striking a Chord

Centineo, Noah The Big Ticket

Chillag, Ian Richard’s Famous Food Podcast

• Fans of Everything is Alive — and fans of crazy, inventive, WTF is happening? podcasts in general — will appreciate the first episode of the pod’s second season: Chillag conducts “the world’s first interview with a podcast (on a podcast).”

Cho, Margaret Filling the Void

Coates, Ta-Nehisi The Ezra Klein Show

Dayne, Taylor Inside of You

DMC Broken Record

Esmail, Sam The Big Picture

Estelle Questlove Supreme

Farrow, Ronan Stay Tuned with Preet, Longform Podcast, WTF with Marc Maron

Garrett, Myles ESPN Daily

Gibson, Debbie The Rhino Podcast

Graham, Heather Keep It!

Grazer, Brian Talks at Google

Green, John Without Fail

• The podcaster/author/YouTuber talks the perils of fame with Alex Blumberg.

Greer, Judy Anna Faris Is Unqualified

Hartz, Julia How I Built This with Guy Raz

• Convo with the co-founder of Eventbrite.

Holmes, Linda Judge John Hodgman

• The Pop Culture Happy Hour host helps Hodgman handle hectic cases. 

Huebel, Rob The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Hughes, Akilah The Bechdel Cast

Judge, Phoebe Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad

Kehlmann, Daniel Monocle 24: Meet the Writers

Kimmel, Jimmy R U Talkin’ R.E.M. RE: ME?

• The late night host and Huey Lewis superfan joins for a special Youey Talkin’ Huey 2ey Me? episode.

Lewis, Huey R U Talkin’ R.E.M. RE: ME?

• See above RE: Youey Talkin’ Huey 2ey Me?

Lovato, Demi Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham

Marx, Richard The Moment with Brian Koppelman, Sodajerker On Songwriting

McClinton, Delbert Walking the Floor

McKellen, Ian The Stage Podcast: Seven Stages

Monaghan, Michelle Work in Progress with Sophia Bush

Munn, Olivia StarTalk Radio

Notaro, Tig Wheels Off

Pai, Ajit Freakonomics Radio

• The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission talks robocalls, 5G. 

Pally, Adam WTF with Marc Maron

Pinkett Smith, Jada On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Robertson, Robbie Talkhouse, The Adam Carolla Show

Rollins, Henry Angry Americans

Ross, Tracee Ellis Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Sarandos, Ted Talks at Google

Schwartz, Ben Bullseye

Scott, Drew and Linda ID10T

Systrom, Kevin The goop Podcast

• “The thing all great ideas have in common is that they all seem crazy at the beginning,” the co-founder of Instagram tells Gwyneth Paltrow. 

Turner, Richard The Tim Ferriss Show

Upton, Kate Good For You

Warren, Elizabeth Latino USA

Webb, Alli Naked with Catt Sadler

• Convo with the founder of Drybar.

West, David The David Banner Podcast

Woods, Zach Bullseye

Yang, Jimmy O. Green Eggs and Dan

Notable New Podcasts

1) I, Podivs

• John Hodgman and Elliott Kalan will spend the next 12 weeks recapping the BBC miniseries “I, Claudius.”
• Roman Mars of 99% Invisible has the correct take: “I’m sick of these big time, corporate podcast networks and their exploitive, lowest common denominator cash grabs.”

2) The Nobody Zone

• The six-part true-crime pod from RTÉ focuses on “a forgotten London underworld,” in which “a homeless Irishman kills multiple times without detection, unseen in a world where nobody seems to care. 

3) Music Exists (S)

• A Spotify exclusive with an awkward title from the company’s new acquiree, The Ringer. 
• The crux: “Bestselling author Chuck Klosterman and The Ringer’s Chris Ryan are not going tell you what music to listen to. They want to talk about why we listen, what we listen to, and how it shapes our perception of the world around us.”

4) Sticky Beak

• Another true crime podcast, with Jessica Fritz-Aguiar investigating “the Doreen Vincent case featured on Season 2 of the podcast Faded Out.”
• Vulture says the first episode is already “a tender and powerful rendering” of the 32-year-old missing persons case.

5) Black Wall Street 1921

• The podcast “chronicles the history and related events of what has been called ‘the single worst incident of racial violence in American history,’” the Tulsa Race Massacre. 

6) Bad Friends

• It’s a comedy pod co-hosted by Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee.
• It’s No. 24 on iTunes. 

7) The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon 

• It’s a Spotify-exclusive comedy about killing Kevin Bacon. 
• You have questions. Here are the details: “Randy Beslow has forever pinpointed his failed Footloose audition as the moment when everything in his life went downhill. 30 years later when he hits rock bottom, he vows to eliminate the one thing that ties together all of his problems: acclaimed character actor and cultural institution, Kevin Bacon.”

8) The Stage Podcast: Seven Stages

• The pod “asks leading performers and creatives about the seven productions that are closest to them.”

9) Cuddle Club with Lou Sanders

• A comedy interview pod that’s really into cuddling. The pitch: “On the surface it’s a show about cuddling, sure, but dig deeper and there’s even more cuddling to be had!”

10) The Test Drivers

• Hosts Myke Hurley and Austin Evans “put tech through its paces; no matter if it’s the absolute cutting edge or collecting dust in the bargain bin.” 

11) Flashback

• Stephen Hackett and Quinn Nelson look back at “failed tech products to see what we can learn by studying their demises.”

12) Back From Broken

• The Colorado Public Radio program is billed as a show about recovery and “a place to regularly showcase courage and what it takes to come back.”

13) Over the Road 

• Paul Marhoefer hosts an eight-part series that “gives voice to the trials and triumphs of America’s long haul truckers.” 

And One to Look Forward to: The Eleventh (Feb. 25) 

• The Australian Broadcasting Corporation pod takes a Slow Burn-style deep dive into “everything you never knew about one of the most famous chapters of Australian political history – the downfall of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.”
• It’s “a political drama, a spy thriller and a love story.” 

This week’s counts: 50 notable guests, seven new podcasts, six deep dives and one love songs deep dive. Happy Valentine’s Day. 

Pod Take of the Week

“We get to the right destination by walking down the wrong trail many times over and over.”

Listen: WorkLife with Adam Grant: Wild Work Advice from Cheryl Strayed (7:28)

• That’s Cheryl Strayed, with a solid reminder that mistakes and detours aren’t fatal. They’re necessary. 
• The former Dear Sugar advice columnist and best-selling author of “Wild” steers Grant toward the light when talking about what constitutes good or bad advice. 
• Says Strayed: “Life is a long game,” and we don’t know what “bad” experiences resulting from “bad” advice will mean over time. 
• She adds: “Sometimes we’re ten years out and we look back and we say, ‘Oh, that bad experience, that thing I shouldn’t have done, is the very reason I’m here right now in exactly the right place.’”

Go Deep

1) Love Songs

Listen: All Songs Considered, Reminiscent, Studio 360

• Your love song amuse bouche before you dive in: Spotify’s top love song (1.1 billion streams!), John Legend’s “All of Me.” 
• NPR’s music pod surveys nine musicians about the love songs they wish they’d written. Amelia Meath’s pick is the best pick: Dire Straits’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
• Reminiscent goes for a Valentine’s Day pop punk mixtape draft, made for a very specific situation: “The year is 2006, you’re crushing on that cutie from homeroom, and you don’t know how to tell her how you feel.”
• Studio 360 replays an excellent interview with the queen of sappy love songs, Delilah. 

2) Dating in the 2020s

Listen: Monica & Jess Love Boys

• Armchair Expert podcast spins off a 10-part series on the relationship struggles of two opposites. Jess, who dates too much and Monica who dates too little.”

3) The Cold War

Listen: The Cold War: What We Saw

• Another ten-part series. This one aims to share “what it was like to live through the end of the Cold War.”
• It’s the current No. 6 pod on iTunes. 

4) The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

Listen: The Tortoise Podcast

• It’s a four-part investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
• The background: “Daphne investigated corruption involving the most powerful businessmen and politicians in Malta where she lived. She paid with her life. Her son Paul goes in search of the men who ordered her murder.”

5) “The Breakfast Club”

Listen: The Rewatchables

• A 1-hour, 43-minute dive into the John Hughes classic that’s being re-evaluated in the #MeToo era.

6) Gun Violence in America

Listen: American Diagnosis with Dr. Celine Gounder

• The pod concludes a 36-part series with guests David Hogg and Tyah-Amoy Roberts, survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and members of the board of March for Our Lives.
• Today marks the second anniversary of the school shooting in Florida.
• Series binge time: 16 hours, 5 minutes. 

Guest Appearances By…

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

Abrams, Stacey Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Apatow, Judd Talkhouse

• He talks with David Duchovny about Garry Shandling. 

Bacon Brothers, The Vocal Point with Martina McBride ($L)

Barber, Andrea Nobody Told Me!

Bee, Samantha More with Anna Maria Tremonti

Bell, Kristen Second Life

Biggs, Jason Anna Faris is Unqualified

Bong Joon Ho The Awardist

Buscemi, Steve Bullseye

Cisneros, Sandra On Being

• Says Cisneros: “I think that artists are children that never grow up.”

Crow, Sheryl Rolling Stone Music Now

Dorsey, Jack The CouRage and Nadeshot Show

Duchovny, David Talkhouse

• Reminder: He talks with Apatow about Garry Shandling. 

Feliciano, Jose Latino USA

Ferguson, Craig Maltin on Movies

Fonda, Jane UnStyled

Gad, Josh Armchair Expert

Grohl, Dave The Bill Simmons Podcast

Howery, Lil Rey The Read

Iger, Robert The Bill Simmons Podcast

Jeong, Ken Office Ladies

John, Papa H3 Podcast

Kardashian West, Kim All’s Fair with Laura Wasser

Key, Keegan-Michael Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Kimmel, Jimmy The Al Franken Podcast

Klein, Ezra Armchair Expert

Kroll, Nick Comedy Bang! Bang!

Letts, Tracy Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Lewis, Huey This Must Be the Gig, You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes, Questlove Supreme, Bullseye

• The ‘80s music icon who’s been struggling with hearing loss makes the rounds in support of his band’s return with a new album. 

Louis-Dreyfus, Julia The goop Podcast

• “The fear is kind of like the gas in your tank,” Louis-Dreyfus tells Gwyneth. 

Luna, Diego The Big Ticket

Manson, Shirley The Margaret Cho

Martindale, Justin The Joe Rogan Experience

McKibbon, Bill Future Hindsight

• The author and environmentalist talks about facing climate change.

Miller, TJ The Adam Carolla Show

Nwodim, Ego Green Eggs and Dan

Obama, Barack Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Obama, Michelle Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Robertson, Robbie Broken Record

Ryan, Katherine Off Menu

Samberg, Andy Comedy Bang! Bang!

Schiff, Adam The Axe Files

Schwartz, Ben WTF with Marc Maron, ID10T, Comedy Bang! Bang!

Smith, Gary Big Questions with Cal Fussman

Sorvino, Mira Life is Short with Justin Long

Teller, Miles Pardon My Take

Tharp, Twyla Death, Sex & Money

Tomson, Shaun Remarkable People

Underwood, Blair Thirst Aid Kit

Wolff, Tobias Bookworm

Notable New Podcasts

1) Dying for Sex

• Molly gets diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer and “decides to do something bold: she leaves her unhappy marriage and embarks on a series of sexual adventures to help her feel alive.”
• She confides in her friend Nikki, who hosts this podcast about “friendship, death, sex, and what you do with the time you have left.” 
• It’s No. 4 on iTunes. 

2) The Great Fail

• The pod examines epic failures from “companies, brands, and people.” Debra Chen hosts. 

3) The Seventh Daughter

• An audio drama set a century ago about “a mysterious woman {who] tutors a young girl in the arts of mind reading and clairvoyance.”

4) All’s Fair with Laura Wasser

• The celebrity divorce lawyer will “chat with celebrities, innovators and experts about all kinds of relationships, breakups, love, war and everything in between.”
• Big get for her debut episode: Kim Kardashian West.

5) Citizen Critic

• The pod critiques “the critics of some favorite and iconic movies, music, television, and more.”
• Musician Scott Janovitz and scientist Greg Conley host. 

6) Dating While Gray

• Laura Stassi reveals the “lessons she’s learned and the stories she’s heard from people 50 and older searching [for], finding and choosing love.”

7) The Redheads Book Club

• A book club hosted by The Morning Toast’s Jackie Oshry. 
• The kickoff book: “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty.

And One to Look Forward to: The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon (Feb. 17)

• It’s a Spotify-exclusive comedy about killing Kevin Bacon. 
• You have questions. Here are the details: “Randy Beslow has forever pinpointed his failed Footloose audition as the moment when everything in his life went downhill. 30 years later when he hits rock bottom, he vows to eliminate the one thing that ties together all of his problems: acclaimed character actor and cultural institution, Kevin Bacon.”
• My take: Subscribed!