I also listened to Slow Burn. I don’t think getting infuriated by Linda Tripp helped my recovery any.

7 Pod Takes

1) “It’s the most crushing non-important thing that can happen to you in life.”

Listen: The Rewatchables: ‘Rounders’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey(28:15)

• That’s Fennessey, during a 1 hour, 33 minute deep dive on “Rounders,” on the whiplash of losing at poker in a particular way.
• The moment defined: “[Y]ou hit a big hand and you’re so deluded with euphoria about hitting the hand you don’t realize there’s a better hand out there.”
• My take: Find someone who talks about you the way Fennessey and Simmons talk about “Rounders.” Or maybe run away from that person? Your call on how comfortable you are with obsession.

2) “Central casting couldn’t have cast a better villain.”

Listen: Slow Burn: Tell-All (5:12)

• That’s Linda Tripp, acknowledging the perception of her backstabbing role in the grand saga of Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
• My take: It’s an excellent, layered ep of the multi-part chronicle, with a meta subplot that hinges on host Leon Neyfakh’s own surreptitious recording of Tripp.
• Says Neyfakh: “I had thought that taping Linda Tripp without her knowledge was a violation of her trust. She seemed to think that it has brought us closer together.”

3) “That was my lowest point of my life, to have to eat a Thousand Island sandwich.”

Listen: Ear Hustle: Birdbaths and a Lockbox (12:54)

• So says San Quentin inmate Michael Williams, on what he had to do to get through a lockdown.
• Recipe for a Thousand Island sandwich, for the uninitiated: Thousand Island salad dressing, bread.
• Williams’s admission comes in the Season 3 opener, a deep dive into prison lockdowns.

4) “It’s amazing how [sports] provide a kind of structure of meaning in people’s lives.”

Listen: Freakonomics Radio: How Sports Became Us (9:51)

• That’s Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist with no innate interest in sports, talking about … sports. She came to her interest through one of her children.
• Egan’s one of an eclectic, interesting bunch of people talking to host Stephen J. Dubner for a Freakonomics series “The Hidden Side of Sports,” which will ask what pushes athletes to excel, among other topics.
• Other sources on tap include: Mark Cuban, Mikaela Shiffrin, Kim Ng, Daryl Morey, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and a busload of economists, of course.
• My take: Extremely relevant to many of my interests. High hopes for the series.

5) “I ate goulash before every race … I ate Spam on Christmas Eve. I’m not an elite athlete.”

Listen: Another Mother Runner: #329: In-Person Conversation with Two-Time Olympian Kara Goucher (9:02)

• That’s Goucher, who is indeed an elite runner (evidence: two Olympics appearances), with a funny and poignant articulation of her gnawing self-doubt.
• Controlling that doubt has been “so important in my career,” she says.
• AMR co-host Dimity McDowell gives Goucher props for her openness and emotionalism.
• My take: Goucher’s elite, but a relatable elite.

6) “That’s like an elevator, but sideways.”

Listen: Everything is Alive: Ana, Elevator (11:35)

• That’s Ana the Elevator, with her elevator-centric view of the world, talking about a bus.
• If you’re wondering what an elevator thinks of stairs, this pod’s for you.
• Spoiler: Upon seeing stairs for the first time, Ana says, “Wow. These are beautiful.”

7) “My dream is that I’m in bed by 8:30 every night.”

Listen: Queery: Tig Notaro (46:34)

• That’s Notaro, on life with kids and why it’s hard for her to do standup.
• She says of her current lifestyle: “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.”
• My take: Right on, Tig.

Go Deep

1) Hurricane Harvey

Listen: The Daily

• A two-parter tells the story of how Houston’s emergency systems failed during last year’s hurricane, and how that affected one family.
• Binge time: 51 minutes

2) “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”

Listen: Binge Mode

• Another book, another binge epic. Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion continue their Harry Potter immersion with a 10-part deep dive into the fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s series, including the movie.
• Binge time: 14 hours, 45 minutes

3) “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy

Listen: The Bechdel Cast

• The two-part “epicsode” breaks down the three “LOTR” films.
• Binge time: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Guest Appearances By…

Apatow, Judd Anna Faris is Unqualified

Arguello, Marcella The Mash-Up Americans

Banks, Patrice Raising the Bar

• Convo with founder of Girls Auto Clinic.

Belsky, Scott The Tim Ferriss Show

Burr, Bill The H3 Podcast

Byer, Nicole Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig, Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

• Convos with the “Nailed It” host.

Carden, D’Arcy I Think You’re Interesting

• Janet!

Christensen, Erika Inside of You

Clapper, James The Josh Marshall Podcast

Cohen, Joshua Bookworm

• Author talks about his book “ATTENTION: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction.”

Cole, Kat Skimm’d From the Couch

• Convo with President of FOCUS brands.

Dorsey, Jack Recode Media

• Twitter’s CEO on Twitter’s problems, plans.

Eichner, Billy WTF with Marc Maron

Fallon, Morgan The Joe Rogan Experience

• Convo with a producer and director of “Parts Unknown.”

Fonda, Jane Remote Controlled

Formichetti, Nicola Creative Conversation

• The artistic director talks business, working with Lady Gaga.

French, David The Ezra Klein Show

Gabbard, Tulsi The Joe Rogan Experience

Galifianakis, Zach Comedy Bang! Bang!

Griffin, Kathy The Breakfast Club

Hahn, Kathryn Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

• 2 hours, 47 minutes with the actress about monogamy, the Amish.

Haidt, Jonathan Waking Up with Sam Harris

• Convo with the author of “The Coddling of the American Mind.”

Han, Jenny Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!

Hawke, Ethan Modern Love

• Actor reads Pauls Toutonghi’s story “Learning Humanity From Dogs.”

Holder, Eric Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Holofcener, Nicole The Big Picture

Isbell, Jason Pod Save America

Jefferson, Cord Invisibilia

Landgraf, John Strictly Business

Jacinto, Manny The Good Place: The Podcast

• Jason!

Jealous, Ben Off Message

Jordan, Kim How I Built This with Guy Raz

• Convo with a founder of New Belgium Brewing Company.

Key, Keegan-Michael The Bill Simmons Podcast

LaBelle, Patti Oprah’s Master Class

Leibovich, Mark Recode Decode

Lessin, Jessica The Substack Podcast

Lethem, Jonathan Filmstruck

Lorre, Chuck Maltin on Movies

Lovett, Jon The Axe Files

McGarry, Flynn Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin

McKenna, Aline Brosh Scriptnotes

Minhaj, Hasan The JJ Redick Podcast

Miller, Amy The Soft Spot

• The comedian talks about all things Pee-Wee Herman.

Nolan, Katie The Bill Simmons Podcast

Olson, Martha Rossini House of Carbs

• Founder of Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, which sells 1 million cookies a day at the Minnesota State Fair.

Rascoff, Spencer Inside the Hive with Nick Bilton

• CEO of Zillow shares why poor and middle class Americans are being priced out of the housing market.

Rhodes, Ben Pod Save the World

Rogen, Lauren Miller It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Ronan, Saoirse Feminists Don’t Wear Pink

Rothwell, Natasha I Think You’re Interesting

Saget, Bob Curious with Josh Peck

Stelter, Brian The Jamie Weinstein Show

Teigen, Chrissy Bon Appetit Foodcast

• She promotes her new book, makes pad Thai carbonara.

Thiel, Peter The Rubin Report

Tyson, Neil deGrasse Kickass News

Walsh, Jennifer Rudolph The Goop Podcast

• Literary agent talks storytelling, Together Live.

Whyte, David On Being

Winkler, Henry You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Wood, Anthony Recode Media with Peter Kafka

• Roku CEO talks streaming.

Wong, Nicole Recode Decode

• Convo with former deputy CTO of the U.S.

Yang, Jenny How It Is

Yarris, Nick The Joe Rogan Experience

• Writer talks about being wrongly convicted of murder and spending 22 years on death row.

Zeng, Ming HBR Ideacast

• Convo with Alibaba’s chief strategy officer.

Notable New Podcasts

1) Ellen on the Go

• A behind-the-scenes companion pod for “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” hosted by the show’s exec producers.

2) Southwest vs. American

• Business Wars kicks off a series on the battle between two U.S. airlines.

3) The Oval Office Tapes

• A dramatic podcast from R.J. Cutler asks, “What if that soccer ball Vladimir Putin gave to President Trump was covered in microscopic transmitters?”

4) Queerly Beloved

• From Vice, Sarah Burke and Fran Tirado host “a multifaceted portrait of LGBTQ chosen family — the people who help us figure out who we are and inspire us to live as our most authentic selves.”

5) Feminists Don’t Wear Pink

• Scarlett Curtis “interviews inspiring women about what feminism means to them.”

6) Wolverine: The Long Night

• Marvel’s first scripted podcast, which was previously available only to paid subscribers, is now free.

7) Directionally Challenged

• New pod from Candice King and Kayla Ewell about “30-something women asking life’s questions and learning from the people who just might have the answers.

And a couple I missed last week:

8) Uncover: Escaping NXIVM

• An investigative pod series about the cult.

9) The Secret History of the Future

• Tom Standage and Seth Stevenson “examine the ancient ingenuity that our modern digital technology can learn from.”

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. Also, find us on Twitter @WeekInPodcasts.

Glad you made it out, Michael.

Schedule note: I’m taking a vacation soon, so I won’t be sending newsletters Aug. 17 and Aug. 24. I will have something else to share, though. Details to come.

7 Pod Takes

1) “It’s always better to have company when you’re a captive.”

Listen: The Joe Rogan Experience: Michael Scott Moore (25:59)

• So says Moore, sharing some bittersweet wisdom learned during the more than two-and-a-half years Somali pirates held him hostage.
• Moore’s making the pod rounds, talking about his horrific experience and his book about it, “The Desert and the Sea.”
• The pod’s currently the No. 1 on iTunes. Fresh Air’s interview with Moore ranks in the top 50.

2) “If you find yourself inexplicably weeping over a plate of huevos rancheros, you’re in the midst of a reckoning.”

Listen: Dear Sugars: Dear Sugars Live: The Great Reckoning (5:47)

• That’s Steve Almond, recounting a time he faced a reckoning in a pod devoted to examining “that long difficult stare back at your mistakes, your transgressions, your delusions.”
• In the reckoning-themed pod, co-host Cheryl Strayed shares her own reckoning, which you may already be familiar with. Heard of “Wild”?
• My take: Great pod about a difficult subject, approached with humility and humor.

3) “Who knew a debate about soil could get so heated?”

Listen: The Thin Layer: Regrowth (1:21)

• That’s Dan Crane, host of a compelling pod about…dirt.
• Crane outlines a struggle around people’s deep connections to land: Why should people who have been managing their land for generations listen to outsiders?
• And from another perspective: “When does convincing someone about science become forcing them against their will?”
• Crane sets the scene by recounting the words of Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso: “The struggle to defend the trees and forests is above all a struggle against imperialism. Because imperialism is the arsonist setting fire to our forests and savannas.”

4) “Is this a fight for the soul of the Republican Party?”

“No, because the Republican Party has no soul.”

Listen: Pod Save America: “Kochs, votes, and ostrich coats.” (20:49)

• That’s Jon Lovett (question) and Dan Pfeiffer (response), analyzing President Trump’s tweet spat with the Koch Brothers.
• Wired’s Nick Thompson and Jason Kander guest on a typically hilarious and sobering PSA.

5) “You have committed a sin against culture.”

Listen: The Watch: 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century and Mailbag Questions (43:01)

• Sean Fennessey reveals the criticism he and The Ringer received for ranking the pilot episode of “The O.C.” No. 9, one slot above the “Ozymandias” episode of “Breaking Bad.”
• Spoiler: The “Lost” episode “The Constant” ranked No. 1. “The Suitcase” episode of “Mad Men” ranked No. 2.

6) “It’s tattoos or get out.”

Listen: The Sporkful: Confessions of a Ballpark Food Vendor (27:39)

• That’s Ted Berg, the former ballpark food vendor in question, on his Cracker Jack prize preference.
• Berg and host Dan Pashman take a deep dive into the classic ballpark food, aka the food with the greatest product placement in American history via “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
• My take: Cracker Jack is awful.

7) “It’s somehow the right combination of pretty colors and Minecraft and shooting strangers.”

Listen: Culture Gabfest: Fortnite Kegel Storm Edition (26:40)

• So says Dawnthea Price, summarizing the appeal of the game-of-the-summer, Fortnite.

• My take: She’s on the money. Except she forgot the emotes.

Go Deep

1) The American Revolution

Listen: American History Tellers

• Best-selling author Russell Shorto wrote this six-part series on the American Revolution, as told through the eyes of six individuals.
• Binge time: 3 hours, 59 minutes

2) Financial Corruption in the Trump Administration

Listen: The Ezra Klein Show, Trump, Inc.

• Take two excellent deep dives into the financial shenanigans of President Trump and Paul Manafort.
• Klein goes 1 hour, 2 minutes with The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson about the latter’s investigative work surrounding the Trump Organization.
• Trump, Inc. dissects the Manafort trial.

3) “Die Hard”

Listen: The Rewatchables

• The Ringer goes deep into the Nakatomi Tower with John McClane and Hans Gruber.
• Binge time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

4) “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”

Listen: Binge Mode

• Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion continue their summer of Harry Potter immersion with a five-part deep dive into the fourth book in J.K. Rowling’s series.
• Binge time: 6 hours, 59 minutes

Guest Appearances By…

Barnett, Courtney Celebration Rock, All Songs Considered

• Witty musician talks about life on the road, her new album.

Branum, Guy The Gist with Mike Pesca

Bridgers, Phoebe Sound Opinions

Butterfield, Stewart How I Built This with Guy Raz

• Convo with the founder of Slack and Flickr.

Case, Neko Song Exploder

• Singer/songwriter breaks down her tune “Last Lion of Albion.”

Clarkson, Patricia I Think You’re Interesting

de Botton, Alain On Being

Favreau, Jon Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Francesa, Mike The Bill Simmons Podcast

Friedlander, Judah Fake the Nation

Gilligan, Vince Remote Controlled

• Convo with the executive producer of “Better Call Saul.”

Green, Seth Inside of You

Harbour, David Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Hill, Jemele The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Hirway, Hrishikesh Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

• Convo with Song Exploder host about songcraft, Solange.

Holmes, Dave R U Talkin’ R.E.M. RE: Me?

Hughley, D.L. It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Kilgariff, Karen The Soft Spot

• Co-host of My Favorite Murder talks Champagne, old timey music.

Kunis, Mila WTF with Marc Maron

Lee, Spike Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin

Lords, Traci The Adam Carolla Show

Marr, Johnny This Must Be the Gig

• Convo with the guitar legend about superstitions, his new album.

Milonakis, Andy Curious with Josh Peck

Nance, Terence Fast Company’s Creative Conversation

Newman, Randy Bullseye

Odenkirk, Bob Remote Controlled

Riggle, Rob The Adam Carolla Show

Sepinwall, Alan The PosCast

• TV critic guests to talk about “the best minor television characters of all time.”

Shlesinger, Iliza WTF with Marc Maron

Timberlake, Justin Oprah’s Master Class

Ventimiglia, Milo Remote Controlled

Waka Flocka Men in Blazers

Whelan, Melanie Skimm’d From the Couch

• SoulCycle’s CEO talks community, branding.

Wilson, Casey Comedy Bang! Bang!

Youssef, Bassem Pod Save the World

Notable New Podcasts

1) I, Survivor

• Jenna Brister and Wagatwe Wanjuk tell the stories of “men and women who fought back, who won, and who live rising above the trauma of their experiences.”

2) The Alice Fraser Trilogy

• The Australian comic delivers a comedy pod “about things that are actually sad.” She says, “They’re expecting a comedy show, and what I have to offer is maybe not that.”

3) The Girls: Find Sadie

• The fictional true crime podcast about a missing girl in the style of Serial that doubles as promotion for the YA novel “Sadie.”

4) Offended: The Musical

• Barstool Sports adds a new pod, with Rone and Francis improvising “songs, stories, and scenes delivered straight from their imagination.”

5) The Substack Podcast

• New pod from the writer-friendly newsletter publishing service features “conversations with writers who have earned their independence.”

6) Election 2000: Over/Time

• The pod takes a neat angle on the over-dissected 2000 presidential chaos. “Photographers Callie Shell and David Hume Kennerly reveal exclusive behind the scenes moments and the stories behind their photographs” during the 37-day recount.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. Also, find us on Twitter @WeekInPodcasts.