Excellent news: After a slow start to the year, the pipeline of new 2020 podcasts really started flowing. This week’s counts: 50 notable guests, eight deep dives, eight new podcasts and one pod take that could change the way you see Nickelback.
Pod Take of the Week
“I think if you make something, you can appreciate how hard it is for other people to make things, you know. And I think that informs how you view other people’s creations.”
Listen: The Sporkful: Ronny Chieng Roasts Everything But Restaurants (9:01)
- That’s comedian and food-lover Chieng, who’s willing to critique a lot of things — but not restaurants.
- Chaser: Listen to Tig Notaro, talking about her love for punching-bag band Nickelback’s much-maligned song “Photograph,” on Studio 360.
- “When I hear comedians making fun of Nickelback, it kind of bores me,” she says. “It feels like low-hanging fruit. But I’m happy to hang on the tree with Nickelback.”
- “I love Nickelback,” she says. “Everyone can go to hell.”
Go Deep
1) Britney Spears’s Hair
Listen: We Need to Talk About Britney
- A 1-hour, 29-minute “detailed and chronological look at Britney’s hair journey,” “from lioness locks, to blunt bobs, piecey extensions and her infamous shaved head moment.”
2) Infiltrating Mensa
Listen: My Year in Mensa
- Comedian Jamie Loftus dropped a four-part series on her experience joining/infiltrating the organization for high-IQ achievers.
- Bello calls it “hilarious, bold, and smart,” adding, “The show is so funny, it’s easy to forget that Loftus put herself in danger to produce this.”
3) The Case Against Harvey Weinstein
Listen: The Daily
- The NYT pod goes two parts on the abuse and harassment charges against the disgraced former movie mogul.
- Binge time: 1 hour, 11 minutes.
4) Cortés’s Conquest of Mexico
Listen: The Explorers Podcast
- The deep dive into Hernán Cortés’s clash with the Aztec Empire kicks off with a 34-minute episode.
5) “On the Road”
Listen: Mean Book Club
- The premise: “Four ladies (from UCB-NY, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) read, discuss and make fun of NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit.”
- This time they get mean about Jack Kerouac’s beat classic for 1 hour, 25 minutes.
6) Boeing vs. Airbus
Listen: Business Wars
- Wondery starts a six-part series on the rivalry that helped define the Jet Age.
7) The Apollo 11 Mission
Listen: 9 Days in July
- iHeartRadio concludes its nine-episode, day-by-day look at the Apollo 11’s trip to the moon.
8) Brady vs. Manning
Listen: Sports Wars
- Wondery goes deep on the two quarterbacks that stood out above all others in the last two decades.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive.
Barkley, Charles Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Carden, D’Arcy Keep It!
Chao, Elaine Shift
Chieng, Ronny The Sporkful
Daniels, Anthony Talks at Google
- C-3P0!
Dell, Michael How I Built This with Guy Raz
Dern, Laura The Big Ticket
DiCaprio, Leonardo WTF with Marc Maron
Epstein, David Recode Decode
Farrow, Ronan Armchair Expert
Ferriss, Tim StarTalk Radio
- Season 11 of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s show kicks off with a convo with podcaster/lifestyle entrepreneur Ferriss.
Folds, Ben Good Life Project
Foxx, Jamie The Treatment
Friedman, Rachel Deviate with Rolf Potts
- Convo with the author of “And Then We Grew Up.”
Gaffigan, Jim Pardon My Take
Gaga, Lady Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
Garlin, Jeff Anna Faris is Unqualified
Gross, Matt heatstories
Gross, Terry The New Yorker Radio Hour
Henry, Joe On Being
- The musician says, “Well, we’re sort of seduced into thinking that, like, here’s life and then there’s these bad things that can happen that are like obstacles that just fall into your road. As if the obstacle is not the road, you know?”
Jillette, Penn The Tim Ferriss Show
Jordan, Michael B. The Treatment
Keys, Alicia This Must Be the Gig
Lerner, Ben Bookworm
Mantegna, Joe WTF with Marc Maron
Marsalis, Wynton Here’s the Thing
Mendes, Sam The Awardist
- Convo with the Golden Globe-winning director of “1917.”
Meyer, Danny House of Carbs
Mitchell, Shay Pretty Big Deal
Monaghan, Michelle ID10T
Nesmith, Michael Sodajerker on Songwriting
Notaro, Tig Studio 360
O’Brien, Conan The Al Franken Show
Pitt, Brad WTF with Marc Maron
Quatro, Suzi Talkhouse
- The music legend talks to L7’s Donita Sparks.
Rapinoe, Megan Recode Decode
- The 2019 Ballon d’Or Féminin winner talks soccer, pay equity.
Redban, Brian The Joe Rogan Experience
Reece, Gabby Danica Patrick Pretty Intense
St. Vincent Ernie Ball: Striking a Chord
Sanz, Horatio Comedy Bang! Bang!
Schwartz, Ben Comedy Bang! Bang!
Silverton, Nancy Beyond the Plate
Spalding, Esperanza Questlove Supreme
Tarantino, Quentin The Rewatchables
- The recent Golden Globe-winner sits with the Ringer for a 1-hour, 34-minute dive into “Unstoppable.”
Tohn, Jackie Off Book
Tucker, Tanya Bullseye
Warren, Elizabeth Pod Save America
Williamson, Zion The JJ Redick Podcast
Wilson, Rainn Work in Progress with Sophia Bush, Wheels Off, Armchair Expert
Witherspoon, Reese Second Life
Notable New Podcasts
- The Parcast Network pod devotes two episodes to a secret society, “exposing the people and context responsible for its founding, and analyzing the psychology behind their beliefs.”
- It’s No. 19 on iTunes.
- The pod from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University explores early childhood development and “what we can do during this incredibly important period to ensure that all children have a strong foundation for future development.”
3) Murmurs
- The BBC presents “Ten mind-altering tales from some of the best new drama podcast writers.”
- The pod’s third season focuses on the death of John F. Kennedy Jr.
- Conversations between iconic rock musician David Crosby and his friend, author Steve Silberman.
6) Vent Weekly
- The Vice UK pod focuses on the “young people of a single London borough, amplifying their passions and their fears to a truly international audience.”
- Brooke Burke leads a trio of hosts talking about ”intimacy, sex and relationships.”
8) Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein
- I’ve lost count of the Jeffrey Epstein podcasts. This one’s the latest. It’s from ABC News, and it’s No. 5 on iTunes. You’ll be sickened. Again.
And One to Look Forward To: Chasing Cosby (Jan. 14)
- Investigative reporter Nicki Weisensee Egan hosts “the definitive take of the rise and fall of Bill Cosby.”