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This Week in Podcasts

This Week in Podcasts: True Crime Overload Edition (#95)

True crime represents again this week with a few debuts, the return of a favorite, songs about crime and reports that the My Favorite Murder expanded universe earned $15 million last year. And five years after its debut, Serial’s still representing. It’s No. 23 on iTunes right now. 

Onward with less criminal matters. This week’s counts: 49 notable guests, 11 new podcasts, five deep dives and one dose of moral hysteria.

Pod Take of the Week

“If it is ‘Joker’ I’ll scream into a pillow.”

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour: 2020 Oscars Preview and What’s Making Us Happy (2:47)

  • That’s Glen Weldon, on his least-favorite pick for Best Picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards. 
  • Weldon and the PCHH crew offer a thorough analysis of this year’s nominees, an excellent primer for those who’ll watch but have seen but one movie that’s up for an Oscar.
  • More listening: Recode Media has an excellent deep dive into how Netflix is changing the Oscars. 

Go Deep

1) Satanic Panic

Listen: Uncover

  • The pod returns for its sixth season, which is devoted to “the history of a moral hysteria that took root across North America” in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
  • Two episodes are out. It’s No. 24 on iTunes.

2) The Other Latif

Listen: Radiolab

  • Latif Nasser recently made “a bizarre and shocking discovery. He shares his name with another man: Abdul Latif Nasser, detainee 244 at Guantanamo Bay.”
  • Nasser’s six-part series explores what it’s like to share a name with an alleged terrorist. 
  • The series is the culmination of a “years-long investigation, picking apart evidence, attempting to separate fact from fiction, and trying to uncover what this man actually did or didn’t do.”

3) The Iran-Contra Affair ($L)

Listen: Fiasco

  • The Slow Burn co-creators are back with a season dedicated to Iran-Contra, a “secret war, a secret deal, and a scandal that threatened to destroy Ronald Reagan’s presidency — until it didn’t.”

4) Songs About Crime

Listen: Rockin’ the Suburbs

  • The Suburbs guys “sniff out the songs about criminal activity,” including tunes from Johnny Cash and Blitzen Trapper.

5) “Take on Me”

Listen: The Rhino Podcast

  • A multi-part deep dive into the ‘80s song with ridiculous staying power — and the iconic accompanying video.
  • My take: “The Sun Always Shines on TV” is great, too. 

Guest Appearances By…

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

Aldama, Monica Skimm’d From the Couch

  • Coach Monica of Netflix’s “Cheer” talks business, holding athletes accountable. 

Ali, Laila The Jordan Harbinger Show

Apatow, Judd The Axe Files

Arnett, Will Armchair Expert

Baldwin, Alec Life is Short with Justin Long

Balkovec, Rachel The Gabby Reece Show

  • Convo with MLB’s first female coach. 

Barber, Celeste UnStyled

Behrendt, Greg Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Brown, Brené The Tim Ferriss Show

Buttigieg, Pete Pod Save America

Carville, James The Adam Carolla Show

Coughlan, Nicola Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

  • Convo with the “Derry Girls” actress.

Cuban, Mark Pardon My Take

Dern, Laura The Awardist

Doyle, Andrew The Joe Rogan Experience

Dratch, Rachel The Three Questions with Andy Richter

Durant, Kevin All the Smoke

Eggers, Dave Recode Decode

Eisenberg, Ophira Good Life Project

Ferguson, Jesse Tyler ID10T

Finneas Let’s Be Real with Sammy Jaye

  • The music producer/Billie Eilish’s brother helps kick off the Radio Disney personality’s new pod.

Freidman, Lex The Joe Rogan Experience

Gad, Josh Anna Faris is Unqualified 

Gorgeous, Gigi LGBTQ&A ($L)

Green, Matt Deviate with Rolf Potts

  • Convo with the man on a mission to walk every street in New York City.

Hughes, Akilah The Adam Carolla Show 

Iannucci, Armando Off Menu

Klein, Ezra On Being

Kutcher, Ashton WTF with Marc Maron

Mayer, John The Al Franken Podcast

McCain, Meghan Angry Americans

Nancherla, Aparna Yo, Is This Racist?

Newman, Randy Bullseye

Norton, Jim The Joe Rogan Experience

Oliver, Jamie The Sporkful

Osbourne, Ozzy Broken Record

Osbourne, Sharon Broken Record

Papa, Top The Joe Rogan Experience, Kickass News

  • He’s making the pod rounds to promote his Netflix special, “Top Papa: You’re Doing Great!”

Rapsody Questlove Supreme

Rossellini, Isabella Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Shannon, Michael Talkhouse

  • The actor and Lou Reed cover band member talks with musician Jason Narducy.

Sherald, Amy Touré Show

  • The artist best known for painting Michelle Obama’s portrait talks about her art — and her transplanted heart. 

Silverman, Sarah Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Smith, Yeardley NAKED with Catt Sadler

  • The actress who voices Lisa Simpson talks about her other gig, hosting the podcast Small Town Dicks. 

Vaynerchuk The Jim Rome Podcast

Voss, Chris Armchair Expert

Weller, Peter Maltin on Movies

Wood Jr., Roy It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Zebrowski, Henry Green Eggs and Dan 

  • The actor and podcaster guests on the pod’s second-season opener. 

Notable New Podcasts

1) Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders

  • The true crime podcast focuses on the murders of teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German in Delphi, Indiana.
  • It’s No. 2 on iTunes.

2) Partners 

  • Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder, West Wing Weekly) goes for “an intimate portrait of two people who have managed to make something together.” 

3) The Mesa

  • An independent true crime podcast about the West Mesa Murders in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the largest unsolved murder case in the state’s history. At least 16 women have gone missing. 
  • Tierna Unruh-Enos hosts.

4) Let’s Be Real with Sammy Jaye

  • The 17-year-old Radio Disney personality launches her interview with a trio of musical guests: Kesha, Meghan Trainor and Finneas. 

5) Raising Fame

  • Sonya and Dell Curry — parents of NBAers Steph and Seth Curry — tell the “childhood backstories of your favorite sports icons.”

6) Killer Knowledge 

  • A true-crime trivia podcast, with each episode focusing on a “shocking topic from history.”

7) How Did I Get Here?

  • Jae of the DAY6 promises a “weird yet tantalizing ride” on his new pod.
  • It’s No. 118 on iTunes.

8) More with Anna Maria Tremonti

  • The CBC interview podcast features conversations with “culture shapers.”

9) Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Podcast

  • The official pod for the show debuts.

10) The McMillion$ Podcast

  • The companion pod to the HBO series hits No. 41 on iTunes this week. 

11) Americast

  • BBC reports from the U.S. presidential election campaign trail

And One to Look Forward to: Cat People

  • The pod from Longreads will explore “the strange relationships people have with big cats and the legal loopholes that have made America home to more captive tigers than there are left in the wild.”