Quite the bounty of music podcasts this week, including an all-timer from Reply All. The counts: 60 notable guests, 13 new podcasts, six deep dives and one unlikely earworm.
Pod Take of the Week
“It felt almost like he’d found a hole in the world, like a glitch.”
Listen: Reply All: #158 The Case of the Missing Hit (4:55)
- That’s P.J. Vogt on the plight of Tyler Gillett, a man haunted by a song he remembers vividly from 20+ years ago but can’t find any trace of on the internet.
- To figure out the song in Gillett’s head, Vogt embarks on an odyssey that includes rock critics, therapists, a cross-country trip, Christian Lee Hutson and a re-creation of the song from Gillett’s memory.
- Spoiler: Nah, can’t do that. Just listen and let the mystery unfold.
Go Deep
1) Women’s Anthems
Listen: Anthems
- Broccoli Content goes big with its International Women’s Month series to “celebrate and contemplate what it means to be a woman.”
- It’s a “collection of 31 original manifestos, speeches, stories, poems and rallying cries written and voiced by exceptional women.”
2) The Iditarod Sled Dog Race
Listen: Iditapod
- Alaska’s annual sled dog race begins Sunday, and Alaska Public Media’s pod is back for a fourth season to cover it.
3) Music and Popcorn
Listen: Heat Rocks
- A five-part series on music and movies concludes with a deep dive into “High Fidelity.”
- Says co-host Oliver Wang: “‘High Fidelity’ is the ‘Fight Club’ of rom-coms.”
- Other movies in the series: “The Bodyguard,” “Juice” and “Us,” plus a medley ep.
- Binge time: 4 hours, 39 minutes.
4) Socialism
Listen: Freakonomics Radio
- Specifically, the pod explores the question: “Does anyone really know what socialism is?”
- Host Stephen Dubner says: “Trump says it would destroy us. Sanders says it will save us. The majority of millennials would like it to replace capitalism. But what is ‘it’?”
5) Starbucks vs. Dunkin
Listen: Business Wars
- A six-part series about the rivalry between beloved coffee giants kicks off with the first two episodes.
6) “Abducted in Plain Sight”
Listen: Obsessed With: Abducted in Plain Sight
- The four-part companion series to the documentary “Abducted in Plain Sight” features “new interviews and deleted scenes [and] outrageous plot lines that didn’t make it into the film.”
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive.
Adlon, Pamela It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Anna Faris is Unqualified
Bacon, Kevin Pardon My Take
Berg, Peter WTF with Marc Maron
Biggs, Jason Worst Firsts with Brittany Furlan
Birch, Thora WTF with Marc Maron
Bloom, Rachel Partners
Bush, Sophia On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Calcanis, Jason Recode Decode
Chee, Alexander Bookable
Corddry, Rob The Three Questions with Andy Richter
Cowen, Tyler The Tim Ferriss Show
Cranston, Bryan Kickass News
Cummings, Whitney Armchair Expert
Curry, Adam The Joe Rogan Experience
Danticat, Edwidge Touré Show
Droste, Ed Lunch Therapy
Druyan, Ann Artificial Intelligence with Lex Fridman
Dubner, Stephen The Joe Rogan Experience, The Bill Simmons Podcast
- “Just let’s all be a little less stupid,” says Dubner, commenting on the reaction to the coronavirus.
Duncan, Dayton Everybody’s National Parks
- Convo with Ken Burns’s creative partner.
Erdrich, Louise Fresh Air
Farenthold, Dave The Al Franken Podcast
Feimster, Fortune The Sporkful
Felix, Allyson The Trevor Noah Podcast ($L)
Fogg, BJ Armchair Expert
Garland, Alex Artificial Intelligence with Lex Fridman
George the Poet Full Disclosure with James O’Brien
Gershon, Gina Life is Short with Justin Long
Gronkowski, Rob Pardon My Take
Hagerty, Julie Maltin on Movies
Hill, Katie Hysteria
Hoffman, Reid Starting Greatness
Holland, Brian and Eddie Rolling Stone Music Now
- Convo with the Motown legends.
Jones, Leslie RuPaul: What’s the Tee?
Klein, Naomi More with Anna Maria Tremonti
Koshy, Liza Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham
Kravitz, Zoe Questlove Supreme
Kunis, Mila Teach Me Something New
Kutcher, Ashton Teach Me Something New
Lapkus, Lauren Culture Kings
Leggero, Natasha Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Lopez, Jennifer Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations
Mardsen, James The Big Ticket
McKenna, Aline Brosh Partners
Minaj, Nicki RuPaul: What’s the Tee?
Neistat, Casey How I Built This with Guy Raz
Nemens, Emily Otherppl with Brad Listi
- Convo with the author of Cactus League. I’m No. 9 on the waitlist at the library.
Nichols, Rachel Sports Illustrated Media Podcast
Plame, Valerie The Thrive Global Podcast
Probst, Jeff Talks at Google
Rallison, James Impaulsive with Logan Paul
- Convo with the Odd 1s Out creator.
Riggle, Rob Kickass News
Run the Jewels Broken Record
Santino, Andrew The Joe Rogan Experience
Sedaris, David Good For You, Hollywood Handbook
Soccer Mommy This Must Be the Gig
Solnit, Rebecca The Ezra Klein Show, With Friends Like These
Speed, Lauren Reality Life with Kate Casey
- Convo with the “Love is Blind” star.
Wolf, Michelle Good One, expediTIously
Wong, Ali Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Notable New Podcasts
- The latest True Crime pod from Wondery “uncovers the twisted secret life of one of America’s most prolific serial killers,” who happened to appear as a contestant on the TV show “The Dating Game” in 1978.
- It’s No. 1 on iTunes.
2) Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction
- CNN adds to the growing list of coronavirus podcasts. This one’s hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
- It’s No. 4 on iTunes.
- Brit + Co founder Brit Morin “sits down with inspirational figures like scientists, CEOs, influencers and celebrities, and asks them to teach her something new that’s changed their lives for the better.”
- First ep: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher teach her how to act.
- It’s No. 22 on iTunes.
- Hosts Josh Scherer and Nicole Hendizadeh “discuss, debate, and dissect the web’s most hilariously controversial culinary quandaries.”
- You should know where your newsletter maker stands: A hot dog is not a sandwich.
- Also: Pineapple does not belong on pizza.
- This one’s No. 44 on iTunes.
5) Cool Mules
- It’s a six-part series about the cocaine smuggling ring inside VICE Media.
6) Believer
- It’s a “Twin Peaks”- and “X-Files”-like “paranormal audiodrama.”
- The plot: “Lara Campbell used to believe in ghosts. Now she pretends to believe in them for money. But when her ex-partner goes missing in a town with some very mysterious issues, she may have to re-evaluate everything she thought she knew.”
7) Toy Heart: A Podcast About Bluegrass
- The Bluegrass Situation andTom Power launch “a platform for bluegrass storytelling and an examination of the true narratives that gave rise to this singular genre.”
8) The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast
- The queen of all media dips into her archive to share “interviews, a-ha moments, ugly cries and unforgettable surprises” from the last 25 years of her show.
9) Bookable
- Features “established authors and emerging talent in conversation withAmanda Stern.
- Vicki Gunvalson of “Real Housewives of Orange County” fame “dishes on all things Real Housewives, and shares empowering truths about life, financial freedom, relationships, and finding love.”
11) Spellbound
- Melissa Thom talks to experts in children’s books “about the importance of getting children into books [and] recommendations on how to move them onto the next exciting title or series.”
12) PM Mood
- An interview show hosted by Danielle Moodie-Mills, who “takes you behind the curtain, off the red carpet and to the frontlines of progress with change makers and innovators that are ‘doing the work’ to shift our culture and expand our social impact.”
13) Judith Lucy – Overwhelmed & Dying
- The Australian comedian, who is “totally overwhelmed by the state of the world and her own life,” attempts “to solve her problems and yours in a mere eight episodes.”
And One to Look Forward to: Even the Rich (March 10)
- Wondery dives into the “totally true and totally shocking stories about the greatest family dynasties the world has ever seen.”
- Brooke Siffrinn and Aricia Skidmore-Williams host.