The coronavirus dominated my media diet this week. But I also leaned on food and pop culture podcasts. Here’s to the podcasters doing fine work to lend comfort to listeners.
This week’s counts: 53 notable guests, 15 new podcasts, six deep dives and one lovely lemon cake.
Pod Take of the Week
“I’m Will Smith in ‘I Am Legend’ exercising around his end-of-the-world house. That’s me”
Listen: Still Processing: A Pod from Both Our Houses (6:41)
- That’s Wesley Morris, on his new coronavirus quarantine exercise routine in his New York City apartment.
- Morris and co-host Jenna Wortham kick off their new season from their respective living rooms, which is the same room in my house where I’m writing this.
- Here’s to everyone getting stuff done in their living rooms.
Go Deep
1) Food in the Time of Coronavirus
Listen: Home Cooking, Planet Money, Bon Appétit Foodcast, House of Carbs, The Sporkful
- Food podcasters stepped it up, with ample tips and stories about keeping safe, comforted and nourished.
- James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and chef Samin Nosrat, and co-host Hrishikesh Hirway, launched the quarantine cooking pod I noted last week. Josh Malina guests. He makes latkes.
- Planet Money talks to “an economist, a farmer, and, of course, farmworkers” to check how our food system’s faring.
- Foodcast talks to chef and restaurant owner Edward Lee about the hit to the restaurant industry and Lee’s efforts to address the devastation.
- On The Ringer’s House of Carbs, Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport talks home cooking and community.
- The Sporkful takes some calls to figure out how to use your random pantry items. Marc Maron and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt guest.
- Also: Shouts to my wife, Sarah, for the excellent quarantine food, especially the lemon cake. And the challah. And the hummus, too.
2) Police Investigations in the Time of Coronavirus
Listen: Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad
- The true crime pod gets newsy, asking and answering interesting questions like: “What happens if someone is murdered during the quarantine? How will the detectives proceed? How will first responders respond to a call where someone is in imminent danger?”
3) The NRA and Money
Listen: Gangster Capitalism
- The podcast’s second season takes a deep dive into the National Rifle Association “and the allegations swirling around the nonprofit organization.”
4) Wrongful Convictions
Listen: FOR LIFE: The Podcast
- The companion podcast to the ABC drama completes its six-part series “exploring real stories from men and women who were wrongfully convicted, yet prevailed against unthinkable odds, and emerged with grace and newfound purpose.”
5) The North Face vs. Patagonia
Listen: Business Wars
- The Wondery podcast kicks off a six-part series on the rivalry between the two outdoor clothing manufacturers.
6) “The Karate Kid”
Listen: The Rewatchables
- The Ringer goes 1 hour, 51 minutes to “wax the car, paint the fence, and sand the floor to capture the true essence of the iconic film.”
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive. Ament, Jeff The Bill Simmons Podcast
- The Pearl Jam bassist talks music, hanging with Dennis Rodman. With PJ singer Eddie Vedder, too.
Aykroyd, Dan WTF with Marc Maron
Ball, Lavar Pardon My Take
Bird, Sue The JJ Redick Podcast
Black, Jack Off Camera with Sam Jones
Black Thought Talkhouse
Braun, Scooter Pretty Big Deal
Bryant, Aidy Las Culturistas
Cenac, Wyatt Talkhouse
Chopra, Deepak Recode Decode
Colbert, Stephen Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!
Corcoran, Barbara Life is Short with Justin Long
Cummings, Whitney Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Daniels, Anthony StarTalk Radio
Diaz, Joey The Joe Rogan Experience
Eno, Brian and Roger All Songs Considered
Farrow, Ronan Lovett or Leave It
Foley, Dave Penn’s Sunday School
Fonda, Jane Keep It!
Forte, Will Hollywood Handbook
Gates, Bill Ted Talks Daily
- The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder talks COVID-19.
Gladwell, Malcolm More with Anna Maria Tremonti
Goldblum, Jeff RuPaul: What’s the Tee
Gupta, Sanjay Armchair Expert
James, LeBron Road Trippin’
Jamil, Jameela The Hilarious World of Depression
Jobrani, Maz Green Eggs and Dan
Kimmel, Jimmy The Bill Simmons Podcast
Kreischer, Bert The Joe Rogan Experience
Legend, John Broken Record
Malina, Josh Home Cooking
Maron, Marc Fresh Air, Good One
McDormand, Frances The Kitchen Sisters Present
McKay, Adam Useful Idiots
McLendon-Covey, Wendi Anna Faris is Unqualified
Mo’Nique The David Banner Podcast
Murthy, Vivek The Tim Ferriss Show
Nomadic Matt Deviate with Rolf Potts
Offerman, Nick The PosCast
Papa, Tom Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig
Pullman, Bill ID10T
Rapinoe, Megan The JJ Redick Podcast
Rather, Dan The National Podcast of Texas
Ridley, Daisy RuPaul: What’s the Tee
Schwarzenegger, Arnold The Ticket
Schwartz, Ben You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes
Sonnenfeld, Barry Kickass News
Tompkins, Paul F. Off Menu
Valentine, Kathy WTF with Marc Maron
Vedder, Eddie The Bill Simmons Podcast
- The Pearl Jam singer talks music, with PJ bassist Jeff Ament, too.
White, Betty Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda
Wood Jr., Roy Touré Show
Notable New Podcasts
- Phoebe Judge of the Criminal podcast reads Agatha Christie’s “The Mysterious Affair at Styles.”
- It’s No. 23 on iTunes
- Tessa Thompson stars in and produces this fiction pod about “an idealistic young journalist [who] tries to make a name for herself by following a group of paranormal explorers.”
- It’s No. 34 on iTunes.
- The comedian and “Jackass” star “has hilarious and honest conversations with celebrities.”
- It’s No. 41 on iTunes.
4) Daigle Bites
- Lauren Daigle “invites you behind-the-scenes to provide completely honest reflections and revelations about making it in music.”
- It’s No. 76 on iTunes.
- Cherie Louise Turner hosts “a narrative podcast of stories about women and running.”
- It debuts with a 10-episode season focusing “on experiences in and around the Comrades Marathon” in South Africa, the world’s oldest and largest ultra-distance footrace.
6) Writ Large
- Zachary Davis hosts the podcast “about the books that have changed the world.”
- Episode No. 1: “Around the World in 80 Days.”
7) Seth Rudetsky’s Back to School
- Rudetsky “interviews celebrities about their high school experiences—and how those experiences continue to shape them.”
- Episode No. 1: Tina Fey.
- YouTuber/influencer Claudia Sulewski and musician Finneas “unravel the highlights and pitfalls of life and living it together.
- The podcast takes a deep dive into a Northeast Syrian region “known as Rojava that’s become host to a feminist, anti-authoritarian revolution.”
10) Criminal Conduct
- The investigative true-crime podcast retraces the footsteps “an amateur sleuth named Eli Washtock [who] winds up murdered after investigating” the 2010 death of Michelle O’Connell.
- John Taylor and Javier Leiva host.
11) Made Women
- “The Sopranos” actress Drea De Matteo co-hosts a rewatch of the show with her friend, Chris Kushner, invite listeners into the ultimate inner circle.
12) Here For You
- Refinery29 spins up “a daily show to offer comfort and support during this scary and uncertain time.”
13) Weekend Bigots
- Journalist Kevan Christie “takes you into the murky world of sectarianism in Scottish football” in a six-part series.
14) Telescope
- Host Jonathan Hirsch “will bring you stories of people who are far away…up close. Stories of how each of us are learning to live through this pandemic.”
15) alonement
- Host Francesca Specter asks people “about the time they spend by themselves, and why it matters.”
And One to Look Forward to: This Day in Esoteric Political History
- Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer and guests “rescue moments from the entirety of U.S. history to map our journey through a tumultuous year.”
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