A bump for John Green and the latest The Anthropocene Reviewed. If you’re looking for a sober yet hopeful perspective on getting through All This, it’s a good one.
This week’s counts: 53 notable guests, 10 new podcasts, five deep dives and one five-star review of a goalkeeper.
Pod Take of the Week
“You can’t see the future coming. Not the terrors, for sure. But you also can’t see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us.”
Listen: The Anthropocene Reviewed: You’ll Never Walk Alone and Jerzy Dudek (25:10)
- That’s John Green, finding solace during our current “crushing grind” in unknown but sure-to-be-wonderful future events.
- Green arrives at this optimistic spot via a life-affirming review of goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek’s performance in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, where his spectacular late-game saves helped Liverpool win the title.
- Also reviewed: “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Liverpool’s adopted anthem. Green beautifully ties the two together.
- Spoiler: Green gives YNWA 4.5 stars. Dudek earns 5 stars.
Go Deep
1) Polly Platt
Listen: You Must Remember This
- The latest season explores the life of the “Oscar-nominated production designer, screenwriter, producer and executive who put her stamp on some of the greatest and most loved films of the 1970s and 80s.”
- Also: She “lived an epic Hollywood life off-screen; her personal life was the stuff of a Great American Novel.”
2) Toilet Paper: A History
Listen: Business Wars
- A 25-minute deep dive into the battles surrounding the makers and consumers of the “white gold.”
3) Ivy League Admissions
Listen: Inside the Yale Admissions Office
- Yale University opens up about how it narrows down 35,000 applicants a year to 1,550 students.
4) All-In-One-Day Movies
Listen: The Big Picture
- A 1-hour, 5-minute rundown of the best movies that take place in a 24-hour time period.
5) Cereal
Listen: The PosCast with Joe Posnanski and Michael Schur
- Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Linda Holmes joins the pod for a draft of the best breakfast cereals.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = On Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = A Spotify exclusive. Albright, Madeleine The Tim Ferriss Show
Andrews, Erin Sports Illustrated Media Podcast
Apatow, Judd The Adam Carolla Show
Barris, Kenya WTF with Marc Maron
Bateman, Jason The Bill Simmons Podcast
Bee, Samantha WTF with Marc Maron
Brand, Russell Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Bridgers, Phoebe Butt Dial (S)
Bryant, Aidy The Big Ticket
Butterfield, Stewart The Vergecast
Buttigieg, Chasten Queery
Byer, Nicole Girls Gotta Eat
Caruso, Alex The Lowe Post
- Convo with the unlikely and beloved member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Davis, Kristin Keep It
Duke, Clark Anna Faris is Unqualified
Eget, Adam The Joe Rogan Experience
Gadsby, Hannah Homo Sapiens, Fresh Air
Gay, Roxane Hello Monday
Gondelman, Josh Small Triumph Big Speech
- The comedian celebrates a man folding his laundry.
Hadreas, Michael Butt Dial (S)
Hart, Kevin The Joe Rogan Experience
Hill, Katie Worst Year Ever
Jepsen, Carly Rae Switched on Pop
Jones, Norah Questlove Supreme
Khosrowshahi, Dara Recode Decode
Kroll, Nick Good One
Larry the Cable Guy Lost in America
Lewis, Michael The Bill Simmons Podcast
Lowe, Nick Broken Record
McCarthy, Melissa Armchair Expert
McGowen, Rose This Must Be the Gig, Grounded with Louis Theroux
McHale, Joel Pardon My Take
Missick, Simone Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Meacham, Jon Armchair Expert
Monáe, Janelle The Black List ($L)
Mulaney, John Good One
Ng, Celeste Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
O’Brien, Conan Under the Skin with Russell Brand
O’Donnell, Rosie Relatively Sane with Jessica Kirson
Offerman, Nick The Last Laugh
Orr, Gregory On Being
Parsons, Jim The Big Ticket
Penn, Kal Lovett or Leave It
Rae, Issa Keep It
Schwartz, Ben Life is Short with Justin Long, Comedy Bang! Bang!
Sedaris, Amy ID10T
Sittenfeld, Curtis Meet the Writers
Sudeikis, Jason Off Camera with Sam Jones
Warren, Elizabeth Lovett or Leave It
Washington, Kerry Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Winstead, Lizz The Margaret Cho
Witherspoon, Reese Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Wolf, Michelle Celeste & Her Best ($L)
Notable New Podcasts
1) It Was Simple: The Betty Broderick Murders
- The four-part true crime pod examines a double murder of a man and his new wife — by the man’s first wife.
- It’s No. 5 on Apple Podcasts.
2) Borrasca
- The scripted thriller starring Cole Sprouse involves disappearing people and “what connection the disappearances hold with the mountain outside of town.”
- It’s No. 13 on Apple Podcasts.
- Another true crimer. This one’s about Josh Holt, who “was kidnapped and thrown in a Venezuelan prison for a crime he didn’t commit.”
- It’s No. 19 on Apple Podcasts.
- In what’s billed as a true crime-comedy combo, Patrick Hinds and Ellyn Marie Marsh “recap episodes of everybody’s favorite true crime TV series, the ID Channel’s Disappeared.”
- It’s No. 33 on Apple Podcasts.
5) Mobbed Up
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal pod “chronicles the rise and fall of organized crime in Las Vegas through the eyes of those who lived it: ex-mobsters, law enforcement officials, politicians and journalists.”
- It’s No. 83 on Apple Podcasts.
- Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay “dissect the biggest topics in black culture, politics, and sports.”
- The serialized documentary from RAICES explores “the unwritten history of the Department of Homeland Security.”
8) Pindrop
- From TED, Saleem Reshamwala dives deep “into the ideas that shape a particular spot on the map, brought to you by local journalists and creators.”
- Liz Plank “offers emotional support to process the anxiety that accompanies an increasingly chaotic news cycle.”
10) Murder on the Towpath ($L)
- Soledad O’Brien “takes us back to 1964 when a well-connected white artist was murdered, a black man stood accused, and a barrier-breaking civil rights lawyer rose to his defense.”
And One to Look Forward to: The Good Assassin (June 1)
- It’s the “untold story of an Israeli spy’s epic journey to bring a savage Nazi murderer to justice.”