The U.S. presidential election has been inescapable. A few notes on how it played in Podland:
- Five of the top 10 Apple Podcasts episodes today focus on the election.
- Two of the top five Spotify Trending podcasts focus on the election.
- I couldn’t find one podcast debut in the Apple Podcasts top 200. I assume launching amid the madness seemed unwise.
More election podcast coverage below. For now, the counts: 53 notable guests, six new podcasts, five deep dives and one more week of McConaughey.
Pod Take of the Week
“For the last four years we’ve all been on a plane that’s making a crash landing. The pilot’s like, ‘Okay, we’ve got this. We’re foaming the runway. Don’t worry. We’re gonna make it.’ But it still doesn’t feel great, even towards the end.”
Listen: Pod Save America: “We won.” (8:24)
- That’s Jon Favreau, on the white-knuckling of much of the country during the President Trump years.
- Favreau and the rest of the Pod Save America guys allowed themselves a subdued mini-celebration, as Joe Biden edges ahead in the critical battleground states and finds himself on the brink of the presidency.
Go Deep
1) The U.S. Presidential Election
Listen: This Day in Esoteric Political History, The Daily, The Journal.
- A few episodes that provide context to ongoing events and (I hope) won’t feel stale by the time you listen.
- This Day in Esoteric Political History crowdsources an episode that asks, “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?”
- The Daily’s episode today drills down into President Trump’s statement where “he lied about the legality of the votes against him” and layed “a conspiracy at the feet of the democrats.”
- The Journal “looks ahead to possible legal challenges and recounts.”
2) The Ocoee Election Day Massacre
Listen: Flashback: History’s Unintended Consequences
- The IHeartRadio and OZY production launches a multi-part series on “the worst incident of election violence in American history.”
- The tragedy took place in 1920 in Ocoee, Florida, where black citizens were massacred for trying to vote.
3) The Van Halens vs. Van Halen’s Singers
Listen: Rivals
- The two-part series examines the two eras of the band led by the late Eddie Van Halen.
- Listen time: 2 hours, 9 minutes.
4) “Dazed and Confused”
Listen: The Big Picture
- The Ringer pod goes 1 hour, 40 minutes on the Richard Linklater classic.
- Linklater guests, as does Melissa Maerz, author of “Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.”
5) Denim Wars
Listen: Business Wars
- The Wondery pod kicks off a six-part series about Levi Strauss and the big business of denim.
Guest Appearances By…
($L) = Luminary, behind a paywall. (S) = Spotify exclusive. ($A) = Audible, behind a paywall.
Abrams, Stacy The Ezra Klein Show
- One of the architects of the newly blue Georgia talks about the fight for democracy.
Atamanuik, Anthony The Last Laugh
Bee, Samantha Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
Berninger, Matt Sodajerker on Songwriting
Brody, Adam Armchair Expert
Carlin, Dan Artificial Intelligence with Lex Fridman
Cooper, Sarah Sway
Coppola, Sofia The Treatment
Costello, Elvis The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Cross, David WTF with Marc Maron
Doyle, Glennon Design Matters
DiFranco, Ani Eric Krasno Plus One
Frankel, Bethenny Life is Short with Justin Long
Gill, Vince Biscuits & Jam
Grace, Laura Jane Bullseye
Handler, Chelsea Red Table Talk
Hawke, Maya Broken Record
- The pod calls the songs on her debut album “clever, poetic and raw.”
Hayes, Chris The Ezra Klein Show
Heidecker, Tim Kickass News
Hirway, Hrishikesh The Sporkful
Hudson, Kate and Oliver How To! with Charles Duhigg
Jacobson, Abbi Queery
Jefferies, Jim You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes
Kelly, Scott The Tim Ferriss Show
Lapkus, Lauren Good One
Linklater, Richard The Big Picture
Lovitz, Jon Literally! With Rob Lowe
Lynch, Jane Working
Mackey, John Freakonomics Radio
- Convo with the Whole Foods CEO.
Mandel, Pam Deviate with Rolf Potts, Leif Pettersen Makes a Podcast Podcast
Mantzoukas, Jason Comedy Bang! Bang!
Marsalis, Wynton Democracy Works
McConaughey, Matthew On Purpose with Jay Shetty
- He’s still out there on his book tour.
Middleditch, Thomas Comedy Bang! Bang!
Milioti, Cristin Bullseye
Minogue, Kylie The Zane Lowe Interview Series
Morello, Tom People Have the Power
Nosrat, Samin The Sporkful
Oswalt, Patton The Dave Chang Show
- The comedian talks bad movies with the chef.
Parsons, Jim Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Rinella, Steven The Joe Rogan Experience
Rippon, Adam Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins
Rivers, Doc ESPN Daily
Schrek, Heidi WTF with Marc Maron
- Convo with the creator of “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Shanahan, Brendan SmartLess
Shearer, Harry Kickass News
Smith, Will Red Table Talk
Thompson, Emma Sue Perkins: An hour or so with…
VanderMeer, Jeff Sway
Wambach, Abby Design Matters
Wilson, Dan The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
Ziering, Ian Hustling with Vivica A. Fox
- Steve Sanders!
Notable New Podcasts
Reminder: I’ve contracted and expanded coverage of new podcasts. The newsletter includes a curated list of the most notable and best new podcasts of the previous seven days.
Broader coverage now resides at weekinpodcasts.com, where I’ll show my work with an evolving list of new and upcoming podcasts. Know of any podcasts that should be included? Reply and let me know.
1) Play Me a Recipe (Nov. 6)
- Food52 cooks “measure, chop, stir, and sauté their way through a recipe.”
2) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Vault (Nov. 6)
- The Rock Hall rolls out induction speeches “from the biggest names in music ranging from the Beatles to NWA.”
3) Source Material (Oct. 30)
- The Vice pod “presents world events through the recordings of those who lived it.”
4) Music Saved Me (Nov. 3)
- Danny Clayton hosts the Musicians Making a Difference pod, talking “to different artists to see how music has shaped and changed their lives.”
5) Life Raft (Nov. 3)
- Lauren Malara and Travis Lux “explore your questions about living with climate change.”
6) The Miseducation of John Mark (Nov. 1)
- The drama pod follows John Mark, an activist who, after a killing, “sets out to unite his divided city together and stop both sides from descending into chaos.”
For upcoming debuts, visit the This Week in Podcasts website.