Category: This Week in Podcasts

No newsletter for the next few months. It’s been a long 2020-21, so I’m putting this side project on hiatus until September and carving out some extra non-screen time.

Big edition today. Since I made you wait a few extra hours, let’s get right to it. The counts: 57 notable guests, 16 new podcasts, six deep dives and one happy statement from an attorney. Pod Take of the Week “I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for […]

Shouts to John Green. In a review of his own podcast, the excellent The Anthropocene Reviewed, he revealed he’s suffering from labyrinthitis and he’s taking a break from his pod to work on a book based on his show. Get well and good luck. On to this week’s counts: 48 notable guests, 12 new podcasts, […]

A ton of new podcasts dropped this week (and last week while I was out), and there’s a whole lot more going on in podcastland, too. Let’s get caught up. The counts: 56 notable guests, 23 new podcasts, seven deep dives and one unapologetic podcast. Pod Take of the Week “In the age of pandemic, […]

Two truths and a … bit of housekeeping: Avery Trufelman’s announcement that she’ll host The Cut has more than 88,000 views since yesterday morning. The admiration runs deep in podcastland. Podcasters remain obsessed with Betty, Inez, James and Taylor Swift’s “folklore.” And I’m off next week. Time for a summer break. Next edition: Aug. 21, […]

Two new podcasts drove ample conversation and listening in podcastland this week: The much-anticipated Michelle Obama podcast launched, as did the latest from Serial Productions, which has a new home as part of the New York Times. And, if it’s relevant to your interests, one of the guys from “Saved By the Bell” started a […]

It’s a Saturday edition, but with all the usual goodness, including a deeper-than-usual bench of podcast debuts. Let’s get to it. The counts: 51 notable guests, 20 new podcasts, four deep dives and one pod tracing the connection between “Office Space” and “Scarface.” Pod Take of the Week “We do it not simply because it’s […]

Excellent news for those who, like me, are finding solace these days in all things “The Office” — another podcast about the show launched this week. And, as usual, we’ve got a couple popular true crime debuts. This week’s counts: 46 notable guests, 19 new podcasts, five deep dives and one Michelle Obama podcast coming […]

I happily spent most of my listening time this week on “Origins: Almost Famous,” a behind-the-scenes deep dive into the Cameron Crowe classic. Most listeners, as usual, turned to true crime. Park Predators (No. 1) and Guru (No. 2) top the Apple Podcasts charts. This week’s counts: 58 notable guests, 15 new podcasts, six deep […]

Happy “Hamilton” day! Disney+ has the movie debut, podcasters have you covered with analysis and interviews. I’ll be partaking tonight, so let’s get right to it. This week’s numbers: 44 notable guests, eight new podcasts, five deep dives and one more true crime podcast at the top of the charts. Pod Take of the Week […]

No smash debuts, and the usual podcasts have settled back in at the top of the charts — Joe Rogan’s No. 1, The Daily’s No. 3 and Crime Junkie’s No. 4. The biggest podcast-world drama this week revolves around Bill Simmons and the scathing response to his quotes in a New York Times story about […]

Listeners remain deeply interested in podcasts about race and what comes next in America. Yes, Joe Rogan’s back at the top of the Apple charts, but 1619 (No. 2) and Code Switch (No. 8) are still in the top 10. The Daily, Post Reports and many other news podcasts also offered explainers on Juneteenth, the […]

Podcasts about race still dominate the Apple Podcasts chart, with Code Switch (No. 4) and 1619 (No. 1) leading the way. And, as with 1619, another podcast from last year has re-entered the charts. Details in the deep dives.  This week’s counts: 44 notable guests, 14 new podcasts, four deep dives and one strange spinning […]

The police killing of George Floyd and the global reaction to his death dominated the news, and that’s reflected in this week’s podcasts. Of the top 50 episodes on Apple Podcasts this afternoon, 32 addressed the situation. Some covered the ongoing events. Others dove deeper into longer-term issues of institutional racism and police violence. A […]

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 […]

The top two podcasts on the Apple charts right now are in flux. Joe Rogan (No. 1) announced he’s moving his marathon conversations to Spotify, and Barstool’s Call Her Daddy (No. 2) is swimming in drama. If you don’t want to listen to pods about the situation, Taylor Lorenz is on it. This week’s counts: […]

I’d been looking forward to Wind of Change. Many of you were, too. It’s the highest-ranking debut on both Apple Podcasts (No. 3) and Spotify (No. 13). My take: It’s very good. Binged it already. Even streamed the Scorpions song a few times. This week’s counts: 57 notable guests, nine new podcasts, four deep dives […]

Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Eddie Redmayne and others are reading the first Harry Potter book to give quarantine entertainment a bump. It’s on Spotify. Is it a podcast? Sure! More good stuff for pre- and early-teens debuts this week at TRAX, billed as “a network of curated and original high-quality podcasts […]

Tina Fey, thanks for the laughs. Much appreciated! Another thing that sparked joy: The “Parks and Recreation” reunion special and the companion behind-the-scenes pod — and the waffles and calzones spread we pulled together to go with it all. Gonna try to extend the good vibes by keeping things (mostly) light this week. This week’s […]

I Zoomed tonight with some of my former Travel Channel colleagues. It made me even more nostalgic for the days we all went places, so roll with me on a deep dive into the current state of travel. Or just come along for the usual look at everything else happening in podcastland. This week’s counts: […]