Podcast Miscellany #8

Issue #8
Date: 2 March 2017

Well, it’s been absurdly long again since I sent one of these out, and with dissertation deadlines looming, my frequency isn’t likely to get much better in the coming months. At the same time, I’m drowning in good things to listen to. So before these suggestions get too stale, here are a few wonderful things to listen to from the last several months. First: a few shows, seasons, and mini-series that have just been killing it with great stories recently. Then: a briefly annotated list of some other excellent listening that you’ll just have to check out for yourself!

Recent Favorites

If you haven’t yet listened to Jonathan Goldstein’s Heavyweight, drop everything at once and listen to the whole first season. I had so many episodes on my list to recommend, it’s hardly worth singling any of them out individually. Goldstein is a master at blending nostalgia, regret, humor, self-deprecation, and affection. And though the premise of the show — Goldstein talking to friends and family about moments they regret in their lives — can sometimes feel silly at first, each episode is utterly convincing. I recommended a couple of the early episodes in my last letter, so I’ll mention two from the end of the season here: Julia, which examines the long after-effects of middle-school bullying on a woman’s life, and Galit, in which Jonathan revisits the experience of his first love.

Gimlet’s Startup ran a captivating, astonishing, and maddening miniseries about Dov Charney, the former CEO of American Apparel, as he attempts to start a new clothing business. The series is a fascinating portrait of a charismatic man whose narcissism, anger, predatory behavior, and reckless disregard for others got him fired and nearly tanked the business he started. On the eve of the inauguration, I couldn’t help think about the deep parallels between Charney and another narcissist CEO we’re all far too familiar with.

Speaking of narcissists, I also really enjoyed Ponzi Supernova, Audible’s incredibly binge-able series about Bernie Madoff. What’s amazing about the show is the way it zooms both way in and way out on Madoff’s scheme, covering everything from the software tricks he used to forge stock trades to the larger forces in the financial system that both enabled and perpetuated his schemes. (Requires an Audible subscription or Amazon Prime).

Andrea Silenzi’s Why Oh Why continues to be one of my favorite shows in podland. The combination of humor, pathos, and honesty that she brings to her role as both the host and, often, the main character of her show is both unique and captivating. A number of recent episodes have been terrific, from interviewing guys in bars the day of the women’s march, to documenting Andrea’s quest to get an IUD, to the deliciously awkward aftermath of a live-to-podcast date (A Celebration of Awkwardness). As always, though, the show is at its best when Andrea turns the mic on herself, as in her beautifully sad reflection on the end of a two-year relationship, How Will I Know?

Audio dramas can be hit or miss, but the first season of Homecoming from Gimlet was great. The voice acting is fabulous, (Catherine Keener, David Schwimmer, and Oscar Isaac star), the sound-rich atmosphere is immersive, and the tempo of the plot is just right. If you’re into slightly sci-fi mystery noir, this is definitely worth checking out.

I’ve praised How to Be a Girl before and I’ll do it again: Marlo Mack’s audio diary of life with her transgender daughter is the best argument for empathy and trans rights imaginable, and it is beautiful, touching, and funny to boot. Check out Just Maybe, about whether Marlo’s daughter will be able to have children one day, and Red State Mama, about the bravery of her red state doppelgänger.

Two Reply All episodes in the last several months illustrate the show’s astounding range and immense capability to make fascinating stories out of almost anything. Hello? is both utterly unique and quintessentially Reply All; PJ and Alex left an open call-in phone line on for 48 hours, and committed themselves to answering as many calls as they could. The result is a fascinating two hours of audio, condensed from the funniest, strangest, and most surprising conversations they had. Man of the People is a more conventional story in format, but deeply weird nonetheless; it tells the story of the huckster-charlatan John Brinkley, whose medical and radio hijinks in the 20s and 30s earned the ire of the American Medical Association and helped to create a mass audience for American popular music. Definitely worth a listen.

I’ve probably recommended episodes from The Heart in every issue of this newsletter, but the show, and Kaitlin Prest’s work in particular, continues to slay. I loved Love, Harry, which explores the tenuous boundaries of love, intimacy, sexuality, and gender through a series of love letters Kaitlin wrote to her close friend.

Several fantastic episodes of This American Life in the past few months. Once More, With Feeling is great throughout, but Eleanor Gordon-Smith’s interviews with men who cat-call her on the street is particularly memorable and infuriating. Will I Know Anyone at This Party?, which came out right before the election, is a fascinating look at the origins of Trumpist immigration policy in the GOP, focusing on anti-immigrant sentiment in St. Cloud, MN. And continuing the immigration theme, Didn’t We Solve this One? examines the bravery of Iraqi and Afghan translators working with American forces, and the unconscionable cruelty of how difficult we’ve made it for them to get to the US.

I don’t want to ruin the twist of this episode, so I won’t say too much, but The Truth, on Strangers, was a spellbinding account of women whose daughter accused her father of sexual abuse. Dark, but powerful.

Briefly Noted

A few great episodes from Scott Carrier. First, a series on the debate surrounding de-listing the grizzly bear from the endangered species list: sound-rich and thoughtful (Home of the Brave: The Greater Yellowstone Grizzly, Parts 1, 2, and 3). And an older episode, following Syrian refugees on their uncertain journey to Europe (Home of The Brave: On the Ferry from Lesbos to Athens).

Need something laugh-out-loud funny to listen to? Start here (Do Listen Twice: Christmas on a High Wire)

A replay of a classic OTM episode on the lawlessness and abuses of Customs and Border Patrol (On the Media: What We Know About the Border)

A great interview with my friend Diane on her work as an abortion provider and reproductive health advocate (Working: How Does an Abortion Provider Work?)

My level of enjoyment listening to this new show from food writer Mark Bittman was a little irrational, but something about just listening to him move around the kitchen and feed pizza to pigs put a big grin on my face (Get Bitt: The First Course)

The genius and musical stylings of Hamilton’s arranger and music director (The Room Where It’s Happening: Alex Lacamoire: Musical Mastermind)

Timothy Snyder on the parallels between Trump and Hitler (Trumpcast: His Rise to Power)

Everyone has a right to an attorney, but many states are unwilling to pay for it (Reveal: If You Can’t Afford a Lawyer)

What is your restaurant server thinking? (Good Food: Dispatches from the Front of the House)

A couple of great episodes on race, identity, journalism, and objectivity (Code Switch: In Search of Puerto Rican Identity in Small-Town America; NPR Politics Podcast: Covering 2016 as a Muslim)

Audie Cornish reflects on her personal experiences with busing (Code Switch: Audie and the Not-So-Magic School Bus)

Masha Gessen on what to watch for under the new regime (ProPublica Podcast: How Journalists Need to Begin Imagining the Unimaginable)

A vital discussion about poverty and housing insecurity (We the Podcast: The Housing Crisis with Matthew Desmond)

I’ve really been enjoying David Alexrod’s interviews recently. His exit interview with President Obama was fascinating (The Axe Files: Barack Obama)

Speaking of which, Code Switch thinks through Obama’s legacy on race (Code Switch: Obama’s Legacy: Diss-ent or Diss-respect?)

This interview with republican health care wonk Avik Roy really helped me understand conservative thinking on health care reform (The Ezra Klein Show: Avik Roy on why conservatives need to embrace diversity)

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If you made it this far, I’m impressed! Thanks for reading, and happy listening!

Eli

Originally published at eepurl.com.