📦COOL ANNOUNCEMENT 🚲 Stolen bikes🏕️ the most fun you’ll ever hate 🦹🏾♂️ Mm..Food
🍭 👂NPR will RUE THE DAY 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday June 9, 2025 and I have an announcement:
I’ve been working on a Podcast the Newsletter subscription box with Certified Crucial and ⭐️the pre-order is open TODAY⭐️, which is 🎂 Podcast the Newsletter’s 6th birthday.🎈(Happy birthday, baby!) Join me in celebrating and treat yourself to the COOL STUFF INSIDE.
⭐️The debut box features official merchandise from Proxy with Yowei Shaw, Judge John Hodgman, and Everything Is Alive plus a custom Podcast the Newsletter item and a free Podcast Trading Card pack. It’s really cool shit, you guys.⭐️
xoxo
lauren
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
I think I remember writing that The Outlaw Ocean was some of the most dangerous sounding stuff I have heard on a podcast. Well, I can see in the show description that I definitely said “Ian’s not relying on research, he was there…Outlaw Ocean makes you feel like you’re there, too” because they quote me in it! And yet, in the first episode of the new season that dropped the other day, host Ian Urbina says, “this is the most dangerous investigative reporting of my career.” Please remember that season one told the story of modern sea slavery and Ian and his mic actually boarded a Thai vessel powered by enslaved labor, including that of children, and were present during the longest law-enforcement chase in nautical history. So what’s more dangerous than that? Things kick off in Libya, with a three-part series about the criminalization of migration there, following the sad stories of people setting out to cross the Mediterranean (“the route of death,”) to get to Europe but not making it through alive. You cannot return migrants to places named unsafe, which Libya is. But the Libyan Coast guard is acting as a shadow immigration system for the EU, doing all their dirty work, illegally intercepting people at sea and taking them to dangerous detention centers. We know going in that at the center of this mini-series is the story of Aliou Candé, a 28-year-old farmer and father of three who had fled his failing farm for Europe with nothing more than a Quran, some T-shirts, a diary and 600 euros. He was shot by a guard. It’s clear Ian and his team are not supposed to be reporting on this. (If you are not convinced how scary this reporting is, listen to Ian being interviewed on Hunting Warhead [which is coming back, by the way!]—militia broke into his hotel room when he was on assignment talking to his wife on the phone and kicked the shit out of him, his wife could hear it all. The interview great, Ian gets into why he does this work {no really…why?} and the crazy stuff he and his team has to do, like throwing messages in bottles onto ships, to get answers.) Last season had some of the most captivating audio I’ve heard on a podcast and I am excited and bracing myself for more. This is like I Am A Monster level stuff, both urgency-wise, humanness-wise, and quality-wise.
notes
✨The Truth might be back. Here’s how you can help.
✨Also, oddly, Supercontext…which I just discovered and wrote about last week.
✨Here is the subscription pre-order link again, and again: you are going to love what’s inside the box! I worked really hard with some creative, cool people to make merch like you’ve never seen before!
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Davy Gardner
Davy Gardner is a writer, actor, producer, and Head of Podcasts and Audio at Tribeca.
What was your entry point into audio and how did you get here?
I came into audio through live shows. I started writing comedy and improvising at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and joined the weekend team The Foundation, which I still write for when I can. A producer from The Truth Podcast saw one of my stage pieces and thought it could work in audio. That turned into an episode, which turned into a staff writer position—and eventually associate producer and editor. (If you’re a fan of The Truth, we’re working on bringing it back—support the show!)
From there, I produced and wrote for several networks while freelancing on the side. After seeing how audio writers were being treated in deals, I helped found the WGA Audio Alliance, alongside great people like James Folta and Lauren Shippen.
Then I started working for The Tribeca Festival, which was in a unique position to aid discoverability for independent podcasts. It became the first major film festival to create an official podcast selection. Now I’m the Head of Podcasts and Curator of Audio Storytelling at Tribeca. I curate and produce a lineup of live podcast events as well as oversee the narrative audio program, in addition to year-round work.
What’s the recipe for a good individual Tribeca pick? Do you have a checklist?
No checklist. I never want to be prescriptive about what narrative audio “should” be. Some of the best work we get reinvents the form in ways I couldn’t have predicted, and I want to stay open to that. I always tell the listening committee to trust their guts and try to listen with curiosity.
That said, I can usually feel it when there is a story that the creator “had to tell”. When it’s driven by artistic necessity, the creators are naturally more likely to take risks—not for the sake of being unconventional, but because it’s the most honest way the story can live.
Do you choose a bunch and whittle it down, down, down?
Yes, the selection process is rigorous. We use a 1–5 scale (and yes, that becomes 4.36s and 3.89s in practice). Every piece gets at least one second listen by someone else, and anything averaging above a 3 enters serious consideration. We have weekly meetings where we keep narrowing the pool.
Eventually, we land on about 25 projects that are all strong contenders. That’s when we start thinking about the group—how they work together as a cohort. The final Official Selection lineup needs variety, but also cohesion. Not sameness—but a shared resonance. A collective push against the boundaries of the medium, each in its own way.
That’s a big part of what makes Tribeca specifically a festival, and less of an awards program. We love awards programs and hope our official selections go on to win some! But we are pushing a group of podcasts that have never been heard before to the front of the conversation. It’s not shows with existing audiences up against each other, it’s a group of Tribeca-curated shows launching together and with the power of their mutual endorsements.
What’s the recipe for a good Tribeca [live event] lineup?
In addition to the Official Selections, I curate and produce an invitation-only group of around 15 Tribeca live podcast events every year, with the help of my incredible Audio Storytelling Producer, Allyson Morgan. That lineup is invitation-only and highlights shows that I think should be at the forefront of the industry’s attention for one reason or another. Overall, live events at Tribeca are about energy. They have to be surprising, sharp, and communal. The kind of thing that gives people a reason to show up in real life.
What tips do you have for someone attending?
Hydrate. Be open. Take chances on shows, films, exhibits, you haven’t heard of. Don’t just stay in the audio lane, explore all of what Tribeca has to offer. Even if something doesn’t hit for you, the conversation afterward is half the fun.
And talk to people! Tribeca is full of creators, listeners, and fans. It’s the kind of networking that doesn’t feel like networking—no name tags or prompts, just conversations about the work. At every stage of my career my peers have been my biggest resource, so introduce yourself! Audio people are nice. And if you’re coming: join the community WhatsApp!
Give a shout out to someone in audio who deserves a shout out.
I’m going to do two because I have to: One is Cara Cusumano, the director of programming at the Tribeca Festival. I think it’s important to acknowledge that she made me understand how a film festival works, how to make things worthwhile and meaningful for independent filmmakers, and has been a champion of the audio program. So Cara has played a big role in helping audio to get a seat at the table among other forms of storytelling at the festival – and continues to embrace new forms of storytelling media.
The next is Lauren Passell. I’m probably not supposed to shout out Lauren, but I’m doing it. My wife Margaret and I are expecting a baby in October, and at The Podcast Show in London, I was having a normal “holy crap I’m going to be a father” moment. And in the middle of this hectic work conference, Lauren made time to have a real, human conversation about becoming a parent. This has nothing to do with her incredible work in audio—but that moment deserves a shoutout. And if you don’t already subscribe to her newsletter, FIX THAT! Or better: get friends to subscribe.
☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️
💎podcasts i texted to friends💎
👂Pack your bag, kids! We’re going to fat camp, via Camp Shame, a 2025 Tribeca Festival Official pick about New York’s Camp Shane, a diet camp that was fucking up kids’ relationships with their bodies and food for more than fifty years. (It closed in 2021.) Ex-camp counselor Kelsey Snelling is the perfect host, early on we learn that she remembers things that troubled her at the time, but she didn’t want to say anything. She gathered stories from more than 100 people for this show, and you know, they aren’t all horror stories. This camp made kids feel a sense of belonging, the “she’d be so pretty if she lost weight” girl was just pretty; the boy afraid to swim without a t-shirt could do it without fear of judgment. That’s how they get you—the camp was starving people, keeping them in constant activity, and maybe worse, traumatizing them. (Some of the stories are super sad—the image of kids drinking ketchup will haunt me.) Past the gates lie stories of “theft, lawsuits, disinheritance and negligence,” apparently. (I don’t have advance audio.) We start with the story of founder Selma Ettenberg and we can see how things started from perhaps a well-intentioned place but got to very fucking twisted fast, thanks to Selma’s son David. I can’t wait to be introduced. (Someone please send me advance audio!) Listen here.
How I discovered it: Saw it when I was looking up Tribeca picks.
👂THERE ARE SO MANY MOVIE PODCASTS and I only like the twisty ones. (Or in this case, ones with high stakes.) On Weekend at Bergmans, Forever Dog co-founders and movie lovers Brett Boham and Joe Cilio rate review and contrast an arthouse movie with a mainstream one that have something to do with one another, then decide which is better. They must decide! The film that wins is named canon and they can never watch the losing film ever again for the rest of their lives. I went straight to the episode pitting Bicycle Thieves against Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, films about bikes being stolen, because I thought it’d be exceptionally good and it was. And I mean, a tough call. Bicycle Thieves is a masterpiece, maybe the saddest movie of all time, an enduring work of Italian neorealism that instead of giving people a form of escapism gave them reality, a moral parable without a resolution. It’s effective because of its simplicity. It’s, to quote Brett and Jo, “merciless with your emotions but rewarding to your taste.” (I could cry just thinking about the scene of the father and son eating in the restaurant.) Pee Wee, on the other hand, is complete fun and escapism, another thing we also go to the movies for. It plays off tons of movie archetypes, it’s like a history of Hollywood twisted through a fun house mirror. Both movies feel nearly perfect for what they are trying to do. How on earth do you compare them and choose a winner? After giving fascinating histories of the movies, Brett and Joe do choose a winner, and I won’t spoil it for you. But do know that Joe creates a stipulation for the losing movie—he will be able to watch it in the future, with his son, but he has to be doing something ridiculous while watching it. I love the idea of Joe’s kid growing up a little, watching it with Joe, and asking “what the fuck is Dad doing?” and Joe having to explain that it’s because of Weekend at Bergmans. Listen here.
How I discovered it: I was looking at foreverdog.com for something unrelated.
👂On the Unravel feed, there is a series called “Snowball,” about con woman Lezlie Manukian, who managed to destroy the lives of several people (her husband, his parents, maybe hers but that’s up for debate) while opening failing restaurants all over the world. That’s not why this show is so good. Hosted by Ollie Wards, the brother of Greg, one of the men Lezlie was married to, it really is a story about Ollie’s family. Greg and Ollie’s parents became homeless because of the trust they put into Lezlie. The family is sweet and funny—this show is sweet and funny!—they love each other and get annoyed with each other and feel like a close and believable but struggling family. (At one point, after Ollie has cracked a lot of the puzzles Lezlie created, his dad becomes obsessed with getting the story to Dr. Phil, writing Dr. Phil a loooong letter in a weird font. “Dad why are you so obsessed with Dr. Phil?” “That Dr. Phil gets to the bottom of things!” “I’m getting to the bottom of things!!!” Then you find out that while trying to get to the bottom of things that Ollie’s dad has forgotten to mention something crucial to the case!!) There are creative audio enhancements that breathe life into the story, including lots of fun readings from Lezlie’s inbox. (The world that Lezlie has created inside her emails is WILD!) Ollie and another brother fly to LA to find Lezlie, and they do end up having a conversation with her that makes her sound even more sociopathic that you are prepared for. A quick interview with Maria Konnikova about what to expect from a narcissist and how to deal with them is interesting and depending on who you are, helpful. This is one of those stories that is too complicated for me to begin to get too much into, just trust me that it will surprise you with the fun things it does with audio. I listened to it straight through. Start here.
How I discovered it: Ben Riskin (Room Tone) recommended it to me when we were in London
👂Alert, alert! I found an “I didn’t know this could be a podcast” podcast! and it is strange, inventive, so fucking niche, and beautiful. Finding MF DOOM is an audio drama that explores the fictional world of Latveria, a fictional place from the Marvel universe home to Doctor Doom, who inspired the character of the mysterious rapper MF Doom. For this fun exercise we’re exploring Doom’s iconic album Mm..Food. Sumit Sharma and Chris Mitchell whisk us off to a bar, a diner, with real people (John Robinson, Sean Kantrowitz, MC Paul Barman, Dart Adams, Jason Jagel, Spanish Ran and Stahhr) to talk about different tracks, how they were made, and what piece they represent in the MF DOOM puzzle. After I listened I texted my husband: WHO IS SUPERVILLAIN? The good news is we don’t know. Like Tiny Human Things, which I wrote about last week, this podcast was featured on Pilot Season, which means I don’t know if there will be more of it, or what that would even look like. For now I enjoy as is. I think everyone should listen to it to break their brains away from every single format of podcast you’ve ever listened to. I didn’t know an interview show could be an audio drama that is also an album review, did you? Listen here.
How I discovered it: It’s on the Tiny Human Things, which I wrote about last week.
👂I wrote about How to Destroy Everything when it launched because it felt so mold-breaking—Danny Jacobs and his friend Darren Grodsky were telling the complicated story of Danny’s narcissistic dad Richard, who has since died, and Danny’s complicated relationship with him. There are dramatic reenactments, live tape, fun audio surprises, and interviews with tons of people who Richard fucked over, including Danny’s sweet mom Sandy, who becomes a star of the show. From what I understand the show blew up in a way Danny and Darren did not anticipate, so they kind of had to hit pause for a bit. They went away, slid off my radar, and then produced so much content that it took me forever to catch up. Listening is what I was doing during almost all my commute time to and from London for The Podcast Show. (I was inspired to finish it when I saw there was a new show running on the feed, Toughen Up, which is next in my queue.) I truly loved every second of this long show. Interviews with people Richard fucked over are alternated with “Interregnum” episodes in which Danny, Darren, and Sandy unpack what they just heard. This is really sad and hard to listen to at parts. Danny is visiting a lot of hard stuff. At one point he says that making this show was like pushing himself through an emotional gauntlet. Richard clearly was mentally ill, Sandy and Danny victims of his abuse. Their lives and family were shattered, but Richard is a compelling character. The stories are wild and funny and I cannot believe how many there are. This show is about Richard destroying everything and everyone in his path (I mean it, these stories are incredible) but this show is about Danny and Sandy rebuilding themselves in ways I do not think they expected. The show ends in a recording taped in the house Richard lived in before he died, his old neighbors who hated him in attendance, Danny tearfully reading a letter he wrote for Richard, forgiving him and realizing that his dad did the best he could. Start here.
How I discovered it: I don’t remember
👂The Zora Neale Hurston + Langston Hughes double episode of Our Ancestors Were Messy is a fun, exciting, and juicy history lesson about the relationship between these two artists during the beginning of The Harlem Renaissance, which started with a road trip across the South and ended in Zora Neale Hurston dying in relative obscurity and poverty in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1960. (This is the woman who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God!!!) It seems like a shared project between the two of them would have worked, but they fought over who deserved credit for their play, Mule Bone, and a meddling rich white philanthropist kind of fanned the flames. I was wincing the entire time Nichole pulled us through this story with her cohost Alicia Walters. This is the kind of story that, had we been there for it, would be one of the most fiery things to talk about. This show is genius because I know something like this must have taken so much research and work to put together, but Nicole makes it feel not just effortless but fun and timeless. It’s also a story I can’t believe I didn’t know. Goddamit, I love this show. Start here.
How I discovered it: I think it was a Tribeca pick last year.
👂If you have not listened to Ten Thousand Things, a show hosted by poet Shin Yu Pai that chronicles Asian American life via modern-day artifacts, you’re in a for a treat because a treasure trove of gorgeous trinkets awaits you. (A loquat tree, a Tatung cooker a blue suit, a voice...) After three years, KUOW Public Radio let the show go and it was picked up by Wonder Media Network, so Shin Yu knows what it likes to be fired. To open up the season she has a conversation with Yowei “layoff girl / proxy-expert” Shaw of Proxy about how to get through the very specific kind of pain that is being a Taiwanese American woman who publicly faced what felt like a professional failure. I have been following Yowei’s work since she was at Invisibilia, through it all, and in this conversation you hear what was going on in her mind while it was all unfolding before us. What she thought would happen when she launched Proxy is not what happened. Yowei kicked her ass into gear. She went from being under the NPR umbrella to learning how to be a one-woman show. (When people ask me how to grow their podcasts I say, “look at what Yowei is doing and do that.”) So this is a story here that I love about the indie podcaster who could. But this is also a gutsy story of Shin Yu’s reclamation of her show, her voice, and her insistence of taking up space as an Asian American woman and saying, “I will let you know when I’m done.” She’s not done. And of course this is the story of a proxy, Yowei, and the cleansing that Shin Yu needs to move on. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Press release from when it was with KUOW
👂6 Degrees of Cats is about so many things—culture, history, science, cats!—that if you didn’t know the title and were listening to an episode you might just think it was a beautiful podcast made by someone who loves cats and keeps the spirit of cats in their work, not just a cat podcast. It’s like when you go to someone’s beautiful house and it doesn’t smell like kitty litter, there are no toys or destroyed furniture in sight, but there is the glorious presence of a cat who acts like he owns the place. Episodes are quirky, fun, and take you down rabbit holes of places you never would suspect. Season three is starting later this month, and I just listened to the season two finale, which is about adoption, something I care about a lot. Amanda is adopted, and so are her cats. This episode is brief history of the evolution the family unit has seen throughout the centuries, Korean adoption, and the meaning of chosen families. This podcast doesn’t just stand out for the unique way it is ABOUT something but not really only, it stands out for its production value. Every single moment is musical, lyrical—interviews and narration is decorated with playful elements. I think you should listen to it whether you give a shit about cats or adoption or not, this is just an immaculately made thing that deserves your attention and might give you something to strive for if you’re making stuff on your own. Listen here.
How I discovered it: I met Amanda somehow via The Podcast Academy maybe?
👂Crime Adjacent is true crime that will remind you of Limetown. Creator Mike Adamick is overlaying speculative fiction onto real cases, blurring the lines between true and just completely made up and nightmarish. He’s the narrator, playing the role of serial killer survivor “Chase Patrick,” who is hosting a fictional true crime podcast. Or is it? Each season focuses on a different case, all part of a never-ending story told weekly. This case takes Chase back to his hometown to find out how, thirty years ago, someone was able to completely get away with murdering men in a quiet lovers’ lane off the interstate. The good writing, combined with the style of narration and the puzzleness/metaness of it quite literary, I feel like I’m curling up with a good book on a stormy night or getting told a good story in a dark bar, whichever you prefer. There are a lot of things happening in Crime Adjacent, what we’re really getting is the psychology of true-crime. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Tink client!
👂I love you!
~friend of the newsletter~
The Gaslight Effect Podcast delves into the hidden dynamics of emotional manipulation with renowned psychoanalyst Dr. Robin Stern. Each episode examines the full spectrum of coercive control—at home, at work, and in society—through expert insights and real stories. Listeners gain the tools to recognize abuse, set healthy boundaries, and reclaim their sense of self.
SCREAMING