💕 A Gilded Age love scandal 🖼️ Head of Christ 👤the 5th Teletubby🌞 Pomodoro 🍅 Juggalos 🤡
🍭 👂I don’t need 100 party favors, I have 6 friends 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday, February 17, 2025. My next Disney Cruise is in 32 days. If this newsletter is too long, juicy messy gossip here read all about it, Arielle sent me an emergency text about this, if you were teen in the early 2000s go straight here and do not pass go.
xoxo
lauren
P.S - If you’re interested in placing an ad in Podcast The Newsletter or Podcast Marketing Magic, fill out this form
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Rachel Josar
Rachel Josar is the host and founder of They Had Fun, which you can read in newsletter form here. She has lived in New York City for 18 years and isn’t going anywhere. Don’t miss Rachel’s Recs here!
Describe your show in 10 words or less.
Stories about the most fun ever had in NYC.
Why are you the perfect host for this show?
Because I am completely, wildly, unabashedly obsessed with New York City. (also great at having fun)
If people haven’t listened yet, where should they start?
While every episode is my baby and I truly enjoy all of my guest's stories no matter the subject matter, a crowd-favorite episode that really led to a turning point in my understanding of my own show is, “Professional Baseball Players Take The 7 Train… with Jesse Sullivan”. (Ed. note: here’s mine!)
What do all the stories have in common?
It is wild how this idea I had for a show about basically people getting drunk, is so goddamn sentimental. Gotta love New Yorkers. Community, and loving the community you have here no matter which you’re in, is the number one throughline in pretty much every episode. And I never really saw that coming.
Based on the very little bit you learned about me in the story I told you, give me three Rachel’s Recs.
Gene’s- Amazing, old-school Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village that has a great bar and even better bartender, Franco.
Hotel Chelsea Spa- As a new mom, I think you’re due a little R & R. And the new spa at Hotel Chelsea is equal parts luxurious, deigned-minded, and reasonbably priced. Treat youself to some extra time in the sauna (and the lobby bar after)!
A walk through Midtown- I know, I know, Midtown? Riveting. But hear me out! You recently moved out of the city ( 🙁) and it had me thinking about if I had to leave the city. What would I want to do that would make me feel so New York? And just what the doctor prescribed is a long walk through Midtown alone. I’m personally a fan of the 50’s. Stroll through Le Grand Boucherie’s massive indoor, open to the public restaurant, sneak into a fancy building with Lichenstein on the walls, sit at the bar at the newly redone St. Regis, peruse Bergdorf’s, stop in at one of the cute little French or Italian spots to have al fresco lunch. I find that when I need to be revived, a good stroll through a dead Midtown on a Saturday usually does the trick.
If you could make another show, don’t worry about logistics (time and space don’t exist/you can bring someone back from the dead) or whether or not anyone can like it, your budget is $1M, what would it be?
Well, you said show, not podcast. So, this is my chance to say my dream is to turn some of the stories from They Had Fun into a short, episodic series. Think High Maintenance. Our premiere episode would actually the perfect place to start, and I can envision the entire episode in my head already. These stories are perfect to be shared in a visual episode form and if I had no budget, I’d shoot them all on the streets of New York and I’d direct them.
Who would be the best sponsor for They Had Fun?
Citi Bike is the most obvious answer. I’m trying! Citi Bike sponsor us!!
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
I almost could not believe my eyes when I saw an episode of Our Ancestors Were Messy (Nichole Hill’s show about the gossip, scandals, and pop culture that made headlines in historical Black newspapers across America) in my feed. I have been waiting for this moment for awhile. The first episode is gooooood with about 30,000 os. More. What’s the max? We get to hear Nichole tell Nicole Jonquilyn Hill the scandalous love story of Lulu Francis, who lived in DC during the Gilded Age. We get the rich history of the Black elites in the area and the problems that arose when Lulu fell in love with someone in a lower class. Nichole pulls you along through this story, placing you inside of it with her. It feels like you are inside the world of Lulu or walking through DC in the 1800s wearing Lulu-glasses. That’s partially because of Nichole’s storytelling which is descriptive, funny, conversational, and clear, and also the amazing sound production that perfectly pumps life into the story. It isn’t heavy handed at all. Nichole is doing the choose-your-own-adventure style, asking “what would you do next?,” “would you ever invite your ex to your wedding?” with perfection. The ending of this story is shocking, the ride is fun, maybe the most fun history lesson I’ve ever had. This juicy story illustrates the “lifting as we climb” strategy, a motto that encourages people to work together to overcome obstacles and improve their circumstances, and what that strategy does not account for—that it’s hard to be in something and not of it.
notes
✨Jussssst announced…my next Marketing 101 Radio Bootcamp is going to be on March 26. Grow your show, stop the plateau, freshen things up! I’m going to spill all of my secrets because I don’t believe in secrets. And I promise it will be fun. Sign up here.
✨We're working on a special issue of Podcast Marketing Magic and are looking for podcasters with interesting advertising or partnership stories. Have you spent your ad money on something out of the box? If you've got a story to share, please send it to shreya@tinkmedia.co or respond to this email.
✨Audio Flux Circuit 05: In 3D is now open for submissions, through April 1st. This circuit was designed with writer, comedian and 3D photography enthusiast Eric Drysdale, and inspired by his love for 3D photography and his vast collection (30,000+ !) of stereoscopic slides.
✨Help my friend Jeremy!!! Complete the Podcast Marketing Trends 2025 survey to share your podcast marketing process, frustrations, wins & failures. Plus, you’ll be automatically entered to win one of 15+ growth-oriented prizes to help you market smarter and grow faster. Do it here.
✨Transistor released a new feature that allows you to auto-post your podcast episodes to Bluesky then replies to your posts on Bluesky turning into comments on your podcast website.
✨Were you born between 1997 and 2012? 👍? Do you listen to/watch podcasts? 👍? Fill out this survey so we can learn about Gen Z podcast listeners. (Please pass along, too!)
✨Arielle spotlighted Mixtape to My Future in EarBuds.
💎podcasts i texted to friends💎
🎙️Last weekArielle texted me:
Arielle has listened to me on zillions of panels instructing people to do this: let👏me👏know👏when👏you👏have👏a👏Jesus👏episode. And you guys…….this one is so, so good. We hear why millions of people worldwide are picturing a white man (a white man with blue eyes, wavy brown hair, and a soft, peaceful gaze) when they think of Jesus, even though that most certainly isn’t accurate. Please reference my 2022 Christmas card:
We can blame this on a 1940 painting by Walter Sallman called Head of Christ that started as a charcoal drawing and, 15 years later, was turned into the painting that we know today. (I know you know it.) Just like all the words in the Bible, that famous image of Jesus was bucking up against something, and in this case it was American fears that men were becoming soft. (That’s something called Muscular Christianity. Though, as Roman points out, Head of Christ looks pretty soft. This is a guy who has been to therapy.) So that’s how the painting was made, but one of the big reasons it stuck is pretty funny: its style is that of modern studio photography portraiture—it looks like one of those dreamy studio photos that people would get taken at JC Penney. It looks like a senior year photo. Which made Jesus seem real to people. This episode was so much fun to listen to, I’ll stop spoiling it for you. Listen to it here.
How I discovered it: I am a longtime subscriber but I did not miss it because Arielle Nissenblatt is a courteous person.
🎙️Things may be bleak in the world right now but at least Ross Sutherland is back from a hiatus making Imaginary Advice. Ross’ past projects have been large, sweeping, twisty and layered masterpieces so creative I wouldn’t have even been helpful in the brainstorming session. (See: The Golden House.) It is a change, then, that he’s going to be spending some time making us shorter things. Maybe he is trying to replace the hole in our hearts that Short Cuts left. Anyway, the February episode includes pieces about a bizarre therapy session, an awkward date, a festival advertisement, and a Telletubby that nobody has noticed until now. Ross’ stuff is always dark, humorous, philosophical, like nothing you’ve ever heard before, and often playing on childhood themes. When people ask me what my favorite podcast is they often follow up with, “I bet that’s a hard question, like choosing your favorite child!” It isn’t hard. It’s Imaginary Advice. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Longtime subscriber, I’m sure Bello Collective introduced me.
🎙️If you were a teenager in the early 2000s, Talk Girl will hit you so hard. (Its mission is “building a y2k dream house we can dissociate in and live our Bath & Body Works teen dreams.”) If you didn’t, I truly am not sure, but I’d love to know. It might sound like host / comedian Sam Reece and her guests are speaking another language if you weren’t 16 in 2000 like I was. With her guests Sam talks about living in this time that is extremely specific to my adolescence—Y2K, AIM screennames, Cory Kennedy, chat rooms, Delia’s, and all sorts of things that in retrospect are pretty horrifying but yet have completely defined me. Us. Girlhood. This is the stuff that shaped the people who grew up both before the internet and after, it’s definitely worth a study and this is a very funny one. First two guests are Akilah Hughes and Chelsea Devantez, can’t wait to see who is next. This podcast needs a Pinterest for mood boards. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Shitty Craft Club
🎙️I side eyed when I saw that Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was a satanic panic podcast created by Christianity Today, but have since learned that CT is actually pretty chill. I was surprised right from the beginning, which launched us into the two contrasting stories of Josh Duggar and Jessie Misskelley Jr, one of the West Memphis Three. Mike Cosper explains how destructive the satanic panic’s false accusations were by illustrating this story, pointing out that while we were pointing fingers at some child with intellectual disabilities for being poor and wearing black, there was real evil was leading prayer in the Mormon church. Episode two takes an interesting snapshot of the Evangelical movement in the 1970s that reveals how we actually got the Satanic Panic. It’s not all the ooey gooey details of the aftermath, it’s the genesis. Devil and the Deep Blue Sea puts us in this moment, the storytelling and sound are smooth. There are a lot of places a satanic panic podcast could take us but I feel like I’m in good hands. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Podnews.
🎙️On Valentine’s Day, Saadia Khan (Immigrantly, Sportly, Nationally, Banterly, Invisible Hate) launched Love-ly a sweet, intimate, funny podcast about love and relationships hosted by TikTok creator Mehak—born in Pakistan, raised in Texas, and working 9-5 in tech. Mehak was engaged at 16, her next partner converted to Islam for her, and now she’s single again. Love-ly just isn’t like most relationship shows I’m hearing. Mehak is a burst of energy in a sea of dating shows that feel slow, old, and out of touch. Episodes are full of conversations storytelling and spectacular sound that will keep your brain on its toes. (Is that a saying? You know what I mean.) The first episode is about matchmaking and features a conversation with the stars of Hulu’s Muslim Matchmaker Hoda Abrahim and Yasmin Elhady. I think matchmaking is something everyone is interested in hearing about, this was such a great way to kick things off. Listen here.
How I discovered it: I will listen to anything Saadia makes.
🎙️Mark Steadman just started his 30th podcast since 2008 (I’m going to be interviewing him about all of them next week) and this one’s the best. For Undo, How history's outliers got stuff done, Mark is presenting productivity systems like bullet journals and the Pomodoro Technique, which is the one I started with. I had a boss I hated who loved it and I was excited to hear supporting evidence that he’s a dummy idiot. I assumed Mark would just be making fun of this shit. But he’s both poking holes in them and singing their praises. Most of these systems are not completely practical but do offer pearls of wisdom. And it turns out I should…maybe adapt some of the principles of the Pomodoro Technique??? Mark is funny and the tiny episodes are packed with personality. And yes, they’re tiny! Which is good because I’m Pomodoring these days and only have 5 minute increments of free time available every 30 minutes. (I’m kidding, Mark really does explain how to make the Pomodoro Technique work for you.) I binged these in no time. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Mark’s a friend.
🎙️I’m from Cleveland so I was interested in Living For We—the first season was about the lives of Black women in Cleveland. In 2020, cityLAB of Pittsburgh released a study that ranked Cleveland dead last in terms of livability for Black women, and host Marlene Harris-Taylor wanted to see if that was true. The new season is about gun violence in Cleveland. In the first episode Marlene introduces a new host, Myesha Watkins, and talks to Black men in Cleveland, including an anonymous one who relies on having a gun, sometimes on using it, to be safe. Because his identity is hidden he’s able to get really honest about why has to resort to violence. It’s the most honest conversation about city gun violence I’ve ever heard. Marlene and Myesha ask him questions we all really want to hear the answer to. Listen here.
How I discovered it: I got a press release for the first season, but not the second! Good thing I am still subscribed.
🎙️Swindled, narrated by an anonymous “concerned citizen,” is a true-crime show about white-collar criminals, con artists, and corporate evil. The show is well-done, the anonymous voice is so measured that I almost find it calming. I could fall asleep to this. When I was browsing episodes I thought it would be a ton of similar stories about embezzlement and ponzi schemes and those are there! (I listened to a really good one about disability fraud.) “The Juggalos” episode is about a surprising Insane Clown Posse civil rights battle. When two Juggalos (the Insane Clown Posse fanbase) were sentenced to life in jail for murder, the FBI labeled Juggalos a "loosely organized hybrid gang," which led to Juggalos being attacked and denied jobs and custody of their children. The Posse and the ACLU said this violated the first amendment and sued the FBI. The lawsuit failed but it’s such an interesting story. I’m pretty obsessed with Juggalos (if you are too I recommend the book You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse and My Misadventures with Two of Music's Most Maligned Tribes) who actually are a pretty loving community, and you see this when you hear ICP leaders Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope talk about the case and their fans. Listen here.
How I discovered it: I subscribe to this show but don’t think I had ever listened until a recommendation from Miriam Tinberg via a recent post on Earbuds.
🎙️I Couldn’t Help But Wander is a trivia podcast with a theme—travel. Julia, and Eva are friends and bring on expertish peoople in travelish fields and then they quiz them, GRILL them, the questions are so, so hard, you guys, about the topic of their expertise. I think I’m writing this from a bad place because I was on the show and lost the trivia game so, so bad. I got one question right. But it was fun. Also, I say expertish because…am I a Disney expert? I mean people seem to think so! I wonder why. Anyway, the trivia questions were so weird and fun that even I, your resident Disney expert, did not know the answers to them. I listened to a bunch of episodes of this show before I was a guest and the vibes are good, I cannot believe how much fun this little hidden gem of a podcast is. Listen here, and if you get a 100% on the quiz let me know and I’ll buy you a turkey leg.
How I discovered it: The producer, my friend Avi, pitched me as a guest!
🎙️I love you!
❤️ Podcast Tink Loves ❤️
TechSurge: the Deep Tech VC Podcast explores the frontiers of technology, investment, and business. For entrepreneurs, venture professionals, technologists, or anyone interested in where emerging tech is headed next. Join us as we examine the factors shaping the next major tech cycle, uncover emerging global tech hubs, and analyze where investment dollars are headed. Tune in to hear directly from Silicon Valley leaders, daring new founders, and visionary thinkers. Past guests on the podcast and at TechSurge Live summits include journalist Kara Swisher, VC investor Vinod Khosla, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and others.
Each discussion delves into the intersection of technology advancement, market dynamics, and the founder journey, offering insights into the vast opportunities and complex challenges ahead. Episode topics include AI, data center transformation, blockchain, cyber security, healthcare innovation, VC investment trends, tips for first-time founders, and more.