🚢 Coffee monster 🎨 zines🗽Bevers 💃🏼 I carried a watermelon?🕺
🍭 👂Do you want to build a snowman inside you and then raise it alone 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday July 21, 2025. In case this newsletter is too long, here’s a show that just ended and did not get nearly enough attention, this is back and better than ever, this is the new show I’m texting everyone I know.
xoxo
lauren
~sponsored~
Immigrantly is an award-winning podcast that challenges the rulebook on immigrant stories. Hosted by Saadia Khan, a rights activist, social entrepreneur, and unapologetic truth-seeker, this show unpacks the complexities of identity, race, and belonging through unfiltered conversations with artists, academics, culture shifters, and everyday disruptors. Whether unpacking generational trauma, challenging labels, or exploring cultural mashups, Immigrantly invites you to rethink what it means to belong in today's world.
⭐️If you’d like to see an ad for your podcast here or in Podcast Marketing Magic, fill out this form.⭐️
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
The Girlfriends is back, this time telling the story of Kelly Harnett, who spent more than ten years in prison, for either murdering a man who abused her or for not being able to stop her abusive boyfriend from murdering a man who abused her in front of her. It depends on how much you believe Kelly. I’ve listened to a bit of advanced audio and I’m going to go out on a limb and say I like it better than season two and even season one. In the same way that Lemonada’s Believe Her flipped the typical true crime narrative on its head, this season of The Girlfriends (Jailhouse Lawyer) is making us see what happens when a victim is turned into a murderer. But what defines victim? Kelly is accused of killing a man with her boyfriend, a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her. But how involved she was in the murder, we don’t know. Kelly hasn’t been honest and nothing adds up. One thing is for sure: Kelly is a victim of not only relationship abuse, but abuse from police once she is arrested. Another thing for sure: Kelly is a character—energetic, comfortable in her skin, unexpected in every way, seemingly(?) honest and unafraid. I was cracking up listening to her DJ set (she’s an aspiring DJ) because I was like, who is this person? She’s interesting without the murder stuff. She loves her stuffed animals and her brother and dancing. Hearing her talk reminds me of when (I don’t know if this is relatable to anyone at all) I’m reading a book and I’m just vibing with it, enjoying the dialogue and getting to know the characters so much, and then the plot starts to kick into gear and I’m like, “oh wow rad bonus—I forgot something was actually going to happen, here.” The team is capturing fantastic details from Kelly. A memory of her watching her parents kiss while “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” plays in the background sticks in my mind. Another moment: Kelly admits her abusive boyfriend seemed oddly obsessed with true crime. With a wink to the audience the host Anna says, “everyone loves true crime, am I right?” Ugh. And we get a moment of vulnerability from Anna, who sets Kelly off at one point and admits she feels completely out of her element. And how could she not?
notes
✨On Sunday Tink turned six, and on Thursday I found out that Arielle and I are keynoting in Dallas. SHOW UP!!! More here.
✨Get ready for the 4th Annual Black Podcasters Association Summer Social Friday, July 26th, 2025, from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST at SPIN NYC Flatiron! The phenomenal Dominic Lawson (Tink client, host of Mental Health Rewritten) will be doing a fireside chat, there will be tons of. networking, food drinks music, PING PONG!!! raffles…and it’s open to everyone. Andddd we have a discount code for you! Click here and use code TINK2025.
✨Yesterday, Arielle Nissenblatt featured 5 tech podcasts demystifying digiral life and power dynamics in EarBuds.
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Traci Thomas is the creator and host of The Stacks, a weekly book podcast.
How would you describe The Stacks in 10 words or less?
A podcast about books and the people who read them.
What’s the origin story of The Stacks?
I had recently gotten back into reading after moving to LA and wanted a place to talk about all the books I was reading, that were decidedly not “book club books”, in a fun and casual way. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, and so I thought, like a total egomaniac, that I should just make it. I started googling things like “where do you load a podcast on the internet?” and “how do you edit things in Garageband?” and the rest is history.
How is The Stacks different now than it was when it started?
In a very literal sense, the show format has changed. I used to have one guest do two episodes, part one was a conversation with them about their tastes in books. Part two was a book club conversation. Then after six months I added bi-monthly episodes of “The Short Stacks” which were author interviews (they were supposed to be shorter but they never were). Which meant we had 6 episodes a month. In 2019 I found out I was pregnant with twins, and new that I couldn’t run an indie podcast alone and be a mom of newborn twins, so I consolidated everything. Now we have one guest do the first week of the month and the last week (that’s still book club) and then the Wednesdays in between are basically just The Short Stacks without the name.
How have you changed as a person and podcaster since it started?
I started the show in April 2018, could you imagine if I hadn’t. I had twins. I mean we all went through 2020 which was not nothing for any of us. I have gotten better at self-promotion, which I still don’t love, like wouldn’t it be great to have a 24/7 PR machine doing everything for you? But that’s not in the cards (or budget). So I have had to learn how to not only make the show, but also yell about it into the void in the hopes to get folks to listen. To be honest, I am proud of that too, because I think the relentless self promotion is where a lot of people quit.
Have your reading tastes changed since you started reading? How would you describe your taste in books now?
Broadly, no. I still love the intense nonfiction books I have always loved. Investigative journalism, massive organizational failings. Cults. Scandals. However, I read more widely now, and I have built up the skills to read a romance novel and understand why it does or doesn’t work, even if that genre isn’t my favorite. I am much more likely to try something new now than I was before the show.
Sorry for the lame question but I’m a podcast marketer…how have you grown your show over the years? What has worked?
I started this show on a whim in 2018, I had no clue what I was doing. So, I started an Instagram before ever recording an episode. I just wanted to connect with other readings. That community has held me down ever since. My first episode got something like 300 downloads in the first week, which I was (and still am) so proud of. Like at least 250 strangers tuned into this little book podcast, simply because I ahd connected with them on social media.
That taught me that I could build an audience by being in conversation with my listeners. I followed that lead. To this day, I still reply to every DM and comment on IG. But I also comment on people’s content all the time. I am interested in connecting and building networks together, not just putting my voice into the world.
Also, and I hadn’t thought about this until you just asked, but I had worked at Lululemon years ago, and at the time they prided themselves on not advertising and just letting their shopping bags and clothes do the talking for them. I feel like I bought into the idea that building something through quality and word of mouth was possible and enough. Which is why I am always genuinely blown away when I find out a stranger listens to the show.
I have to imagine that is not the kind of answer a marketer ever wants to hear, because it is essentially just showing up and talking to people. In a more concrete way though, I have a show that requires guests every week so that lends itself to cross promotion and being introduced to new listeners all the time.
What is something your listeners do not know about you?
I don’t post my kids faces on social media, so most of my listeners do not know what The Mini Stacks actually look like.
Which book is on your night stand right now?
I am finishing up Bad Company by Megan Greenwell and God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. I also started Square Waves by Alexandra Romanoff.
If I opened up your podcast listening app, which show would I see? (And what is the app?)
I am an Apple Podcast girlie.
Higher Learning with Van Lathan Jr. and Rachel Lindsay
Vibe Check
The Sam Sanders Show (I am a big Sam Sanders fan)
What Now? with Trevor Noah
Glamorous Trash
The NYT Book Review
2 Black Girls 1 Rose
💎podcasts i texted to friends💎
👂The new comedy show I can’t stop pushing on people is Gareth Reynolds’ Next We Have, a “pool of segments” that acts as a podcast playground for Gareth to test bits that could become their own spinoff shows. I promise not to write about it every week, but you should assume I am listening to it every week. Lisa Gilroy returned for another episode that had me laughing out loud. I was listening to a segment where Gareth reads reviews of porn with my husband and I am not quite sure I’ve ever heard him laugh so hard in my life? Definitely not during a podcast. (This was the segment, that Gareth introduces by saying he had never laughed so hard recording something.) I talk to my friend and colleague Holly Brown about this show all the time and you guys…we need more people to talk to about it. We can only scream into each other’s faces “SUP, FUKKOS!” so many times. (That is an inside joke that I really don’t have the time to explain, but you should know that it does not make sense.) This show is hugely, and I hate hate hate this word, but it’s…whimsical in the sense that it goes where the wind blows it, relying heavily on improv comedy (which Lisa Gilroy is famous for) to create absolute unpolished madness. Some of the stuff makes so little sense it goes past that and returns to making sense, leading to a phrase like “SUP, FUKKOS!” that you can scream at your friends and die remembering how funny it is. Listen to every episode, but maybe start with the “SUP, FUKKOS!” episode, episode one, if you haven’t already. (If you haven’t listened yet I don’t want to hear about it, I already told you to listen to it.) Or listen to the second Lisa Gilroy one with the porn review. Do not operate heavy machinery while you listen. Listen here.
How I discovered it: You’re not going to believe this, but…looking at headgum.com
👂I always tell people my favorite kind of podcast is something that makes me say, “I didn’t know that could be a podcast.” I think my favorite kind of episode is something that makes me say, “I did not see that content combo coming, never would have dreamed it.” A Clotheshorse episode about zines, malls, the death of reading, Instagram, and party photos is something I did not see coming. Amanda Lee McCarty had on Jane and Molly of the zine publisher Content Queen. Their experience in making zines over the years has given them insight into how everything from fashion to media, crafting and consumption has evolved. Hearing their observations about how zine festival attendees has changed over the years was illuminating. (A few types of people that frequent their table in abundance: a couple limply holding hands, public transportation enthusiasts, pairs of gen z friends one of which has dark curly hair and the other has neon dyed hair, a man wearing a hat covered with enamel pins…trust me this all ends up making sense.) It’s strange, what they’re seeing. We buy more books but don’t read them. We don’t re-read things. We don’t…read. We aren’t as brand loyal. (Anything from Shein to thrifting is not a brand.) We feel the need to identify so instead of buying zines at a zine festival to read and enjoy, we buy pins and patches. And there are more pins and patches than zines at these things. When this 165 minute conversation was over I thought, “what just happened!” because I feel like I went everywhere with these funny, smart people, and wanted to go back for more. This stuff might seem random on paper but this conversation was FLOWING. And it was all about these tiny things but really was about the culture we had, the culture we’re in, the culture we’re about to have. And the nostalgia we have for it all. Listen here.
How I discovered it: No idea
👂Theseus, a hero from Greek mythology, has a ship that is preserved by the people of Athens, who take it out for a spin once a year, kind of to remember Theseus’ story. Over time, the wooden parts of the ship have rotted to the point that the entire ship has replaced itself multiple times. So is it still the same ship? This is the philosophical question, known as “Ship of Theseus,” Ross Sutherland is grappling with on Imaginary Advice. “Ship of Theseus” takes philosophers in all sorts of directions. In Ross’ hands, it’s in three vignettes. First, in a rumination from a man who has been replaced by a clone, I found myself feeling sad for a being that has died but never really existed to begin with. Then, we eavesdrop on an extremely stressful gift-exchange—it’s a dystopian comedy skit so funny and well acted I listened three times in a row. (Fans of The Truth will die for it.) For a segment that really brings things home, we hear thirty different versions of “Barbara Allen,” a folk song that is its own Ship of Theseus because it keeps changing. Why has that song endured? Maybe we keep changing it because we haven’t learned the lesson inside. So we edit and retell over and over forever until we’re in a totally new ship. Or song. All of these stories together say something about our minds inability to easily grasp the concept of slow transformation. And why tell and retell and transform and endure, ourselves. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber, Patreon supporter, give money to Ross so he can keep making things.
👂When I discovered Christine Laskowski’s T&J, I was like…who is this person and why is she doing this? (Then I asked her.) This is a show that came out of nowhere, is too beautiful for its britches, and I didn’t see it coming or hear anyone talking about it or see it anywhere. It’s been two years, the show just ended, and I still feel like it didn’t get the standing ovation it deserves. It’s a gorgeous deeeeeep dive into The Byzantium Empire framed around a love story between Empress Theodora and her husband, the Emperor Justinian. (Sorry, she’s winning the “how much I think of the Roman Empire award.”) Years ago I wrote, “I have never, ever, ever ever ever ever, had so much fun listening to a history podcast.” That statement holds up. You could listen in order as I did or even just pick out certain episodes. “Raised in the Shade” is a fascinating episode about eunuchs. There’s a two-parter on the plague. Trust me, you will never, ever, ever ever ever ever have so much fun listening to plague content. This show actually reminds me of another show I love so much I could kiss on the mouth, Butt Out Baby!, a scene-by-scene breakdown/commentary of Dirty Dancing. (More on that below!) Not because of the content but because of the care and the attention to fun, surprising audio elements that tickle your ears. The hosts also share a sense of humor. T&J is funny. Christine is obsessed enough with the Byzantine Empire that she can really roll with the story in her own voice. The show is over but still subscribe, I think more is coming from this feed and Christine, too. If you don’t believe me how beautiful this show is, listen to the extremely short “Overture” episode that she dropped after the final episode, it’s a “composition of the mnemonic tags, parodies, sound effects, foley and quotes from the proverbial T&J storytelling garden.” Then I dare you not to listen to more. Listen to that here.
How I discovered it: Long-time subscriber
👂Every five full moons, Ellie Gordon-Moershel produces an episode of one of my favorite podcasts But Out, Baby! (JK, she is not that reliable, she is really keeping me on my toes.) I WILL ALLOW IT because the reason for the inconsistency is that Ellie is hand sewing this show with all of her guts and blood. It’s always worth the wait and I get super excited when I see an episode has been dropped. The show launched in 2022 and we are just now getting to the staff dance party scene, aka the “I carried a watermelon” scene. (A dinner guest just came to my house with a watermelon and I dramatically greeted him with, “you carried a watermelon!?” and nobody got it, which was a lesson to me, I guess, that not as many people are as obsessed with this movie as I think.) As always, we get a play-by-play recall of the scene, which…I mean it’s like listening to a baseball game, somehow equally fun in a totally different way as watching it on a screen. This scene is a feast for the senses, whether you are watching or listening. And Ellie has on her friend Christy who gives incredible detail about all of the costumes—exposed thighs, dancing with faces, sweaty undershirts, chunky chains, ankle strap, cinched waists, big puffy bangs, sweetheart necklines, exposed midriff…it’s pure poetry. We also hear about the difficult acting that was required of Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze to dance so terribly when they are so skilled, how cute and perfect their movements are. There is a really smart conversation at the end about lowercase “dirty dancing,” Black dance, and how it is absorbed by white people. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Long-time subscriber
👂Kyle Ayers seems like the nicest, funniest guy and his show Never Seen It is one of the best movie podcasts, and truly one of my favorite comedy podcasts. Kyle invites people on to write a scene for something they haven’t seen, but he also includes tons of movie-themed segments (a “Price-Is-Right-esque game guessing Rotten Tomato scores; Kyle asks his dad to watch a movie trailer, describe it, and makes the guest guess which movie he’s describing.) Josh Gondelman is the best guest on any podcast (sometimes when I’m feeling low I search for his name in Spotify and listen to every podcast episode he’s been on) but when I saw he was on talking about Frozen I was hit with panic-level excitement. Josh folded in a few elements of Manchester By the Sea into his scene, which is so sharply written and hilarious. This sparks a fun conversation about Disney movies in general, which ones have made it into the forever echelon of movies, why Frozen is one of them. This episode was a big goof. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Long-time subscriber
👂You’re Wrong About’s two-part ode to Pee-wee Herman nearly had me in tears for a ton of reasons—I love Pee-wee and Paul Reubens, it’s a sad story, and now he is gone. But I was also moved by this loving, thoughtful tribute about Paul Reubens from the guest, Jamie Loftus. Jamie carries real Pee-wee energy with her, it’s woven in everything she does. As a Pee-wee expert she points out things about his work I didn’t know—things that influenced him and things about who he really was and wasn’t. I grew up in a Pee-wee house and felt very much alone. I can remember my friends saying their parents wouldn’t let them watch his show, and I didn’t understand why. So I never really bounced ideas about Pee-wee around with anyone. It was never a shared experience. Hearing Jamie talk about him felt like a shared experience and it made me realize things about myself and my own experience with him in my life, and how he changed me. This wasn’t a biography or a review of the documentary, this was one artist’s expression of what another artist meant to her. Jamie I don’t think you are reading this but to answer the question you struggled with at the beginning, Paul Reubens would have loved you and I wish you could have met. Start here.
How I discovered it: Long-time subscriber
👂I discovered Girl Rewatch, a Girls rewatch podcast, on Apple Podcasts because after rewatching the whole TV show hosts Amelia Ritthaler and Evan Lazarus finally got to interview Lena Dunham, that’s a newsworthy event that earned them a big feature. I haven’t seen Girls, honestly I have no idea why I clicked on this show, that is a really good question. But I am interested in season two of Girl Rewatch, which is now a Broad City rewatch show. Broad City is a show I loved because it was great and something that made me feel very seen as someone who was ripping around New York City trying to get by at the exact same time. I wasn’t Carrie, I wasn’t whoever Lena Dunham played (Hannah?) I was Abbi and Ilana but less funny and cool. That’s a great reason to listen to this show, but Amelia and Evan are gen z comedians making comparisons between their experiences and the experiences they are seeing on screen that’s representative of millennials. What two gen z friends think about Broad City is a great question. What they see in themselves, like getting fucked by the economy, is interesting. What confuses them is interesting. We get an intro to them in the first episode, they are sweet and hilarious, they feel like versions of Abbi and Ilana (they even share their Broad City moments at the end, and that could probably be its own podcast.) Episodes that follow have really funny guests on to go episode by episode. Start here.
How I discovered it: Top feature in Apple Podcasts (I guess we can thank Lena Dunham?)
👂Congress has voted to eliminate federal funding for public media, donate here. It’s a reason to celebrate some of the stuff public media brings us, like Brave Little State. Instead of just brainstorming episode ideas in a production meeting, Vermont Public sets out to answer, via beautifully storytelling, the questions real people are sending in. Episodes tell stories of not just Vermont, but Vermont people. It’s like we’re listening in on a town hall. What is Vermont doing to protect our pollinators? Who is using all of the Park & Ride lots? How does socioeconomic diversity affect classroom dynamics in grade school? These are upcoming episodes, questions asked by the people living these lives, the people affected by grade schools, Park & Ride lots, cemeteries. I love extremely local storytelling and this simple format feels so right to me, I wish there was a version in every single state. I love public media. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Suggested to me in Pocket Casts because I like Rumble Strip.
👂I love you!
I love Rumble Strip!!
Lauren you have to listen to The right kind of family!!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE no one caught your 'I carried a watermelon' reference. My husband and I say it to each other every time he brings one home from the store.