π Grinch genocide? π Christmas time machine π½ Stacyβs mom πββοΈ Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 ποΈ corporate caskets β°οΈ
π π You're in for a treat! π π€ΈββοΈ
Bonjour!
Today is Monday, November 28. In case this email is too long, the trailer of the week is here (subscribe nowβepisode one drops tomorrow,) become convinced that the Grinch is the sole survivor of a brutal genocide committed by The Whos here, an audio advent calendar here.
xoxo lp
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Omar Samra & Omar Nour
Omar Samra & Omar Nour are the hosts of Kerning Culturesβ Beyond the Raging Sea: State of Mind. which is also a documentary of the same name. Follow Omar Samra on Twitter here, Omar Nour on Twitter here. Follow Kerning Cultures on Twitter here.
Describe Beyond the Raging SeaΒ in 10 words or less.
ON: Wait!Β What??? I canβt even say my name in 10 words or less!Β Ok, here we go: documentary, podcast, epic adventure, human perseverance, survival, perspective, resilience, refugees.Β 10 on the nose!
How are you two different, and how are you similar? What do you each bring to the project?
OS: Omar Nour and I on first glance seem like two polar opposites. Omar is gregarious and loud in public and Iβm contemplative and quiet. Yet given my introverted tendencies, when weβre alone or with small familiar crowds, our personalities do tend to converge, as I get more comfortable in smaller groups and Omar less animated. More importantly, we share a lot of similar values in terms of commitment and work ethic. Weβre also both courageous and wonβt back down from anything we have set our mind to. Weβre both willing to be honest with each other and are open to being convinced of something.
ON: Omar Samra and I are quite different personalities on the surface.Β He is quiet...while quiet is not a word that has ever been used to describe me.Β I am very high energy and OS is more laid back.Β His background is epic adventuring, mine is professional sports.Β He has the best conversations one-on-one and I do better in bigger groups where I can entertain.Β
On the surface we are opposites but underneath that top layer, we are actually very similar: both very driven, passionate and laser-focused on our objectives.Β We love to challenge ourselves and the status quo.Β We are never worried about taking the path less traveled and enjoy pushing our limits whether self-imposed or societal.
When you were at sea, did you think βThis could be a podcast?β Or did that come later?
OS: We didnβt. Nor did we ever think it would be a movie. Even until this day weβre both pleasantly surprised and grateful that the Atlantic journey, even though did not achieve its intended initial objective, has arguably taken us so far on so many other avenues, and this has been especially true in how the movie has supported the plight of refugees, which was one of the main goals of the expedition when it started.
ON: Not at all!Β We knew we were embarking on an epic adventure and (although fewer people have rowed an ocean than gone to space), we knew that plenty had done it and that our story was not necessarily worthy of a film or podcast.Β
However, when we capsized, when everything that could possibly go wrong, was going wrong and survival looked bleak, we literally looked at each other and I said βWHEN we get out of this, we must make a film!β He said that letβs just focus on getting out and he will make sure we do 10 films!Β It was a moment of levity in the midst of what otherwise could only be described as a desperate situation.Β
Sure enough, a few months after we survived that crazy experience, we released our documentary by the name of βBeyond the Raging Seaβ focusing on our survival story and shedding light on the plight of refugees, a cause we were supporting through our row through a partnership with UNHCR. Kerning Cultures then came to us with an idea to create βBeyond the Raging Sea: State of Mindβ, a podcast that would include experts who will help us dig deeper into different aspects of our state of mind during this near-death experience.
How do you turn a documentary into a podcast? Is it pretty much just taking the audio or is there tons more editing required?
OS: When we decided to make the podcast we knew it should complement it rather than be an audio rehash of it. Over the years since the rescue, we have given a lot of thought and reflection to so many aspects of the experience, from mental to physical to spiritual. We knew that a podcast audience, like us, would be interested to understand what happens when the mind, body and spirit is pushed to the absolute limit. We wanted to lean on experts and scientists to learn more as well, so that we can in the end impart some wisdom from our extreme experience that perhaps be useful for people in their everyday life.
ON: Not at all. We were so programmed to tell our story that the first day of recording the podcast, we basically told the whole thing sequentially.Β The producers made us re-record the entire episode stating that we were not digging deep enough.Β That set the tone for what was expected for the podcast.Β
Making the movie was a challenge β of course, itβs such a personal story for both of us, so we wanted every single detail in there which doesnβt necessarily make for an impactful watch! Marco, our Director, had an equally challenging job reigning us in and developing a narrative that kept the audience on the edge of their seatsβ¦he called it killing babies!Β We had to let go of pieces we were personally very attached to and that was quite difficult but the process.
The making of the podcast happened 4+ years after the experience and was a very different process β forcing us to dig deeper into different specific aspects of our state of mind. As a result, I discovered a bunch of new things about our experience which was incredibly eye opening.
What was a high spot of your adventure?
OS: The relationship between Omar and I, and how that grew and developed over time into this extremely strong brotherly bond. Living through and surviving this experience together is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
ON: The first 24 hours were very tough on OS as he was violently seasick.Β This forced me to stay on the oars for as long as 7 hours straight to keep us moving forward.Β I was exhausted. On that second day, the waves got absolutely huge, the sun was shining, and all the elements were pushing us in the right direction.Β I spent hours just surfing down the face of these massive waves pushing my speed up to 14 knots.Β I was giggling from ear to ear and all the pain and exhaustion just faded into the background.Β That was fun!
What was a low point of the adventure?
OS: The final 13 hours fighting for our lives out in the ocean, 1000 km from shore in the middle of an Atlantic storm, completely unsupported. The sense of fear, panic and dread will always live with us and guide our decisions in life. In many ways it has taught us so many valuable life lessons.
ON: The capsize and the hours after the capsize were extremely intense.Β There were so many questions and not many answers.Β OS had just finished his shift on the oars when the capsize occurred and he was dragged under the boat which is quite a traumatic experience.Β As such, a lot of the responsibilities of preparing for our fight to survive fell on my shoulders.Β My adrenaline was through the roof and stayed high for a long time as it took a good 2-3 hours of hard work to stabilize our situation.Β I would say the biggest low is when we finally made it onto the life raft, I had a HUGE adrenaline dump and realized that there was not much left for us to do than to wait and hope.Β That was when I felt the most desperate.
What did you learn about yourself being so close to death?
OS: I learned that I donβt want to die. That I have a lot to live for and just live for. I learned that Iβm courageous and that when Iβm truly tested Iβm an optimist despite any difficult circumstance. I also learned, more than ever before, how the human spirit is unwavering and can rise above any challenge if you just choose not to give up hope.
ON: I am a very hyper personality and I expected that when faced with a life-or-death situation, I would be like a hummingbird flapping its wings all over the place.Β The reality was that everything slowed down drastically.Β Everything felt like it was going in slow motion allowing me to make decisions in a calm manner.Β That definitely surprised me!
You prepared for 10 months. Ultimately how were you prepared and how were you underprepared?
OS: We prepared for 1.5 years. I believe we are extremely well prepared in terms of our training, the things we needed to learn about our boat, the ocean and seamanship. We probably put more time into preparation than 90% of the teams out there. If we had to do it all over again, I wouldnβt change much other than minor configurations of how we packed the boat. I believe how things ended up were purely due to unfortunate luck and would not have been avoidable with any level of preparation.
ON: Actually, we prepared for 18 months. While we started off with very little knowledge about the experience we were going to embark on, we took our physical and mental training very seriously. As an athlete I understand that there is no substitute to replicating race conditions during practice to be able to gain knowledge so that everything becomes second nature on race day. We spent an inordinate amount of time on our boat attempting to replicate what it would feel like to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a 7m x 1.5m rowboat. From the North Sea to the waters around the Canary Islands, we did it all. I felt like we were physically very prepared and our knowledge of the equipment, technology, navigation, etc. was on point. The part that nothing can prepare you for, short of a previous ocean crossing, is the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean. The open ocean is bigger than anything we had seen before. Also, how terrible one feels for the first 10 days is something that is very difficult to prepare for as well⦠the intensity of the first few days surprised us. There was no reprieve.
What does nobody ask you that you wish they did?
ON: Nobody ever asks me what I was listening to while rowing.Β And it is actually a question with a very interesting answer.Β We decided to tell all of our friends and family to make playlists for us accompanied by a voice message.Β I would save these for when the going got tough.Β And boy did they help on those long, violent, dark, and lonely night sessions! I would just have my friends and family take me on an audio journey and transport me to a different place. I felt each of their presences!Β The only downside is that we capsized and I lost the ipod in the ocean before getting through all the playlists and messagesβ¦ βΉ
π¨If u only have time for 1 thingπ¨
Long-time listener, first-time recommender of Popcorn Psychology, here, where three therapists (an individual therapist, a child therapist, and a marriage/family therapist) psychoanalyze your favorite blockbuster movies, using the medium of movies and fictional characters to provide education on mental health diagnoses and treatments and to break down the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental health. The result is some of the smartest pop culture character deep dives Iβve ever heard. Fictional characters you love and despise are fleshed out by getting a look under the psychologist microscope. Should they be medicated? How are they dealing with trauma? Whatβs their diagnosis? (Reminderβ¦itβs solely for entertainment purposes.) The Reservation Dogs episode was particularly good, I think because Sterlin Harjo developed such complex, believable characters that their issues could actually be discussed as if they were real. Hosts Brittany, Hannah, and Ben look at leading characters Elora, Bear, Willie Jack and Cheese as strong individuals dealing with trauma, friendship and loneliness in very real ways. This episode actuallyΒ made those characters more real to me, which felt kind of magical. Iβm not going to recommend a specific episode, Iβm going to recommend you browse the archive and find something you love. I just listened to the While You You Were Sleeping episode, which gave a much needed diagnosis of Lucy, who manages to trick an entire family into letting her into their home and believing that she was about to marry one of their family members who is in a coma. Brittany, Hannah, and Ben offer their own opinion about where this fits on the scale of romantic to psychotic, and made me think about Lucy in a totally new way. This show is smart enough to completely flesh out pop culture fan worlds, blurring the line between reality and fiction, making you form an entirely new relationship with some of your favorite characters.
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β¨Call 1-844-POD-AT-ME (1-844-763-2863) to hear a daily podcast recommendation, and leave your own recommendation at the beep! You can suggest your own show so this is a great way to market your show. Donβt worry, we wonβt answer the phone! (We know calling random numbers can be terrifying.)
β¨Arielle Nissenblatt spotlighted Mentally Gil in her newsletter and podcast.
πBTWπ
ποΈThe Skyline Drive trailer is here and if you love rich, family tales with intrigue, mystery, and astrology, click here to subscribe.
ποΈFan Theory Queries presents a compelling argument that the Grinch is the sole survivor of a brutal genocide committed by The Whos. Think about it. Listen here.
ποΈItβs that time of year again, American Thanksgiving, when The McElroy Brothers (My Brother My Brother and Me) and The Worst Idea of All Time hosts Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery watch Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 for their annual podcast episode of Til Death Do Us Blart. Theyβve been doing this since 2015 and promise to never stop, and the intent of the podcast is that it will be carried on by future generations, forever. But this year there was a twistβone of the guys, I wonβt tell you which one, did not just rewatch Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 and instead watched Here Comes the Boom. They donβt even know who the mole is, but have fun guessing. If civilization is around for another 200 years this should absolutely be studied, and it falls into my favorite category: I didnβt know that could be a podcast. They talk about the movie a bit but more about the project as a wholeβwill this podcast ever end? Will their children be embarrassed of them? How will the format evolve? I am getting tired of people doing the same things, and I believe in niche communities and that niche podcasts are the future. So Iβm also excited to hear about the new season of The Worst Idea of All Time, announced on this episode of Til Death Do Us BlartβTim and Guy are rewatching the Fast and the Furious franchise backwards to try to find whatβs at the heart of Vin Diesel. Maybe this is another microtrend, movie podcasts who rewatch the same thing or give themself a mission or challenge. A finite (or in Blartβs case, infinite) challenge. Things get a little weird at the end, but donβt worry, theyβll be back last next year. Listen here.
ποΈThe bad news is that it is almost impossible to keep track of the latest business scams, but if you want to look on the bright side, they are often hilarious and YouTuber Blair ZoΕ is cranking out episodes of Iilluminaughtii to cover them faster than I can listen, about three times a week, and she doesnβt seem to be running out of material anytime soon. (Episodes are split into MLM Mondays and her Corporate Casket series, where βbad business go to die.β) Sheβs tracing pyramid schemes, charities, brands, and people (Drake, The Dodo, miracle spring water, family vloggers, Prager U Kids, some clothing company even worse than Sheinβ¦) to track bad business flying under the radar. Episodes are under 30 min so perfect if you want just a little hit-o-scam. Some of these stories could be an entire series. (See: the one about Kid Nation, when CBS grabbed 40 kids and made them βfend for themselvesβ in a fake desert town in New Mexico for our television watching pleasureβunsurprisingly, there was no monitoring of the kids, whose parents had signed away their lives, and numerous disasters occurred, like some of the kids drinking bleach.) Listen here.
ποΈNow that we have that pesky Thanksgiving out of the way, we can move on to the holiday weβre all here for, Christmas. I will be delighting in Meet Cute, modern, scripted romantic comedies, which is releasing Merry & Meet Cute, a sleigh-load 20 standalone and miniseries throughout the holiday season, including Christmas Time Machine, Christmasuzannukkah (starring Amy Sedaris) plus tons of drop ins like Santa Claus Indiana, The Ski Resort, ER X-Mas and Happy New....Jersey thatβll put you in the holiday spirit. Find it in the Meet Cute Rom-Coms feed.
ποΈDuo Lingo and Crooked have teamed up for Radio Lingo, a podcast that investigates all the ways language shapes our world and how our world shapes language. For the first episode, host Ahmed Ali Akbar, an audio journalist and James Beard Award-winning writer, introduces the show and himself by talking about his own name and how and why its often mispronounced, explaining that there is a real reason that sometimes our brains (my brain) literally cannot help us say things the way they should sound. I am notoriously bad at pronouncing peopleβs names, and I felt like this was made just for me. Ahmed also talks about monitoring, which is the mental process we go through to be extra careful that weβre saying a name right, and Ahmedβs least favorite thing (a thing I do OFTEN,) avoiding using the personβs name all together in order to avoid embarrassment. There were tips on how to use the βdβ in Ahmedβs βAhmed,β plus a lesson in talking to people who have names you just canβt nail. (Itβs okay to admit youβre not good at it, and itβs well worth it to at least try.) Episode two, What Accent?, is a real crowd pleaserβit talks about how we all sound weird, so none of us do. I think weβre all obsessed with our accents, or if we think we donβt have one. Turns out mispronouncing names and judging accents is something that can unite us all. Listen here.
ποΈMedia Storm is a podcast about the people who are often at the center of our news, but who are rarely the people we talk to in order to understand their lives. The regular media is bullshit and the US media is extra bullshit, and this UK show (from the house of The Guilty Feminist) is in a different galaxy from bullshit news. Hosts Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia tell stories of real people to get us closer to the truth and out of our US bubble when it comes to stuff like the exploitation of Eastern European workers and the judgment we have about sex workers, and the unhoused. A recent episode was about Gypsies, Roma, and Travelers, who are experiencing more hate crimes and violence than every before. Gypsy Boy author Mikey Walsh joins to talk about how we got to this completely fictional idea of Gypsies, and specific headlines and opinions that have been feeing this fire. Media Storm always feels like an audio magazineβeach episode is so chock full of research and insight from interesting people (and in this case, traditional Romani music) that it feels alive, and you go away with a handful of thought you didnβt have before, that you wouldnβt get if you were just watching/reading mainstream stuff in the US. Listen here.
ποΈCome As You Are is a new showΒ hosted by NYT bestselling author and sex educator Emily Nagoski, billed as βsex from a scientific perspective and with a focus on female sexual well-being.β When you see that episode one is with adrienne maree brown you know itβs going to be good and you are right. I loved it so much I wanted to give it a hugβitβs all about pleasure, the thing thatβs the whole point of sex but somehow gets overlooked, and how pleasure exists everywhere. Listening to it, in some way, kind of set me on a path of unlearning some things that have gotten in the way of my own pleasure. (This all happened in 24 minutes, mind you.) Other episodes are about the science of horniness and the anatomy lesson you never got. Listen here.
ποΈThere is a terrifying image in the first episode of Lost at Sea that has been haunting me: that of Keith Davis, floating in the dark and wide sea, alone, as the ship he was on sails away, knowing he is helpless, alone, and about to die. This is where it begins, and now we have to figure out how he might have ended up there. His job as a ship observer was to gather first-hand data on what's caught and discarded by commercial fishing vessels, making sure that ships were conducting legal activity. Think of them as the cops of ships. We learned in Outlaw Ocean (read Samantha Hodderβs excellent review of that here) that there are some dangerous people at sea who donβt think twice about committing murder, now imagine being the one person who could completely take them down, and imagine the vulnerability that person has by being on their ship in the open sea with them. This is like a case study of Outlaw Ocean, how one missing man exposes the underbelly of fishing, and reminds us yet again that that cheap can of tuna you buy at the store is actually costing people their lives. Listen here.
ποΈMaryanne Wolf on The Ezra Klein Show will probably make you want to turn off your podcast and pick up a book, a real book, as soon as you can. Maryanne is the author of Proust and the Squid and most recently, Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, and her book offers scientific evidence that all the digital words we see day after day negatively impact the delicate relationship we have with reading. The interview lets us hear Maryanneβs unbridled joy for books. It shines through Maryanneβs voice as she talks about what reading can offer us if we give it the space and time. I havenβt been reading correctly for years (going from working in book publishing to podcasting will do that to you) so the book title alone, Reader Come Home, felt like Maryanne was screaming at me. Maybe she was screaming at you, too. Listen here.
ποΈTodd Nathanson (YouTuber Todd in the Shadows) and Alina Morgan host Song vs. Song, which pits two similar songs of a given musical era against one another to find out which reigns supreme. Iβm into the song combinationsββMr. Brightsideβ vs βI Write Sins Not Tragedies,β βFlyβ vs βWhat I Got,β and βLowβ vs βGet Low.β Sometimes itβs not so obvious that two songs (like βStacyβs Momβ and β1985β) could be so similar that they could actually be (maybe?) about the same woman (probably not, but itβs fun to think about, right?) The format for this show is just another way to mix up all that you love about music and nerd out about it a little more, revisit old songs you havenβt heard in awhile, and also to find a new way to hear them. This is a comfort podcast for music-lovers. It distinctly falls into the category of: Episodes are long but fly by. Listen here.
ποΈRemember Diagnosis, the 2019 documentary based on Dr. Lisa Sandersβ New York Times Magazineβs column that crowd-sourced to help patients with rare illnesses and searches for a cure? It was like a mystery body/medicine show, and Symptomatic has those mystery vibes, too. Lauren Bright Pacheco talks to a patient with baffling symptoms to explore how itβs impacted their lives and how they finally started getting some answers about what was going wrong. I find these stories terrifying. Iβd rather be threatened nightly by the ghost of a women who was murdered in my bedroom than have a long-term secret enemy living inside of me, overwhelming my body and mind with pain, thwarting me from a normal existence and probably driving me nuts. Listen here.
ποΈStarting Dec 1, The Amelia Project will be dropping an audio advent calendar, 25 minisodes to mark the run-up to Christmas. That means every day, theyβll be bringing you surprise dispatches from your favorite death fakers. There will be deadly Mistletoe, a visit from Saint Nick (or Krampus?)Β a snowman nativity scene, and more.Β It started as an Indiegogo campaign, which has officially ended, but it is still possible to claim a Calendar Bundle that contains a downloadable version of the calendar, a supercut, and an exclusive bonus episode called βAlvinaβs First Christmas.βΒ (For everyone else, the episodes will disappear!) Subscribe to The Amelia Project and learn more here.
ποΈI love you!
Sponsored
Uncharted Brain: Decoding DementiaΒ is a brand new three-part series from nonprofit news sourceΒ The Conversation,Β examining new research that unlocks clues to the ongoing mystery of how dementia works in the brain. Join UK journalists Paul Keaveny and Gemma Ware as they delve into findings from the world's oldest cohort study, hear about the trauma of families impacted by dementia and explore one researcher's investigation into the role a virus could play in Alzheimer's disease. All episodes will be available on November 16 via podcast channel The Anthill. Start here.
This week weβre getting to peek into Gemmaβs listening life. She'sΒ Executive producer and Co-host forΒ The Conversation WeeklyΒ podcast andΒ Head of Audio for The Conversation UK.
The app you use to listen: I use Overcast as my main podcast player. I like creating playlists of different types of shows to pick and choose from.
What speed do you listen to podcasts? Regular 1x speed. Call me slow but if you made it that way, that's how I'll listen.
How do you discover new shows? Word of mouth, Twitter, podcast newsletters and occasionally cross promotions on other podcasts.
One show you love that everybody loves. Song Exploder. I think it's such a great idea for a show and always executed to perfection.
One show you love that most people don't know about. For anyone who speaks French (or wants to practice),Β TransfertΒ from Slate.fr is an engaging, moving and often surprising show in which people tell stories about their lives.
Anything else you want to say? Keep listening to new shows! Sometimes it's easy to go back to your staples each week, but I always learn something about the podcast craft from every new show I listen to. I'm always keeping my ears open for ideas and techniques we can try on our podcasts at The Conversation and I'm really proud of howΒ The AnthillΒ is sounding at the moment.
Thanks for the shoutout Lauren ... and also, lots of great new listening leads, as always!