🐴 Horse girl ⭐️ the internet's first main character 🍿 hunks of plastic 🎀 "Pa is not well and inflicting torture on his family."🪓
🍭 👂 TRUST ME! 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday, July 10. In case this newsletter is too long…meet the internet first’s main character here, hear the first podcast ever recorded here, learn how to eliminate maggot breeding hamburger water from your diet here.
[I will never charge you to read Podcast the Newsletter. If you’d like to buy an ad, inquire here.]
xoxo lp
ps If you are pleased with Podcast The Newsletter, please spread the word.
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Nikki Boyer
Nikki Boyer is a three time Emmy® award-winning TV host, producer, actress and podcaster. She created, hosted, and is Executive Producer of the breakout Wondery podcast, Dying for Sex, which won the 2021 Ambie Award for Podcast of the Year --- and was named one of Apple’s favorite podcasts of 2020. Now Nikki is hosting a show called Near Death with her friend Reverend Peggy, who she met in the hospital while her best friend was dying. Follow her on Twitter here, on Instagram here.
Describe Near Death in ten words or less.
It’ll help you feel a little less afraid of death.
Can you tell us about Molly, who was the subject of your first podcast Dying for Sex?
Molly was my best friend who was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer and decided to do something bold by leaving her marriage of 15 years to go on a sexual journey. The series peels back the layers of her experience, and we learn that Molly isn’t just grappling with breast cancer: she's also dealing with trauma from her past. Along the journey, we explore larger themes that affect all of us -- like healing, forgiveness and what we do with the time we have left.
How did working with Molly teach you about yourself and the world?
Working with Molly forever changed my life and my world. Having a front row seat during her brave battle, and being allowed to tell her story was the most meaningful experience of my career. Dying for Sex deepened my love of storytelling, and pushed me to create content that is both meaningful and entertaining.
Were you surprised to win the Ambie? Why do you think Dying for Sex struck such a chord?
I was IN SHOCK. I knew we had made a powerful show, but I had no idea it would resonate with Podcast Academy voters the way it did. Sometimes, when you are consumed with something it’s difficult to see how it’s going to be received. My fellow nominees were absolutely amazing and I quite literally assumed another series would take the big award home. I was back in St.Louis visiting my family during the COVID-era virtual awards show, and I was on Zoom in the basement of my brother’s house watching the show. When we won, I had a visceral reaction of shock and heard all of my family members screaming upstairs. It was an epic moment in my life.
How is Near Death different / why will fans of Dying for Sex like it?
Near Death was born from Dying for Sex. In fact, Reverend Peggy was Molly’s chaplain. I met her while she was guiding Molly through the process of death. She was amazing, safe, funny and real, something I didn’t know a chaplain could be. She absolutely breaks the mold. I wanted to know more about her… so I asked… and asked some more. Reverend Peggy understands that death can be scary and agreed it would be incredibly powerful to create a show to help people have those uncomfortable, end-of-life conversations - and hopefully make them a little less afraid of death. Near Death is an extension of the beautiful conversations that Molly and I had at her bedside, and my hope is to allow Molly’s bravery around death to inspire others to be a little less fearful of the one thing that will happen to all of us.
How would Molly review Near Death? What would she say?
She’d love it. Absolutely! She’d also demand to be the third host of the show, which would be amazing. ;)
What do you hope people get out of listening to Near Death?
Peace. Laughter. Bravery. A New love for GIn.
Tease your favorite part of the show. What should we be excited to hear?
If you were expecting a sad, depressing podcast about death... this isn't it!
Reverend Peggy and I also discuss supernatural experiences, (yes, in the hospital). We discuss the beautiful baby blessings, death bed weddings and trans patients as well as family drama and trauma cases. The spiritual care that takes place in the hospital is not just for the patients, it’s also for the staff. We also talk about the unique and unexpected cases that may or may not require an exorcism.
Where were you on the spirituality scale before you started Near Death, and where are you now?
Prior to Near Death my spirituality was way above average. Now… through the roof!
Any good listener interactions you could share with us?
The DM’s and comments we’re receiving are proof that Near Death is hitting people right in the feels. So many listeners are expressing that this show is exactly what they need. With so much collective grief, people are often looking to feel less alone and our show creates space for that connection. Other people say they are inspired to have these conversations with their loved ones after hearing our show. We hope this show allows people to laugh and cry all while learning how to deal with uncomfortable feelings.
One of my favorite comments to date: “Literally changing me with your podcast. I have experienced extreme anxiety around dying and you started this series EXACTLY when I was looking for something. Thank you so so so much for having these conversations”
Why are you the perfect host for these shows?
Peggy and I have a great friendship and our natural chemistry and familiarity is disarming. Peggy has witnessed nearly 2000 people die and her perspective on death is fascinating and grounding. Our willingness to dig into the uncomfortable conversations makes a great recipe for a fun, deep and thoughtful show. Peggy and I walked Molly home together which created a spiritual bond. I’m excited to share that with all of you.
Did you ever feel like Molly was with you (in any way) while you were making Near Death?
I feel her around me ALL THE TIME. During our first recording a hummingbird appeared outside of the studio window. That was her… I am convinced!
If you were tasked with making another podcast—don’t worry about the logistics or whether or not anyone would like it…your budget is $1M—what would it be?
I’d call it LIFESAVER. I’d love to give life changing surgeries to people and help them live healthier lives.
Self-care ritual: Baths! I take a bath everyday. I feel that water can figuratively wash away the stuff that may not be serving us. Plus, I love a good exfoliation.
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
After listening to the first episode of The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks I texted my (Star Wars nerd) husband, “Can you tell me the first thing that comes to mind when I say Jar Jar Binks? First thing.” and he said “fuck you, george lucas.” I had no idea what this meant or what I was getting into. Let’s go back a sec. The podcast is hosted by Dylan Marron, who became an expert on people saying terrible things to him on the internet. On his podcast Conversations with People Who Hate Me he interviewed people who talked shit about him online to ask them why, proving that there’s a real person that you’re talking shit about online, and once you meet them, your hateful tone might be softened. Dylan is the perfect host for this show because poor Jar Jar, named "the most annoying movie character of all time" by Complex, was a real person, too, named Ahmed Best. Or at least the actor who played him was. (He was a real person with a hilarious story about how he got the role—he was starring in STOMP and completely stole the show in a spite-driven performance that got the attention of the casting director.) The hate Ahmed received for his role on Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in 1999 pulled him into one of the first-ever online hate campaigns, making Jar Jar the internet’s first “main character.” (Not a good thing.) I don’t know anything about Star Wars (much like Dylans’ mother, who Dylan interviews on the first episode) but I am so into this story about the internet. And I’m starting to think I should really watch The Phantom Menace. This show is so good, Dylan makes it feel friendly to those who aren’t Star Wars-heads but anyone who has ever thought “fuck you george lucas” or sent hate mail to Ahmed needs to hear it, too.
hell yeah
✨ Thanks to Samantha Hodder for this fun interview she did with Arielle and me at Tribeca for Bingeworthy. We’ve never done an interview quite like this one before.
✨Read my Lifehacker piece 10 Conspiracy Theory Podcasts They Don’t Want You to Listen To.
✨ Read about what’s up with Who Shat On the Floor at My Wedding? in Podcast Marketing Magic here.
✨Arielle Nissenblatt spotlighted Kelly Corrigan Wonders in her newsletter and podcast.
💎BTW💎
🎙️The Briny is about how we’re changing the sea and how it changes us. It feels like it was made…at sea. That is how strong the sense of place is. Episodes are sound-rich stories that take you to shark-infested waters and beaches, lone boats floating in an endless ocean, and inside the pages of Moby Dick. This is a beautiful gem of a show that will make you smell sea salt. I recommend the episodes The One Who Came Back, about Howard Blackburn, a fisherman whose fingers and toes fell off due to frostbite while lost at sea in a dory in 1883 then twice sailed alone across the Atlantic Ocean, and Something Fishy, about how hard it is for small-scale fishermen to make a living. By focusing on a choke species like cod, we learn that sometimes fishermen will still reel in fish that costs them money because they have to, and that they are essentially paying someone else not to fish in order to fish. Listen here.
🎙️Glynnis MacNicol has been a fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books her whole life, and on Wilder she’s revisiting the books and Laura’s life, taking to the road to visit where Laura lived and sifting through the ways the series has spoken to curious little girls over the years and stirred up controversy by sharing secrets about Laura and how the book was actually written and made. Laura Ingalls is a time machine. Originally written for small children but the LIW series is written with a maturity, darkness, frontier danger, and adventure that little girls find extremely appealing. This isn’t a book full of fantasy of fluff. Laura was a real person. Girls can point to her hometown on a map and visit it. (In the podcast, Glynnis does.) Many adults still love these books, despite the horrific way Laura wrote about Indigenous people and there are enough problematic sections about Pa to fill an entire podcast. (I just about lost my mind when in an interview, Rebecca Traister said “Pa is clearly not well and inflicting torture on his family.”) But on Wilder, Glynnis is looking at this book just like many people read the Bible, to understand the world around her when she wrote it, and to better understand the people who couldn’t put it down. An interesting segment on Laura’s daughter Rose explains how these books shaped politics and became a manifesto for libertarians. This isn’t going to ruin Laura Ingalls Wilder for you, but it will give you the context you need to read it with intelligence.“ Listen here.
🎙️I have to update my “I will listen to any podcast that cover it” list. So far we’ve got: Jesus, The Donner Party, Disney, J Dilla, and I have to add malls. On Mallwalkin’, Matt Gourley and Mark McConville saunter through a local shopping center and rate its retail flair, culinary offerings, and audio recording policy violation response time. (They’re trying to get kicked out.) It feels like a very funny improv set with Matt, Mark, and the third member of the troupe, a mall. The jokes come fast and are constantly referring to past jokes. It ends up being about so much more than malls and is a study on Americana and the weirdness of commerce. Listen here.
🎙️PJ Vogt has been spending a lot of time asking people if they drink coffee on airplanes. It’s all research for his new show Search Engine, which seeks to find answers for things that dive much deeper than what you’d find in a Google search. This is the first real episode—I loved the preview episode about why monkeys are sad at the zoo)—it’s a flip book full of the history of airplane coffee/water research (first conducted by a 13-year-old home schooler,) conversations with Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski and straight-shooting flight attendants who won’t even wash their hands with airplane water, and a report on where the water comes from, the state of the tank it lives in, and whether or not we’re safe by even drinking Starbucks water at the airport. You might not want to listen to this if the phrase “maggot breeding hamburger water” makes you nervous. This is a look into something we’ve either done or judged others for doing and what our stance on this says about us, and an ongoing investigation that includes sampling water from planes that are flying over our heads right now. Listen here.
🎙️Open Source with Christopher Lydon, the first podcast, celebrated podcasting’s 20th birthday with a conversation with Rumble Strip’s Erica Heilman, creator of the Peabody-winning Finn and the Bell. This is a must-listen conversation for podcast creators, journalists, and storytellers. Listening to her will making you a better podcast listener and conversationalist, too. I think a lot of people are wondering what Erica’s secret is, I wonder about it all the time. How does she draw out these beautiful stories in a format that feels so simple and seamless? How did she create Finn and the Bell, a piece so intimate you almost feel like you don’t deserve to be there? Erica twice in the interviews attributes her skills to selfishness. “Everybody I talk to knows something that if I knew I could get through my day better.” It’s her curiosity that drives her, her excitement to know what she does not know. On Rumble Strip, she shares hyper-local stories of her hometown in Vermont, and she dreams of other shows popping up all over the country, reporting on the tiny but meaningful moments of people’s every day lives, creating an American conversation. I love this idea but I’m not sure just anyone can do what she’s doing. She’s one of those brilliant artists who makes their work look easy but anyone who has tried to do what she does knows it isn’t. Listen to her on Open Source here, where you also get to hear audio of the first ever podcast recording.
🎙️Obsolete Sounds is the world’s biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct. You can browse sounds by transportation (steam engine transition belt,) workplace (old cash register,) video games (game over from Street Fighter 2,) communication (the Morse Code alphabet,) kitchen equipment (a lunchbox,) phones (old dial telephone,) and more. Listen here. (h/t Hub and Spoke’s newsletter.)
🎙️James Kim (MOONFACE, You Feeling This?) was on the CBC’s Podcast Playlist to talk about what goes into making a fictional podcast, and share why indie podcasters inspire him. He recommended a show called Paper Radio, something I cannot believe I haven’t discovered. Stories are beautifully creative and fantastical, completely unique. Listening to the episode Me and Run Like a Dream was one of the most fun I’ve had listening to a podcast in awhile. It’s a love story about a woman and a horse that is both so silly and true it reminded me of the best kind of short story. Very Alissa Nutting. Listen here.
🎙️I was listening to The Anna Delvey Show (she is yet to reveal anything interesting about herself) but I got to hear a lot from Taylor Lorenz, who mentioned that she listens to Western Kabuki, an internet culture podcast that used to be a Nicolas Cage podcast. It feels off-the-cuff in the very best way—the four hosts are so very online, the internet is flowing through their veins. They’re sharp and funny and are able to deep dive exactly into what’s so fucked up about Twitter and also other digital spaces too. I listened to a two-parter about the worst tweets of 2023 for the first part of 2023 in bracket-style and enjoyed every second. Funny guests pop on like Ify Nwadiwe and Billy Wayne Davis. Arielle, this was made for you. You’ll like it, too, if you liked Reply All or listen to ICYMI/There Are No Girls on the Internet/Cool Zone shows/The Daily Zeitgeist. Listen here.
🎙️As the daughter of the wildly popular Barbie Instagram account Barbie Snack, I felt it was my duty to listen to the new season of LA Made, which tells the true story of the making and marketing of the most famous doll in the world. There are so many twists and turns about this story, in the first episode alone. So many contradictions. Moms hated the idea of giving a sexy doll to their daughters, but quickly realized that it could help them learn to be the kind of woman who could get a husband. (‘Tis better to be considered sleazy by men than not be considered by them at all.) But that was totally not what Barbie’s original costume designer was trying to do. Charlotte Johnson gave Barbie jobs and dressed her for success in a variety of fields! This hunk of plastic has always held a mirror up to America and it has shaped and reflected the marketplace. Barbie is “a goddess archetype, a Stone Age fertility totem.” Episode one of this series shares original audio of Ruth Handler, Barbie’s inventor and a woman who stayed home for four years when her husband was drafted to the army to “play mother.” (She didn’t seemed thrilled about it. It’s no wonder Barbie didn’t originally, my mom often points out to me, have a baby, and the Barbie Dream House didn’t even have a kitchen. It was for fun!) It’s a Barbie world and we’re all just living in it. Listen here.
🎙️Thomas Smith (Serious Inquiries Only) was getting really sick of the right and even center-left going nuts about “woke” controversies that almost never ended up being true, and how even the liberal media was reporting on it so he launched Where There’s Woke, a podcast about non-scandals of today and the past. To understand what he’s doing, giving support to marginalized people who are getting trampled by anti-woke white people and the powerful status quo, you have to listen to the first episode about elevatorgate, when atheist blogger and YouTuber Rebecca Watson expressed an opinion on the internet and throngs of men never got over it. It is absolutely hilarious to hear Thomas unravel this thread. The next few episodes are about how The Daily (terribly) covered the James Webb Telescope Story. Thomas is a bit long-winded to say the least, but you will relish this story if you have doubts about The Daily and love going balls to the wall with obsessively detailed reporting. (I think you’d like it if you like The Constant.) Thomas goes clip by clip through that episode of The Daily, even speeding up the episode so he can get through things faster. (I had the episode of Where There’s Woke sped up already, which I actually recommend, because Thomas gets a bit circular and repetitive at times) so the clips from The Daily made me feel like I was speeding through the Autobahn. This is a funny show that investigates panic and fragility. Listen here.
🎙️On Our Opinions Are Correct, Annalee Newitz, a science journalist who writes science fiction, and Charlie Jane Anders, a science fiction writer who is obsessed with science, examine how science fiction books, movies, TV, and comics are relevant to our real lives. They’re running monthly episodes about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets science fiction. They’ve covered ChatGPT, “brilliant jerks,” smart homes, and now they’re digging into the world of Ayn Rand, the writer who preached radical selfishness in Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Rand’s win-at-all-costs mentality has seeped into the minds of tech leaders, giving them permission to act like sociopaths obsessed with the bottom line. Philosopher Matt Zwolinski and author Matt Ruff give context to Ayn Rand’s thinking, which if it doesn’t give you a little empathy for her, will help you understand how she became the queen of self-interest and why tech bros have come to treat her texts (sci-fi? romanticism?) as doctrine. It explains a lot. Listen here.
🎙️I love you!
📦 From the Archives 📦
[From February 14, 2020] Feminist Folklore, which I’m sad to report isn’t releasing anymore episodes, is intelligent, sharp, and hosts Rachael and Carlea are the kind of people you want to get a drink with. Rachael and Carlea examine how fairy tales, myths, and legends from around the world express cultural attitudes about women and shape our beliefs about gender and sexuality. The first part of each episode always feels like a sweet storytime—Rachael, and Carlea tell a tale you’ve probably heard many times before, probably before falling asleep as a child. But then, BLAMMO! They start picking out things you’ve never thought of before, about female oppression, abuse, and representation. And suddenly you say to yourself, “THIS IS WHY THE WORLD IS SO FUCKED UP. IT’S GOING TO TAKE THOUSANDS OF DECADES TO FIX ALL THIS!” I love all of the eps, they’re awfully addictive, but a personal favorite was An Abenaki Witch, an ancient story that bares resemblance to the urban legend about the couple that is attacked by a man with a hook for a hand while they’re smooching in a parked car. I say this is my favorite episode, but that’s just because it’s the last one I listened to. I probably would say that about all of them.
From the Desk of Tink
Today we’re talking to one of Tink’s clients, Margie Nomura, the host of Desert Island Dishes.
Describe the show in 15 words or less: We find out about the 7 dishes that have shaped a persons life
Who is it for? For anyone interested in food but also people. It’s a podcast about the dishes that people love and that have shaped who they are but it’s also a podcast about people and the stories behind the food.
Which episode to start with? Stanley Tucci is everyone’s favourite foodie and his has been a very popular episode. But I think the thing that’s interesting is that you don’t need to know the person to enjoy the episode. You can be introduced to someone you didn’t know before or hear from someone you thought you knew but you’ll grow to understand them in a whole new light. I love listening to podcasts where I don’t know the guest - and the format with Desert Island Dishes is always the same which I think is comforting and familiar so even if the guest is a stranger at the start you feel safe in the format. I love interviewing the big names but I also love being able to shine a spotlight on less well known people and introduce my audience to people I think they will love.
Favorite listener interaction: I get a lot of amazing messages from my listeners which, and this sounds corny, but it’s honestly the best bit. People have said that listening to Desert Island Dishes have inspired them to start new businesses or pursue a different career which is just amazing to hear. I get a lot of messages from people saying the podcast has provided comfort at a difficult time which honestly makes me feel a bit emotional to think about. And also just messages saying that the podcast is a part of their weekly routine and daily life and that’s amazing to hear. So so grateful to people for listening and so happy they enjoy it!
Dream guest: Ooh so many! I’d love to hear Nigella and Ina Garten’s Desert Island Dishes. I know Nigel Slater would have some gorgeous stories and I love his way with words. Also would love to hear from Gwyneth Paltrow, I know she’s passionate about delicious food but that’s not often the story the newspapers tell us and I’d love to hear her desert island dishes.
Would love to be a guest on…I love Second Life with Hillary Kerr - I find it so interesting hearing people’s stories and how their careers have pivoted. I relate to a lot of it as I’ve had many twists and turns in my career that have led to where I am today.
If I could force one person in the world to listen to my podcast it'd be…Ooh that’s a tricky one. If I knew Ina Garten listened and enjoyed it, my life would be complete.
What do your parents / kids / family think you do? I think when you start working for yourself it’s natural for your family to worry about you as there’s so much uncertainty and there isn’t always a clear path but now that I have children of my own I know that the only thing I wish for them is for them to be happy. So I think my family love that I’ve carved out a career that I love, combining all aspects of food from cooking it, sharing recipes online and interviewing amazing people about the topic of food. It’s a dream job.
Do your kids think you're cool? Haha! They are still babies so they have nothing to compare me to. I think they think I’m cool but I’m sure as they grow older I will no doubt embarrass them constantly. My oldest daughter is 3 and she loves to walk around the house with my podcasting microphone and pretend she’s me.