Karens, Man Hugs, Worldwide Hum, Pogs ✨ Gender Reveal's Tuck Woodstock
💌Podcast The Newsletter is your weekly love letter to podcasts and the people who make them.💌
Bonjour!
Remember the radio before the internet? Much like I am now obsessed with calling into podcasts, when I was young I had my local radio station 88.9 on speed dial so I could request the djays to play my favorite songs or just call them up to talk. I would sing them songs and ask who the artist was so I could go out and buy the CD. How else was I supposed to do this before Google? We have Google now, but it’s still tough to track down podcasts we’d like to remember. This unnerves me.
Years (?) ago, Margaret Cho was on some podcast talking about how when she was little, she can remember hiding under the table while her mom was entertaining friends. Margaret would be comforted listening to her mom and her mom’s friends talk as women without their husbands, she thought the eavesdropping was delicious. (I also remember her mentioning that she would open up purses on the floor and eat lipstick tubes from them.) This is why Margaret loves podcasts, she says. This stuck with me. I am an only child, and my parents dragged me everywhere. I have a wonderful memory of falling asleep on my mom at parties, syncing my breathe to her breath, getting jolted by her beautiful laughter, hearing her voice so intimately that it felt like I was inside her body. Maybe this is why I love podcasts, too. Eavesdropping, intimacy is comforting.
But I cannot remember where I heard Margaret say this. Does anyone know? I cannot Google it, I cannot call a radio djay. In my favorite episode of Pete and Pete, Hard Day’s Pete, Pete hears a song he likes being played by a local band in a garage and spends the entire episode making sure the song doesn’t escape his brain. I am now Pete, trying desperately to not forget this wonderful anecdote from Margaret Cho. It’s easier to remember a story than a sound, and I guess it’s a good thing I’m writing it down, for a group of people who very well might be able to help me. Unsolved Mysteries is back, a show where people call in to solve mysteries. This is my mystery. If you know what episode I’m talking about, please respond to this email and let me know.
xoxo lp
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Gender Reveal’s Tuck Woodstock
Tuck Woodstock is host of Gender Reveal. Follow Gender Reveal on Twitter here. Follow Tuck on Twitter here.
Kindly introduce yourself and tell us what you do!
My name is Tuck Woodstock and I'm a journalist and gender educator based in Portland, Oregon. I host the award-winning podcast Gender Reveal and am a cofounder of Sylveon Consulting. I also am currently covering the nightly anti-police-brutality protests in Portland.
What has doing the show taught you about yourself? The world?
The question "how do you identify in terms of gender" is a lot harder for many people to answer than I expected.
Can you shout out some trans people who are doing great stuff in audio?
Yes, I wrote this article! To name a few: Morgan Givens, Lewis Raven Wallace, Callie Wright, Arlie Adlington, Cass Adair, Sam Leeds, Jess Kung.
What's something most people don't understand about the trans experience, and is that something that comes through in your interviews on Gender Reveal?
I think people don't understand how incredibly varied it is. There is no one right way to be trans, and there's no singular trans experience. I like to think that by interviewing 70+ trans folks of different genders, races, ages, abilities, sizes, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations, etc. etc., that point comes across.
Podcasters are constantly being criticized for their voices. What is your relationship to yours? How would you describe your voice?
As a trans person, I have a complicated relationship with my voice. But I do intentionally add extra vocal fry to my voice, both in the beginning of Gender Reveal episodes and whenever I'm on NPR. It brings me joy.
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
When we hear refugee stories (which is actually pretty rare,) the focus is usually on the terrible situation the refugee is fleeing from, not what happens to them on the other side. Hosted by Ahmed Badr, a writer and former Iraqi refugee, Resettled zooms in on the stories of real families who end up in Richmond, Virginia, letting us witness what it’s really like, and how nearly impossible it is, to succeed as a refugee. The hardships the people in these stories endure, the Ninja Warrior-like obstacle course our country has built for them to go through to become citizens, is hard to believe. These are stories of real fucking Americans who gave up everything to be here, have escaped from real danger, are self-sufficient, work their asses off, are valuable community members, and love what America has to give them in return. They are more American than I am.
💎BTW💎
🎙️Snap Judgment’s The Happening is a remarkable story for so many reasons. A kid, Zac Stringer, shoots and kills his brother, at first says his brother killed himself, then that he did it by accident, and nobody, including his father Roger, believes him. So it’s a heartbreaking thing to hear about. But the way Roger Stringer tells this story is tender and captivating, from the beginning, when he calmly explains buying Zac his first gun, to the day leading up to the incident (he stopped at the store and bought his sons a “happy,” which was my single favorite moment of the piece,) the emotional rollercoaster he was on when he realized he didn’t believe his own son’s story, and the aftermath of what happened when he finally learned the truth. Roger’s beautiful voice illustrates his colorful character—he remains so in control through his agony and storytelling. This is a story about one man’s pain and a wild way he ends up trying to, and is still trying to, heal.
🎙️On the Pod Save America feed, you’ll find a 3-part series That’s The Ticket (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) that goes through the history of the Vice Presidential selection process and what we can expect will happen in Biden’s campaign. Dan Pfeiffer and Alyssa Mastromonaco make clear what an important decision this is, this year more than ever, the secretive process that is happening under our noses right now, and what this woman (we can say it! this woman!) can look forward to (lol) once she’s selected. She’s sure to undergo more scrutiny than Pence. (Dan calls Pence a “homophobic tub of paste.”) This woman, whoever she is, had better put her armor on. This whole series is full of things about the VP selection process we all should know but few people really dig into, and it got me excited for the announcement in a way that I imagine sports fans get excited for the biggest sports event of their lives.
🎙️I’m going to quote the program description for Uncuffed, because it’s so good: “Uncuffed is a show made by people behind bars in California prisons. We share intimate stories of our struggles and triumphs, and of the heartache and forgiveness taking place within these walls...If you can see the humanity in us, you can see the humanity in everyone.” If you like Ear Hustle and have listened to every single episode multiple times, you’ll be so excited to find that there is a whole collection of stories in a similar vein, but Uncuffed is different. It’s less polished, not that that’s a bad thing—it makes the show feel more authentic. Each story is told by a different inmate. And each episode ends with a conversation between the other inmates, who reflect on the story from their own experiences. These stories are so sweet and human, and invite us into a tightly knit group of men unafraid of sharing their vulnerabilities. Listeners truly feel let inside to a special place. Listen to them all, but get extra excited about Yoga, my favorite so far.
🎙️Girls on Porn is a whip-smart porn podcast that reviews porn based on popular search terms through an ethical lens, offering conversations with porn stars and experts who bring intelligence to pornography and sex work. Through praising porn and criticizing it, we end up learning a lot about humanity. I loved this episode with Aella about religious taboos, sex shame, and Evangelism, with special focus on Catholicism, which is…how did I not realize this…horny as fuck. I think about Catholicism a lot but this episode had me looking at it in a whole new way.
🎙️Judge John Hodgman is one of my favorite shows, I could recommend it every single week. But You Can’t Acquit With Us was especially good. Two sisters join John and Jesse Thorn to settle a 25-year-old dispute about the sisters’ secret clubs as kids, and pogs. The sisters are so funny they could have their own podcast. Judge John Hodgman is part of the Maximum Fun network, which is in the middle of the Max Fun Drive, where the network tries to get people to donate so they can keep their lights on. This allowed Jesse to get vulnerable about the death of his dad, who was an incredible person, and what the Max Fun community means to him. It’s emotional and convinced me to donate to Max Fun. If you like this show, or any Max Fun shows, I hope you will donate, too.
🎙️California Love is Walter Thompson-Hernández’s ode to his city, Los Angelos, that no longer exists. It’s incredibly personal and profound…it feels like Walter is telling us a bunch of secrets that nobody else gets to hear. P Line reminds us of party lines and the things they offered teenagers—the opportunity to connect, identify themselves, hook up, and be adventurous.
🎙️Calling Laci Mosley…THIS IS A SCAM ALERT! For decades real estate developers were selling a dream deep in the Mojave Desert in a place called California City, encouraging vulnerable people to give away all of their money with the promise to make much more. On California City, Emily Guerin gets to the bottom of these empty agreements, interviewing people who lost their life savings and signed away everything they have. This is an outrageous, surprising story that will have you grinding your teeth and making you feel part of the investigation. It’s audio journalism that’s telling an entertaining story, exposing deceit, and giving voice to people who need it.
🎙️We all know who Karen is, but really...who is she? Willa Paskin has done the WORK for an episode of Decoder Ring which takes us on The Karen Ride, which begins in the antebellum south under the name “Miss Ann” and takes us through Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back, Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Barbecue Becky, Permit Patty, all the way up to the current Karen we know and hate now. Each iteration has her own nuance with a lot in common. She is so many people and nobody at the same time, yet all of us could easily draw a composite sketch of her if asked. We can assume that eventually Karen will go away, only to be reborn with a new name like Sasha or Emma. I wonder what Karen will look like in the year 2060? Will she have Kate Gosselin’s haircut, too? Code Switch also had a great look at Karen, reported by Code Switch correspondent Karen Grigsby Bates. The website has a really interesting timeline and lots of historical information.
🎙️Turns out white women weaponizing their bodies and privilege may be part of the murder story of Isadore Banks, which is getting stranger and stranger each time another layer is peeled away. Nobody in the Arkansas town want to talk, but occasionally Taylor and Neil get hints of what people know, but refuse to discuss—that Isadore’s killing might not have been from someone with power, but it might have been more of an honor killing. Unfinished: Deep South is another show that makes us feel part of the investigation. It feels like the story is unfolding right before us.
🎙️Marginalized people are often the ones shaping culture and the internet, but most of the time the voices that get credited or listened to are white and male. History, tech, feminism, and race identity come together for There Are No Girls on the Internet, Bridget Todd’s retelling of the internet we haven’t heard, the one that was built by women, the LGBTQ community, and POC. I absolutely loved the conversation with Shafiqah Hudson, who discovered that people were impersonating Black women on Twitter and created the hashtag #YourSlipIsShowing. (GENIUS.) This episode gets to the heart of why marginalized people are actually better at creating cultural moments online and how some of our sharpest online commentary has its roots in Black Twitter, though you might not even know it.
🎙️Criminal showcased an old episode of Ear Hustle, that was produced when Earlonne Woods was still an inmate at San Quenitn, with an update. It tells the story of Rauch, an inmate who collected creatures in his cell, from mice to bugs, because he identified with them more than people. We get to hear his story and an interview with Earlonne and Nigel Poor about what happened to Rauch after his episode aired, and how the show has changed in the years since. It’s a must-listen if you love Ear Hustle—you get to hear a whole new side of Earlonne, and you get a peek behind the curtain of this fantastic show.
🎙️My Gothic Dissertation is an actual dissertation that compares the process of writing a dissertation to a gothic novel. The spooky music and sounds are wonderful, and I love what I’m learning about academia and the gothic genre. Episode two tells the story of Emily St. Aubert, the heroine of Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, who is being invalidated by an imposing figure, and explains how people in doctorate programs are similarly invalidated. This is such a creative twist on true-crime storytelling, and the listening experience is both educational and a total blast.
🎙️In 1982, FBI agent Ned Timmons went undercover after arresting a biker in a Detroit to find himself embroiled in a global drug cartel, which lead to the US invasion of Panama. Deep Cover: The Drug Wars tells this story, which seems too zany to be true. You’ll dig it if you like Wind of Change (though it’s less conspiracy theory-y and much more dramatic) or Disorganized Crime (though the stakes are much higher.) The podcast reads like a page-turner, the characters feel fictional and completely come to life on the show. In fact, the characters are so unbelievable you have to wonder how much of the story you can believe. And putting all of this together is part of the fun in listening. This is one of those shows that made time stop for me—episode two ended and I was left sitting there wondering what just happened. This is top-notch true crime that is so good, you’ll like it even if true-crime isn’t your thing.
🎙️Reveal’s American Rehab started with an unsettling story about a woman named Penny who was unsuccessfully trying to get her brother out of a sinister rehab place called Cenikor, then scaled back for a few episodes to tell the history of this ominous program. We’re now on chapter four and we’ve been taken through violence, a paramilitary group, and mass sterilization, and we still don’t know where Penny’s brother is. This is a jaw-dropping story packed with much more I had anticipated. Things are complicated but it feels effortless. The editing and production are perfect and seamless. I have no idea where American Rehab is taking me, but I can’t wait to find out.
🎙️Other Men Need Help is back! The totally sweet, unique, funny show is a fresh look at masculinity. There is so much toxic masculinity in podcasting 😒but Other Men Need Help is the total opposite😊. This little show speaks volumes, and gives voice to something I *think* many men feel. The new season is about friendship, and episode one talks about the special ways men greet their friends, including secret handshakes. After listening to this episode, I forced my husband to help me come up with a secret handshake for the two of us. 75% of it is butt-slapping, let me know if you want to see video. I am not a man but I am inspired to have secret handshakes with all of my friends. Don’t miss this episode, it feels like a big hug. 🤗
🎙️Two weeks ago I talked about a great episode of Outside/In that looked back at a problematic episode in their archive and fixed it. It’s an interesting episode for podcasters and journalists to listen to, plus it was a beautifully well-told story. Us & Them did the same thing, with an episode they did on evolution awhile back that got a lot of backlash. Trey Kay had brought on a scientist and a religious skeptic in hopes to moderate a healthy debate, but things got really heated, and Trey admits he didn’t mediate very well. It’s a lesson on how to not interview people, and what you can do to fix it when you do. (Plus, it’s a juicy discussion, with a bonus interview with a religious scientist who talks about why these debates often go so horribly wrong.)
🎙️VENT Documentaries is one of the most beautiful storytelling shows and I don’t think it gets enough attention. Young people from one London Borough report on issues in their community through story. Why Does Everyone Call Me Carlos? interviews a man named Santos. But nobody feels they need to remember his real name, people opt to call him Carlos. Why does it happen and why does it bother him? This story speaks to the importance of our names and how race and class play into whose names get remembered.
🎙️Print Run Podcast offers the absolute best commentary on media and publishing, and the latest episode included an interesting conversation about the recent open letter signed by many big names like JK Rowling and Salmon Rushie who were calling to an end of “cancel culture.” I listened twice because I thought hosts Laura and Erik so brilliantly argued what is wrong about this letter, and why people in power like Rowling and Malcolm Gladwell don’t really care about free speech, and what exactly is wrong with their argument. More interesting conversation on this subject on Cody Johnston and Katy Stoll’s Even More News.
🎙️Nocturne’s Can You Hear That? is about “Worldwide Hum,” a strange thing that certain people experience at night—their ears are flooded by an inescapable, unexplainable low-frequency rumble, like a truck idling. What is Worldwide Hum and how can it be that people all over the world experience it, regardless of where they are? Is it a physical condition, a mental one, something strange happening in the universe? This episode feels like science fiction, a dive into a mystery that’s yet to be solved.
🎙️On Pindrop, Saleem Reshamwala drops you somewhere on the globe and tells you a story about what you may find there to better understand the place’s people and history. It’s a great show that in its final episode of the season, went out with a bang. This story starts almost 400 years ago, when the people of Oberammergau, a tiny town in Germany, promised God that they would put on a play for the rest of eternity so long as he spared its people of the Black Plague. The play has been running ever sense, but it has not aged well–it’s a Passion play that blames Jewish people for killing Jesus. This is the story about what it took to break the play’s centuries-old tradition. If these people can change a few details about their 400-year-old anti semitic play, I think we can rename the Redskins.
🎙️Today Zar music is thought to be some sort of ancient exorcising ritual—for centuries Egyptians have been performing it to heal people who are possessed by jinn. Unfortunately it’s now largely misunderstood and feared, and people have stopped doing it, which is terrifying, because it’s an important part of culture that could easily be lost. Kerning Cultures has a fascinating episode about Zar and what it really is—music, spirits, and trance, and a powerful tool for women—giving it the treatment it deserves. The episode is pumped with history, voice, and energy, and it’s a valuable piece that honors a ritual too important to lose.
🎙️I love you!