🥧 Like 58 podcast recommendations from Podcast Movement 🐙

🍭 👂Lauren, you're giving real "cruise ship director" vibes 🌈 🤸‍♀️

Bonjour.

Today is Monday, August 26.

Every time I go to a podcast conference I ask everyone I bump into to give me a podcast recommendation. This doesn’t always go well. Sometimes people are either embarrassed or not embarrassed at all to tell me they do not listen to podcasts. I also don’t like it when I ask someone and they tell me their favorite podcast is something like “Bob’s Business Podcast” and when I ask them “are you Bob?” the answer is yes.

Below, a list of the willing participants in this little game I played at Podcast Movement last week in DC, and their recommendations, I am grateful for each and every one of these people. Links are heavy in Substack so I can’t include them but I do hope this issue of Podcast the Newsletter with either give you a new favorite show or make you feel really happy that someone is listening to yours.

Podcast Movement was so much fun I cried the whole way home from DC—it was an emotion I later identified as feeling overjoyed. Too much joy for one body to handle. Thank you for everyone who spent time with me there, especially my magical Tink team and unofficial mayor of the conference Arielle Nissenblatt whom I love so much I could cry. Hope everyone made it home safe and had a blast and I’m already looking forward to the next time we’re all together. Watch the event reel here.

xoxo lp

p.s. Want to advertise here? Fill out this form or let me know.

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👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋

Cristen Conger

Cristen Conger (she/her) is a podcaster, writer and professional womansplainer. On her provocative new podcast Conspiracy, She Wrote, Cristen unravels women’s overlooked roles in today’s conspiracy culture as instigators, evangelizers and mascots of good versus evil. 

She is also the creator and host of the Webby Award-winning lifestyle podcast Unladylike and co-author of Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space. 

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Describe Conspiracy, She Wrote in 10 words.
Unraveling conspiracy theories with feminism, aka the Joe Rogan inverse. 

Fill in the blank: you will like Conspiracy, She Wrote if you like ______.
Existing in the context (call me coconut-pilled, but it applies!).

Are you a fan of Murder, She Wrote? What’s the connection? Or is it just a fun play on words? (It is a perfectly fun play on words.)
It’s mostly a play on words, but I do love Murder, She Wrote and like to think JB Fletcher would approve of my detective work on Conspiracy, She Wrote.

What do all these conspiracy theories have in common?
A couple things. They’re all centered around women, whether that’s QAnon moms peddling pedo panic or Beyonce’s Illuminati mess. Also, speaking of cabals, pretty much all conspiracy red strings eventually root back to Illuminati propaganda published by a trio of rich fascist ladies a century ago. Wild!

Can you describe the moment that caused you to fall down the rabbit hole of investigating the intersection of feminism and conspiracy theories?
It was late summer of 2020. I was sitting in a giant backyard baby pool with a few friends when one of them started sidebarring with me about Jefrrey Epstein and sex trafficking and alluding to deep state plots. But the red flag came when I half-jokingly asked her if she was a QAnoner, and she replied, “I’m just asking questions.” (Dun dun dunnn!)

That and one particular conspiracy theory she passed along during that baby pool encounter launched me down my own rabbit hole to make sense of what she was even talking about and why. And for all the details on that inciting conspiracy, listen to the season one finale, “Michelle Obama’s ‘Secret Identity’,” dropping October 11!

Which conspiracy theory from this season surprised you the most?
Meghan Markle pregnancy truthers by far. We also touch on similar conspiracy theories that came for Beyonce during her pregnancy with Blue Ivy, but that they’ve mostly faded out. Not so for Meghan anti-fans. Their commitment to the cause of “outing” Meghan Markle as essentially the root of all evil (and a pregnancy/motherhood faker) is unreal.

I think we assume that the media and social media have contributed to the influx of conspiracy theories, but you went back in history to see the influences that laid the groundwork for it all. What do you think is the biggest cause of the conspiracy theories about women today?
A grain of salt is warranted since conspiracy theories are a spectrum and the causes are layered. That said, everyday misogyny and sexism fuels it big time. Conspiracy theories are often narratives of power and control–hence the recurring cabals, puppet masters and binaries of good versus evil. And something that’s struck me in my Conspiracy, She Wrote research and reporting is how women and gendered frameworks of power drive those narratives and who engages.

What’s the funniest/most ridiculous conspiracy theory you came across during your research?
Definitely the one that Taylor Swift is some kind of occult-y clone of Zeena Schreck, the daughter of Church of Satan founder Anton Levay. It’s entirely based on a vague resemblance between Swift and a young, blonde, red lipstick-wearing Zeena, but I appreciate the creativity. 

Have you ever found yourself believing in any of the conspiracy theories, even just for a moment?
Of course! Conspiracy theory belief is surprisingly normal human behavior. It’s the nature and intensity of that belief where things get weird. For example, when I got the news alert about the Trump assassination attempt and saw the photo of him with his fist in the air, my immediate reaction was suspicion. Surely it was a hoax! The timing and photo opp were too perfect! 
Conspiratory theory logic is a three-part recipe: Accidents don’t happen. Nothing is as it seems. Everything is connected. It took a concerted effort in that moment not to cook with it. I had to put away my phone, remind myself of Occam’s razor and wait for Michael Barbaro to fill me in on Monday. 

Is there anything from the cutting room floor that you can share with us? Anything that didn’t fit and you had to take out?
I hear a lot of sound advice on encountering misinformation, conspiracyheads, etc. from a number of experts I interviewed that couldn’t fit into episodes. But we’re planning to pull it all together for a bonus episode. It feels like podcast sacrilege to waste genuinely helpful tape!

What do you hope people learn from Conspiracy, She Wrote?
I hope people learn new and deeper ways to understand conspiracy theories and what they can tell us about the very real emotional and social conflicts they reflect. Conspiracy, She Wrote also just wrapped a three-episode run unraveling the many ways misogynoir compounds conspiracy and misinformation that comes for Black women in the public eye. It’s a timely primer with Kamala Harris running for President and the deluge of disinformation targeting her in response.

How do you unwind after exploring these offbeat and sometimes dark topics?
Nothing soothes quite like an hour-long visit to Cabot Cove, the idyllic murder capital of North America, where a single, childfree woman with ample face wrinkles and un-veneered teeth is living her best life. OK, maybe I should’ve made a Murder, She Wrote recap podcast instead…  

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notes

✨Indie Marketing Case Studies: Lowlines and Hotter Than Ever [Podcast Marketing Magic]

✨If you could bring back one cancelled podcast which one would you choose? [Reddit]

✨✨Arielle Nissenblatt spotlighted Everyday Better with Leah Smart in her newsletter and podcast.

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🏄‍♀️ Podcast recommendations from people who would talk to me✌️

🎙️Arielle Nissenblatt, Descript: Don’t Drink the Milk

🎙️Joshua Rae, APM: Smash Boom Best (very specifically the Donuts vs. Bagels episode)

🎙️Lindsay Bowen, every podcaster’s favorite lawyer: Midnight Burger (Pokergate episode)

🎙️Mark Vanderhoff, Consumable: One By Willie (The Whoopi Goldberg episode)

🎙️Kattie Laur, Bumper / Pod the North: Resurrection

🎙️Adell Coleman, DCP: Podcast 360

🎙️Chad Parizman, Club CPG: Land of the Giants, Wikihole

🎙️Joshua Marguiles, Fart.fm: Blowback

🎙️Keelin Peterson, Mentally a Magpie: Blind Landing

🎙️Emily Everhart, Greeking Out: Ancient History Jewelry Stories, Stuff the British Stole

🎙️Caila Litman, iHeart: Hysterical

🎙️Jemma Rose Brown, Signal Awards: Pink House

🎙️Newt Schottelkotte, producer: Perfume Room with Emma Vernon

🎙️Russ More, Fable & Folly: Old Gods of Appalachia, Alpha 8

🎙️Chioke I'Anson, Resonate: Articles of Interest (American Ivy series)

🎙️Dane Cardiel, Gumball / Good Tape: Handsome

🎙️Sari Soffer Sukenik: Hysteria

🎙️Kevin Flynn, Crime Writers On, Partners In Crime Media: Drowning Creek

🎙️Imran Ahmed, Great Pods: Chai After Dark

🎙️Matt Wells, Audily: Your Stupid Opinion, Time Suck

🎙️Valentina Bojanini, TED: What Now? With Trevor Noah

🎙️Daniella Balarezo, TED: They Had Fun

🎙️Pat Cheung, Fanlist: This Past Weekend

🎙️Jay Yow, The James Altucher Show: No Such Thing As a Fish

🎙️Corey Gumbs, Black Podcasters Association: Black Is America

🎙️Ian Fox, Harvard Business Review: Decoder

🎙️Edwin Covarubias, Scary FM: Nocturne

🎙️Elsie Escobar, Libsyn: Beyond the Blinds

🎙️Jennie Wetter, rePROs Fight Back: Boom! Lawyered

🎙️Miral Sattar, Bearily Bear Stories: The Empire Podcast

🎙️Jonathan Baillie Strong, Spotlight Podcasting: Backstage Careers

🎙️Scarlet Hernandez, Sugar, We're Going In: Bananas

🎙️Gwynne Gardner, Josiah Venture: Becoming Something

🎙️Priyanka Tilve, City Cast: The Shogun Podcast

🎙️Jeff Vidler, Signal Hill Insights: The Bulwark

🎙️Katy Hearne-Church, Canva and Queens Podcast: Diss and Tell

🎙️Heather Mason, Realm: I Will Teach You To Be Rich

🎙️Maddy Weinberg, Realm: Exploration Live

🎙️Andre White, Redacted History: Slow Burn & Who Killed JFK

🎙️Claudia Teti, Foreign Policy: Ones and Tooze

🎙️Caroline Schaefer, Behavioral Grooves: Lil Miss Recap

🎙️Ilana Dunn, Seeing Other People: Honey We're Home

🎙️Coral Carson, Planet People Podcast: My Dad Wrote a Porno

🎙️Sarah Storm, LinkedIn: The Competition

🎙️Leah Smart, Everyday Better: Enneagram 2.0

🎙️Sarah Burke, Women in Media: Spicy Fat

🎙️Joe Casabona, Podcast Work Flows: Downstream

🎙️Amy Daniels, Kitten & Clucky: Greeking Out

🎙️Zack James, Rebel Hill Productions: Purely Speculation

🎙️Jay Gambaccini, Consumable: Rich Habits

🎙️Hope Thornton, UGA New Media Institute: Stuff You Should Know

🎙️Claire Jordan, UGA New Media Institute: Maintenance Phase

🎙️Lisette Alvarez, Stormfire Productions: Ologies / Mooncrown

🎙️Tyler Mazurek and Beth Anne Dekeizer, UGA New Media Institute: The Newest Olympian

🎙️Cori Fry, Libsyn: What I Know So Far with Trish and Karen

🎙️Brian Cottington, Libsyn and Cinema Psycho Show: Movie Dumpster

🎙️Emilio Tello, Libsyn: The Way Out is In

🎙️Tyler Phillbrook, Fincon: Pat Flynn Smart Passive Income

🎙️I love you!

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📦 From the Archives 📦

Ross Sutherland is a genius, and when I see he has dropped a new episode of Imaginary Advice I start throwing my phone between my hands like it’s a hot potato, jumping up and down, if that makes sense. I feel an electric current from my device! Episodes of Imaginary Advice are always inventive, funny, and completely out-of-the-box, and The Golden House is a great example of Ross’ skillful storytelling. We are hearing a fictional branded podcast produced by a secretive tech company that seems to be doing some kind of PR damage control. (A video surfaced of people jumping off the roof, there seems to be ties to a missing Pope.) Everything about the meta-podcast is eerie, and makes you think the host is basically being forced to speak at gunpoint by his producer, his boss, who is in the recording studio. (We’re getting real “blink twice if you’re okay” vibes.) According to the website, the podcast’s presenter is smuggling secret codes into each episode, which means I’m sure I’ll be listening to each episode several times.