🌈 Off to see the wizard 🦁 sexy tractors 🪕 Venmo the bride 👰 (not clickbait) 💸
🍭 👂The pleasant lesbians on House Hunters in 2002 walked so that we could have a five-some in The Boom Boom Room on Are You The One? Season 8 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday June 30, 2025. In case this newsletter is too long, guess who’s doing The Wiz, depressing stuff made funny here, an unhealthy amount of Mr Beast here.
xoxo
lauren
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
Pretty sure I’d listen to anything made by Ian Coss, pretty sure I’d listen to anything about a high school musical, I will listen to anything selected for Tribeca, I haveeeee listened to everything on the Radiotopia Presents feed, which means I should probably listen to We’re Doing the Wiz four times. It wouldn’t be laborious, it’s a smart and fun, 4-part podcast takes us to the year 2000 to tell the story of a white performing arts school in rural Massachusetts that starts a bussing program to bring in Black students from a nearby city before deciding to stage The Wiz. I’m only two episodes in and have cringed so many times, but the cringy moments of this white school…trying??…are buffered by honest conversations, fascinating stories, a reminder of what 2000 was like, and funny tender moments between Ian, his cohost and previous classmate Sakina Ibrahim, and their classmates, who are reconnecting to make the show. Another thing that makes me giddy about this show is the style and format. Ian starts the show asking Sakina, “how do you think we should tell this story?” For a podcast wondering who can tell what story, that’s pretty brilliant. The power of the story not being lost is important. Sakina tells Ian to go first for episode one, then episode two we hear from her. I guess I have to listen to this show five times now and you should, too.
notes
✨Danny Brown of Five Random Questions (which just celebrated a year, my episode is here!) and more wrote us to say that he’s been using the Tink Swap Database and it’s been going great!:
“Here's what I've done so far:
Promo swap with the History I'd Like to F*ck podcast, as well as having host Dawn Brodey on as a guest (she was a hoot!). Dawn reached out after seeing me on the database, and her link in my show notes saw 213 clicks from the one month promo.
Host read promo for Tink's Feed the Queue podcast, with the link in my show notes seeing 120 clicks from the one month promo.
Guest exchange with the Make Me a Nerd podcast. Host Mandy Kaplan reached out to me from my listing on Tink's database and we've since been on each other's podcast.”
✨Arielle spotlighted Queer Grove in EarBuds.
~sponsored~
On Fixing Famous People, Chris DeRosa and Dominick Pupa usually talk about celebrities and how they navigate Fame, but in their second installment of their new bonus series Featuring Famous People, they sit down with Amanda Knox to talk about her new book Free: My Search For Meaning. The TV-producer-turned-podcaster duo interviews Amanda about gaining a humongous amount of Fame without asking for it, surviving prison, coming back to America as an infamous True Crime figure, kindness being a selfish act (in a good way), and what being a non-consenting public figure entails for her now. It's Fixing Famous People like you've never seen before, going deeper into the realities of Fame and what it does to the people who have it. You can stream it on The Fixing Famous People public feed right now.
⭐️If you’d like to see an ad for your podcast here or in Podcast Marketing Magic, fill out this form.⭐️
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Hana Baba is an award winning public radio journalist- the longtime host of Crosscurrents, the daily newsmagazine on NPR station KALW in San Francisco, and co creator/cohost of The Stoop podcast that explores Black diaspora life. Her now podcast is Folktales from Sudan.
Describe Folktales from Sudan in ten words or less.
Translated audio stories from Sudanese folklore.
Tell us about Uncle Elbagir.
He’s our family storyteller, who memorized dozens of stories from his grandmother and passed them on to me. He would perform the stories, acting out and voicing all the characters.
Why did you decide to make Folktales from Sudan?
Growing up in the US, the stories we were exposed to were mostly European. Then I would go on trips to Sudan and hear these amazing oral stories from my uncle and was mesmerized. I knew the rest of the world should hear these stories, and that one day I would be the person to bring them to the US and the world. Our stories deserve global reach. More urgently, since the 2023 war in Sudan erupted, displacing my family members - including my Uncle Elbagir- and devastating our cultural institutions, I knew this was the time for me to launch this project of cultural preservation. The war added urgency, but it was always something I believed was important. I want the world to know us beyond the narratives of war and poverty. We have a rich, beautiful culture- and folktales are just one corner of that culture that I chose to be immersed in.
Who should listen to Folktales from Sudan?
These stories are for all ages- they are for anyone who enjoys hearing a good story with engaging characters and intriguing plots. They are also for anyone who wants to learn more about Sudan and its people, its music and songs, its humor and the vibrant imaginations of our elders who wove these tales more than a hundred years ago.
Which story had the most impact on you, when you were young?
I always loved the stories with the songs within them. They were like musicals- where a story is interrupted by a character breaking out in song. The songs are short and catchy- and they are definitely present in these folktales in the Sudanese Arabic, for people to sing along in a new language. My favorite was Lolaba- where a magic eagle teaches a young man an important lesson.
What’s a moral from a Sudanese fable that stuck with you the most? Why?
The Lolaba story was influential because of its message of being thankful and having gratitude for what you have been blessed with. It centers satisfaction and shuns greed- and that stuck with me and still does.
What other culture do you love stories from?
I love the 1001 Arabian Nights tales - Sindbad, Ali Baba (no relation), Aladdin, and the story of Sheherazade herself who was telling the stories. I also love folktales from other African countries such as Senegal and Kenya - we have incredible oral storytelling traditions all over Africa!
Your podcast uses a beautiful combination of English and Arabic to tell these stories. How important is including non-English languages in primarily English podcasts?
This podcast is secretly a gift to Sudanese diaspora children who live in English speaking countries- the thousands upon thousands of kids who don’t grow up with Arabic, maybe didn’t ever visit Sudan. Sudanese Arabic is spoken at home, but they speak English. I wanted to make something they understood, and that they could also share with their non Sudanese friends, and be proud of and feel seen. I also think we should all hear each other’s home languages and familiarize ourselves with new sounds and expressions. Additionally, I just wanted to be as authentic and true to the stories as I could be in a translation- I wanted to preserve the essence of a Sudanese story through keeping some of the Arabic in them.
💎podcasts i texted to friends💎
👂On Get Queer, Mel Woods is looking closely at the history of reality TV to try to figure how it has shaped queer identity. Much of reality TV has been built by queer people, queer people keep it going. Some of the hugest moments involve queer people…The Real World’s Pedro, who openly discussed his HIV-positive status before that was a thing; Zeke Smith, the trans man who was outed on Survivor, RuPaul period. I could not gobble these episodes up quickly enough. (There were a bunch of shows I had queued up and was excited about but when I heard the first episode I was like “that will all have to wait.”) Mel is a fun host and this show isn’t only interested in how all the clashes queer people face on TV reflects our entires lives and culture, it’s a good reminder just how bad things were in the 90s. Mel talks to the people who made the moments to not just report on them but help us feel like what it meant to be there. A lot of that stuff has flown by without much of an examination, which is not just a shame but a danger. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Pretty sure I heard an ad for it on The Village.
👂Boysober is Hope Woodard’s attempt to untangle herself from all the shit that comes when you place so much into validation from guys, love, sex. She kind of had a viral moment when she announced this on social media and gave it a name, boysober. The crowd went wild for a reason, probably many reasons—most of the women I know are becoming increasingly less reliant on men, the enshittification of dating apps, etc. It was when the New York Times wrote a piece that called boysober “celibacy reframed,” a calculation so bad I cannot believe they have not fixed it on the site, that Hope realized she had lost control of her own story. This podcast is taking it back. The more you listen to Hope talk about boysober the more you realize it isn’t about boys or sobriety or celibacy, it’s about something a lot bigger and less literal. Step back and you can see it can be applied to anyone, in any sort of lifestyle. I mean the question is, what is blocking us from happiness and freedom and are we able to eliminate that thing? But that’s not really why I wanted to write about this show. I was most excited to hear how the style, format, and voice are so distinctly fun and outside the cookie cutter. Hope mixes up interviews, memoir, personal voice notes, and listener call-ins. It’s almost like the put her heart into the show, like she thought, “how do I want to tell this story?” Instead of doing it the way so many other podcasts do. I would listen to a show this beautifully made about almost anything, it’s a nice coincidence that this is a juicy topic. She’s being (and getting her guests to be) brutally honest about the craziest shapes they’ve twisted themselves into for love. The stories she shares are detailed and sweet, filled with heart, cringyness, and relatability. (She goes all the way back to her roots in Tennessee, back to her Mimi…literally. She brings the mic there.) Listen here.
How I discovered it: Apple Podcasts feature.
👂Chelsea Devantez published another Viral Article Book Club episode on Glamorous Trash. Now these are things I consider little blessings from God that I do not deserve, I love them so much. This time Chelsea and her guest, Greta Johnson, talk about Elizabeth Genco’s piece in The Cut called “You May Now Venmo the Bride,” about brides starting to Venmo their guests to pay for their weddings, and is this uncouth? We learn a few things off the bat, that Greta is engaged! (this seems to be pretty breaking news) and that Nerdette is now independent! (Also semi breaking?) My favorite thing about these episodes, other than the fact that the articles are juicy, is that Chelsea is often to argue with her guests. Greta is pretty opposed to the whole wedding thing, while Chelsea is all in. This ended up being a conversation about how people are asking for money these days, why people give money to others in the first place, and why weddings aren’t evolving even though love is. So uncouth or no? I was surprised by what they both said and surprised about the conclusion I came to myself. I was just rolling my eyes about someone in a Listerv I’m in (I hope she’s not reading this but if she is…FYI I guess) for asking for all of us to fund her life for doing nothing, but I would give money to a woman who said, “I’m getting married and I’m doing it differently than my grandmother did because love is different and the world is different.” Weddings need to change. Let’s throw out everything we think about them and start over. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber.
👂How many times during the new Trump regime have you thought, “who is this for?” Defunding cancer research, bringing asbestos back. Fresh off Rebel Spirit, Akilah Hughes has launched How Is This Better? to ask that question a lot, examining the drastic changes our new administration is pulling us through and how it is impacting the world with great guests. Episodes have covered taking Jackie Robinson off the DOD website, firing National Park employees then hiring them back, Mark Zuckerberg in general, pissing off the nicest country on earth, Canada. (The Canada episode was BRUTAL and a reminder how Trump has irreversibly altered the political dynamic of the world. We are so, so hated.) This is bummer content but Akilah makes it fun to listen to. She’s able to strike the perfect balance between informative and funny, giving us what we need to know exactly how worried we should be about every topic. (It’s really a choose your own adventure, there’s an episode to piss off everyone.) Her guests are able to contextualize the method behind the madness—the strategic reasons for these chaotic moves. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Apple Podcasts feature.
👂This is not clickbait: THE WORST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS WATCHED 8 MR BEAST VIDEOS AND TALKED ABOUT THEM. And it’s only a slice of the Mr Beast content they’ve made for what they’re calling Mr Beast Week. It seems like there is even more behind the Patreon wall, for the feed they released a bit of it, including a 2.5 hour 2023 play-by-play commentary of videos such as GAMBLING MONEY WITH SCRATCH OFF TICKETS, Giving A Random Homeless Man $10,000, and Giving Homeless People $1,000 (Not Clickbait.) I felt I was watching Sports Center—we get freeze-framed analysis of tiny moves and their context, the decisions Mr. Beast makes. Everything is buffered with context about Mr. Beast’s earliest days and how his altruism and the monetization of it evolved, how he sometimes strategically and sometimes kind of accidentally(?) stumbled into internet fame, the “canonization of St Jimmy,” Beast Games. For another episode they brought on June from Western Kabuki to give a more up-to-date analysis, a catch up, if you will, for those of us wondering what that Mr. Beast is up to these days. This whole thing together is really a course in Mr. Beast and the internet today. It’s a lot and you walk away with a new, eerie understanding of the world. This is such a fascinating story about altruism, the internet, social experiments, kayfabe, wanting and belonging, sponsorship, the content machine, money, how Americans think of money, capitalism, ghost kitchens, mythology, and more. Mr Beast has his claws in everything. THE POWER. And this has all happened pretty fast. Where is this going? Are we watching…Mr Beast’s villain origin story? How will the villain arc play out? Listen here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber.
👂I started Liz Plank’s new podcast Boy Trouble with some trepidation. I couldn’t place her name off the top of my head and the cover art is giving Call Her Daddy vibes. The first episode is called “Shake A** or Die Trying” and the description says “Liz Plank confesses to having a crush—yes, in her 30s.” That does not sound that interesting or surprising to me, but I was pretty into the content from the start. Liz Plank is smart, has this easy breezy conversational vibe and is beyond funny. (You all are probably thinking right now, duh Lauren how did you not know who Liz Plank was?) I really enjoyed hearing her talk about having a crush—yes, in her 30s. (“Having a crush in your 30s is humiliating. I feel like I should not be allowed to vote right now. Everything reminds me of him. I see a pigeon, reminds me of him. I ordered supplements because he like vaguely mentioned that he was low on, like he doesn't even know that he's low in it, but like a few years ago he got his vitamin D checked and it was low. I'm deranged, I'm unwell. I'm like texting him what did you do today? What am I, a parole officer? He has scoliosis and I think about it a lot. You can’t cure it. I know that because I researched it. He's literally like Regina George. 98% of the time, I am talking about Regina George, and 2% of the time, I'm just waiting for someone to bring up Regina George, so I can talk about Regina George.”) I just wasted so much time quoting her! I enjoyed this! I also enjoyed her interview with Delaney Rowe, whom I find funny online and enjoyed hearing more about her. Delaney tells a chilling story that is haunting me about getting her period in white pants on a date. She didn’t like the guy so she didn’t call him back and he texted her something like “I know you were embarrassed that you had your period but I’m OK with that I’d see you again.” I mean…the confidence that you have to have to assume that! (For the record, Delaney was not embarrassed to get her period in white pants.) Bonus: the third episode is an interview with Scott Galloway about his new podcast Lost Boys, which I wrote about last week saying all I wanted to do was hear smart people talk about it. I pressed play with excitement! But Scott just talks the entire time and Liz hardly got to say anything. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Unladylike’s Cristen Conger casually mentioned it.
👂I was shocked to see that Andrea Dunlap has a new season of Nobody Should Believe Me because this show is so well made, so thoroughly investigated, and takes, what I can only imagine, such a toll on Andrea and her team, that I wasn’t expecting more show so soon. This is one of those shows I catch episodes in my hands the second they drop, and that’s despite how hard the topic is to listen to. That’s how good this show is. Andrea started the podcast to document her sister, who was investigated for Munchausen by Proxy abuse. The following seasons have focused on other families. This time, Andrea’s magnified glass is on Lisa McDaniel, the ex-patient advocate who was exposed for poisoning and suffocating her baby girl. Nobody can understand how to talk to these families better than Andrea. She tells the story with sensitivity and authentic empathy. It’s so obvious from the voices of the people she is interviewing that she is helping them, that they feel safe with her and empowered to tell their stories. (You know how sometimes you can tell an interviewee feels kind of scared or exploited? Not here.) Andrea and her team aren’t reporting from the comfort of their couches, they are on site, getting real audio, which means better, realer conversations and a much more immersive listening experience. These seasons are all hard in their own way. The portrait we are getting of Lisa is a portrait of an evil woman, and there are a few moments too disturbing to write about here. Andrea carries us through to tell a really important story that feels like it needs to be told. I don’t know how she does it. Start here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber.
👂Switched on Pop spent last week investigating the state of country music, with episodes about how country's current identity crisis (Morgan Wallen!,) it’s expanding (via trap!) (and women!) and its roots in Mexico and ties to Americana. Charles and Nate have laced together this list of good country tracks with the storytelling, context, and minute examination that will get you to appreciate the songs even more. This show always makes me add so many new songs to my playlist. (Admittedly I often hear them later in a mix and think “how the fuck did this song get here?”) This podcast is fun to listen to because of Charlie and Nate, but it’s a service for people who want to not just appreciate music more, but want to understand how that music is being shaped by the world around them, and how it’s shaping it back. That tired quote about country music, “I’ll listen to anything but….” is probably the reason so many people completely block this interesting stuff out of their brains, and that’s a shame because if you take a peek over the wall there’s a lot of cool stuff going on. I would be shocked if you listened to this series and didn’t add a few things to your playlist like I did. Start here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber.
👂For season two of Marianna in Conspiracyland, Marianna Spring is telling the story of Paloma Shemirani, who died of cancer last year after being influenced by her mom’s anti-medicine conspiracy theories, which started when she was spreading misinformation about COVID. As a nurse. She was fired. There is a specific kind of frustration and sadness surrounding family and conspiracy. This show shows us how far this can go, how bad it can get, how long the tentacles of COVID lies reach, and really, how it’s becoming a bigger not smaller problem. Mariana is talking to Paolma’s family and friends (her mom won’t engage) about what it looked like in the weeks and months leading up to her death and telling the story of Paoma’s mother. There’s a lot going on but lingering behind is the sadness due to the deafening silence of Paloma not being there. We can’t interview her for a reason. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber.
👂I love you!
Lauren!!! I’m one of the producers on Boysober so thank you for this amazing review, you captured exactly what we’ve been going for. And thank you for always highlighting shows that are trying to do more with the form than your typical interview structure. Means so much <3
You had me at "sexy tractors"... :)