❤️Podcast The Newsletter❤️

Bonjour.

I have heard people say there are too many podcasts but I don't get it and I want MORE. More good ones. Awhile ago I started a spreadsheet of podcasts I wished existed. This is only the beginning. I am never going to get to making these shows, and some of them are PRACTICALLY JOKES ANYWAY, so I'm going to share the list with you. The doc is editable to anyone who can view, so if you want to take on one of my ideas just indicate that in column C. And feel free to add other ideas! I wonder if this will work! If it does, my dream of getting to listen to a show called "What @rgay Say" will be a reality.

Have fun guessing which ideas are PRACTICALLY JOKES.

xoxo lp
ps If you are pleased with Podcast The Newsletter, please spread the word!

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Happy w/Bari Finkel

Bari Finkel is a producer at Pineapple Street Media, and you can hear her on one of my favorite shows of all time, Unhappy Hour with Matt Bellassai. Follow Bari on Twitter.

Describe Unhappy Hour in a tweet-length description.
Unhappy Hour is a weekly cathartic laugh of a podcast hosted by Matt Bellassai! We rant about our least favorite things, talk about the worst (ridiculous) news of the week and interview our favorite comedians/actors/generally talented people.

Which episode was the most fun to make?
Every episode is fun, but getting Matt high for the first time at Harry Potter World was by far the most fun I had making an episode (you can hear that in A Very POT-ter Special (with Evanna Lynch.)

Who and/or what is being underrepresented in podcasting?
People of color on the production side! Having a diverse production team (producers, managers, editors, etc) is necessary, invaluable, and often overlooked. There's a great new directory that I hope is going to make a big difference.

How has the show changed since it began?
I think the biggest change is how much better we've gotten over time. Matt's always been a good interviewer, but as a producer, it's noticeable how freaking great he's gotten. He has a talent for making any interview feel like a conversation between two close friends. Personally, I had only been on mic for reporting pieces before this, not so much for a chat show. And those are very very different skills! I've gotten much more comfortable and more conversational over the years. But I still have work to do!

Give us a podcast recommendation, please.
There's a five-part mini-series on The Truth called The Body Genius. It's a fiction noir comedy about a Hollywood physical trainer who gets framed for the murder of one of his clients. It's hilarious and fun and I can't recommend it enough.

💎BTW:💎

🎙️Podcast Movement Daily featured me in their newsletter!

🎙️Because of this very newsletter you are reading right now, I was able to connect with Parklandia host Matt Kirouac in Disney World, over drinks. It was so lovely to meet him and it was a reminder that I should actively reach out to people when I travel. I will be in LA Oct 14th, so if you're in the area and want to meet up, let me know! (And Oh! I LIVE in NYC and would love to get coffee or drinks with any of you here.)

🎙️I have been counting down the days to the launch of Laci Mosley's Scam Goddess, a podcast dedicated to fraud and all those who practice it. Each episode is split up into three sections—a scam from a listener, a scammer of history, and a scam shared by the comedian guest. (The first episode is with comedy podcast legend Paul F. Tompkins.) It's like true-crime without the death! Scams are so HOT right now, and I can't think of anyone I want to hear about them from than the hilarious, smart, and wildly entertaining Laci. I have been following her on other people's podcasts for years and am so glad she now has her own. (You may also recognize her from a new TV show I love, Florida Girls...it just got renewed for Season 2.) Scam Goddess is a SERVICE to both our funny bones and our security!

🎙️Earwolf Presents dropped the pilot episode of Jacquis Neal's I'm Your Host, where each week host Jacquis Neal hosts a new game show with some of his favorite comedian friends. Jacquis (of Culture Kings) comes from the improv world, so expect a lot of improv comedy with stars from UCB. The first episode stars Paul F. Tompkins, Carl Tart, and others playing Family Feud. I'm a big Jacquis fan, and I love the idea. It's the perfect format to show off Jacquis's improv abilities.

🎙️ Worst Year Ever (Robert Evans, Katy Stoll, and Cody Johnston) is dropping episodes so fast I can hardly keep up! (Seems to be an effort to ride the wave they struck last week when they aired the trailer.) The hosts are super smart and you can tell they are friends—they have a very-close-friend-level amount of silliness going on. I like to listen to Robert Evans because I trust him. I think he rings the alarm bell for the right things, but avoids panic-mode when necessary. For the same reason I want my bastards delivered to me via Robert, I want my 2020 news delivered by Worst Year Ever. (Not a fan of the theme song.)

🎙️On Bad Science, Ethan Edenburg brings on a comedian and scientist to break down the scientifically inaccurate elements of movies and TV. The recent Tarzan episode (with Addie Weyrich and Dr. Greg Bryant) was great. It's not surprising there are wild inaccuracies about jungle life in this animated Disney film, but it's endearing to hear Ethan excuse them. (He clearly loves the movie. I do, too.)

🎙️I've been both looking forward to and dreading Last Day, a show about the last days of people who have died from opioid overdoses. The show is framed by two women, Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer, who both lost brothers to the epidemic. (Stephanie's brother was a famous comedian who worked with Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, and who coined the phrase "humblebrag.") The show is HEFTY and ambitious. Stephanie told the Daily Dot, "I want to save lives. Like truly, I mean that sounds lofty, but I’m serious. I mean like I don’t want people to die anymore." Love what these women are doing and I believe that if Teen Mom can have an impact on teen pregnancy, podcasts like Last Day could shift people's thinking about the opioid crisis.

🎙️The podcast that my partner Kate Hutchison and I have been working on, The Shelf-Care Podcast (conversations with ambitious women about how they rest and recharge) is live! First guest, Candace Bushnell. We're giving away stuff (books!) so sign up for our newsletter.

🎙️List Envy is such a sweet idea for a show. Each week, host Mark Steadman talks to a new guest, and together they collaborate on a top-five list, with the topic chosen by the guest. I think it could be tightened up a bit, but there is nothing more I love than hearing people gush about their passions. The Top 5 Competitive Solo Beatboxers is a treat. Mark warns us not to listen to the episode on 1.5x or any of that crazy shit, and he's right. To truly appreciate the beatboxing, and it's incredible!, one needs to listen at regular speed. Is this a problem for anyone?

🎙️AsapSCIENCE's Sidenote proves that "even scientists can be gay!" It tackles scientific issues, yes, but it's the hosts, Mitch and Greg, that make the show. They are obviously smart and skilled in communicating science in a fun way, but they don't brag about their intelligence. Aren't those the best kind of people? They trick you into learning things with their funny back-and-forths, which make you feel like you are in a friendly, drunk conversation with them.

🎙️Authors are my favorite podcast guests! It's why I started my company, Tink. Jia Tolentino on Keep It was so good, I was devastated when the episode was over. I want to see Jia on EVERY show, talking about laundry and fast food and feminism-or-lack-thereof-in-film and everything! JIA, CALL ME.

🎙️On I'm Obsessed With This, Bobby Finger uses conversations about Netflix to get to know guests in interesting ways. In a wonderful episode with Call Your Girlfriend's Ann Friedman, we learn a lot about Ann's insecurities of being tall (the Netflix movie Tall Girl as the vehicle.) I have heard people speak negatively about Tall Girl on podcasts. Tall people! Bari (above) included! So it was interesting to hear a tall person say "wow yes actually, it's hard to be a tall person and this show speaks to me...and also NEVER ask someone how tall they are IRL.")

🎙️Is Science Rules! with Bill Nye a good podcast? I have no idea. I am not a fair judge—I love Billy Nye so much for so many reasons (I love cheerleaders in general, he makes me feel excited about science, he makes me feel like there are sane people alive who can prepare us for when the earth implodes, he was the star of one of my favorite Disney World attractions...I COULD GO ON.) Many "educational" shows, science shows, in particular, are marketed toward adults but are really for children. (Content and presentation-wise.) I actually learn things in Science Rules! Sometimes I have to relisten to sections. The questions that flood into Bill Nye's inbox are very good, which means smart people are listening and enjoying. And I always feel very happy listening to it.

🎙️The José Feliciano episode of Lost at the Smithsonian with Aasif Mandvi ("Comedian and pop culture fanatic Aasif Mandvi gets up close and personal with the most iconic artifacts at the National Museum of American History") is full of surprises! I almost didn't listen because I thought "how on earth could this interest me?" (famous last words of a podcast-listener...) but José says some surprising things about patriotism and then adlibs a beautiful song on the show! Must-listen! Must-listen!

🎙️So hi this is the Rough Translation newsletter now. The last episode of the season hit a nerve. A white Rough Translation listener talks about her 6-year-old son (his dad is Asian) who, when had to move to Japan with his family, felt at home for the first time. As he identified with Japenese culture, his mother felt the gap between her and her son widen. Can you imagine? If I have a biological child with my husband, my child will be biracial. So there's something I didn't know I'd have to think about!

🎙️I'm Listening, the show where Anita Flores talks to comedians about Frasier, is back with season three! The first episode features Rachel Bloom. I'm not even a huge Frasier fan but find the chats valuable and entertaining. I AM a huge fan of Rachel Bloom and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and on this episode, Anita and Rachel talk about how Crazy Ex-Girlfriend characters overlap with Frasier characters. I'm Listening is part of More Banana, a podcast network with women-led production. I love everything about it!

🎙️If you live in the Chicago area, make it to see Ethnically Ambiguous Live at The Chicago Podcast Festival on October 16th. I am jealous I can't go. Go for me and tell me how it is.

🎙️From Mad Chat: Halloween has a tendency to turn madness into a horror trope. We want to hear your most problematic Halloween/mental health stories! Email a voice memo (less than a minute pls!) to madchatshow@gmail.com.

🎙️The trailer for Dolly Parton's America is here!

🎙️On the podcast I had with Eric, PodcastPodcast, we had a segment called SegmemtSegment, where we talked about non-podcast things we loved, to prove we had other interests. I want to do that now. This video on Twitter gave me the biggest laugh I've had in a long time. For #MeanGirlsDay (Oct 3), @WomenInTheArts tweeted Mean Girls quotes with famous art. And I love the fashion Instagram influencer Sophie Seddon. Her looks aren't expensive but they are inspiring. (She also reuses pieces in her wardrobe to create great looks.) See? I love other things.

🎙️I love you!

💎If you binge one thing this week...💎

The Pineapple Project is Australian Broadcasting Corporation's answer to Marie Kondo, but with a Queer Eye vibe and featuring Oprah’s "get your life organized guy" Peter Walsh. The show is presented with so much FUN and isn't forceful with a message of minimalism. (It just launched season 3 and won an Australian Podcast Award for season 1.) Thinking about organizing usually makes me feel like I'm taking medicine, but this show makes it entertaining and actually interesting.

I talked to the EP, Rachel Fountain, about it.

"It started as a show about CASH! Straight-up Australian podcast deity Monique Bowley, had always kinda thought there needed to be a show for women, about money. She got together with ABC Audio Studios boss Kellie Riordan, and worked out there was a huge number of Australians for whom no one was tailor-making podcasts…. And thought “the ABC can do this”. They looked around for an Australian woman whose finances were dicey (there were a lot of us), landed on babe of a comedian Claire Hooper to host, and yours truly to produce, and then away we went. The response from the audience has been soooo rewarding, so we’ve flipped and pivoted the topic we concentrate on for each season. Second season – WORK. And now third season – ORGANIZATION. It’s legit a thrill to come to work every day and know you’re making something that a) makes people laugh b) helps them learn something and c) doesn’t judge them."

The hardest part about making the show, she says, was forcing Gen X/Millennial/X-ennial producers and the host to confront REAL things about debt. Also Rachel was bitten by a very large housecat during “The Living Room” episode of The Pineapple Project. PODCASTERS ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR US!

Speaking of dream podcasts, here's Rachel's: "It would be me, Oprah and Gayle, and the Hemsworths, going antiquing throughout the as-yet-unpicked regions of the world. Every episode would start with our breakfast in a diner, follow us on the road (road trip mixtape picked by a different cast member each day) as we meet interesting locals and learn about their culture through the stuff they venerate. We’d finish the day around a table swapping stories about our greatest retro/antique finds. This might be from a literal dream I’ve had."

Forbes wrote about Tink! Check it out.
Please tell your friends or share my tweet!