💌Podcast The Newsletter💌
Bonjour.
New Year's Resolutions are awfully stupid, but when I worked in publishing, I always admired people who challenged themselves to read more diverse books in the new year. That's putting crumby new year's resolutions to good use! So I am throwing that out there, for you. Not to listen to more shows, but to different shows. If you listen to interview shows, try fiction. (You know I think The Truth is a great show that can break people into fiction shows, when they are positive fiction shows are not for them.) If you don't listen to shows hosted by POC or women or LGBTQ people, try some of those. If you don't do sci-fi, try doing sci-fi. Discover a new network. Go indie. Hopefully, you have been adding some of my favorite shows to your library.
I am stealing the below list from a book blog that offers a list of ways you can diversify your reading library month by month:
JANUARY – Diverse folktales/culture/mythology; or diverse retelling; or non-western setting
FEBRUARY – African American / black stories
MARCH – Female authors in male-dominated genres/non-fiction
APRIL – Middle Eastern/South Asian stories
MAY – East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander stories
JUNE – LGBT+ pride summer: sexuality and gender identity
JULY – LGBT+ pride summer: sexuality and gender identity
AUGUST – Mental health/addiction
SEPTEMBER – Hispanic/Latinx stories
OCTOBER – Physical/sensory/cognitive/intellectual/developmental disabilities
NOVEMBER – Native American stories
DECEMBER – Religious minorities
Good luck with that! Let me know how it goes.
And okay. I am out of the country this week, trying not to spend too much time on my computer. So this week Laurence Owen and Lindsay Sharman, creators of Mockery Manor, are supplying you with podcast recs. (Obviously, listen to Mockery Manor first. I'm obsessed.) Thanks, Laurence and Lindsay!
xoxo lp
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Hurt Your Brain's Erik Jones
Erik Jones is curator of Hurt Your Brain and a contributor to Bello Collective. Follow him on Twitter here.
Hi, Erik! Kindly introduce yourself.
I write a twice-a-month (usually) podcast newsletter called Hurt Your Brain that largely focuses on episode recommendations that will help you understand the world a little better. Every newsletter also includes videos and links that will make you think, as well as a little original drawing. The goal is to find the best online content you can learn from! I also write for the Bello Collective and am working with Lyceum, an exciting upcoming app focused on educational audio. In general I just love talking and writing about podcasts.
Hurt Your Brain is very niche. How did you come up with the idea? What made you realize there was a need for it?
Podcasts are obviously wonderful in so many ways, but I think they have so much potential as a learning tool. I view podcast apps as little libraries or mini-universities in your pocket. The challenge is finding the smartest stuff to listen to because it’s not always things you would see on any podcast chart. My hope is to surface the best episodes of well-known podcasts that will make you think as well as introduce people to the whole universe of lesser known podcasts that are chock-full of fascinating things.
What are three shows I should know about but probably don't?
This might be tough because you have such an impressive range of shows you listen to! But to try anyway: 1) You Are Not So Smart is a great show about psychology and how we are experts at deluding ourselves, 2) Distillations is a great narrative science show that doesn’t get enough attention, and 3) Cosmic Vertigo is my favorite place to get my mind blown about space and the universe.
Is it possible for a podcast to hurt your brain TOO MUCH?
NEVER! I think it’s certainly very possible for a show to be too boring or have too much of a data dump, but the specific feeling of hurting your brain is something I think we can handle more than we realize. I think our brains hurting also means it's getting exercise!
Say you were going to start a podcast about anything you want—don’t worry about whether or not anyone would like it or any of the logistics. What would it be?
I have this idea I can’t get out of my head. It would be called Passion Pitch, and it would be a show where people who are super passionate about something (book, author, genre, hobby, movie, anything really) come on and basically try to sell the audience on why they should also be into that thing and some recommendations on where to start. I love when someone is just so into something I feel the need to drop everything and check it out.
💎Mockery Manor Takes Over:💎
Hello! Laurence Owen and Lindsay Sharman here. We're the creators of Mockery Manor, a mystery thriller set in a creepy British theme park in the summer of '89, and Adults Do Disney, in which we, two grown adults, ramble about Disney parks and movies. Yes, we're obsessed with theme parks. What can we say, we like immersive experiences that take us away from our dystopian reality... which is what our favourite podcasts do too. We've picked a small handful of recommendations, covering comedy, fiction, and the fun end of journalism.
(Follow Mockery Manor on Twitter and Instagram and Adults Do Disney on Twitter and Instagram.)
Wooden Overcoats: Season 1, Episode 1 - The Bane Of Rudyard (Wooden Overcoats)
This sitcom about rival funeral directors feels like an instant classic. It has shades of Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, and Father Ted, and yet is very much its own thing.
Sandra: 1. Hope Is A Mistake (Gimlet)
This high-concept thriller / drama made quite an impression on us, partly because of its budget. It's no more inventive or immersive than what the little guys are doing (ahem, Mockery Manor, ahem) but the voice-cast makes you sit up and go "oh blimey, it's that woman from Arrested Development", which is fun. Alia Shawkat stars, Ethan Hawke proves his comedy chops, and Kristen Wiig... is underused, quite frankly, but we love her so we're happy she's involved. Due to an open-ended finale that intrigued some and upset others, we're hoping for a second season.
Best In Galaxy: Season 3 - The Prequels, Ep.1 (Mark Restuccia, Patch Hyde, Paul F Taylor)
What started off in 2016 as a simple Star Wars discussion show has gradually morphed into a sprawling comedy sci-fi narrative adventure in its own right (also spawning a book/audiobook series by co-creator Mark Restuccia). We think series 3 is when this podcast really hits its groove.
Hello From The Magic Tavern: 42 - Winter Solstice (Arnie Niekamp and Earwolf)
A long-running improv-comedy-fantasy saga starring Chicago podcaster Arnie, who has fallen through a magic portal and found himself marooned in the fantastical land of Foon. Recorded in the Vermilion Minotaur Inn, Arnie interviews creatures, warriors and adventurers alongside co-hosts Chunt (shapeshifting badger), and Usidore (wizard). We'd suggest listening from the beginning because each improvised episode has consequences that influence the direction of the story and character arcs, but we also think you should jump in and listen to the Winter Solstice episode because it features our absolute favourite festive song.
Reply All: Long Distance, Parts 1 &2 (Gimlet)
Gimlet's much-loved 'podcast about the internet' is the gold standard of journalistic podcasting. Every episode is a work of art, but this double-bill is a particular favourite. An extraordinary journey in which Alex Goldman and producer Damiano Marchetti track down a phone scammer in Delhi. Gripping.
Radiolab: The Ceremony (WNYC Studios)
Jad Abumrad's music and sound design skills always make Radiolab a real treat for the ears. The Ceremony follows journalist Morgen Peck at the launch of cryptocurrency ZCash, during which something truly creepy happens that will make you never trust technology again.
Adam & Joe Podcast: Attack The Buck (BBC Radio 6 Music)
One of the first pods we ever fell in love with, the Adam & Joe Podcast is charming and hilarious and we miss it very much. Consisting of edited highlights from their Saturday radio show on BBC 6Music, this podcast is now so old that early episodes sometimes include Adam & Joe explaining what a podcast is. You could dive in anywhere with these, but this episode contains a hysterical moment from the Pierce Brosnan movie Taffin that we will never stop laughing about.
Mystery On The Rocks: Nish Kumar and the Curious Case of Clairvius Narcisse (Studio71)
UK Comedians solve historical mysteries while getting drunk on cocktails. This episode looks at the real phenomenon of Haitian zombies. The story is creepy enough, but the explanations are even creepier. And funny.