🎁 Scroogenomics ⚰️ dead bodies 🇺🇸 where was Felicity on Jan 6? 🧸 beanie babies 💪 muscle cars 🚗 NYC snowglobe ❄️
🍭 👂 You're in for a treat! 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour!
Today is Monday, December 19. In case this email is too long, this was a stunning, jaw-dropper of a story, I couldn’t stop listening to these, and a Keeley/Roy Kent sex scene brilliantly unpacked here.
YO!🎁 🎁 🎁 🎁 🎁
I am putting together podcast gift packages to send to three lucky winners that includes shirts, books, totes, and other fun swag from your favorite podcasts. Later this week, I’ll be publishing an open thread post. Open that thread and add a podcast recommendation for a chance to win. Make sure you’re subscribed so you receive the thread! 🤗
xoxo lp
ps If you are pleased with Podcast The Newsletter, please spread the word.
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Ophira Eisenberg
Ophira Eisenberg is a standup and writer, and was the host of NPR’s Ask Me Another. She now hosts Parenting Is a Joke. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Parenting Is a Joke on Twitter here.
You’re a Moth host, stand-up comedian, and have been the host of two different podcasts—one live, one an interview series. Which is your favorite kind of hosting to do?
Each one appeals to a different part of my personality. Standup has that immediacy that is so addictive and the job is pretty singular - you’re there solely to make people laugh. Plus you can really mess and banter with people in the audience. When I host storytelling shows, like the Moth, you get this incredible audience that hangs on every word, you can be more descriptive with your piece, alternate between funny and serious, and provide that satisfying narrative arc. Inbetween storytellers, as a host, you need to figure out how to shift the mood from wherever the last storyteller left the audience back to neutral, which I find to be a very fun challenge. With hosting a podcast - I have the opportunity to get really intimate. Since it’s a 1 to 1 listening arrangement, it feels more like I’m admitting things to a close friend than a performance, which is also very satisfying.
Describe Parenting Is a Joke in 10 words or less.
True crime meets parenting.
OKAY kidding!!! That’s terrible, sorry.
How about : Comedians in cars getting coffee with kids in the backseat.
What made you decide you wanted to do it?
I became a parent when my biological clock struck 10pm… and by that I mean I was older! At the time it felt like no one in my standup circle had kids, especially not small kids. However, within a couple of years, that changed. Suddenly every other comic around me was at some stage of making a family. I thought - I have to take advantage of this moment and bring these people together to talk about what this is like! Standup is such a hard career to fit a kid into because of the late night hours, travel, and the whole vibe is single, independent, even rebellious. I want to talk to people with non-traditional lives, careers, hours and choices and find out how they are doing it, and still fostering their creative side.
How is Parenting Is a Joke different from other parenting podcasts?
It’s all for entertainment - as in I’m offering zero advice, tips, tricks or hack. I am no expert! Just flailing and failing and trying all the time. That’s the perspective I bring to the microphone. Plus the people I’m bringing on the show to talk to are professional comics - so you’re getting both their hilarious take on being a parent, and also their vulnerability side.
Fill in the blank: You will like Parenting Is a Joke if you like ________.
Drinking bourbon under a weighted blanket. Or smart comedy and hearing standup comics talk about their careers and their real lives.
Why do you think there aren’t so many truly funny parenting podcasts? (Or do you think there are?)
This is a great question! There are a few but not a ton, and honestly I don’t know why. Every parent I’ve every spoken to has said some version of - you can’t make this stuff up, or the material just writes itself. Or they say us parents really need a laugh - so clearly the desire for it is there.
But also the way we talk about being a parent is changing. I think talking about parenting can be so polarizing and people are afraid of being judged, or being seen as a bad or irresponsible parent if they admitted to how they were feeling, or how they were handling things. There is still judgement but it’s so much better as we realized that so many people are going through the same struggle. It’s okay to admit that things are hard, impossible, or that you don’t fit into the perceived notions of “motherhood” or “fatherhood” molds. Few people do and that’s okay. This is the kind of stuff I see comics joking about on stage now and it feels fresh and very funny.
What’s the secret to being a good host?
I truly believe it’s stepping out of the way, as in figuring out how to get the best out of your guests. It’s up to you to create a space that makes it easy for their guests or interviewees to feel comfortable, and enjoy themselves.
If you were going to start another podcast, your budget is $1M and don’t worry about any of the logistics or whether or not anyone would like it, what would it be?
I want to do a true crime podcast that appeals to those of us who like watching TV shows like The Great British Bakeoff. Basically a FEEL GOOD true crime podcast - so we’d focus on burgularies and heists that end with justice being served, even in an altruistic way. Does this does exist? If so, please point me to it, If not, does someone what to make it with me? Or fund this? PS I’m considering this digital document a copyright of my idea!
What’s something nobody ever asks you that you wish they would?
Would you like me to pay for you to have an assistant for a year?
Hahaha. But seriously - make a good podcast is a lot of work. And it should be.
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
🎙️Iranian women have been banned from Iran’s national soccer stadium Azadi (a word that means “freedom”) for 40 years. In four pieces, 30 for 30’s Pink Card tells a multi-perspective story of the revolution that started it all, to the recent protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini. This podcast is lively, absolutely shocking, and personal for host Shima Oliaee (she begins the series with her mom, a soccer player, and an encounter with Zeinab Sahafy, a young Iranian women who has been named an enemy of the state for attending soccer games,) that is so descriptive it is visual. It’s full of the history of how we got to this ban in the first place, the game that set off a movement, cross-dressing women sneaking into stadiums, how a group called the White Scarves used international soccer matches to rebel against Iranian law, and one woman who died after setting herself on fire. It’s full of danger and heroes. This is not about soccer, it’s about Azadi, freedom.
Pair it with a book: Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s gorgeous comic book that tells the story of Marjane's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. See my bookshelf here.
oh hey
✨Shopping for a podcaster or podcast-lover? (Or building your own wish list?) This Podcaster Gift Guide has tons of ideas, many of them are things you can buy at the very last second.
✨Recently on Lifehacker I wrote about the best 13 podcasts of 2022, because I could not pick a normal number.
✨Arielle Nissenblatt spotlighted Nice Genes in her newsletter and podcast.
✨Call 1-844-POD-AT-ME (1-844-763-2863) to hear a daily podcast recommendation, and leave your own recommendation at the beep! You can suggest your own show so this is a great way to market your show. Don’t worry, we won’t answer the phone! (We know calling random numbers can be terrifying.)
💎BTW💎
🎙️On USA v. García Luna, Emmy Award-winning, Cuban-Mexican investigative reporter Peniley Ramírez and Pulitzer Prize-winning Mexican-American journalist Maria Hinojosa have joined forces to tell the story of Genaro García Luna, who was once Mexico’s top public security officer and now is federal detention awaiting trial in the US for taking bribes from the cartels and his alleged ties to El Chapo. (It’s like if the head of the FBI were on trial for colluding with the Mafia.) As Peniley tells Maria the cinematic story, they both manage to make it light and funny. (They’ve brought a bottle of tequila into the recording studio.) This is more than a story of García’s rise and fall, high-level corruption in the DEA, and the false war on drugs, it’s a story of two brilliant, seasoned writers who share one obsession that, through conversation, they get even deeper into. And we get to be there for it. They are obsessed with García Luna, I am obsessed with them. Listen here.
🎙️Kevin Bohl’s RISK! story about two barflies trapped in a blizzard together is absolutely perfect. h/t my mom. Listen here.
🎙️I though Jon Favreau’s Offline conversation with Rebecca Jennings was really interesting—they talk about the social media discourses that got everyone up in arms this year, so it’s really a worst-of list of digital humanity in 2022. Listen here.
🎙️Come As You Are started a series I love, which has host Dr. Emily Nagoski reviewing sex scenes from pop culture. Emily doesn’t exactly love pop culture because of the rampant, terrible and damaging sex scenes that seem to have understandably scarred her for life. However, the first episode in this series focuses on a masturbating moment from Ted Lasso (ATTN: DEVIN ANDRADE) featuring Keeley and Roy that stands out because it portrays a super positive way couples should be talking about sex, so rare to see on television. Emily breaks down the scene moment by moment, explaining why it’s nearly perfect and the ways it could be even more perfect. I’d listen if these pop-culture break downs were spun out into its own show. Listen here. I also got a mind blow job from The Anatomy Lesson You Never Got, although it’s kind of a boner killer to have Malcolm Gladwell popping in for a car commercial every few minutes.
🎙️First! is a fast-paced, bubbly show about spectacular people that had a serious impact on society and culture by being the ‘first’ to break down a racial barrier in their respective fields. Kareem Rahma is our guide in this interview series, which matches the stories of luminaries like Connie Chung, Wendell Scott, and Zaha Hadidk with comedians (Alyssa Limperis, Sydnee Washington, Marie Faustin) to put on what feels like a standup routine packed with history. On every episode I listened to, it felt like Kareem was best friends with his guest—he is that talented in dynamically telling a story with someone else. The Omar Sharif episode (featuring Ramy Youssef) was one of the best history profiles I’ve heard in awhile, painting a picture of a tragic talent, and giving history of an underrated man and the films he starred in. (Calling all Lawrence of Arabia fans.) Listen here.
🎙️Sing for Science interviews a musician or artist about their work, and pairs them with a scientist who has expertise in that field, so the two can have twisty conversations about how climate, rocket ships, attachment theory, fairy tales, and more are accurately portrayed in music. The mish-mash of approaches sparks interesting conversations that you won’t hear on other music podcasts, and you won’t hear on other science podcasts. The guest list is exceptional—I’d listen to Run DMC, Blondie, and Connie Britton talk about anything, but thrown into this scenario, you get less scripted, more vulnerable conversation with the artist. The “Dead Bodies Everywhere” episode with Korn’s Jonathan Davis and Mary Roach was so (as h/t Ashley Lusk warned it would be) gloriously disgusting, it felt like a gothic comedy set. Listen here.
🎙️This celebration of American Girl Dolls on Too Niche? was an episode that, if you had or coveted an American Girl Doll when you were a kid, will feel like it was made just for you. Elizabeth Kott and Lara Marie Schoenhals hilariously take us through each doll (Molly: “Busting the norms of the AG universe;” Felicity: “Where were you on January 6?;” Samantha: “Her doll had a doll, which is pretty baller”) and their histories, accessories, books, and wardrobes. I thought this would just be an American Girl 101 but it was wildly entertaining and talks about how these girls hold up in 2022 and the hold they had on our culture in the 90s (and beyond.) Listen here.
🎙️It’s 2098 and the world is out of fresh water—not an unlikely scenario. And Lake Song imagines that there is one place that has it—the Republic of Chicago, which offers more problems than opportunity. Lake Song is the story of siblings Dee and Wade on the South Side who are struggling to survive with the problems unique to this fantasy world, and the ones that are universally human. With poetry, music, science fiction and politics, Lake Song is a play for your ears, turning dystopian Chicago into a playground for the arts, with some of the greatest audio acting I’ve heard. (The cast is made of 23 Chicagoans.) It’s not like other podcasts you’ve listened to before. It will be an absolute favorite if you like audio dramas, and will open your ears to the fiction world if you’re not already there. Listen here.
🎙️Christmas podcasts can be disappointing if they’re just offering “don’t we love Christmas?” vibes (even if we do!) or if they’re just like “let’s make fun of Christmas movies” or “I’m not like other girls, I think Die Hard is a Christmas movie.” Christmas Past is a history podcast that swiftly and clearly explains the histories of some baffling, mysterious Christmas traditions, like (I seriously just asked my husband this while watching Jingle All the Way the other night…) what the fuck is Figgy Pudding? What was the Eggnog Riot? One of my favorites is actually the backstory of the song It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, which is unusual for its tone, content and sound. Listen and spew back your favorite facts at your next Christmas party. Listen here.
🎙️Cautionary Tales uses the story of Farepak (a savings club that scammed more than 100,000 poor British families out of money for holiday gifts) to illustrate the terrible way we give gifts—the thoughtlessness and waste that is almost always involved. It clarifies what we all know and feel—we buy gifts because we feel we have to, and we receive tons of gifts we don’t want. It’s a problem driven by our guilt and awkwardness that leads to real financial and ecological repercussions. This episode will inspire you to give less and more thoughtfully. I am tempted to send it to my family on December 25 this year and say, “here’s your gift, you’re welcome” or maybe a copy of the book Tim references, Joel Waldfogel’s Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays, which gets all into the deadweight loss (the difference in production and consumption) of Christmas gifts, the unnecessary stress we have when it comes to finding the perfect gift, and the consequences when we let that stress alter our buying decisions. Listen here.
🎙️Tell Me What Happened…from OnStar…is soooo bingeable. It’s a collection of real stories of people helping people in distress, and the episodes are all pretty terrifying/exciting. (And eventually uplifting, because OnStar® knows the value of human connection.) I’m sorry, Heroic Bystander Saves Handler From Alligator Death Roll? Walking Through Fire to Save 65 Horses? (I pulled that one for you, Anne Baird.) 12 Hours Trapped in Quicksand? How can you not click on these? I always thought that quick sand was something that was like…only used in movies circa 1960. It’s been comforting to think I couldn’t get stuck in it, but you totally can! (The episodes always bring on an expert with advice on how to survive the situation, and you might want to get out your pencils for the “how to escape quicksand” lesson.) It’s not like browsing Mother’s Day cards, where you keep pulling a new one thinking, “maybe this one will be good” only to be disappointed (just me?)—the episodes deliver. Listen here.
🎙️When Maria Fernanda went to Columbia University, she started to notice the people who seemed to be ignored by the world, the “invisible” working class people who make things run but are often invisible, misunderstood, and undervalued. On her new show When You’re Invisible, we get to hear from blue collar workers and immigrants, (like mailroom workers) but it’s also an audio diary of Maria as she comes to grips with her own relationship about invisible people and the assumptions we make about them. When You’re Invisible bucks the trend of studying people who have succeeded on the scale of capitalism by interviewing people who might have never been interviewed before. They don’t have a script memorized, they don’t have 10 tips for smashing the patriarchy or crushing your sales goals. What they do have is fascinating stories about something we are all experiencing all the time—either feeling invisible, or making people we interact with feel that way. Listen here.
🎙️The War on Cars fascinates me. They gather stories about the obvious and not-so obvious ways that cars negatively impact our lives and our cities by delving into topics like honking season, inclusive cycling, Tesla blind spots, and more. They aren’t just bitching about cars, they’re hosting constructive conversations about them, often getting people on mic who very much like cars, yet have agreed to be on a podcast called “The War on Cars.” (One of my favorite episodes is when they infiltrated the New York International Auto Show.) They’re in the middle of a series about American Muscle Cars, which are things I hear tearing up the streets of my neighborhood on a weekly basis. Co-host Aaron Naparstek heard them, too, and began noticing that a lot of them had stickers on them with their own Instagram accounts, exposing him to a culture that glorifies burnouts, donuts, takeovers, car meets, and crashes. In this series he’s bringing us to the biggest car club event of the summer to see cars through the eyes of muscle car influencers. These dudes are letting him in the passenger seat. Buckle up. Start here.
🎙️Jamie Loftus and Sarah Marshall in conversation about anything is a gift—the gift of hearing two people who are masters in audio storytelling. You know you are in perfect hands for a fascinating, hilarious ride. On You’re Wrong About, Jamie takes us through the whole Beanie Baby crazy, touching upon the dishy, disgusting history of Ty’s founder Ty Warner, how Beanie Babies are a pyramid scheme that led moms everywhere to believe that their Patti the Platypus babies would be one day worth enough to fund their children’s college educations, how it went surprisingly well for Ty, and then surprisingly wrong. Jamie is an expert, here, she dips into her own personal Beanie Baby collection to read some of the poems on the tags, which involves her undoing the protective plastic she used to conserve them years ago, perhaps imagining they’d be worth more than just excellent fodder for a podcast. The lesson: if you still have Beanie Babies you should play with them. They aren’t going to get you a dime. Listen here.
🎙️The Land of Desire, a French history and culture podcast, has an episode about Disneyland Paris that I turned on almost because I felt obligated—Disney podcast episodes are kind of my beat. This is one of the most unique episodes I’ve heard in awhile about the happiest place on earth. Why opening Euro Disney (the name before people realized Europeans associate the word “Euro” with business, and that Disneyland Paris was much more appropriate) was a complete disaster is interesting, and points out all the things that could go wrong that Disney did not think of. The Paris weather is not comparable to the weather in Orlando, and the cultural differences (Europeans take vacations differently, they eat meals at different times) made the idea of a Disney park more difficult to replicate than anyone could ever imagine, even though the translation seemed to be seamless with Tokyo Disney. This episode is about Disney but also about world culture, and how for even the most magical company can get lost in translation. h/t Podyssey Listen here.
🎙️I imagine that Ezra Klein’s interview with Maryanne Wolf inspired at least thousands of people to spend more time reading. Writ Large, a podcast not so much about suggesting books (although you will want to read the books discussed) but about sparking interest on some of the greatest books ever written by talking about them with academics and scholars of the texts, will inspire you even more. New releases are great but the last few episodes of Writ Large were completely convincing that backlist (I guess you could call them way backlist books) are crucial to being readers and smart people who want to better understand the context of everything else ever written and the world we live in. On the 1984 episode, host Zachary Davis explains what George Orwell was trying to warn us about, why he set the book in Britain instead of a fictional place, and his aim to get us thinking about how we can work together for a collective existence while preserving a space for private thought and opinion. On the 1001 Arabian Nights episode, Zachary takes us back to Aleppo, the city of stories, to explain how one French translator made the stories travel, a tidbit in history that involves a Syrian storyteller, storytelling cafes, and a merchant city that drew the world together. Finally the episode about the most consequential book ever written, Genesis, made me wonder why more Game of Thrones fans aren’t more into the Bible. (And why, as a fan of Biblical stories, I am not more into Game of Thrones.) It’s a historical text with more guts, philosophy, and humanity than anything else that’s been written for thousands of years. Writ Large is a beautiful, fascinating ode to the the best stories ever told. Listen here.
🎙️Ear Hustle finished their 10th season with a stunning interview with a woman, Karen, in prison for second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated—her 9-year-old daughter was killed when Karen got into a car accident, drunk. It’s an emotional story, but notable because Karen kind of throws Nigel and Earlonne off when she gets into her past. Nigel and Earlonne don’t generally ask people about their crimes, and when Karen does, they don’t know what to say. They share this moment with us. Two of the best storytellers show the inside and beautiful messiness of their creativity, exposing their vulnerability, and proving that after ten seasons of this show, even they can be surprised. I am also constantly surprised with this show. To another season and many more! Listen here.
🎙️Meet Cute’s Christmasuzannukkah is an audio fiction that tells the story of Noah, who goes home for the holidays to his nutty family, where the matriarch (Amy Sedaris) throw the annual Christmasuzannukkah celebration, a bizarre, homemade holiday that blends Christmas and Hanukkah. It’s a silly, sweet rom-com for your ears and exactly the kind of thing I crave this time of year. Start here.
🎙️The military had no problem putting tanks in small towns to quell the Black Lives Matter marches, yet they’re—this shocked me—unable to pay for the well-being of military husbands and wives at home. On Things That Go Boom, Laicie Heeley uncovers the truth about what it’s like to budget your ass off and be moved all over the country with little support and not enough money to put food in your kids’ mouths, while your spouse is defending their country on the other side of the world. Listen here.
🎙️I love you!
This week we’re getting to peek into the listening life of Alyssa Meyers, a reporter for Morning Brew's Marketing Brew newsletter, primarily covering audio advertising (including podcasting, music, sonic branding, and smart speakers/voice tech). Before joining Morning Brew, she wrote for Morning Consult (but is not a morning person), Insider, The Virginian-Pilot, and The Boston Globe.
The app you use to listen: Apple Podcasts.
What speed do you listen to podcasts? Regular (although I believe the ~industry lingo~ is 1x).
How do you discover new shows? Mostly word of mouth, but also newsletters and lovely lists like this :)
One show you love that everybody loves. Pod Save America
One show you love that most people don't know about. I'm unsure how many people know about this podcast (maybe it's really popular but I just hang out with the wrong people?), but I recommend it to literally everyone. It's called The Renner Files and it's a podcast about the actor Jeremy Renner (and his app) but it's done in the style of an investigative podcast, which makes it just about the funniest thing I've ever heard. I laughed out loud consistently. It's solidly in the comedy category, but also surprisingly well reported. Don't ask questions, just listen to it.
Hot take: I will listen to a podcast or music while I write. I can't get anything done if it's quiet.
Self-care tip: Hit stuff (aka my self-care is boxing).