🌫️ The Smog Queen 👑 idiots and dragons ⚔️ in fimo 🧻 the last episode 🚀
🍭 👂I'm here driving on this beautiful day with my girl Phoebe, what more could I want? 🌈 🤸♀️
Bonjour.
Today is Monday, November 11, 2024. I hope you are doing whatever it is you need to do to get out of bed in the morning. I found this Substack post from Elise Hu helpful.
In case this newsletter is too long, feel like you’re living in a small, fascinating town here, I completely changed my mind about this, and finally a poop podcast that’s actually well-done here.
xoxo
lauren
👋q & a & q & a & q & a👋
Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer
Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer are the hosts of What Went Wrong.
Describe What Went Wrong in 10 words or less.
CW: Biweekly podcast exploring movie-making mayhem behind your favorite films.
Why did you start What Went Wrong?
LB: I think we were at the Hollywood Veggie Grill wondering how on earth a multi-million dollar flop like Cats had happened, when we realized nobody ever sets out to make a bad movie. So how do good intentions go so awry? That’s when we realized there’s a story behind every film.
Which episode was your favorite to make, and why?
CW: Galaxy Quest was the most personal to me, it’s a movie that I was raised on and one in which the story behind the story really matched the tone and themes of the finished film.
LB: I’m fascinated and horrified by the way Hitchcock treated his heroines, so The Birds was a favorite of mine. I’m always interested in wrestling with the reality behind some of the most influential artists in Hollywood.
Tell us about a character from a movie that has left a lasting impression on you. Why?
CW: Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. Why? Because he’s basically the first assistant director. He’ll get none of the credit, not that he’d want it anyway, and he has to deal with all of the bullshit. The movie wouldn’t happen without him.
LB: Eve in All About Eve. It was rare in 1950 to see a film focused almost exclusively on women’s experience in Hollywood - and especially rare that the title character was allowed to be such a complicated, slimy, villain.
If you had to watch just one movie every day till the end of time, which would it be?
CW: Moneyball.
LB: Drop Dead Gorgeous
If your lives were movies, what genres would they be? Why?
CW: Comedy. Because the tragedies in my life are small enough that they’d be funny to other people.
LB: Mumblecore. Lots of talking, not too much plot, pretty enjoyable throughout.
Fill in the blank: You will love What Went Wrong if you like_______.
CW: Movies.
LB: Movies!
What is one movie that does not get enough credit for how challenging it was to make?
CW: The Lord of the Rings. I think because the end product is so strong people don’t appreciate the near decade long endeavor that was making those films.
LB: Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s a miracle this movie ever made it to the screen and truly one of the greatest feats of filmmaking ever. The oral history, Blood Sweat and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Max is a great read, or if you’re short on time just… listen to our episodes!
What has been the nicest review you’ve received?
LB: I love hearing that the podcast has helped people connect over movies with friends or family. Someone recently told us they’ve been listening on drives with their son and that made me so happy!
CW: What Lizzie said! Also, couples who listen and then watch the films together.
🚨If u only have time for 1 thing🚨
Journalist/producer duo Jeanne Marie Laskas and Erin Anderson rolled up to a broken-down steel mill town called Donora, Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburgh, to better understand it and the people who live there. They ended up staying there for three years, capturing more than 850 hours of tape to make Cement City, their portrait of Donora, where there are 4,650 people, no schools, no banks, no grocery stores, no gas stations. Everything about Donora is fascinating, from where it got its name to the reason it’s called Cement City to the deadly smog it endured in 1948. Access to Denora via Jeanne and Erin is priceless. I could have plopped down on one of the Cement City porches with them to watch people come and go all day. For as excited I was to start listening to this, I was also nervous. Cement City is about what it’s like to live in a dead town. My family is from one of these small towns outside of Pittsburgh (I smiled hearing certain words pronounced just like some of my family members) and I was cringing picturing a journalist coming into The Croatian Club or The Keg with a mic, wondering aloud why these people are unable to leave. I didn’t think that would be welcome in Farrell, PA. But Jeanne is doing a good job—these people want to talk to her. She’s putting in the work to help us get to know them, being present for city council meetings, tiny parades, and quiet porch moments. (There is a portrait of one woman named MC that is so good, this woman haunts me. It’s devastating.) I did cringe, at the beginning, to hear Jeanne wonder aloud in multiple ways, “why don’t these people just leave?” It’s because that’s really hard to do. (As displayed beautifully in the podcast Pack One Bag.) The whole show is building up toward Denora’s general election and a Christmas celebration. And Jeanne comes to her own conclusion about why people won’t leave. I’m not sure it’s mine, but I’m glad we came back to that. Cement City is well done, important, and gave me so much to think about I’m not quite done yet. The fact that these people’s lives are so intertwined and they end up being recurring characters makes you feel like you’re in a multiplayer video game. With the people she is able to introduce us to by their voices alone, the writing she has done to fill in the gaps with narration and storytelling, and the tape she gets, makes this an incredible piece of reporting. Jeanne makes herself a character in the Denora story, but a perfectly unobtrusive one. She’s able to capture magic and frustration and joy and hardship in Denora, PA.
notes
✨Happy, happy birthday to one of my podcast besties Podcast Bestie. Courtney Kocak launched her podcast and newsletter three years ago TODAY. Courtney has really dedicated herself to creating one of the best resources for indie podcasters. There are so many good interviews (there are far better ones than mine but it is here) and it’s been really impressive to see what Courtney has built.
✨Welcome Indian Podcast List to the world, India's 1st and only podcast recommendation letter spotlighting independent podcasters of India.
✨The 3rd Edition of Podcasthon will take place from March 15 to 21, 2025. The goal is to convince as many podcasters as possible to dedicate an episode of their show to a charitable organization of their choice. That’s it! There's no money involved—it’s all about raising awareness for various charitable causes. I don’t know why all podcasts wouldn’t consider this. If this resonates with you, take just 90 seconds to register your podcast and learn more at www.podcasthon.org/register.
✨Read How to engage in creative bravery, with Steve Pratt in Podcast Marketing Magic.
✨Arielle Nissenblatt spotlighted The Factory Next Door in EarBuds.
✨The Cramped podcast feed is live, subscribe here.
💎podcasts i texted to friends💎
🎙️I have listened to hours and hours of Phoebe Judge on This Is Love, Criminal, and Phoebe Reads a Mystery, and if you do, too, you know that nobody narrates like her and that she has created her own storytelling style. Her voice, both soothing and deliberate, warm and with authority, is iconic. I thought I knew her, you know? For episode 100 of This Is Love she made a piece about her mother Valentine dying that is noteworthy for how beautiful it is, but also for how Valentine shows us a new side of Phoebe. When we meet Valentine, she has been diagnosed with cancer but she is sounds great. We immediately fall in love with this spunky woman. As the episode goes on, she gets worse and worse as Phoebe continues to mother her mother, and physically step into Valentine as Valentine fades away. We experience the entire progression from onion-gobbling mom to someone who is completely gone. The moment that Valentine dies is one of the most impactful moments I’ve heard in audio, certainly in all of Phoebe’s work. Phoebe is holding her hand, it’s peaceful. It’s over. Then Phoebe goes on a run. When she returns from her run, her mother’s body is gone. That image, of Phoebe returning to an empty room, it kind of broke me. I have tears in my eyes as I’m typing this for chrissake. Listen here. There’s also a follow up episode, “What Happens Next,” that made me feel happy to be alive, nbd.
How I discovered it: I subscribe but someone called it out on Reddit and that’s what made me add it to my queue.
🎙️Homegoings is a show that lets you listen in to listen in on genuine conversations about race, and Myra Flynn recently published a pretty bold series called “Stereo-anti-types” that examines the most dangerous stereotypes that apply to Black men. The myth of the dead beat dad, the myth of the scary Black man, the myth of the big Black penis, and the one was the hardest to listen to, the myth of the stupid Black person. Homegoings is this beautiful show, but this series feels like it should win an award. Myra talks to people who in their own way are bucking these stereotypes to frame the conversations that most people aren’t having. It’s well structured, beautiful sounding, thoughtful, and unflinching. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Chris Colbert of DCP introduced me to Myra.
🎙️On a call with Devin Andrade, she recommended No Shame with Rebecca Woolf, and because I will do whatever Devin says I listened. I had heard of Rebecca Woolf, she’s a writer and her show is a collection of conversations with women (a lot of them writers) about how they are able to live free of shame. I wasn’t sure where to start so I started at the very beginning, and interview with Chelsie Diane, whom I didn’t know. I have to tell you, I didn’t like her. I didn’t like the show. I was carrying two coffee cups for a long time and held hostage listening, unable to switch. Chelsie seemed to be living in a universe so separate from reality, and there was an anecdote about her child’s friend kind of mocking her that I didn’t believe. (Sometimes, that’s all it takes for a listener to tune out, seriously.) Chelsie talks about growing up pretty conventionally, finding herself in the wrong marriage, and the pretty crazy and maybe accidental way she broke free. I have never done such an extreme turnaround in one podcast episode. By the end I wanted to burn shit down with Chelsie and actually felt ashamed that in such a fucked up world I have done less to upset it. I ate up the next two episodes, which were like pep talks in boldness. I don’t usually listen to shows like this but No Shame was something I needed and here’s why: the production is really good and Rebecca is a smart writer and storyteller who makes the interviews sing. One of the Questions Rebecca asks her guests is: what would you be burned at the stake for? I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been following the rules for so long, I don’t have anything. Maybe it’s because I’m a new mom to a daughter and I want her to be unafraid to burn things down. Maybe it’s because I was just explaining to my friends that I didn’t get in trouble as a kid so as an adult I don’t respond well if I even think I am in the vicinity of trouble. Maybe it’s because I am writing this the day after the election. But right now I’m feeling extra sick of doing what I’m told. These women are proving with their writing and art that it is possible, and seeing that it’s possible is the first step to doing it. Inspiring for a rule-follower like me. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Devin!
🎙️I got a very nice pitch letter from someone named Ben Castleman who has a podcast called Someone’s In Here that has two toilets on its cover art. First I felt competitive because my dream audio project is something called “Welcome to the Bathroom” and I worried Ben had stolen my idea. But then I became pretty sure that Someone’s In Here would be bad. Bathroom jokes are almost always bad and bathroom-themed things are almost always poorly and lazily done. But the letter was so nice that I listened and I’m glad I did. Ben is trying to do something different. He comes from a long line of people with IBS and this podcast is, via all sorts of routes—many of them completely unnecessary—trying to figure out why something so universal doesn’t get treated with any dignity. It’s like he’s challenging himself to make the first nice-sounding, complex, variety show/investigation about poop as a cultural thing. (Correct me if this has done before.) The interviews are original, varied, and unexpected—Ben talks to everyone from porn stars to babies to his ex-girlfriend, who happens to be Natalie Rotter-Laitman of Exploration: Live!. Ben is going to great lengths, arguably too many lengths, to explore how we interact with poop. I’m not sure we needed someone to interview a poop doctor to see if they talk about their own poop with their colleagues, and then interview someone in HR to find out why they don’t. He is OBSESSED with the lady who invented Pottymints. But that’s the kind of reporting we’re getting here and I respect that Ben is hilariously committed. (And again, it is serious for Ben, too. His dad had his colon removed before he was born.) Someone’s In Here is fun to listen to and not what you think it is and I think Ben is onto something. At the end of her podcast Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig, Grace used to ask everyone to tell her their best poop story, and everyone had a great one. Maybe Ben and I can co-produce season two of Someone’s In Here, which will be called Welcome to the Bathroom. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Very nice letter
🎙️I was pretty shocked to see that Unladylike was ending (or, it’s more vague than that. Cristen explains on the latest episode.) It’s been a long run, but I have been listening to Unladylike for so long and it’s been such a constant presence in my podcast listening life that I kind of can’t imagine a world without it. And man, what a terrible time—November 2024—to be losing it. Anyway, this got me thinking a lot about shows ending, something we’ve been seeing a lot of. (I also just heard Heather Osgood talk on Mics to Millions about how to create a valuable podcast you can sell someday, something she does with The Podcast Broker, and something I’m not sure all ending shows are thinking about.) It reminded me of a final episode I will never forget—the last Pop Rocket. Pop Rocket was a show hosted by Guy Branum, Wynter Mitchell, Karen Tongson, and Margaret Wappler, and it was another constant in my life. The roundtable of funny cultural critics and friends shared song, TV, book, etc recommendations and just had really smart conversations about whatever was in the cultural zeitgeist. It ended in May 2019, and I remember being shocked because quite frankly shows weren’t ending during this time, they were starting. A show ending, why would they do that!? (I had assumed that Guy Branum got too busy but WHO KNOWS maybe it was Karen’s fault!) It seemed fucking strange and surreal and sad, like an injustice that was a particularly sharp sting because Guy, Wynter, Karen,and Margaret had not even consulted me! Their finale was a heartbreaking episode. The crew is in tears, remembering their favorite episodes, talking about what the show has meant to them, how they’ve changed, how they’ve showed up for each other, how the listeners have been there for them. Podcasts end all the time now, but they don’t always have an episode like this one, though I think they should if those emotions are there. I still think about Pop Rocket a lot, and you could still visit old episodes. Their taste, their senses of humor, the love and enthusiasm they had for each other and what they do—those things do not expire. Also dear podcast makers: if you’re ending things, go out with a bang. I’ll never forget this episode. Listen to it here.
How I discovered it: When there were so few podcasts in the world I would just go to maximumfun.com and listen to whatever was there, and this was there.
🎙️Search Engine launched last year and in 2023 has continued to be a consistently entertaining, smart, funny, and thoughtful show. PJ Vogt juggles all of these things at the same time. I had been saving the one about inflation (titled: Is everyone pretending to understand inflation (or just me)?) but heard so many people talking about it, and then Devin mentioned how good it was so it was like enough already, and I bumped it up in my queue. I’m not sure how seriously to take PJ’s comment that he was nervous to admit how little he understood about inflation when everyone seems to know so much about it, but this was a conversation that really felt like it was for the listener. PJ was asking these questions for us. And then when he got answers (from political economist Mark Blyth, who made this all seem like it made a lot of sense and was really fun!) he took a minute to repeat them back to us in even simpler language. Why are we making more money but it feels like we aren’t? Why are things more expensive when inflation is supposedly down? Who do we blame for all of this? (This all seems super tied to Kamala’s loss.) As Devin pointed out when she was telling me about this, the structure of the episode illustrates the stark contrast between interview shows where the host is there for themselves—to look smart or hang out with friends—vs here. PJ was working hard for us to understand something complicated. And the real question, why we’re all here, “is everyone pretending to understand inflation or just me?” PJ has an answer: “inflation is complicated because it's a story that we lay over a very chaotic weather pattern. People are confident about what's going on because the story you pick probably aligns with your political worldview.“ Here’s a really fun episode about economics that clarifies so many things (it’s almost like that moment in The Sixth Sense when you realize that, spoiler alert!, Bruce Willis is dead) but is also the strongest example of what PJ is doing with Search Engine, and a good example of what other podcasters could be doing in interviews. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Subscriber
🎙️Starting to listen to Extrasensory reminded me of cracking open a novel I’ve been looking forward to. I mean, the premise is good: In 1950s England, milkman John Pollock prophesies that his dead daughters will be reborn, something that sounds crazy until his wife gives birth to twins who have weirder and weirder similarities to their dead sisters. That is a novel I would read. But this isn’t a novel, this is real. (I had to ask my Tink team to confirm because I almost couldn’t believe it.) Nonfiction narrative doesn’t always have the immersive sound quality that can give you a goosebump with just one sound, and Extrasensory does. There is a tension built into the storytelling that will keep you on bated breath—the story is even more complicated than you’re thinking, pulling in generations of extended family members. This really is a family drama. I appreciate that Extrasensory is asking big questions about what happens when we die, even if one of the experts consulted is “psychic to the stars, June Field.” That’s a question with a lot of blurriness, and Extrasensory is also blurring the lines of what we expect from nonfiction shows. The very sexy Will Sharpe (Aubrey Plaza’s girlfriend in White Lotus) is narrating, so at least there’s that even if everything else falls off a cliff. Listen here.
How I discovered it: The trailer was featured in Apple Podcasts.
🎙️Melissa McCarthy is the voice of Hildy in a new show from Lemonada, Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire. (You’ll also hear the voices of Glenn Close, Allison Janney, Joel McHale.) Melissa was born to be Hildy who is kick ass and funny but only because she’s the straight man in a sea of idiots, like the only one in golgorath competent enough to save the land from evil and danger. (Her idiot brother Fennick is just as much of a danger as all the Dryads and She-Wolves.) The production is amazing, the actors are obviously top notch, and there are jokes packed into every corner of the story, which feels very Lord of the Rings-y. I could be wrong but I think audio drama nerds might pass but this could get non audio drama nerds into audio dramas, and people who are into comedy might realize what a fun space this is. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Phone call with someone at Lemonada
🎙️When Miriam Lewin was 19 she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aries by the Argentine government and tortured for her political activism. Somehow she survived (many of her friends were drugged and thrown from cargo planes into the ocean while still alive) and when she got out spent twenty years finding the pilots of these death flights. The Burden is telling this story with dozens of hours of research and the translation of Miriam’s words read by Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame, whose father is Argentinian. While listening you are wondering how this possibly could have happened, how an entire country could have allowed it, where these pilots are now, and what justice could possibly be served. It’s a truly wild story that could be the plot of an action movie and feels triumphant, urgent and exciting. Here’s the bad part: there are so many ads that I stopped listening, something I’m not sure I’ve ever done. I gave it another go and I’m glad I did. But brace yourself. Listen here.
How I discovered it: Press release
🎙️I love you!
📦 From the desk of Tink 📦
Less Radical tells the incredible story about Dr. Bernie Fisher, the surgeon who revolutionized breast cancer treatment back in the '70s. The first episode takes us back to September 1974, when Bernie, a Jewish kid from Pittsburgh, crossed paths with a former dancer outside D.C., setting off a chain of events that would forever change how we approach cancer. It’s a wild ride through the ups and downs of Bernie’s career, including a messed up congressional hearing that nearly destroyed his reputation. Hosted by Dr. Stacy Wentworth, who brings her own passion for oncology to the story, the podcast dives into the real struggles women face when it comes to cancer care. In Dr. Wentworth words, “Women deserve better screening, not sharper scalpels.”
Thank you for the mention Lauren💃🙌