It’s podcast recommendation time! I have been cleaning out my subscriptions of podcasts that I intended to listen to but didn’t (is there a word for that yet?) and have added some very fun new ones to my queue.
If you’d like to be creeped out, Spooked from WNYC and Snap Judgment is back with a new season of weekly creepy-scary stories heading into Halloween.
I know, I know, it’s still August. And it’s like 4000 degrees with 4.5mm% humidity. But fall, and therefore Halloween (and then winter!) are coming. There are stories of ghosts and hauntings and malevolent entities, and they’re terrific to listen to if you’re outside with two dogs in broad daylight and are absolutely NOT going to think about them later when you’re alone in the dark and everyone is asleep.
You can find Spooked at their website, on Stitcher, on iTunes, or wherever your podcasts reside.
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Heads up, Fanfic folks. Did you know about The OTPodcast? I just found this podcast and I am so excited to dive into the archives. And of course the logo is a ship. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT IS.
The OTPodcast is all about fanfic lovers, readers, and writers, and their episodes focus on topics like showing appreciation for authors, examining villains, and tropes in fanfic (you know I’m all over that one).
I also have to share this graphic because I can’t stop staring at it:
What about you? What podcast episodes have you really enjoyed lately? Please share in the comments, as I’d love to know which ones have rocked your eardrums!
I adore Teen Creeps, which explores teen pulp horror/fiction. Authors works include Christopher Pike, L.J. Smith, Lous Duncan, R.L. Stine,V.C. Andrew’s, etc. I read so many of the books they discuss in my preteen/teen years, so for me it’s nostalgia along with hilarity. I adore the hosts, Kelly and Lindsay, and I will say that even if you haven’t read the books they discuss, it’s still enjoyable!
You Must Remember This for Hollywood history. Seems to be well-researched.
Seconding You Must Remember This. It’s always a fantastic podcast, but the new season has been about “fake news” and exploring the truth behind some famous scandals from the book Hollywood Babylon and I’ve found it really fascinating and well done.
@Sarah Peach, Teen Creeps sounds amazing!
@Diane & Heather M, The You Must Remember This series on Charles Manson was excellent. Learned a lot of details that I didn’t know before.
I’ve been listening to comedian Michael Ian Black’s Obscure in which he reads Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, a novel we read in high school AP English and all loathed.
Crimetown’s second season is a 10 episode series about conspiracy theories surrounding RFK’s assassination (because of course there are conspiracy theories).
Lately I’m mostly listening to podcasts about either alien gems or cartoon ducks… Okay, here’s the one not about cartoons: Double Love. Yes, it’s a podcast dedicated to the entirety of Sweet Valley High.
Also: Trash And Treasures. The hosts watch and discuss relatively obscure films of varying quality – awful ones, good but undeservedly forgotten ones, just plain weird ones…
@Redcrow: Okay, here’s the one not about cartoons: Double Love. Yes, it’s a podcast dedicated to the entirety of Sweet Valley High.
You would not even believe the noise I just made right now. THANK YOU!
I really like Switched on Pop which deconstructs pop songs lovingly, the Print Run Podcast for publishing news, as well as Minorities in Publishing. I also love Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, which is the only way I can stand real news these days and Steal The Stars, which is an amazing sci-fi/romance/heist radio play.
@Sarah Peach, while browsing Teen Creeps, I discovered a podcast all about the making of the movie Jaws called Inside Jaws! Today is a good day 🙂
I listen to a ton of podcasts, and my favorite is In The Dark – an investigative journalism podcast. There are two seasons so far, and it is just fantastic. The first season looked at the cold case of the abduction of Jacob Wetterling. The reporting delved into how the original investigation went so awry and as a by-product, took an in-depth look at sheriff’s offices and their role in the US justice system. Season Two examined the case of Curtis Flowers, a black defendant in Mississippi who has been tried and convicted for the same murder six times, all by the same white prosecutor, whose misconduct keeps resulting in the conviction being overturned, while Curtis remains incarcerated and the DA keps getting re-elected.
My favorite book-centric podcast is I Don’t Even Own A Television, which right now is taking a look at some cozy mysteries including the misleadingly-titled “The Otter of Death”. The rapport between the two hosts is endlessly amusing and it picks up steam when they’re discussing something they both really hated; for instance they recently shredded Jordan Peterson’s book.
Cocaine & Rhinestones is a podcast about country music in the 20th century. The creator, Tyler Mahan Coe is a great story-teller. Episode 2 – The Pill: Why Was Loretta Lynn Banned and Episode 4 – Bobbie Gentry are my favorites. Episode 3 was a difficult listen, it was about Spade Cooley murdering his wife in 1961.
I’m really enjoying the Disability Visibility podcast lately. Alice Wong is talented interviewer and she seems to round up an awesome person or group of people for every episode topic, which ranges from paratransit to comedians to Star Trek.
@Kate, omg that sounds awesome!!
So many great recommendations, y’all…that’s why I love SBTB!
Stuff You Missed In History Class, The Morbid Curiosity Podcast, The Thrilling Adventure Hour (the Beyond Belief, and Sparks Nevada segments are particularly funny), and The Mortified Podcast.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned here cuz this podcast and SBTB go together like peanut butter and chocolate, but I’ve been on a real binge of “The Guilty Feminist” where a panel of usually hilarious women go on a feminist tear on a topic.
If you like “You Must Remember This”, check out “Attaboy Clarence”. The presenter, Adam Roche, has an incredibly inviting voice, and is very, very funny. In fact, he has two podcasts, the short form Attaboy Clarence, which consists of his discussing some old movies he’s recently seen, combined with a vintage radio show, mostly adaptations of said movies, and The Secret History of Hollywood, long form (and I do mean long) documentaries on single subjects. His Hitchcock series is spectactular. You can access either podcast at attaboyclarence.com. I couldn’t recommend them more highly – incredibly entertaining and extremely well-researched.
I am FINALLY getting around to listening to season 2 of Serial. Yes, two plus years late. I thought it would be a let down after season 1but I am really really enjoying it. It follows the story of Bowe Bergdahl an Army soldier who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and was then captured by the Taliban and held in captivity for 5 years.
Also if you love Walt a Disney World (LOVE is an understatement in my case – I go every year) and love planning and organizing for trips plus hearing trip reports from others (which I also love), I highly recommend WDW Prep to Go. I recently binged through all available episodes – so much fun and great tips and advice for both first time visitors and veterans!
@Heather M:
I can’t believe I missed the start of a new season of You Must Remember This and now that I have seven episodes or so to catch up. And she’s doing the exact topic I’ve wanted her to cover for a while.
@Lorenet: Cocaine and Rhinestones is amazing and I’m awaiting a new season and trying to not bug him about it.
Agree with the recommendations of The RFK Tapes (Crimetown) and In the Dark – both excellent!
@ Katie C. – Loved season 2 of Serial! I listened to it as it came out, and it still sticks with me, it completely changed my opinion of him, and my husband, who is former Army, and was a recruiter for a time, it changed his mind as well. It really demonstrates to me how the main stream media can mostly only portray the headline grabbing portions of stories and does not ask the hard questions or dive deeper into the why/how of things.
Speaking of deep dive – oh, that may not be a great segue 🙂 – I’ve been living for the moment Slow Burn drops every week. First season was the impeachment of Nixon. Second season is now about the impeachment of Clinton, including the Lewinsky scandal. The journalist (a man) is more balanced and fair to her than I’ve heard a man be, maybe ever. Not perfect, but better at portraying just how vulnerable she was.
I’ve mentioned it before on podcasts recs here, but I will mention again because I love it that much – The History Chicks. Two friends who read a bunch of biographies of famous/infamous women and re-tell their lives in a conversational way, and that history books/culture do not always get right (Hey Cleopatra – I’m looking at you!). Josephine Baker hooked me from the beginning, what a complicated, fascinating and interesting life! A recent episode was about the Statue of Liberty, and without outright saying it was in a response to the immigration crisis going on, it was a way to say, ‘Hey, this is what we used to represent.’ Or at least I felt that way to me.