I have collected a number of podcast episodes I want to share – and I want to hear what episodes are rocking your eardrums, too!
“Saving Grace,” from The Nod, a podcast about Black culture in America, just about lifted the top of my head off, and made me sniffly while I walked the dogs. Autumn is a young woman who falls in absolute love with the videogame The Sims. When she faces a terrible loss, she uses the game, with additional modifications, to help her through it. It’s a thoughtful, wrenching examination of how we process emotions, and how powerful video game technology can be, especially when enhanced by collaborative content.
Another episode of The Nod that I loved: “To All the Boys in Rom-Coms Who Suck.” It’s like Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings, the hosts, reached into my brain and found all the things about terrible heroes that I loathe, and then made a list. Then Brittany goes into detail about a character from “Living Single” who is an underrated, under appreciated heroic masterpiece. It’s terrific.
A recent re-broadcast from Lifehacker’s The Upgrade might be very interesting to romance writers and readers: “How to Have Great Sex in a Long-Term Relationship, With Therapist Stephen Snyder.” You might not agree with everything, but I thought part of it was a fascinating discussion of what arousal is, and what it does.
And finally, this one may cause you to add a LOT of 90’s pop to your playlist. It had that effect on me. The latest episode of Slate’s Hit Parade traces Britney Spears’ “…Baby one more time” backwards though about 30 years of pop history, and explains why so much of pop music today is produced by Swedish music folks. Have a listen: “Hit Parade: The Give Me a Sign Edition – How an introverted Swedish producer and a showbiz kid from Louisiana made the late 1990s’ most influential No. 1 hit.”
And my condolences to your playlists after you’re done.
What episodes of podcasts have rocked your world lately? Please share if you’d like!
This Is Love “One in a Million” – snails find love! Or, well, snails find mates and people who love snails find other people who love snails.
Nocturne “Finding the Void” – secret mall apartment!
Sexing History “Bandstand and the Closet” – history of American Bandstand and the LGBTQ people that participated, also touches on race that’s not the focus.
As a companion to the Hit Parade “Give me a sign” episode, might I also submit the “Oh.My.God.Becky Edition” as a must listen to break your 90s playlist (and if you don’t get the title reference then I’m not sure we can be friends).
For even more musical gems, check out Broken Record by Malcolm Gladwell. I was fascinated by his interview with Rick Rubin discussing the reinvention and renaissance of Johnny Cash
The Slate podcast reminded me of this video my Sensei introduced us to.
1000 years of popular music
It really showed how Western music stays rooted in its native tradition, in popular tunes, no matter how much artists try to bring new ideas and tonalities into it
I love love LOVE The Nod!
These podcast recs actually reminded me of two books I read. The sex episode made me think of this amazing book I just finished: Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, which busts so many myths about sex and female sexuality. It’s all I can do not to run around shoving copies into people’s hands.
The Britney Spears one made me think of this great book on pop music called he Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook, which really deep dives into pop history and how it’s made. Also in the vein of music podcasts, I love Switched on Pop where a musicologist and a song writer break down pop songs and Song Exploder where artists breakdown their own music.
Am totally going to listen to that Nod episode now!
Currently obsessively listening to “This Podcast will Kill You”, now part MFM’s Exactly Right network. It’s all about diseases like plague and MRSA. I have a pretty science heavy background and have always enjoyed epidemiology, but they do a great job of discussing biology, history and future potential for doom, in a surprisingly light hearted and accessible way. I think the best part is how clearly the passion they share for public health and those wee little microbes themselves really shines through. I love me some STEM ladies! But I think it’s pretty approachable and they do a good job of breaking down jargon and acknowledging failures of humanity, both in the past and currently. I’d start with the first episode on influenza, focusing on the 1918 pandemic because it’s an interesting topic and full of very useful information. They also mentioned a podcast “in defense of plants”, which I’m excited to try. My other academic fave is The British History Podcast, though there are 300 episodes to that and he hasn’t made it to the Norman Conquest yet, so you can guess the level of detail. The episodes are quick and entertaining though, and at least through the Roman section a great deal of work was put into looking at how people lived and what life was like for those history rarely recorded (ie ladies). There is a fair amount of look at battles and dynasties which makes sense, given romans, conquests, and what was often recorded in the historical record. One must start at the beginning with this one though!
I just started the third season of Serial (only two episodes in so far) and it is amazing. This season follows multiple cases in one courthouse (in Cleveland) to look at how the American justice system really works. They also cover it from multiple viewpoints as well – talking to judges, defendants, defense attorneys, etc. so far, I highly recommend it.
A couple of episodes of This American Life that I heard lately and really loved:
#492 Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde: a doctor (Dr. Gilmer) gets a job as the main doctor in a small town. The doctor he took over from was also named Dr. Gilmer. He was believed by his patients, but he was convicted of murdering his father. The new Dr. Gilmer investigates to find out how someone so beloved could do something so horrible and the twists and turns are incredible. Not to mention that this is a completely true story.
#662 Where There Is a Will: all about willpower – how one mom single handedly got the Israeli army to send her son on vacation because she hadn’t seen him recently, how Newt Gingrich rose to power, and then a story on whether humans really can have free will or not.
#657 The Runaways: teens go missing in Long Island but the police don’t take it seriously because the teens are Latinix and the result is tragic.
Overall, I highly recommend the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast.
And if you are a super Walt Disney World fan (like me) and like to hear about tips for planning your next trip and trip reports from people who just got back from their trips, I highly recommend the podcast WDW Prep to Go!
There’s a podcast called Potterless started by a guy who never ready the Harry Potter series as a kid like the rest of us Millennials and is now reading them as an adult. He recaps the books and is a bit snarky (but in a good way). It is so much fun, especially when he makes completely wrong predictions (like Ludo Bagman was the villain in book 4).
I just caught up with it yesterday and now have to wait for the next episode, which should be the start if book 7.
Katta:
I LOVE that book, and Amanda does, too! I’ve interviewed the author, Emily Nagoski, twice – and she is brilliant to listen to. If you’d like:
Episode 186: Come As You Are – Sexuality and Romance: An Interview with Emily Nagoski, PhD
Episode 201: Cross Stitching and Neuroscience: A Follow Up Interview with Emily Nagoski
I know I’m days late, but if you’re looking for something romancey and Christmasy, there is “Deck the Halls with Matrimony.” It’s an old-fashioned, goofy radio play about a wedding planner dealing with kooky brides at Christmas. But is she falling in love with one of the grooms? There’s a Thanksgiving sequel that’s cute and a new third season I haven’t listened to yet.