5 Pod Takes

1) “I’m free as a bird. Free as a bird that’s gotta check in with his parole officer from time to time, but, hey, I’m cool with that.”

Listen: Ear Hustle: Bittersweet (6:07)

• That’s co-host Earlonne Woods, talking about the commutation of his sentence and his release from San Quentin prison after 20 years.

• Earlonne, as he had been doing on the inside, shares some bittersweet, heartbreaking details surrounding his experience.

• My take: Ear Hustle nails it again. There’s a reason it makes best-of lists.

2) “This is the Ebola of privacy invasions.”

Listen: The Daily: The Business of Selling Your Location (6:27)

• That’s Natasha Singer, on the data she and her New York Times colleagues unearthed that showed just how much location info smartphone users share.

• My take: Go change your settings.

3) “I got the greatest restaurant in the world to make me my very favorite meal. But I never am allowed to stand up from the table.”

Listen: Without Fail: Ira Glass: The Man Who Launched a Thousand Podcasts (37:39)

• That’s Ira Glass, audio legend on what it takes to be an audio legend.

4) “Fear never helps relationships.”

Listen: Oprah’s Master Class: Stevie Nicks (14:13)

• That’s Nicks, talking about her relationship with then-lover and bandmate Lindsey Buckingham in the days before they joined Fleetwood Mac.

• The relationship famously dissolved, but both became rock legends.

• Exhibit 1,357: Nicks just got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

5) “We ever been to the moon?”

“No.”

“They gonna come get us. I don’t think so either.”

Listen: Winging It: Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala on A.I. Stories, Vince and Dell, and Baze’s Golf Simulator (46:45)

• Say it ain’t so, Steph! That’s the best-shooter-in-basketball’s take on the moon landing.

• Curry walked back his comments IRL, saying he was joking.

• NASA’s response: Come see some moon rocks, Steph.

• Curry’s reply: “I'm going to go to NASA and I'm going to enjoy the experience wholeheartedly."

Tweet of the Week

Go Deep

1) The Abuse of the U.S. Gymnasts

Listen: Believed

• The podcast about Larry Nassar, the once-beloved doctor now known as “one of the worst serial pedophiles in U.S. sports history,” finished its 8-episode series.

• Binge time: 3 hours, 41 minutes.

2) Microsoft vs. Netscape

Listen: Business Wars

• A six-part deep dive into the battle between the early web browsers from each company.

• Binge time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.

3) "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Listen: Binge Mode

• Book seven is in the books. Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion take a 10-part deep dive into the last book in J.K. Rowling’s series, including the movie.

• Binge time: 17 hours.

4) Amy Dunne

Listen: Villains

• Shea Serrano goes 52 minutes on the “Gone Girl” baddie.

Guest Appearances By...

Abrams, Stacey Pod Save America

Barbaro, Michael Katie Couric

• The Daily host guest on Couric’s last pod.

Bell, W. Kamau Clear + Vivid with Alan Alda

Biggs, Jason Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Brown, Tina Kickass News

Buress, Hannibal Employee of the Month

Bush, Sophia Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Carden, D’Arcy Keep It

• Janet!

Carpenter, Jake Burton How I Built This with Guy Raz

• Founder of Burton Snowboards talks about his business, helping launch a whole freaking sport.

Cash, Rosanne Broken Record

Cummings, Whitney The Church of What’s Happening Now: with Joey Coco Diaz

Daniels, Jeff WTF with Marc Maron

Dellis, Nelson Nobody Told Me!

• Convo with the memory athlete.

Douglas, Michael TBD with Tina Brown

Durant, Kevin The Bill Simmons Podcast

Emanuel, Rahm The Axe Files

Esmail, Sam The Watch

Foster, Jodie But That’s Another Story

Franklin, Marina Employee of the Month

Gore, Al Katie Couric

Green, John 10 Things That Scare Me

Gross, Terry How to Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black

Gyllenhaal, Maggie WTF with Marc Maron

Hahn, Kathryn The Bill Simmons Podcast

Hammer, Armie Maltin on Movies

Hawk, Tony Pardon My Take

Holmes, Pete Kickass News

Jacobson, Abbi Talkhouse

• Convo with Jeff Tweedy.

John, Daymond Pardon My Take

Johnson, Jake Anna Faris is Unqualified

Judge, Phoebe My Best Break-Up

Kahneman, Daniel The TED Interview

Klein, Ezra Recode Decode

Krasinski, John The Treatment

Lessig, Lawrence The Joe Rogan Experience

Lewis, Michael Stay Tuned with Preet

Longworth, Karina Bullseye

Mantzoukas, Jason The Watch

• Derek!

Minhaj, Hasan The Ezra Klein Show

Mortimer, Emily Off Camera with Sam Jones

Moynihan, Bobby Comedy Bang! Bang!

Perlman, Ron ID10T

Pollak, Kevin The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Riggle, Rob The Adam Carolla Show

Schur, Michael I Think You’re Interesting

Shahidi, John Recode Media with Peter Kafka

• Convo with CEO of Shots Studios.

Shepard, Dax Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Sinbad Good One

Streshinsky, Maria Longform Podcast

Taberski, Dan Longform Podcast

Tompkins, Paul F. Comedy Bang! Bang!, Doug Loves Movies

Traister, Rebecca 10 Things That Scare Me

Tweedy, Jeff Talkhouse

• Convo with Abbi Jacobson.

Union, Gabrielle Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Vonn, Lindsey Pretty Big Deal

Wade, Dwyane Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

Watts, Shannon Hysteria

Weil, Dr. Andrew The Joe Rogan Experience

Notable New Podcasts

1) Finding Drago

• Alexei Toliopoulos and Cameron James search for “the author of ‘Drago: On Mountains We Stand’, an unauthorized literary spin-off from Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV that chronicles the life of the USSR's greatest fictional athlete Ivan Drago.”

2) Invention

• Hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick “explore the inventions we created, and how they created us.”

3) Jamie’s Christmas Cracker

• Chef Jamie Oliver says he’ll “be taking the stress out of Christmas by sharing everything you need to make the big day a success.”

4) Mythology

• The radio drama “brings ancient myths to life for the modern audience.”