5 Pod Takes

1) “Sometimes a nerd needs another nerd to complete the nerd quest. And sometimes you need a muscle-bound dude to put those nerds together. You’re welcome, nerds.”

Listen: Endless Thread: Stuck Between The Rock and Deep Space (27:07)

• That’s fake Terry Crews, star of “a podcast version of a movie script based off a Reddit thread, performed by a bunch of amateurs pretending to be celebrities.”

• The plot spins off the real-world discovery of Oumuamua, the “mysterious, cigar-shaped, Empire State Building-sized object” that recently passed near Earth.

• My take: Spot-on spoof of action movies.

• Oh, and the name of the nerd in question: Mark Sparklebarf.

2) “It takes the human voice … and makes it this post-human, pristine, beautiful-but-sterile thing.”

Listen: Switched on Pop: Do You Believe in Life After Autotune? (23:43)

• That’s Simon Reynolds, on the scourge of Auto-Tune in popular music. Reynolds has written a history of Auto-Tune. Here he recaps its evolution.

• Fun fact: Auto-Tune’s pop-music debut comes 36 seconds into Cher’s 1998 song “Believe.”  

3) “We all love Lin-Manuel Miranda, because that is the law.”

Listen: Pop Culture Happy Hour: We Get it Now (4:13)

• That’s Glen Weldon, who follows with a more-cutting joke at the expense of the beloved creator of “Hamilton”: “And if we don’t we’ll be taken away by his jackbooted thugs. They’re charming, very tuneful jackbooted thugs. They’re C+ dancers, B+ singers, but they are charming.”

4) “This song isn’t as good as Lucinda’s. Why do I bother?”

Listen: Wheels Off: Rosanne Cash: Singer-Songwriter and Author (8:21)

• That’s Cash, with a really specific example of how her imposter syndrome manifests itself.

• Lucinda = Lucinda Williams, of course.

• It’s the debut episode of Rhett Miller’s new podcast, which focuses on creativity and the creative life.

• Rhett = the singer-songwriter and leader of one of the greatest bands of all time, the Old 97s. Of course.  

5) “I could feel people being like, ‘Oh, go cry on your bags of money.’”

Listen: Longform Podcast: Julie Snyder (12:24)

• That’s Snyder, co-creator of Serial, on the vibe she and her colleagues felt dealing with the blast of attention during the first season of the landmark podcast.

• Chart check: The first episode of Serial’s first season, which was released in October 2014, is still on the iTunes chart today. Rank: No. 127.

• My take: Great pod for fans of the show and anyone looking for insight into what great storytelling takes.

Go Deep

1) The 1968 Chicago Protests

Listen: Legal Wars/American History Tellers

• The two pods team to tell the story of the protests at the Democratic National Convention and the ensuing trial.

• The first three episodes are available. Binge time: 1 hour, 59 minutes.

2) Picky Eaters

Listen: The Sporkful

• First of a two-parter on what it’s like to go through life with a picky eater, kids included.

3) ELO

Listen: Political Beats

• A 2-hour, 47-minute deep dive into the band “Guardians of the Galaxy” induced my kids to play on repeat.

4) “Remind Me Tomorrow”

Listen: All Songs Considered, The Monocle Culture Show

• On “All Songs,” Sharon Van Etten listens to and discusses her latest album with host Robin Hilton.

• On “Monocle,” a 30-minute album review.  

5) “The Fast and the Furious”

Listen: The Rewatchables

• The Ringer goes 1 hour, 20 minutes on the film that kicked off the series.

6) “Sunset Boulevard”

Listen: Unspooled

• A 1-hour, 37-minute deep dive into the Hollywood classic.

7) McDonald’s vs. Burger King

Listen: Business Wars

• A six-part deep dive into the fast food rivalry.

• Binge time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Guest Appearances By...

Armisen, Fred Wheels Off

Awkwafina Ask Me Another

• She recommends the best public bathrooms in New York City.

Barnett, Courtney This Must Be the Gig

Buss, Jeanie The Lowe Post

• Lakers owner talks Lakers, LeBron.

Cain, Susan The Tim Ferriss Show

Carden, D’Arcy Off Camera with Sam Jones

• Janet!

Daltrey, Roger Too Late to Die Young

Danson, Ted The Good Place: The Podcast

• Michael!

Dorsey, Jack The Bill Simmons Podcast

• Twitter co-founder and CEO of the dumpster fire known as Twitter makes a podcast stop during his media rounds.

Gillibrand, Kirsten Pod Save America

Groban, Josh The Moment with Brian Koppelman

Hopper, Jessica The Gist

Killer Mike Creative Conversation, The Joe Rogan Experience

Koenig, Ezra All Songs Considered

• Convo with Vampire Weekend singer includes two new songs. Fact check: They’re both great.

Kohnstamm, Thomas Otherppl with Brad Listi

Leno, Jay Armchair Expert

Lowe, Rob Meaningful Conversations

Morello, Tom 10 Things That Scare Me

• Former Rage Against the Machine guitarist fears the Devil, nooses.

Rezaian, Jason Post Reports, Fresh Air

• WaPo journalist talks about his 544 days in an Iranian prison, his new book.

Schultz, Howard The Goop Podcast

• Gwyneth herself talks to the Starbucks CEO.

Shalhoub, Tony Bullseye

Sorkin, Aaron WTF with Marc Maron

Stone, Sharon Oprah’s Master Class

Thompson, Kenan Industry Standard

• Longtime SNLer submits to a two-part interview.

Weiss, Bari The Joe Rogan Experience

Notable New Podcasts

1) The Dropout

• The tale of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos gets a six-part podcast deep dive. It asks: “How did the world's youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye?” It’s the current No. 1 podcast on iTunes.

2) Public Official A

• WBEZ focuses on “the rise and fall of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.” He’s the guy who tried to sell President Barack Obama’s former senate seat.  

3) Wheels Off

• Rhett Miller, frontman for the excellent Old ‘97s, hosts “a show about the messy reality of the creative life.”

4) I’m Obsessed With This

• Host Bobby Finger talks to people about Netflix’s “most-discussed titles of the moment.” It’s a Netflix-backed pod.

5) Meaningful Conversations with Maria Shriver

• Shriver has conversations with friends and “other individuals she respects and admires.” The convos explore the life topics, issues and ideas that we’re all thinking about.

6) Josie & Jonny Are Having a Baby (With You!)

• Two comedians are having a baby and they’ll be talking about having a baby.

7) Too Late to Die Young

• Features conversations with guests who are “at that time of life when they are closer to the end than the beginning,” aka a “podcast for grown-ups.”