🎶 It was the summer of '96 🏅
+ Sunny in Philly, finishing podcasts, and new adds!
Hey Poddy People,
I’m making the intro short since I’m on a road trip. Consider this my Xmas break-ish. So how are you doing?
Industry News Update: Wonder Media’s Founder Jenny Kaplan, was listed under Forbes 30 under 30 media list. Read it here. Here is one of their podcasts on GP.
I wonder when I’ll be listed for Forbes 100 under 100 list.
New York Times is gearing up for its own podcast/audio app. Currently in iOS beta and private. Read more about it on Axios.
Breaking News: Just minutes before hitting send on this newsletter, a majority iHeart Podcasts agreed to unionize. Read about it here. H/T Keelin.
Twitter updates: I’m still powering through the #Podcast30 listening Twitter challenge. We listen to at least one podcast a day and write why we liked it.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Summer of Gold
Genre: Sports Documentary
Publisher: Dear Media | Togethxr
Continuing on the iHeart podcast Awards nomination list, I perused the Best Sports Podcast list. This podcast was the only limited docu-series and female-led podcast on that list.
About: Summer of Gold tells the story of the 1996 Olympic Games through the lens of the women Olympians who dominated that summer.
Former Gold Medalist Michelle Kwan host the podcast that is centered around the 1996 Olympics and the fight for women’s sports. It’s an easy listen. I powered through 3 of the 6 episodes in one sitting and it was great to hear Sue Bird and Michelle Aker’s upbringing with the that important year of sports.
Emily Leiker - USA Today
“(listen to the)…the impact it had on American sports, culture and female athletes.”
Podcast: The Always Sunny Podcast
Genre: Comedy TV Rewatch
Publisher: Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney
Hot off the heels of their history-making Season 15, the gang started an actual podcast. Why?
Always Sunny In Philadelphia does have a strong fan base and they want behind the scene’s content. This podcast delivers. It’s a little rough in the beginning, but what podcast isn’t. It’s been on the Top 5 google searches for the Great Pods site for two weeks now. Clearly, people want more.
Danielle Stephens - The Guardian
“The scoring is the same as the show, and sound design is nonexistent, so the content needs to carry – which it does. For true fans, it’s a must listen...”
Side note: In Season 6, Episode 4, the gang tried to start a podcast. Guess when. IN 2010! They were certainly ahead of their time. Here’s a clip of the episode. Warning for crude humor.
Honorable mention:
Podcast: In Plain Sight - Lady Bird Johnson
Genre: History
Publisher: ABC News - Best Case Studio
Podcast: Soft Voice
Genre: Fiction Drama
Publisher: QCode
I’m dropping these two back in the newsletter because quite often, I’ll start a podcast, recommend it, but for limited series, I’ll forget to finish them. Thanks to #Podcast30 I finally finished them. Certifying them GREAT! (Maybe we should start a certification process? NAH. Not yet.)
In Plain Sight’s final two episodes brought the historical reminders of MLK’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s assassinations. Lady Bird’s recorded thoughts bring a fresh perspective of that time and how politics is really difficult when you actually mean to do good.
R.D. Burbank - Laughing Place
“This is history. It’s already happened, and we know the end result, but that doesn’t take away from the excitement and intensity of the story.”
Soft Voice had me going through emotions of mental health in dramatic storytelling with a little twist in the end. The final had a twist. Props to stars Noami Scott, Bel Powley, and Olivia Cooke for doing a fantastic voice acting job.
Anna Leszkiewicz - New Statesman
“Soft Voice captures the soothing appeal of clear instruction, and the existential terror of decision-making when your own inner monologue is absent.”
Added reviews this week:
Haileywood - (iHeart)
Cover Story - (Vox Media)
Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera (Wondery)
The Rumor (Blue Wire)
The Empty Bowl (Justin McElroy)
Paul McCartney: Inside the Songs (BBC)
Ghostwriter (C13 Features)
Stay safe, wear a mask, get vaxxed, and finish some podcasts!
XOXO
Captain Ron