💻Ghostwriter...not the kids show🔪
+ Food nominee, Women In Podcasting, and new adds w/ the top 5!
Hey Poddy People,
How are you? Doing great I hope. Nice. Let’s go.
Industry News: Quentin Tarantino is starting a podcast via SiriusXM/Earwolf. Read the full scoop here. No release date yet.
Organic News: I probably said OMG a couple of times Wednesday morning when I found out that Skye Pillsbury, writer in the podcast space, linked to GP as a source in her article for Timber.fm. Read the article here. Spot our link!
Radio News: The long-running paranormal radio show Coast to Coast AM is creating a podcast network with partners iHeart and Premiere Networks. When I was at TuneIn, Coast to Coast AM with the original host Art Bell was consistently trending for years with the overnight listeners. I have no doubt that the new podcasts to be developed will have major downloads with that audience.
Drama News: Host and Creator of The Shrink Next Door podcast, Joe Nocera, is suing Bloomberg for lost wages. Read it here.
Blog Update: Prepping my master list of the top 2021 podcasts of the year. I take publications that have lists, aggregate them, and list the podcasts they have in common. That'll give us consensus on who they all thought was great. Coming next week!
Jobs Update: If you’re looking for a job in the podcast space. Take a look at Headgum!
Podcast to TV Update: ABC’s The Dropout, based on the Theranos scandal, is being made into a Hulu drama. The first stills of actress Amanda Seyfried in action were released.
On the flip side, Adam Mckay’s podcast version, Bad Blood, got optioned by Apple TV+ with Jennifer Lawrence starring. Read that here.
Anniversary Update: Last week marked my one-year podcast friendship with Choose Your Struggle (Jay Shifman) & Salad w/ a Side of Fries (Jenn Trepeck) at the Podcast Movement virtual networking event. We’ve been supporting each other since then, met up at Podcast Movement in Nashville, and have monthly chats. I learned more empathy from Jay and how to better read nutritional labels from Jenn. Cheers!
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Ghostwriter
Genre: Thriller, Audio Fiction
Publisher: Best Case Studios, C13Features, Cadence 13’s movie podcast arm
Ghostwriter stars Hollywood actors, Kate Mara (House of Cards) and Adam Scott (Step Brothers - yes I chose this film to highlight), in my first podcast movie listen. Podcast movie? Yup. A few have been popping up like Shipworm and Treat that is meant to be listened to in one sitting.
Kate and Adam are great at voice acting. I could’ve used a little tightening up of the story, but in under 90 minutes, it was a good listen. Especially getting the characters fleshed out and the climax in that time frame. Possible “sequel”?
Patrick Cavanaugh - ComicBook.com
“rather than being an episodic experience, Ghostwriter is meant to be enjoyed in one suspenseful sitting.”
And it’s definitely not the same as the 90s PBS or updated Apple TV+ show.
Podcast: Doughboys
Genre: Food & Comedy
Publisher: Headgum & Doughboys Media
Back on the iHeart nominee list, I perused the Best Food Podcast list and selected Doughboys.
Just like My Brother, My Brother, and Me, it’s a long-running podcast with comedy infused and has been around for a long time. And just like My Brother, I listened to the very first episode and a more recent episode to see if there have been any changes.
Episode one with Eva Anderson - The fresh feeling of their first podcast episode. Hosts Nick and Mike with guest Eva manage to keep their banter light and fun. Within 20 minutes they start the topic of reviewing Chili’s and go off in tangents in between. I literally LOL’ed when a joke about Tom Hanks bombed. Sometimes it’s the little things.
Episode Umami Burger 3 with Judd Apatow - The one thing that stood out was the hour it took before they started talking about Umami burgers. I wanted them to start the restaurant talk early and then go off on tangents like episode one. You do get fun tidbits like how Judd and Adam Sandler were roommates and Jerry’s Deli in Studio City (temporarily closed) was a favorite spot of theirs.
Sean Malin - Vulture
“the show is a celebration of its guests, and it relies on their willingness to get real about their relationships with food.”
As Sean pointed out above, guests like Judd do get real about their relationships with food and how they skirt around certain diets. See, that’s why Critic reviews work!
Episode one note: Nick and Mike mentioned the catchy Chili’s baby back rib song that *NSync covered. However, that’s not the best *NSync food song. This is.
Honorable Mention:
Podcast: The Pod Broads
Genre: Conversational
Publisher: Alexandra Cohl (Indie)
I’ve been on an Avery Trufelman kick as of late. I saw on the Twitterverse that she was interviewed on Pod Broads with Alexandra. It was a nice entry to that podcast. I didn’t know what to expect, but as a first-time listener, Alexandra as a host opened up fast and got vulnerable quickly with Avery in just a cool & calm conversation. Doesn’t hurt to hear Avery talk engage in that vulnerability. #Podcast30
Just Added Pods w/ Reviews:
Heavyweight - Gimlet
Spirits - Multitude
Podcast Like It’s 1999 - Rebel Talk Network
We Interrupt This Broadcast - Brian Williams
Michael Caine: Heroes - Audible Exclusive
Dear Daughter - BBC
Waiting For Impact - Exactly Right
La Brega - Futuro Media, WNYC
Fat Leonard - Project Brazen Originals, PRX
Top 5 Pod Pages
12/6/21-12/12/21 (Updated every Monday)
1. Ghostwriter Best Case Studios, C13Features
2. Bad Women: The Ripper Retold Pushkin
3. Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera Wondery
4. Haileywood iHeart
5. Storytime w/ Seth Rogen Earwolf
Stay safe, wear a mask, get vaxxed, and listen to some new podcasts!
XOXO
Captain Ron