Is it Joe Rogan or Seth Rogen?🤷
Radiolab's first episode ever, girls on the internet, +new drops & adds
Hey Poddy People!
Whenever I write the newsletter, I’m always asking the question, “What could I possibly write about?” Rest assured, something tends to happen in the week and it comes together, sometimes last minute, and sometimes longer than usual.
Spotify Rogan Drama Update: This whole thing is a mess. I can only say that it highlights a problem when you go from just being a music app to a content producer. Now Brene Brown is taking her stance on the misinformation drama since she has an exclusive deal with Spotify. However, I can’t stop thinking about this tweet response from a listener that couldn’t tell the difference between Seth Rogen and Joe Rogan. It has me in stitches!
Hollywood Podcast News: Cate Blanchett is set to host a climate change podcast for Audible. Two seasons have been ordered. Read more here.
Website/Newsletter Testing Update: Like last week, we are going to start testing a Coming Soon/Trailer section via the newsletter and potentially the website. If you or someone you know is launching a podcast and it is not on the GP site, please reach out to us with the RSS feed that has the trailer.
Accelerator Update: We didn’t get into TechStars LA. All good, because…
Analytics Update: We officially hit 27% MoM for January on the site. The goal we strive for is 10-20% each month. More details and the top 10 podcasts from January can be found in my fresh blog post here!!!
Most Reviewed: I revisited Sweet Bobby after recommending the podcast to a friend this past weekend and there were even more Critic reviews to add. Check the reviews.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Radiolab
Genre: Documentary
Publisher: WNYC
As creator and host, Jad Abumrad makes his goodbyes this month, the team pulled the very first episode of the show from 2002 to drop on the podcast feed. Oh boy. Even as a first episode it was great. I really was impressed with the storytellers that were willing to be vulnerable and share their lives in audio.
The first story is of a girl that shares the first time she got her period. The second story is of a boy interviewing his family in the projects and deep family issues. I was shocked at the questions he asked. It was just so smart and ahead of his time. The family was very open to answering his questions. I wonder where he is now. The last story is about a man who has seizures and also lost his kids to protective services. Heart-wrenching.
Must listens.
Rebecca Nicholson - The Guardian
“It remains a constant source of surprise to yours truly to find my unscientific mind get so involved in a story about the elasticity of time, for example, but that's part of Radiolab's charm.”
Podcast: There Are No Girls on the Internet
Genre: Society & Tech
Publisher: iHeart
We’re finally here! The iHeart Podcast Awards 2022 will be broadcast on Youtube at 6 PM Pacific/9 PM Eastern. Here’s the page:
Today’s nomination recommendation is from their Best Technology Podcast list. There Are No Girls On The Internet, #TANGOTI for short.
Like before, with a long-running podcast, I started with episode one. The surprise to me was the guest from the band Y4cht. I talk about a side note below. Claire, the lead singer, is a tech nerd with an upbringing in coding. Claire had important statements to think about in subjects like the disparity of women in tech or even the early days of the internet. “If you want to see where the women are, look for men that are cared for.” And then you have host, Bridget Todd, who ends with a quote for women, “We’re given the worst, but we keep making art…I was here, you won’t erase me.” Excellent.
The podcast feed can be a little confusing with mixes of her other podcast, Disinformed, in there, but as the second episode, I chose the 2020 episode on the NFL’s Washington Football team, formerly the Washington Redskins. This week they finally selected a new name, as the Washington Commanders. The movement online started somewhere. Bridget chats with the co-founder of the #NotYourMascot movement, Jacqueline Keeler. They managed to use the hashtag and virality of the movement in a bigger discussion of racial justice and indigenous people’s history.
Nichole Williams - AV Club
“Any listener interested in broadening their understanding of intersectionality and internet culture will find themselves drawn”
Humblebrag Side Note: Whilst at TuneIn, we were live audio streaming SF’s Outside Lands festival the one year that Y4cht was performing. I got to see them on the side of the stage while streaming. Good times.
Honorable Mentions:
We have two podcasts that dropped all their episodes ala Netflix binge style. I’ve finished both first episodes and they are both good so far. I’ll be keeping an eye out for Critic reviews for the official recommendation.
Podcast: Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez
Genre: Music History
Publisher: Futuro Studios | Sonoro
Narcos meets Mexican Musician bad boy.
Podcast: The Trojan Horse Affair
Genre: Society Documentary
Publisher: Serial | New York Times
Hosted by journalism student Hamza Syed (no relation to Adnan Syed) and S-Town’s Brian Reed. A letter that set off an Islamaphobic investigation starting in Birmingham, England.
Coming Soon:
Podcast: #Matter
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Shondaland Audio | iHeart
Launching next week is Shondaland Audio’s first scripted fiction podcast. It caught my eye/ears was because Snoop Dogg is in it. That guy is living his best life for real. He’s everywhere.
Added this week:
Wild Things: Siegfried & Roy - Apple
Lacey & Flynn have Sex - Flynn Talbot, Lacey Haynes
Finding Raffi - iHeart, Fatherly, Rococo Punch
Sad In The City - Taylor Tomlinson
Mommy Doomsday - Dateline NBC
Archive 81 - Dead Signals (Now a hit Netflix Show - Thanks Kev, Tea In The Sahara podcast reviews for the heads up)
Celebrity Book Club with Chelsea Devantez - Chelsea Devantez
Sorry About The Kid - CBC
Deux U - Deux Moi, Cadence13
Weekly Top 5: I used to read Entertainment Weekly magazine’s ratings & rankings each week in the 90s. Home Improvement battling with Seinfeld and then Friends for top viewership. This week, Last Known Position beat out Ghostwriter for the number one spot page on GP. That’s exciting to me.
Stay safe, wear a mask, get vaxxed, and be kind!
XOXO
Captain Ron
Great Pods is a website that uses podcast critic reviews and ratings to help you find & decide your next podcast listen.