🌎It's The End Of The World As We Know It
Super Young Intl Con-Artist & Senior Bachelor + Just Added and Top 5
Hey Poddy People!
It’s not the end of the world, but a rather slow week for me as I was driving back and forth from the Bay Area to LA. Lucky for me, on the way back I managed to get through bonus episodes and some new recommendations. A tip of the cap to the new subscribers.
Let’s GO!!
The Round-Up
Women’s World Cup Soccer is underway. A couple of podcasts on my radar include After the Whistle and the new The Re—Cap Show with former champs, Tobin Heath and Christian Press.
Fiction Critic and friend of GP, Sam Macdonald, is a supporting voice actor in an episode of Residents of Proserpina Park as the character Slendy. Episode here.
All caught up with the hit podcast, Scamanda, and its bonus episodes. I’m still fixated on Cory and how he needs to be booked too. There’s an episode with Amanda’s college acquaintances which shines a light on how early she started her scamming.
I also finished People Who Knew Me. The frustratingly great fiction podcast. Rosamund Pike plays her character(s) so well, it’s frustrating. The bonus episodes with behind-the-scenes actor interviews were a good mint after dinner with actors explaining their character choices. It’s up there with my favorite fiction podcast this year.
Drama! Sounds Like A Cult’s co-host, Amanda Montell, is suing her other co-host, Isa Medina for abusive behavior and more. Read more here. H/T PodNews
Several newsletters ago I talked about the LinkedIn creators working with a cohort of podcasters on the platform. Now LinkedIn and iHeart have clicked together to expand the business podcasts support. Read more here.
Don’t forget to refer a friend. Rewards are up!
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Finding Samantha
Publisher: True Crime - Con Artist
Publisher: RTÉ
About: A woman who has created more than 100 fake identities. A young girl found wandering the streets of Dublin. A teenager deported from Canada. Stories of sustained sexual abuse at the hands of many. Kidnapping charges, prison time, lies, fraud and deceit. Could all of these stories go back to just one person?
Cross-Continental con-artist? I’m in. If there’s one thing I’m into with this podcast based on other scam podcasts is the particular psychological behavior of Samantha. She flew to Ireland, Canada, and Australia all while not making a cent of money. Weird.
Australian podcaster and audio journalist Sharon Davis and Irish journalist Nicoline Greer go on location oftentimes getting “No’s” to be recorded, but still able to get off-audio interviews from people who knew Samantha. I kept remembering how Hamza and Brian couldn’t get anyone to talk in Australia for The Trojan Horse Affair.
Remy Varga • The Australian
“Finding Samantha is a gripping investigation into a bizarre story – and while this podcast might be light on production, it is heavy on intrigue.”
All episodes are out now.
Podcast: Hidden Signal - Evergreen
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: QCode
About: Question reality through different dimensions and worlds with immersive tales of science-fiction and mystery with QCODE’s Hidden Signal, a new podcast anthology series. In the first installment, EVERGREEN, Hannah (Lana Condor) finds herself trapped inside her boss Fin Gorale’s (Alan Cumming) subterranean biosphere named Evergreen, alongside seven of the world’s greatest minds. When Fin informs the group that an asteroid has destroyed the surface of the Earth, they find themselves – forced survivors – tasked with rebuilding society. Evergreen is a 9-episode psychological sci-fi thriller rooted in ego, deceit and the power of choice.
I’m still at the beginning of the series (3 episodes in), but Alan Cumming plays off the evil genius here pretty well. There’s a lot going on to establish the characters, setting, and action from episode one, but it settles down with episode two. There are a lot of characters, so making sure everyone has their voice is quite the feat.
Cortex is your Siri/Alexa in Finn’s underground bunker of a world and is tasked with protecting Evergreen's underground compound by any means necessary.
In the middle of episode 3, I’m believing the premise of the world to be destroyed to be true. However, you have to always be questioning…
Kev • Tea In The Sahara
“The show’s pacing offers a solid combination of storyline development with enough edge/mystery to keep the listener gripped…John again proves a master at curating spectacular psychological thrillers for an audio audience.”
Headphones or car listening is recommended. All episodes are out now.
Podcast: Bachelor Happy Hour | Episode: Exclusive: One on One with Gerry the Golden Bachelor
Genre: Reality TV
Publisher: iHeartPodcast Network
About: Bachelor Nation, can we steal you for a second?! The one and only official Bachelor Nation podcast is here! Hosted by “Bachelor In Paradise” Season 7 newlyweds Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt, “Bachelor Happy Hour” takes you behind the scenes with all things Bachelor Nation. Joe and Serena talk to current cast members who reveal first-hand details about what really goes on at the iconic Bachelor Mansion and they’ve got all the inside information about “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” and “Bachelor in Paradise” that you simply won’t hear anywhere else.
Listen Linda…this is a judgment-free zone, even in reality TV podcasts. It’s been a while since I’ve jumped on the Bachelor(ette) bandwagon, but the new promos for the senior citizen version are full steam ahead on my social media. Like a well-timed marketing plan, this exclusive episode popped up with Gerry, the new Golden Bachelor.
This particular podcast has been running since 2019, but every couple of years, the hosts are rotated from the Bach alum providing fans which a fresh take. In the case of Joe and Serena, I do think they are still finding their unique voice within the podcast.
Regardless, fans and curious watchers will be interested in listening to Gerry’s experiential take on The Bachelor and how his kids are very into it and a sneak peek about his life, his wife that passed, and his friends. I enjoyed getting to know him better. What a nice guy.
Jeez, I sound like I’m gushing. Get me out of here.
Ariana Brockington • Today.com
“‘Bachelor Happy Hour’ delivers some of the most captivating interviews.”
Just Added This Week:
The Girlfriends
Don't Panic with Anthony Atamanuik
Academy
Bachelor Happy Hour
Wheels of Justice
Boom
MVP (Most Viewed Podcasts) on GP from July 10-July 16:
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling
The Horror of Dolores Roach
Scamanda
The Retrievals
Under Cover of Knight
Stay safe, drink water, and help each other out!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
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