Organized Chaos Edition🤪
Anniversary, Hoaxes, Australian Murder, +22 Just Added & Charts
Hey Poddy People,
I am trying something a little new in the organization department—preview bullet points.
In today’s newsletter:
Startup Journey Update: Applications and acceptance.
3 Recs: 1 New, 2 Older
Just Added: 22 podcasts! Wow.
Weekly Charts: A new podcast enters the field.
Startup Journey Update:
I’ve probably spent a full 24 hours recording myself for some of these application videos. Just doing multiple takes to get it right. Tired.
Good News: We got into the Founders Boost LA program. Six weeks of training starting next week! #tinyvictory
It’s our two-year anniversary since launching a travel-looking Wix page and consistent newsletter this month! How far we have come.
One of these days, it’ll be back. Ok news: We won’t hit 20% growth this month, but we won’t decline, so that’s good.
Great news: Users are clicking through in greater percentages to read full reviews these last two months. We usually average 15%, then Archetypes showed up in August and it went up to 20%. I figured it was going to drop back to the average. Nope. It’s now 26%!
Speaking of Archetypes, the number one podcast page on GP is set to resume on October 4th, and there’s been some last-minute editing since the Queen’s passing. Read here.
There are a lot of podcasts on the Coming Soon section of the homepage being released in October. For example, Rabia (Undisclosed) & Ellyn Marsh (Obsessed with Disappeared) teaming up with Rabia and Ellyn Solve the Case. Check them out!
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Hoaxed
Genre: True Crime, Conspiracy, Technology
Publisher: Tortoise Media
Alexi Mostrous is back with another great podcast. Following up on the critically acclaimed Sweet Bobby, Alexi investigates one of Britain’s most famous conspiracies, the origins, and the people involved. He’s keeping a measured tone throughout the series so far, just like Sweet Bobby.
About: In 2014, two children told police a shocking story: that they were being abused by a Satanic cult; a cult headed by their father and by parents and teachers at their school in the wealthy London suburb of Hampstead. The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter.
Baby eating cults? Yikes.
Ximena Smith • Stuff NZ
“Hoaxed so far has the same investigative rigour and attention-to-detail as last year’s Sweet Bobby series. Mostrous particularly deserves credit for his in-depth interviews with some of the key figures who perpetuated the hoax, as he tries to understand their point-of-view (while still not letting them off the hook).”
I think we know a thing or two about conspiracies taking over in the States nowadays. #Pizzagate
Podcast: The Teacher's Pet
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: The Australian
Since most of you subscribed are in the US, I thought it might be great to surface an “in the news” podcast that actually has an outcome much like what we’ve heard with Adnan.
About: This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, teenage student lovers, and probable murder. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a cold case which has been unsolved for 36 years, uncovering startling new evidence.
Published in 2018, there is an end to this investigation. So much so that the courts re-opened the case and also had Hedley remove the podcast from Australia to not interfere with the rest of the investigation.
Zoe Williams • The Guardian
“...the most compelling podcast since the first, explosive, true-life apparent failure of justice was retold by Serial.”
Now with my limited time and the full season out (16 episodes!), it’s a commitment. I managed to listen to the first two episodes and the last episode. I think you may manage to do the same and still think it’s a great podcast. Especially, when I read Scott Lerner’s critique, I think I might have made the right decision.
Scott Lerner • PodcastReview.org
"Thomas excels at presenting every detail surrounding the final moments before Lyn’s disappearance...my main critique is that the breadth of the podcast borders on obsessive. There’s so much repetition that I wondered, on several occasions, whether the wrong episode was playing."
You should click through and read his full write-up if you have the time. It’s pretty good.
Honorable Mention & Spoiler Alert: There is a follow-up podcast called The Teacher’s Trial and the outcome is here.
Podcast: StartUp
Genre: Business, Entrepreneurship
Publisher: Gimlet
Obviously relevant for Great Pods and another resurfacing of a classic pod. My unofficial mentor, as I like to call him, Ed, asked me if I had listened to StartUp because he references it to founders quite a bit. It’s been such a long time since I listened that I forgot. I dove right into the first 3 episodes again and it’s still as compelling as it was back then.
About: A series about what it's really like to start a business.
I worked for a startup in 2014, but it’s ever so relevant now that I started my own and holds up as we hear Alec Blumberg try to get Gimlet created and off the ground. The entertaining lessons from this podcast can be applied to your own venture.
Lilah Raptopoulos • The Guardian
“Listening to Blumberg pitch to a powerful investor is like hearing a playback of the first time you asked for a raise. He’s a beetle on its back. Blumberg is among the best, most successful radio producers out there, and he’s made the editorial decision to let us hear him fumble and bomb. It’s disarming, and refreshingly sincere.”
Podcast To TV Side Note: The story of StartUp was adapted into a short-lived fictional show starring Zach Braff. Alex Inc.
Just Added: Because the email “weight” is getting heavy today with all the links, I hacked together our own Airtable to make ONE link with the list below.
Can I Tell You A Secret?
Can I Pet Your Dog?
New Books in Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Live from Mount Olympus
Desert Skies
Bad Gladiator
Second Star To The Left
The Moon Crown (I really liked their Podcast cover)
Untrue Stories
The Dream Team Tapes
Labyrinths: Getting Lost with Amanda Knox
Christmas Delivery
Mega
I Will Write Your Book
Good Cult
The Electricity of Every Living Thing
All There Is with Anderson Cooper
Death of an Artist
The Sunshine Place
Classic Tales Podcast
Seek Treatment with Cat & Pat
Rubirosa
Weekly Top 5 - Most Visited Podcast Pages on GP 9/18-9/25
Archetypes
Hoaxed (New)
Trojan Horse Affair
My Dad Wrote A Porno (Unintentional “porno” searches")
The Letter
Stay safe, be empathetic, stay hydrated, and be kind!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
Great Pods is your best friend in podcast discovery. Get immersed in engaging critic reviews and ratings to make finding your next podcast fun. Tell a friend!
If you enjoy Startup, we recommend This is Small Business.