Really Black History? Really.
+Curb Your Last Season & Just added w/ Top 5!
Hey Poddy People!
Happy long weekend for those in the States. Life likes to find a way. Had to hang around with multiple family health obligations. Make sure you make your yearly checkups and f* cancer!
Longtime subs know that I’ve run the LA Half and Full Marathon with the K9 Youth Alliance for the past 2 years. This year it’s in the middle of Ramadan so no marathon running for me, but I’ll still be supporting the organization and running the 5K while fasting. While I’m not raising money via my page this year, I will be via the general page here. Thanks for the support!
Let’s GOOO!!!
The Round-Up
I went to the Good Tape V-Day party. A great chill hang-out session with Dane, the co-founder of Good Tape, and pod friends!
Welcome to the Critic’s club,
from Ear Worthy. He writes about industry news in addition to reviews. I’ll be adding him to the GP blog post on how to get reviewed soon so podcasters looking to get reviewed can reach out.Good news for Great Pods, Meghan Markle and her podcast production company, Archewell Audio, signed a new deal with Lemonada Media to distribute season 1 of Archetypes podcast and create a new podcast. I do believe in the talented Lemonada team to level up her podcast game. It was the most visited podcast page of 2023 with a variety of reviews. This week, interest started growing again. Read more about the deal.
Fans of the popular true crime Casefile, will be happy to know about their new limited series with iHeart, The Easey Street Murders, launching today. Trailer here.
Ambies nominated, Beef with Bridgett Todd launched its 2nd new season. Listen here.
My cousins just got a puppy, and I’m happy to know that a new pet podcast from Rococo Punch is launching Tuesday, Creature Preacher with Nancy Mello. Trailer here.
Up and Vanished comes out with a new season Up and Vanished: In the Midnight Sun to lead a new investigation into the disappearance of Florence Okpealuk, who vanished from the subarctic town of Nome in 2020. Join the “Up and Vanished” team as they head to Alaska to investigate the case, and to face the grim reality of the high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the United States. Cool down in Alaska.
Desus & Mero were already comedy podcasters with the Bodega Boys before their Vice show. Then they abruptly split and rumors swirled. In the latest episode of 7PM In Brooklyn, I was surprised that the subject of “what happened with the Desus split came up” with Mero gave his side of the story. Check it out at the 45-minute mark.
Wave Sports + Entertainment The Daily Show: Ears Edition is now updated with Jon Stewart back in the seat. Hear his visit back to the set to host again. Welcome back, Jon!
The Ambies Awards announced the nominations for best podcasts. It’ll be taking. place in LA the week of the Podcast Evolutions conference. Check out the full list here.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Black History Year
Genre: BIPOC, History
Publisher: PushBlack
About: Learning your history makes you - and your people - stronger. As Black people, we know we’re left out of the history books. That the media images are skewed. That we need access to experts, information and ideas so we can advance our people. Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations. You may not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always working toward one goal: uniting for the best interest of Black people worldwide.
If you’re on the go. You have 3 minutes to spare and you still want to get educated. This is great. You get surface-level Black history, which I think is great for a quick history lesson and then if something piques your interest, you can always Google and have a wider understanding of the history that made an impact.
For all the keyboard warriors giving a hoot about a black Little Mermaid, before the Hans Christian Anderson character was made, there existed Black mermaids in African folklore. Cool to hear and learn.
Justine Goode • Vanity Fair
“Featuring interviews with experts, Black History Year provides crisp historical storytelling and analysis, animated by host Jay Walker’s excellent narration.”
Podcast: Black History, For Real
Genre: BIPOC, History
Publisher: Wondery
About: The first woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List was a Black Panther. The richest person of all time, an African king, gave away so much gold that it caused Cairo's economy to crash. A 109 year old Black woman fights for reparations for her neighborhood that was burned to the ground when she was a child. On Wondery’s history series Black History, For Real, hosts Franchesca Ramsey and Conscious Lee go beyond the stories you already know to drop you right in the mix. It’s a no-nonsense, unwhitewashed account of history’s most overlooked moments, with a mix of narrative storytelling and candid conversation. We’ll even spill the occasional historical tea! It’s all facts, no cap.
This podcast is more in-depth than Black History Year and has classic Wondery narration, banter, and some voice acting along the way. Listening to the episode of the first woman to be on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Assata Shakur, was crazy interesting. Heck, she’s still Most Wanted since 2013 on the FBI website.
Claire Woodward • The Times UK
"...a lively and refreshing look at black history..."
Podcast: The History Of Curb Your Enthusiasm With Jeff Garlin & Susie Essman
Genre: TV Rewatch
Publisher: HBO, iHeart
About: Jeff Garlin and Susie Essman are joined by cast, crew, and superfans of Curb Your Enthusiasm to break down every episode of the HBO show…ever.
What a time for rewatch podcasts. As timing goes, the Curb Your Enthusiasm final season is upon us, so why not do a lookback? Initially, the first two episodes are good, but not great yet. Jeff seems to talk over and interrupt Susie quite a bit that momentum is lost. “Let me tell you what actually happened” seems to be the common case. However, when Susie does get her stories in, they feel more structured and less tangential. Random stories are great, but Jeff feels like he is meandering. Regardless, his scene setups are great, he just needs to let Susie lead.
Hollie Richardson • The Guardian
“celebrating with a rewatch podcast that rewinds back to the very start. In fact, the first episode hears Larry David talk about the development before the pilot. A must listen for diehard fans.”
Just Added:
Here Comes the Guillotine - Global Media & Entertainment
Straight to the Comments! - Daily Mail
One Handshake Away: Peter Bogdanovich & The Icons of Cinema - Audacy
Very Special Episodes - iHeartPodcast Network
A Piece of Cake with Gregg Wallace - Global Media & Entertainment
Committed - iHeartPodcast Network
Lowlines - Social Broadcasts & Scenery Studios
What The Hell Is My Job?! - Mondegreen
Bad Bridget - Queen's University Belfast
Josie's Lonely Hearts Club - Good Story Guild
The Comment Section with Drew Afualo - Past Your Bedtime
The Good Robot - Dr Eleanor Drage, Dr Kerry McInerney
Who Holds up Half the Sky - Andreea Coscai
Weekly Charts: Post Super Bowl 'Top of the Pods'!
5. Empire - Goalhanger Pods
4. Diary of a CEO - Steven Bartlett
3. Academy (S2 was released) - Wondery Media
2. Things Fell Apart - BBC
1. Who Killed JFK? - iHeart
Stay safe, be kind, and go to your doctor's checkup!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
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