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London! +Last weeks charts
Hey Poddy People,
Just touched down in London town for The Podcast Show. Welcome new subs! In a bit of a rush here so let’s not keep you waiting shall we? LET’S GOOO!!
The Round-Up
Hotly anticipated: Fans of the viral Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding? are getting a second season! This time it’s about the case of The Tiny Suit. Trailer here.
Season 2 of Death of an Artist was just announced as well. Trailer here.
If any subscribers are in London for The Podcast Show conference, we have got something for you! A meetup hosted by yours truly with The Podcast Academy, Dolby, and more. Especially happy to have support from the review websites that I cite on GP with Podcast Delivery, Audio Drama Reviews, and Podcast Review. Stop by, it’s chill, and free! RSVP Here.
My friend Shabnam started guesting on a Little Miss Recap offering up her professional legal experience when chatting about true crime docs. Check it out here.
The big sad news broke from
from The Squeeze is that KQED (Bay Area) is laying off 18+ people. Read about it here.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma
Genre: Society, Science, Conversation, Conspiracy
Publisher: Treefort
About: chin-wag: to have a chat, a friendly conversation. Actor Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma, author and philosopher, join forces for a freewheeling series of conversations that dive deep (like, really, really deep) into the wilderness of the mind. Featuring prominent guests from diverse fields, Chinwag is esoteric in the best way possible, as Paul and Stephen delve into anything and everything: Are we living in a simulation? What’s the most perfect sentence in literature? Is Bigfoot interdimensional? Science, the occult, philosophy, magic mushrooms… it’s all fair game! Unexpected, hilarious, and maybe even profound — Chinwag is all about having a really, really good chat.
To start, I went to the live podcast recording of Chinwag on Tuesday and the special guest was Bill Hader. I had high expectations for Bill since he’s a hilarious guest everywhere. Just wanted to get that out of the way first.
What a breath of fresh air to listen to a celebrity-hosted podcast that is unlike a celebrity podcast. Yes, it’s conversational, but the dives that Paul and Stephen (a trained philosopher) mesh well with the guests and topics. Paul Rudd was going down the rabbit hole of what he feared growing up. Natasha Lyon, was going down the path of quantum physics and how science paved her path of understanding. Paired with some gentle funny ribbing of guests and hosts. It’s well-read celebrities about the particular topic. Then you have conversations with Ted Chiang, Wired columnist and Sci-Fi writer where he an interesting conversation about tabloids of the old days vs. social media.
Marc Hershon • Vulture
“Giamatti seems thrilled to be having free-wheeling chats with fellow artists and weirdos. Chinwag offers a refreshing peek behind the curtain at how talented minds bounce off each other when the cameras aren’t rolling.”
Podcast: The Competition
Genre: Society
Publisher: Wondery, Pineapple Street Studios
About: Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls.
The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.
Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?
There are so many competitions that, we the public, do not know exisited, but definitely do in a niche market. Straight up, I’m thinking the usual Miss “Something” competition and viral video showing some outrageous moment. However, these young women, teenagers, however you categorize them, floored me with how thoughtful, aware, and articulate they were. Shima's access to these teens was eye-opening and encouraging.
Did you participate in any competitions as a teen?
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter
“It’s shockingly profound, lovely, well reported, well edited, and it’s just so FUN."
Podcast: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: TV & Movies
Publisher: QCode, Stranded Panda
About: Fans talking all things MCU! Going on 10 years of discussions and deep dives into every episode and movie connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe!Your one stop hub for all discussion, news, and insight into what is happening with Marvel Studios. We love this stuff and want you to, too!
Geoffrey James • Inc.
“The duo have the gift, rare in broadcasting, of making you feel as if you're hanging out with your best friends, shooting the bull, not just about Marvel, but pretty much everything that's wondrous in the nerd lifestyle. Great stuff”
Podcast: X-Ray Vision
Genre: TV & Movies
Publisher: iHeart
About: Nerd-culture podcast X-Ray Vision takes listeners on a journey through the zeitgeist-iest (patent pending) films, TV shows, and comics. Join award-winning hosts Jason Concepcion and Rosie Knight for one-of-a-kin analysis, the latest news and show lore, and access to the writers, producers, directors, and stars who make your favorite pop culture shows, movies, and more!
Mr. Hipster • Mr. Hipster Blog
“once you’ve kind of figured out what’s going on, you get used to it and it actually becomes an asset in convos...Rosie Knight, who might be an even bigger dork than Concepcion...I’m sure it’s an absolutely amazing pod for those in the geek world"
Holy moly. X-Men ‘97 on Disney+ has been nothing short of amazing. The writing, the voice acting, the animation. It’s got this grown man crying, especially after this epic sacrifice from Gambit.
Anyway, I was looking for more discussions and deep cuts I wouldn’t know about. Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Ray Vision both filled the void I needed, especially with their constant nerd excitement.
‘Top of the Pods’ from the past week:
5. A Muslim And A Jew Go There - Instinct Productions
4. Intrigue: To Catch A Scorpion - BBC
3. Fail Better w/ David Duchovny - Lemonada
2. Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding?
1. The Price of Paradise - Wondery
Stay safe, be kind, and donate to a worthy cause!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
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