These Podcasts Are Important❗
LA City Council Drama, Workaholics, and Gangs of Birmingham, UK+ Just Added/Top Five
Hey Poddy People,
A great hearty welcome to you and the new subscribers. Right after last week’s newsletter, it was On Air Fest - LA Annex Day 2. I came into it with a stronger sense to network and finally, yes finally, get some content that I can easily edit and post. Guess what, that worked. You can see my two posts here on Instagram (like and follow).
Hot Takes:
Spooked - Although I’ve heard the story Glynn Washington shared from his podcast, it was still glorious to hear and see him tell it live.
Underwater - Allan, Interval presents’ GM, led the panel with Jason Derulo present. It was pretty informational and paced nicely with standard questions. It’s more about what everyone answers with. The highlight? Jason’s off-the-cuff story of how they produced the sound of making out in audio with his co-star Alexandra Shipp.
Talk Easy - Sam Fragoso has an extremely well-researched questionnaire with his guests, especially, with Brit Marling. It was relatively a quiet taping with some laughs and it had depth. The highlight? Brit’s story of getting kicked out of camp for telling scary stories that were too scary.
Pictures will be uploaded to the Great Pods Instagram.
I was not able to attend the Open House that Saturday. Overall, it was a great experience, and met some new folks! Would do it again.
Let’s GOOOO!
The Round-Up
Vinyl Podcasts: Did you know some podcasts have limited pressings on Vinyl? Critic Keelin wrote about her purchase of Stuff You Should Know’s Vinyl episode…they put on actual Vinyl. Read about her experience of owning vinyl podcasts here.
What did I do? I bought the 2nd pressing of SYSK’s Vinyl this week. It’s now sold out, but they do have a Pokémon Ball-looking version still available here.
In addition, if you’ve listened to comedian Flula Borg’s podcast, Flula Makes Five, he dropped a Vinyl with two songs from the show here.
This week for Conan’s 5th anniversary of his podcast created a vinyl as well. It came out of nowhere. I was late by 3 hours and the 1500 pressings…gone. You can see what’s on the album here.
Now I’m curious if Interval Presents will drop a special podcast vinyl edition for Underwater.
Jobs: Podglomerate has a job opening for a Partner Manager (remote too!). Find out more here.
Social Media: I’m getting over my imposter syndrome hump and pushing through on posting pictures and interviews on the Great Pods Instagram. What did I post? On Air Fest reels. Catch them here.
Congrats to my London pod friend at Bitter/Sweet for being runner-up at The International Women’s Podcast Awards 2023. More winners here.
Missing Pages is back with Season 2 on good old literature publishing drama. More here.
SiriusXM announced some new channels coming to the platform. For podcasts, Ashley Flower’s Audiochuck will be added to the 24/7 station similar to what Conan O’Brien did last year. Audiochuck’s podcasts and new behind-the-scenes audio will be included. Read here.
I don’t have notifications on for new podcast episodes of pods I’m subscribed to. There are too many and I am cycling through new podcasts every week. I bring that up because PodCrushed had Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, on! I only knew when she posted it on her Instagram. I love the Spice Girls. I often brag that I went on their mini-reunion tour in the UK in 2019. It turns out she’s on a book promotion tour. WHEN’S THE REAL TOUR!?!
Tenderfoot.TV’s Payne Lindsey (Atlanta Monster, High Strange) is launching a new weekly podcast, Talking to Death. Trailer here.
Non-Podcast Fun: Did you know your US$2 bill could be worth more than $2? I have a few, and only one is worth $3. Check it out here.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Imperfect Paradise
Series: Nury & The Secret Tapes
Genre: Society, Politics
Publisher: LAist Studios
About: “Imperfect Paradise: Nury & The Secret Tapes” tells the story of the biggest political scandal in recent Los Angeles history. A secret recording leaked online in 2022 exposed then-LA City Council President Nury Martinez making racist and derogatory remarks. A year after the scandal and her resignation, Nury breaks her silence in an exclusive interview with LAist.
Wow. First off, kudos to LAist for scoring the interview after much negotiation with Nury to get on the podcast. I have mixed feelings about this and there were clearly wrong things said here.
There was something that really stood out to me in episodes 2 and 3:
Host Antonia Cereijido: “Do you think there’s an Anti-blackness problem in the Latino community?”
Nury waits a couple seconds before answering.
Nury: “I don’t know.”
I took acting classes for a year (I’ll leave that story for another time, but that’s Hollywood baby) and if there’s one piece I learned, it is that when someone hesitates in their answer, it means they are internally monologuing the answer they want to say but can’t.
For example in the podcast:
“Do you think there’s an Anti-blackness problem in the Latino community?”
Nury’s mind in those seconds of silence, ‘Yes, but I can’t say that so I’m going to say…” or “No, but I can’t say that with conviction so I’m going to say…”
"I don’t know.”
Part of me understands her upbringing, but 100% don’t excuse the language she used as an educated adult in arguably the most diverse city with 10 million residents. It feels like she blames her upbringing for the use of language in that setting. That bothers me even after she apologizes. Anyway, I like this series, because it has me question these things and to think about our local governance.
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter
“...a longform narrative podcast showcasing California stories that truly illustrate what it’s like to live there.”
Podcast: Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys
Genre: True Crime History
Publisher: BBC
About: A brand new series of Gangster tells the story of Birmingham’s notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots in 1985. Named after the fast food joint where they met, they were described as more ruthless than the Jamaican Yardies. They fought a bitter and bloody war with their rivals the Johnson Crew for control of the crack cocaine trade in the West Midlands. They controlled their turf in the suburb of Handsworth with threats, intimidation and sub machine guns. But when they killed two innocent girls in a drive-by shooting, they were brought down by their own community and a team of fearless detectives determined to stem the body count.
Going across the pond to Birmingham, England where best friends, Letisha and Charlene were murdered outside a New Year’s house party. Drugs, gun murders, and gangs are rising sharply. It’s a short opinion from me because there are two episodes out so far. We get to know about the city, the formation of the gangs, and the demographics. The storytelling does have a lot of interviews that paint the picture and context throughout. What may be a tad different is the use of popular music sprinkled in each episode, from “Welcome to Jam Rock” to “Check Yourself”.
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian
"Reporter-presenter Livvy Haydock, who is excellent...There’s a saddening inevitability to it. But the voices of those involved are likable and engaging, and they lift The Story of the Burger Bar Boys far above the usual gangster cliches."
Only available on BBC Sounds app or website. Most likely because of the extensive use of music and royalties. If you’re in the UK, all episodes are out. Outside of the UK, two episodes are out now and new episodes released Fridays.
Podcast: This Is Important
Genre: Comedy
Publisher: iHeartPodcast Network
About: Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, and Kyle Newacheck seriously discuss some very important topics.
The Workaholic Boys are touring live. They are posting their podcast episodes on their feed and each city is weirder than the other. Some structure, improv, all comedy, and some straight-up ridiculousness. The live show is definitely NSFW, and not for the kids. Listening to the “Live from Cleveland” episode had me cackling at the R-rated humor.
The podcast itself reminds me of listening to a morning radio show where you have an audio clip soundboard and a growing list of inside jokes. Except, the radio show is under FCC rules, and This Is Important is not. You have been warned.
Highlight: As an NSYNC fan, the fact that they mentioned that JC looks like a wolf. That made me cackle.
Sean Malin • Vulture
“a frivolous, ridiculous exercise in talking — to use an old standby — about nothing...Anderson’s Fred Norris-style sound bites cutting through every joke, these are 49 of the funniest minutes of audio published...”
Just Added This Week…
Third Eye - Audible
Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye - Marvel, SiriusXM
Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu - Impact Theory
Missing Pages (Season 2) - Podglomerate
Land of the Giants (New Season) - Wondery
NASA's Curious Universe (New Season) - NASA
DAWTA The Podcast - Dionne Draper
Wandering with the Dead - Cody Signore
Hot Money (New Season) - Financial Times, Pushkin
How to Win an Election - The Times UK
Fed with Chris van Tulleken - BBC
The Wedding Scammer - The Ringer
Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys - BBC
Sound Detectives - LeVar Burton Entertainment, Stitcher
6 Degrees of Cats (New Season) - 6degreesofcats
Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - The Ringer
Koreaboo - Shenee Howard
The Salvation - Audible
Top of the Pods this past week on greatpods.co (Oct. 30th - Nov. 5th):
5. Diary of a CEO - Steven Bartlett
4. The Kids of Rutherford County - Serial
3. The Riddler: Secrets In The Dark - Spotify
2. Ghost Story - Wondery/Pineapple Street
1. 13 Days of Halloween - iHeart, Aaron Mahnke, Blumhouse
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Hang in there, take a breath, and be kind to one another. For real though!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
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