Your poor ears can really only take so much. Don’t wear them out listening to podcast after podcast,
hoping to find some interesting audio nugget. Nah. Save them for that new Adele song or whatever.
Our ears, however—they’re just sitting here on the sides of our heads. Doing nothing. Well, holding up our glasses. But other than that... nothing. So let us lend them to you and discover what’s new and/or interesting in the world of podcasting.
This week: new stuff.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
What it is: An “experiment,” says editor David Remnick. But this new collaboration between WNYC and The New Yorker is “not a mere audio version of the magazine or website,” he warns.
First episode: Remnick and Ta-Nehisi Coates talk about James Baldwin—something you would never in a million years find in The New Yorker.
Skip to: 45:30—Kelefa Sanneh goes to suburban Pennsylvania to talk to a pop-punk band you’ve probably never heard of. For some reason.
TheGrill: Hollywood on the Hot Seat
What it is: The first podcast from TheWrap, the influential Hollywood industry pub.
First episode: Brian Grazer and Danny Strong talk Empire.
Skip to: 10:33—Grazer recounts learning that “girls in Hollywood at that time will date young producers just because they’re young producers” when he was starting out. Wow, that never happens anymore.
Food Fight
What it is: A food policy discussion, sort of C-SPAN meets The Chew. If you run a food co-op, you’ll love it.
First episode: GMOs, school lunches and lab-grown meat.
Skip to: 22:57—the future is fake meat. And it’s going to be okay. Except for ranchers. “If I love a steak and the steak tastes like a steak and it’s a steak and everything is steaky and steaky about it, but I never have to kill a cow... well, goodbye cattle industry.”
Conversation with Alanis Morissette
What it is: The singer/one-woman web-content machine channels her inner Terry Gross.
First episode: Earnest interview with Katherine Woodward Thomas. Trigger warning: the phrase “conscious uncoupling” is liberally employed.
Skip to: Let’s wait for episode 2.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
What it is: You probably heard the former ESPN personality went solo with his self-branded show. It’s been online less than a month and has been downloaded 4 million times in 16 days. So, suck it, ESPN.
First episode: Deep dives into the NFL, etc.
Skip to: Episode 12, 31:00—Judd Apatow talks about working with Garry Shandling. Which has nothing to do with sports. Which is why everyone loves Bill Simmons, right? Right.
Our ears, however—they’re just sitting here on the sides of our heads. Doing nothing. Well, holding up our glasses. But other than that... nothing. So let us lend them to you and discover what’s new and/or interesting in the world of podcasting.
This week: new stuff.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
What it is: An “experiment,” says editor David Remnick. But this new collaboration between WNYC and The New Yorker is “not a mere audio version of the magazine or website,” he warns.
First episode: Remnick and Ta-Nehisi Coates talk about James Baldwin—something you would never in a million years find in The New Yorker.
Skip to: 45:30—Kelefa Sanneh goes to suburban Pennsylvania to talk to a pop-punk band you’ve probably never heard of. For some reason.
TheGrill: Hollywood on the Hot Seat
What it is: The first podcast from TheWrap, the influential Hollywood industry pub.
First episode: Brian Grazer and Danny Strong talk Empire.
Skip to: 10:33—Grazer recounts learning that “girls in Hollywood at that time will date young producers just because they’re young producers” when he was starting out. Wow, that never happens anymore.
Food Fight
What it is: A food policy discussion, sort of C-SPAN meets The Chew. If you run a food co-op, you’ll love it.
First episode: GMOs, school lunches and lab-grown meat.
Skip to: 22:57—the future is fake meat. And it’s going to be okay. Except for ranchers. “If I love a steak and the steak tastes like a steak and it’s a steak and everything is steaky and steaky about it, but I never have to kill a cow... well, goodbye cattle industry.”
Conversation with Alanis Morissette
What it is: The singer/one-woman web-content machine channels her inner Terry Gross.
First episode: Earnest interview with Katherine Woodward Thomas. Trigger warning: the phrase “conscious uncoupling” is liberally employed.
Skip to: Let’s wait for episode 2.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
What it is: You probably heard the former ESPN personality went solo with his self-branded show. It’s been online less than a month and has been downloaded 4 million times in 16 days. So, suck it, ESPN.
First episode: Deep dives into the NFL, etc.
Skip to: Episode 12, 31:00—Judd Apatow talks about working with Garry Shandling. Which has nothing to do with sports. Which is why everyone loves Bill Simmons, right? Right.
