Bestest Friend and I are doing a podcast project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the eighteenth day of the month is "Winner."
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I have been surprised by the number of interesting limited-release podcasts that have come across my feed recently. Here are a few that might be of interest to you.
New Hampshire Pubic Radio host Lauren Choolijan does a deep dive into how the founder of New Hampshire's largest addiction treatment network was sexually harassing women on a regular basis and this spirals into an examination of addiction treatment writ large and how women are treated. It's eye-opening, sad, and hard to listen to. It's also super important. Choolijan eventually has to leave New Hampshire after she received threats and her home was vandalized. Choolijan was interviewed on the podcast 1A, so if you don't want to invest time in all six regular-season episodes (and two bonus eps), listen to her on 1A to get the main points.
At the end of last year, I wrote about Let's Make a Sci-Fi, in which three comedy writers wrote a sci-fi. They're back with a new season called Let's Make a Rom-Com. I really like how we can see inside a creative process and how they learn to write in a genre they're unfamiliar with. It's funny, but also quite fascinating into work processes of a creative nature. Hugely recommend.
I do think both of these seasons would be better for fans of the respective genres (sci-fi and rom-coms), but since I am a fan of those genres, this podcast really tickles me.
I've also written about my love for Stuff the British Stole in this space before. In each episode host Marc Fennell examines an artifact that the British stole from other countries. In the first episode of the third season, "The Head in the Library," he looks at how a mummified Egyptian head ended up in the library at a small high school in Australia. Beyond that, he also looks at what the future of this mummified head - when Egypt won't take it back and no museum wants it, either. What should happen to it? What is the most appropriate/respectful thing to do? A fascinating look at a really thorny ethical issue.
J turned me on to this podcast, which is a joint production from Serial Productions and The New York Times. Basically, women who were doing egg retrievals at a Yale infertility treatment were having fentanyl diverted so that were doing what sounds like an insanely painful procedure sober and without any sedation! Dozens of them! This podcast covers how this happened and the aftermath. So far (there are only three eps out as of right now) it's very interesting and fascinating and the interviews wtih the women are very powerful. My major knock is that the music is absolute horrible. I don't need loud "ah ah ah" chanting over a woman telling me about a very terrible time in her life or when the reporter is telling me important information. I should not NOTICE music in podcasts is my thing. Anyway. Ignore the music and listen to this debacle in female health.
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Have you listened to any great podcast episodes recently?
My idea of a great podcast is a little different than yours, but yes! I have listened to some good ones. They're going to show up in a blog post tomorrow, and- spoiler alert!- they have to do with running : )
ReplyDeleteHa! You're right - I'm unlikely to ever listen to a running podcast. I am super happy that they speak to you, though!
DeleteI don't go looking for podcasts... like I'll listen to them when they pop up on the radio (1-A, Hidden Brain, This American Life, etc.). But even I have heard about most of these! Stuff the British Stole because you and Nicole mentioned it when I took my students to the British Museum! I couldn't help thinking how pervasive podcasts--especially the true crime ones--are as I was finishing _I Have Some Questions for You-.
ReplyDeleteI feel like The 13th Step is not getting nearly as much attention as it should be getting. It was such an interesting look at an industry that I've never really thought about. It's like this other podcast called Containers that was a limited-run podcasts about the shipping container industry and I guess I just love a peek into the lives of people who work in industries that are so different from mine.
DeleteI started listening to The Retrievals last week. It's SO GOOD. And SO ALARMING. Those poor women who experienced extreme pain and then were made to believe the pain was kind of in their head/they were making more of it than was reasonable.
ReplyDeleteThe way they were treated by medical professionals - it's mind blowing. I guess there are so many people out there drug seeking and trying to get their hands on painkillers, but STILL. Why didn't anyone at the medical center recognize the pattern? It's crazy and makes me rethink my trust in medical science.
DeleteOooh-- I will for sure listen to The Retrievals! I have a break between library audio holds coming up...
ReplyDeleteIt's well worth a listen!
DeleteScamanda. I'm not a big podcast fan, but a friend got me hooked. It tells the story of a woman who made up her cancer diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteI have Scamanda grouped together with a podcast like Cold and Teacher's Pet- super popular, but way too many episodes and what would have been a great 6-8 episode series was dragged out. However, all three of those podcasts have been super popular, so this is clearly a me problem!
DeleteI try to listen to podcast but tend to fall asleep, not because they're boring but because I do it at night when I go to bed. There's probably a lesson in this comment.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Hey, if they put you to sleep, that's a win in my book.
DeleteThe 13th Step Sounds horrendous. That poor woman!
ReplyDeleteI listen to quite a few, mostly stuff that you would not really like. (Pop culture, silliness) But I also like This American Life; it has special interest pieces.
Oh, I like pop culture and silliness. I just find that a lot of the more popular podcasts about those things have huge back catalogs and lots of inside jokes that make it impossible to just jump in and understand what's going on.
DeleteI used to be a This American Life devotee until they started veering from their mission and started doing a lot of international reporting. Maybe I should add it back to my podcast list to see if they've righted the ship.
Stuff the british stole sounds like worth listening into. I usually listen to creative and small business and marketing podcasts aside one book podcast by some friends. But always try new ones too. Thanks for the recommendations.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting when people listen to what I think of as work-related podcasts. Podcasts are my entertainment and so I don't listen to things that will make me think about work!
DeleteI agree partly. I listen to the creative and book podcasts when I am doing free time. But when I go for lunch time walks I listen to business stuff or if I travel to an appointment. This way it seems like my workday is used for the best and i don't feel bad not earning money because I educated myself. I probably wouldn't do it if I was employed to be honest
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