Podcast Roundup May 2025

If I'm searching my own blog correctly, I haven't done an official podcast roundup since LAST AUGUST. How is that even possible? Let's do this. Here are some of the best episodes I've listened to recently. 

1) Slate Culture Gabfest "Meghan Markle Sprinkles Potpourri on You" episode from March 12. 

The hosts have Dan Kois on as a guest to talk about the scourge of giant white houses in modern houses. I enjoyed greatly from the comfort of my giant white house. 

2) Sarah's Bookshelves Live, episode 193: Clare Leslie Hall (Author of Broken Country)

I think Sarah from Sarah's Bookshelves is sometimes too focused on what she's interested in during her interviews (I, for my part, am not interested in the finances/business aspect of the book world, but Sarah is and that's fine, but it's also why I don't usually listen to her author interviews). I was vaguely interested in reading Hall's book Broken Country, though, so I listened to this episode. It both convinced me that I don't need to read Broken Country AND that Hall is a wonderful person and I would both like to have coffee with her and let her watch my puppy. (Lonesome Dove is an amazing book and if you haven't read it, you should.)

AND I also learned that I need to cut Sarah some slack because she asked some really interesting questions. AND shoutout to the way the podcast episodes are organized on the website and that Sarah links to every book they so much as mention, good or bad, in the episode. 

3) The Indicator from Planet Money's episode "When Do Boycotts Work" from April 28. 

Many of you may know that I have a lot of personal boycotts going on. There are a number of small businesses in my town I boycott because of how they handled COVID. I have not watched a Superbowl game in about a decade now. I don't shop at Walmart. We have recently limited Amazon purchases and I haven't been to Target yet this calendar year. 

But do boycotts work? That's an interesting question and I found this episode fascinating personally. It's less than ten minutes long. Give it a try!

4) Pop Culture Happy Hour's episode "The TV show I'd Like to Live In" from May 1. 

No one said Gilmore Girls (which is MY answer), but Glen Wheldon's methodical voting of people off of Gilligan's Island was hysterical. This is old skool, but if you have not listened to Wheldon's defense of Rowlf on "Our Favorite Muppets," you have to listen. Glen Wheldon is a comic genius.

5) 60 Songs That Explain the '90s: The 2000s - The episodes on "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and "Jenny from the Block"

I can already hear some of you rolling your eyes RIGHT NOW.  I know, I know. If you asked me, I am not sure I'd say 60 Songs That Explain the '90s is my favorite podcast (The Memory Palace or Let's Go to Court (RIP) or Petty Crimes or Pop Mom! or Books Unbound would probably win, but DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE), but I end up thinking about and talking about this podcast more than any other I listen to. And boy do I talk about it a lot on this blog.

I've already written about the "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" episode, but I feel like I need to expand a little bit here. I used to listen to country music. I had all the ladies ranked (LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Lorrie Morgan) and adored The Chicks. In the 1990s, we also had Jo Dee Messina, Lee Ann Womack, Terri Clark, Patty Loveless, and Pam Tillis. Add in Reba and Dolly and WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR? I mean Garth, of course. But what I'm saying is that these were the days before bro country. 

And I was a fan of Toby Keith. I remember saving my pennies in college to buy a CD because I wanted "How Do You Like Me Now?!" But "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" really changed things for me. It turned country music mean. So many male voices. So much sexism. So much anger. When country music blacklisted The Chicks and suddenly there was no more Shania and even Garth was being replaced by the likes of Jason Aldean and Morgan Wallen, I just stopped.

Toby Keith was such a good song writer and his early stuff was so good (and, frankly, so was some of his post-"Courtesy" work), but his legacy is SO COMPLICATED. This podcast episode grapples with this and it made me feel SEEN. I basically stopped listening to new music at that point - maybe I would have anyway because I was at an age when that happens - but this really was a turning point for me.

I mostly want you to listen to the episode about the Jennifer Lopez song because it's clear that Rob (Harvilla - the host of the podcast) really wants it to be about Paula Abdul and he kept singing Paula Abdul songs and I was jamming to MC Skat Kat and if none of these references mean anything to you, just move on.

6) Ear Hustle - The duology of "Slam That Door" and "No Other Word for It."  

San Quentin has dismantled its death row and those inmates are now integrated into the general population of the prison. In "Slam That Door," they take some of those inmates back to their cells on death row and it was a hard listen. In "No Other Word for It," they go to women's prisons in California to talk to women who have been imprisoned because of drunk driving. It was a very different tenor - the women seemed almost cheerful about their lives. Putting them back to back was super interesting. 

It was also a bit of an eye-opener for me because the host Nigel Poor, kept talking about how "everyone" has been behind the wheel while intoxicated and...look, I was upset by this. It's not true and it sort of made me respect her a little less, even though I guess I should have been grateful she was just being honest about. I don't know. I have complicated feelings about it all.

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What you might notice is missing is that I don't have a limited run podcast series. It's because I haven't really listened to a decent limited run podcast in ages. When I last asked for podcast recs, people recommended me some and I added some to my app, but they just didn't appeal to me (look, people adore Sweet Bobby, but I was twenty minutes in and nothing had happened, so...). I'm happy for any recs if you have them!

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Have you listened to any good podcasts episodes lately?