So, podcasts. Here's what's been in my earballs.
Pluribus the Official Podcast - Have you watched Pluribus? It's so good. The podcast is great, too. I learned a lot of behind the scenes things.
The Birth Keepers from The Guardian - Batshit crazy story of two women who went around talking about how awesome free birth was. What's free birth? You know, no medical experts, no medication, nothing but you and maybe your partner. Preferably in a tent. And it will not come as a shock to you that women and babies died, will it?
Curse of: America's Next Top Model - I remember watching America's Next Top Model when Tyra Banks lost her shit at a model named Tiffany and thinking that Tyra was very unbalanced. Turns out that Tyra is probably not unbalanced, but is probably all about the dolla dolla bills. This was an interesting take on ANTM and its place in the culture. There's nothing terribly surprising here, I don't think, but I liked hearing from the models who were on the show.
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Camp Shame - It would come as no surprise to you that the largest weight loss camp in the country created a culture of eating disorders and unhealthy body image, would it? This was interesting, but I found it frustrating at times, too, because we never really heard from the camp leaders.
The "Planet Money Does a Pop Culture Draft: 1999 Edition" episode of Planet Money - This was amusing and, more importantly, I legit saw two of those movies IN THE THEATER. Dudes, I didn't always boycott the movies.
The "Zoo's Clues" episode of Sidedoor - Most of Sidedoor is pretty boring history shit about the Smithsonian. In general, I think this podcast should be more interesting. But the National Zoo is affiliated with the Smithsonian and did you know that if so much as a squirrel dies on the sidewalk at the National Zoo, they do a necropsy on it? And did you know that there's a person who does those? And you can hear her talk about it? FASCINATING. That's why I keep Sidedoor on my podcast list, even thought 90% of the episodes are lame.
"Our 2026 Pop Culture Resolutions" from Pop Culture Happy Hour - I love that the four OG panelists make resolutions and every year go back and revisit them. I love this tradition and this episode is fun, even if I don't care about their actual resolutions.
Okay, I've talked about these episodes before, but the "Barbie Girl" and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" episodes of Punch Up the Jam make me laugh more than anything on this planet. I have been having a rough January and these have brought me a lot of joy.
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Do you have a stellar podcast or podcast episode to recommend?
I read the Guardian article about the birth keepers and was tempted by the podcast but figured that I found reading the article difficult enough while in the third trimester with Baby 4 that probably listening to it was not a great idea. I have a couple friends who have done almost free birth (they’ve had prenatal care with an OB and then just deliver at home with an underground midwife) and… I have a lot of thoughts over that, despite having had three very lovely all natural births (in the hospital!!) I’ve got NO interest in the whole let’s just do a free birth thing.
ReplyDeleteHave you listened to Sold a Story? It was a really interesting podcast about reading education.
I haven't listened to Sold a Story because it really sounds infuriating! LOL. It's kind of like Nice White Parents - I don't really have to listen because I don't have kids and I know I'll just be irate and be unable to do anything about it.
DeleteCodex: I tried to get a discussion of pluribus going over on mine if you want to pop over. Carol in the title.
DeleteWell, I practically had a "free birth" with my daughter, because once I went into labor she came so fast. We did a home birth with a midwife and the midwife could barely get here in time. I felt like I could have delivered the baby on my own! I don't know what to do afterwards though, so it was good she was there.
ReplyDeleteThat's not the point of this post, is it? Your podcast listening style is pretty different from mine- you like to learn about real, serious subjects. My podcasts are mostly fun, like Currently Reading or Girl Next Door, or I guess educational but then usually about running.
Well, a free birther wouldn't have pre- or post-natal care, so you're far from that! Such a scary experience, though. One of my friends from high school had a similar thing with her second - she was home alone with her firstborn (he was maybe 18 months) and her labor came on quickly and she delivered in the bathroom alone! I can't even imagine!
DeleteMy podcast feed is either book-related or related to current events. So in other words, it's books and podcast episode titles that make me feel like I'm living in a dystopian novel - which is a genre I can't bear to read and certainly don't want to live in. So I've got nothing for you sadly... Oh, except The Popcast which does provide some laughs which are badly needed.
ReplyDeleteI have a fair number of news pods, but I just can bear to listen to them right now. So I'm looking for something else. *sigh*
DeleteI'm even on the fence about the Popcast. I like it, mostly. But because I refuse to pay, it's literally 25% ads and ads for terrible things like vapes and gambling. I think I'm going to have to stop listening just because of that.
Any podcasts I'd recommend to you are probably podcasts you've already recommended to me, ha. I will say, All Fantasy Everything is highly entertaining, as much for the comedians' camaraderie as the actual fantasy drafts.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm listening to my second episode of All Fantasy Everything and it's just such a guy vibe. LOL. I'm probably not in it for the long term even as I really like the premise of it.
DeleteThat's a fair assessment. They do have female guests, and some of the drafts lean more in that direction, but yeah: the majority is guy-centric. Definitely not for everybody!
DeleteI never got into podcast really - I think I much rather listen to audiobooks. I still get a kick out of the Smash Boom Best episodes which I listened to with my kids. And I found Nice White Parents which talks about the public school system interesting, but I feel like I recommended this before.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I talked about Nice White Parents and Sold a Story above. I don't think I can handle how irate I might become!
DeleteI do like the Good Hang podcast, but I don't listen to podcasts very often. If I did, I would fully check out the ones that made you laugh so much. Thanks for the recs.
ReplyDeleteI'm out on celebrity podcasts. They're ruining podcasts! (I firmly believe this and will stand by my right to miss out on good podcasts.)
DeleteI’m pretty sure that I saw that goddamn Pokémon movie, and it almost killed me. Unless I’m thinking of something else that almost killed me with flashing lights and just being horrible.
ReplyDeleteI used to listen to Planet Money a lot, but haven’t in quite a while. I loved PLUR1BUS, but tried one episode of the podcast and it wasn’t for me. My podcast listening is pretty limited, I mostly listen to books. I sometimes listen to The Daily, Up First, and Ezra Klein. Ted has a music podcast that I try to listen to for support, but often I’m not really interested in what they’re discussing.
I find that my audiobook listening is hit and miss. If I have a book I'm enjoying a lot, I don't listen to a lot of podcasts. But right now I'm listening to a meh book, so it's more tempting to hit play on the podcasts. It's hard (for me) to find good audiobooks.
DeleteOur podcasting habits don't always line up, but I do have the ANTM podcast queued up to listen to soon. My recent fave was The Last Great Invention, all about AI. Kinda mind-blowing and scary lol
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