But there is one question about NASB that has haunted the minds of gamers for about a month or two. A question that Nickelodeon refuses to answer and one that I, a humble semi-part time podcasting journalist, must address. 

That question, of course: What kind of podcasts align with each fighter in the Nickelodeon All Star Brawl roster?

. . . Okay, I know what this looks like. This is Eddie just doing that big long Smash Brothers list again because it made some numbers and now he thinks going after the 90’s kid nostalgia for Nickelodeon cartoons will make that happen again and not seem like he’s beating a dead horse. 

Read more: Every Super Smash Brothers Fighter as a Podcast (UPDATED 10/5/21)

Well, you know what, bucko? You are absolutely 100% correct. I’m glad we’re on the same page.

I was originally writing this with the intention of assigning every represented Nickelodeon character a specific podcast, but then I realized these characters cannot be contained to single shows. Instead I generalize about what kind of podcast each character has the vibe of, sometimes naming a few specific podcasts . Maybe it’s the kind of show they would host or the kind of show they would listen to or just like their kind of show. 

This also allowed me to also be a little mean without calling about specific shows. If you feel like I am talking about you and your show, that’s between you and God.

(Editor’s note: All images sourced from the official, but hilariously unverified, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Twitter account.)

Danny Phantom is one of those podcasts where they talk about ghost stories and strange happenings. I would also specify podcasts that are spooky and also queer, since Danny Phantom carries the same unintended queer undertones as a lot of Butch Hartman’s early 2000’s work. 

April O’Neil is obviously a news podcast. I’d go a step further and say she’s one of those This American Life-like podcasters who goes all in on people’s individual stories to highlight a different walk of life in an almost exploitative way.

Ren and Stimpy are a two guys just chatting podcast, except it’s one of those one’s that’s actually really good for a while but then one of the guys winds up being a piece of shit and the show ends. It’ll be paraded around as a victim of canceled culture by people who will reference it so much that you’ll grow to resent the original content. 

Read more: Why Your Podcast Sucks : S-Town

(I know what you’re all asking, and I do think that Stimpy would be the one that’s canceled. His soft boy vibes cannot justify some of his firmly held beliefs.)

Aang is a mix of meditation and upbeat podcasts. The kind of things to help your inner mind find peace while also not paying attention to the outer workings of the world. I’m fully aware that Aang doesn’t necessarily get this choice in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but you know it’s his vibe.

I should mention now that I’ve actually played the game since, as a dedicated reporter, I need to know my primary sources. I mention this because, for those gamers like me out there only interested in the mad statz of these characters, Aang sucks to play as. It’s very funny to me how a lot of the characters who seem like they would fit perfectly in a fighting game (Danny Phantom, Aang, Zim) are a bit lackluster, while some of the more cartoony characters (Nigel Thornberry, Catdog, Reptar) are borderline broken. This game is a 100/10.

I’m honestly a little torn on Sandy. On one hand, I could see her as those deep dive science podcasts explaining big science things to us dummies in an approachable yet informative way. On the other hand, Sandy is a deep sea explorer on a scientific journey to study an aquatic landscape. While she hasn’t run into too many horrifying things, I could see her as a collection of the various audio dramas about how scary yet wonderful the sea is (AKA “The Jordan Cobb Mix”).

Zim isn’t a specific type of podcast per say. Rather, he is one of those podcasts that clearly doesn’t want to be just a podcast. He’s ambitious, trying to get a movie deal or a talk show or take over the world, all things we know certain podcasters get into the game for. 

At the end of the day, it’s unsuccessful, and he spends his time searching the word “podcast” on twitter and responding to every tweet he sees. 

Nigel Thornberry is podcasts about animals. Pet animals, wild animals, extinct animals, he’s your guy. I’ve been talking about these characters as varying genres and kinds of podcasts, but Nigel Thornberry, like April O’Neil, is one of the few people on this list I could see with a real podcast. He’d have his own show that isn’t updated often since he spends most of his time guesting on other peoples shows as an expert on whatever animal thing they’re talking about. 

Spongebob has big celebrity podcast vibes. Maybe I’m conflating the character with his cultural influence, but he does have the vibe of a celebrity being put in front of a microphone to talk about stuff, maybe interview people. I guess what I’m saying is Spongebob is the Conan O’Brian of podcasting. 

As a side tangent, they gave every character about three unvoiced, pre written lines of dialogue before every fight to randomly generate through, and for some reason this was one of the ones they pulled for Spongebob:

It’s weird in context, but it is a fucking raw thing to shout out someone before you start beating the shit out of them. 

Michelangelo wins the award for “Nickelodeon character with the stoner podcast.” It was a tight race for a bit. Patrick put up a good fight, but at the end of the day, if I had to guess which character was all about that reefer madness, it would be Michelangelo all the way.

Read more: Highly Recommended Stonercasts

Powdered Toast Man is a brand podcast. He’s all high and mighty about the benefits of powdered toast . You will never see him address any of the critiques of his brand, such as how powdered toast “tastes like sawdust” or “doesn’t really exist”. He’s not here to start a conversation. He’s here to tell you about powdered toast. 

Reptar is . . . just a dinosaur. He doesn’t know what he for. He likes to stomp and roar. Hey! He’s just a dinosaur!

…I’m going to level with you guys, I knew I was going to hit a wall with assigning these Nickelodeon characters podcast types but I didn’t think I would hit it at Reptar. I loved Rugrats as a kid, so this is embarrassing. I’ve never even seen The Loud House and I’ve got two of those brats to figure out. 

OK, fine, let’s be easy on this one. Reptar is a nostalgia podcast, which you could argue all of these characters could be. You know, those shows that are all like “hey, remember this thing you used to like? Well, we’re gonna talk about it every week!” It ranges from just discussing things from a random era or very specific things. I’d say Reptar is a 90’s one since that is just kind of what he is to me. 

Patrick Star would not know what a podcast is, but would be talked into being the cohost of one by one of his friends who is clearly more interested in the topic they’re discussing. It would be one of those “oh I’m the expert and he knows nothing about it” kind of shows. Patrick is actually the more likable part of the show since the main host would be kind of snooty about it and mainly try to get laughs out of how little Patrick knows about the subject but Patrick is always the funniest. It’s probably Squidward. 

As a side note, man, Squidward would be absolutely insufferable about podcasts. Luckily he’s not in this game so I’m not obligated to get into it. 

Leonardo is any kind of eastern culture podcast, be it anime or history or whatnot, but hosted by a white guy.

Toph is a gamer who only listens to gamer podcasts.

Lucy Loud is, according to her TV Tropes page, “a gloomy goth girl with an interest in Gothic poetry” who acts cynical and insincere. So that’s something to work with. 

I think she’s the same as Danny Phantom but her podcasts really get into the nitty gritty of the lore of the spooky stories, even at the expense of fun. It’s fun for some very specific people. 

Oblina, who I am pleasantly surprised to find on this list, is straight up horror podcasts. I’m talking about the real scare the shit out of you stuff. 

Korra is a sports podcasts. I’ve run the numbers and she is in fact the most jock character in this game. 

Helga is an ill advised advice podcast. Not in the My Brother My Brother and Me “lol what bad advice we are giving” kind of way. No, this is a podcast that full chested gives people terrible advice and is incredibly defensive and hostile to critiques online. 

….Is Helga The Joe Rogan Experience? 

Catdog, who, given my personal tastes, I’m surprised at myself to find so low on this list, is, I dunno, let’s say Anime Sickos. Yes, I know I’ve been doing vague podcast categories up until now, but I am so close to being done. Just let Catdog be Anime Sickos. Come on. It’s almost Christmas and I’ve been ever so good this year. We all have places to be. Maybe click on a few ads on the way out. You don’t even need to buy anything. It’ll just look nice for our numbers.

Lincoln Loud is Serial. I have no jokes about Lincoln Loud. He seems like a nice kid. 

And that’s all of them. Well, aside from the at-time-of-writing leaked DLC characters. But they’re not confirmed yet so I don’t need to do them. You can’t make me. 

If your show overlaps with some of these character categories, congratulations! Enjoy your government assigned Nickelodeon character. 

Just like with the Smash Brothers one, I really underestimated how much work would go into arbitrarily assigning every character in this character platform fighting game a podcast. It’s thankless and frankly unasked for work.

But my work is done. This entire article seemed to be a “yes, and” to a bit of me doing this with crossover character fighting games. As long as nothing else comes out to force me to do this again, I think this is a wrap on these arbitrary unasked for lists. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna kick up my feet, take a nice long sip of coffee, and look into this “MultiVersus” thing Twitter is talking about. 

Update 12/8/21

Editor’s note: Some shit went down before I could actually publish this, so unfortunately, I had to hit Eddie up on our Slack. Sorry Eddie. Sorry world.

Except I actually do. A quick update, a few hours before this article got finalized: they officially announced Garfield as a DLC character. On one hand, good for Garfield, he’s really been working for it. On the other hand, fuck me I guess. At least Garfield is a soft ball.

Garfield is a comic character. Therefore, he is podcasts about comics. This could range from shows about podcasts comics currently coming out like The Two Headed Nerd to shows doing deep dives into comics history such as Aack Cast.

The post Every Nickelodeon All Star Brawl Fighters As Podcasts appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

From deep dives into my cultural comforts to shows which admitted to the truly maddening state of modern love, being able to escape into these intricately crafted podcast worlds was a soothing balm for my broken heart. Admittedly, these podcasts might be specific to my ways of coping with crisis, but, there are some universal threads of wisdom throughout these recommendations.

And, although I have formed some questionably close attachments to various voices these last few months, I set aside the fear of parasocial relationships and truly relished the creative goodness which exists in the world. 

Sentimental Garbage 

First up is the wickedly funny Sentimental Garbage. Based on the premise of appreciating all the culture that is often deemed a guilty pleasure, Sentimental Garbage gives the likes of Mamma Mia and Ru Paul’s Drag Race the critical analysis they so rightly deserve. Listening to the podcast, is both a healing and hilarious experience, allowing listeners to rid themselves of all guilt ever bestowed upon them for loving what they love, whilst laughing alongside host Caroline O’Donaghue and her absolutely incredible laugh.

When in the early stages of my breakup, I turned to Sentimental Garbage’s “Sentimental in the City” series, a no-holds-bar seven-part series discussing all seasons of Sex and the City. Through the series, the show reaches a higher, and rightly deserved status, as a prism to explore the complexities of human relationships across a wide spectrum of characters and circumstances.

The series is made all the better by series co-host Dolly Alderton and O’Donaghue’s incredible chemistry, bouncing jokes off each other with ease, leading to intimate personal revelations as well as the odd embarrassing anecdote. At a time when I was feeling my lowest, listening to two women admit to their own painful encounters with love, as well as fueling hope for a brighter future, was nothing short of soothing. 

Read more: 7 Tear-Jerking Podcasts To Pull at Your Heartstrings

The Friend Zone – One of the Best Breakup Podcasts

When it comes to self-care, I used to be a bit of a sceptic. After coming out of being a full-time caretaker for my mum, I have only recently adjusted to the concept of having the free time to practice self-care. So, when it came to my breakup, I knew I had to turn to self-care but, I struggled to really understand what self-care meant, beyond bubble baths and candles.

The Friend Zone consistently prides itself on discussing real, genuine ways to care for oneself, going beyond the easy shallow work of running yourself a bath, to really thinking clearly and openly about how to make your life better in the long run. Each week hosts Assante, Dustin and Fran explore concepts of mental wealth, mental health and mental hygiene, because, as is their catch-phrase, who in the hell wants a musty brain? 

Out to Lunch 

I have always loved food. From my nana’s kitchen peering over counters at batches of fruit crumble in the autumn, to big bowls of spaghetti made hurriedly in cramped kitchens as we revised for tests the next day, cooking has always felt joyful. It’s no wonder that I found myself back in the kitchen post-breakup, reimmersing myself in the recipes I loved. 

Someone I feel who always, effortlessly, manages to capture the joy of food is restaurant critic and host of the Out to Lunch podcast, Jay Rayner. The energy and excitement of his columns are transformed as he delights in great conversation over great plates of food. With a myriad of guests, such as Derren Brown and Tim Minchin, Rayner proves that food universal love, which can uplift even the most broken-hearted.

My Dad Wrote a Porno

After my breakup, intimacy felt foreign. So, when I starting listening to My Dad Wrote a Porno, I relished the opportunity to see intimacy contorted and mocked through the medium of a very poorly written porno. The premise of My Dad Wrote a Porno really is as embarrassing as it sounds: Jamie, the podcast’s host and son of the porno writer known only as Rocky Flintstone, reads the titular porno Belinda Blinked to his two equally mortified co-hosts, friends Alice and James.

With a bizarre combination of hilariously inaccurate descriptions of female anatomy, along with a surprising amount of references to business strategies, My Dad Wrote a Porno is a wildly funny listening experience. 

You’re Dead to Me

A common thread that consistently crops up whenever I’m faced with any form of crisis or stressful period is my sporadic obsessions with obscure histories. This pattern naturally followed me in the aftermath of my breakup, as I found myself joyful sucking up new knowledge of history, like a cold drink through a straw. 

Fulfilling this obsession perfectly was You’re Dead to Me. Branded as ‘a podcast for people who don’t like history, or just forgot to learn any at school’, host Greg Jenner invites a historian and a comedian on each week to discuss a new historical period, event or individual.

Ranging from the stereotypical classroom history to the more niche and unusual tales often missed off of syllabuses, You’re Dead to Me strikes a great balance between engrossing historical details and humorous vignettes of dialogue to keep you laughing through the absurdity of ancient times. 

The Receipts

The Receipts podcast has been a mainstay of my weekly listens for the last four years, consistently providing me with laughs I have to suppress on public transport and full belly laughter in my kitchen as I cook dinner. Three friends, Audrey, Milena and Tolly sit down each week to discuss anything and everything, from relationship drama to their everyday lives trying to make it in London, all served up with a big slice of unfiltered honesty.

This unadulterated truth-telling comes into play during the “Your Receipts” episodes of the show, where the girls answer some of the wildest and weirdest listener queries I have ever heard on a podcast. With episode titles such as “He cheated, and then proposed“ to “he’s perfect, but has no front teeth“, the podcast delivers its fair share of absolutely outrageous content, as well as the odd heartfelt words of wisdom. 

Nancy 

As I began to reconsider my identity outside of a relationship, I wanted to explore my queerness in a safe space, particularly after coming out of a straight-presenting couple dynamic. Previously, I’ve found it difficult to stand in that identity of queerness but was determined to better embrace it in the aftermath of my breakup.

Through the Nancy podcast, I was able to better understand my own queerness, as well as the identities of others within the LGBTQ+ community. Hosted by Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, though completed in 2020, Nancy celebrated and shared all aspects of LGBTQ+ experiences, with a mix of queer histories, pop culture analysis and refreshingly honest conversations about what it means to be a queer in modern-day society. 

How To Fail 

Sometimes, even good change can feel bad at first. When my relationship began to fall apart, I felt like it was a personal failure, and I took on the weight of that failure in all its entirety.

As the months have gone by, I’ve shed this feeling, but when I truly did feel disappointed in myself, How to Fail was the perfect podcast to redefine what it means to fail. In each episode, Elizabeth Day invites wildly successful people, from celebrities to politicians to authors, to reflect on their biggest failures, providing a deeply humbling view of people who seem unfaltering brilliant. 

Read more: “Asking for It” Wants Honesty about Queer Domestic Violence

This American Life

For British people, America is an inherently strange place. It exists as a perfect dichotomy, feeling both deeply familiar and outrageously different, all at once. However, what alleviates that strangeness is the knowledge that there are threads of feelings and solidarity which connect us all. 

From timely episodes discussing the reverberations of a recent news event in a given community to throwback episodes that fully encapsulate the full range of human emotion, This American Life is a deeply comforting window into another cultural world. Host Ira Glass leads us through each weekly theme, charting how a feeling, phenomenon or thought has fundamentally shaped the lives of people across America, and beyond. It’s this juxtaposition that makes This American Life on of of the best breakup podcasts available.

Throughout my breakup, episodes of This American Life provided moments of much-needed happiness, as well as stark realisations of what it is to live in this current cultural and political moment. In many ways, it has radicalised me into action and shown me what it means to live in a society and a wider community. 

The New Yorker Fiction Podcast

Something unique to podcasts is the ability to dip between several genres, stories and hosts almost seamlessly. Podcasts like the New Yorker Fiction podcast utilise this strength perfectly, providing revelatory snippets of stories and compelling narratives, served up and ready to be dissected in vivid detail.

Each week, host Deborah Treisman invites acclaimed writers to choose a short story from the New Yorker archive to read and discuss, with guests such as Margaret Attwood and Ottessa Moshfegh. Providing glimpses into the interior lives of writers and the choices they make when creating new material, this podcast is the perfect antidote for any writer who has fallen out of love with writing. As I struggled through my post-breakup writer’s block, listening to Deborah Treisman and her co-hosts delight in the power of the written word was the inspiration I needed I needed to get writing again. 

The post The 10 Best Breakup Podcasts That Got Me Through Mine appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

Human beings are natural storytellers. We were telling tales long before we wrote anything down. Homer literally remembered and recited the Illiad and the Oddesy. That’s insane.

Humans have been telling stories so long that we don’t recognize it as a skill anymore. It’s just something we do.

That’s a shame. Because it’s one of the most important, and yet, overlooked, soft skills correlated with success. Any podcaster worth their salt knows how important storytelling is to the longevity of their show.

Storytelling is the difference between disseminating facts and making a point. A good storyteller can bring someone along a journey they didn’t even realize they were on.

And if last year, 2020, taught us anything, it’s the power storytelling has to persuade. Like breathing, it is a skill we can’t do without.

Luckily, just like breathing, as second nature as storytelling is, it is a skill that can be honed. Like so many other aspects of our lives, podcasts are there to help us work this neglected muscle.

A couple quick caveats. This list is less about fiction than it is about creating a narrative story out of pedestrian facts. There is superb fiction work being done with podcasts, full stop. But this list is for the rest of us.

Nor is this list of storyteller podcasts exhaustive. It is finite in nature, but these podcasts will make you a better podcaster. You can take that to the bank.

Instructive Storytelling Podcasts

Ready to go back to school? These podcasts give us the skills and examples we need to turn a set of facts into a narrative. To take individual pieces of thread and weave them into something useful, like a scarf, or a cape. Whatever your bag is. Maybe it’s a woven bag. 

The Stacks

You don’t have to always be creating big sweeping landscapes with every episode. There is a tendency with new podcasters, before they have an audience, to cram everything they know into a single episode.

That can actually be overwhelming and disorienting for new listeners. As well as redundant for repeat listeners.

This episode reminds us it’s often more effective to focus on smaller slices of a larger picture. It can be easier to focus on your desired outcomes when you are dialed into your bite sized vignette.

It makes the lesson that much bigger.

Apple iTunes | Listen Notes | Spotify

Short Wave

NPR’s Short Wave podcast takes headlines from the news and breaks down the science behind them. That’s what the best storytelling podcasts do, they inform, provide context, and do so in an entertaining manner. In this episode, the director of Story Collider comes on to talk about making science relatable.

Not sure if you’ve turned on the news lately, but “science” seems to be covering some heady topics without a lot of persuasion.

Dry facts often require a bit of persuasive sauce on the side.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

The Agents of Change

Do you remember Cliff’s Notes? When you were supposed to read Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath? But in lieu of reading you pulled the facts and structure from those little yellow and black books?

Well, this episode of Agents of Change is like that. When you’re learning to ride a bike, there’s no shame in some training wheels.

This interview with Josh Cantrell goes over his 7 point storytelling script. The same script he helps his clients develop.

If you want to be among the best storytelling podcasts, you have to do likewise.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

What Would My Shrink Say

It’s almost impossible to tell a riveting story if you lack empathy. Well, along with empathy comes emotional vulnerability.

If you aren’t vulnerable, aren’t fallible, there’s very little for the audience to relate to.

At less than a half hour per episode, this podcast is a nice way to dip your toes into the “be a better person” waters. Without too much commitment, or a co-pay. This episode specifically is a quality primer on emotional vulnerability.

Apple iTunes | Listen Notes | Spotify

The Business of Story

Storytelling is at the heart of content marketing. A good story about a mediocre product can move more units than a superior product with a stellar, but sterile, spec sheet.

A well told marketing story is what brings potential customers along the value journey. From general awareness to zealous advocate.

The Business of Story Podcast is devoted to capturing that ineffable “why” Simon Sinek was talking about.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

Storytelling Podcasts to Analyze and Enjoy

The following podcasts are storytellers to emulate. They are masters of their craft. Take the skills learned above and see where they pop up in these illustrative examples. The best storytelling podcasts show you how to steal like an artist.

Read more: How to Practice Active Listening to Get More Out of Your Podcast Experience

This American Life

Ira Glass has perfected telling a story in a purely aural format. The team at This American Life is radio storytelling.

Each episode is a tiny oddball slice of Americana. They shouldn’t work. How does a story about the different people who pass through a particular bed keep the listener at rapt attention?

It should be boring. But through excellent storytelling, I want to know all about each pillowcase. Weird.

Or this episode that explores letting fate take over, or making deliberate choices. It’s really one of the best storytelling podcasts doing a masterclass on the existence of freewill. Brilliant.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

The Moth

Five minutes. That’s all you’ve got to spin a good yarn. The Moth is a series of live storytelling gatherings where people get five minutes to tell an anecdote.

The whole thing. The entire arc of the story in five minutes. It’s a tall order and  sure that it fails. Often.

But no worries because the podcast edits all that out and leaves us with the cream of the crop to take notes on. The best storytelling podcasts will do a heavy amount of editing to ensure that we’re not listening to dreck.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

TED Talks Daily

TED Talks are one of the greatest ideas of the 21st century. People only have the ability to focus on one idea for roughly 20 minutes max. So, let’s get speakers to tell a story and convey an idea in that timeframe.

The end result are some of the most memorable explanations of some of the most complex topics. From experts that you would not expect to be world-class storytellers. You don’t walk away with a PhD in the subject, but the engaging stories whet your appetite for more.

And they are short enough to break down to identify what works.

Here’s one that’s particularly helpful in 2023. It’s about dealing with anxiety and how to bounce back. Something we could probably all use at the moment.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

Bring Back Bronco

For those of a certain generation, the Ford Bronco is synonymous with a low speed chase through the freeways surrounding Los Angeles. Not exactly the best brand message.

But the legacy of the Bronco is so much more than Al Collin’s lackluster wheel man skills. They had a branding problem. And a branding problem is usually a story problem.

When Ford decided to relaunch the legendary vehicle, they found new stories. Stories of the Bronco that aren’t associated with homicide.

It was a novel approach from a major corporation to get that granular. If great stories can be layered into a car commercial… well, there’s a lot to learn there.

Apple iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

Conclusion

Again, this list is by no means exhaustive. My colleagues here at DiscoverPods are far more adept and tenacious at running down the best fiction work across the podcast medium. But the best storytelling podcasts don’t have to be fiction. Any thought we’re trying to convey or emotion we’re trying to make sure is received is about telling a story.

That said, storytelling is in all of our DNA. We have potential, and the upsides bestowed upon a good storyteller demand we try to perfect our abilities.

It’s more important than ever to beef up our capacity to connect with other people. In whatever ways we can. Storytelling is an underutilized muscle group that should be at the top of that list.

These podcasts will move you along that path.

What are some obvious and obscure pods that should be on this list? My queue is feeling a little empty.

The post The 9 Best Storytelling Podcasts Will Upgrade Your Craft appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

For over twenty years, listeners across the country (and around the world) have tuned in to hear Ira Glass and co. share stories, essays and insight into the world we live in. The award-winning This American Life is broadcast weekly from WBEZ and syndicated on numerous public radio stations, as well digitally as a free podcast.

Though it’s been running for several decades, we did our best to pick the best This American Life podcast episodes throughout their run … it wasn’t easy. In 2007 and 2008, a television version of the show ran on Showtime and you might also know This American Life as the show that spawned both Serial and S-Town.

As Glass explains to listeners at the beginning of each episode, the show picks a different theme each week and shares stories on that theme. With over 600 episodes produced and thousands of stories shared, various This American Life episodes have touched on topics both serious and sweet, creepy and calming and sometimes just plain odd.

Whether you are a first time listener looking for guidance as to where to start, or have been listening since the 90’s and want to go back through the archives, we hope this list of our favorite 12 TAL episodes will be of help.

Best This American Life Podcast Episodes

This American Life airs on more than 500 stations across the country. Archive episodes of This American Life, including some web exclusives, can be found at thisamericanlife.org. You can also listen to the ten most recent episodes on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Editors Note: In lieu of removing truly important stories from the past in this 2023 update, I’ve chosen to simply add more episodes of the This American Life podcast. We could all do with some more Ira Glass in our lives, so this update is going to reflect that.

Me Minus Me

Episode 778, August 26, 2022

What makes us who we are? I mean, what is the continuity that keeps us who we are? We shed all of our cells and regenerate them. We obviously grow older over time. What is it that keeps us, well, us?

This episode is special because it hits the very nature of consciousness and humanity. It’s a This American Life podcast episode that is quintessentially TAL.

And it’s all done without Ira Glass hosting. This episode has guest host Bim Adewunmi walking us through the intricacies of epistemic reality.

Sandy Allen discusses what it feels like to get used to your own voice again after trauma. How much can we lose and still be us? It’s strange just to think about, yet, that’s what makes this episode so intoxicating.

The Parents Step In

Episode 771, May 27, 2022

The United States is plagued with gun violence. Worse, plagued with mass school shootings. I grew up in the era of school shootings, and this episode literally brought tears to my eyes.

I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened. A few years later the high school next to mine in the East County of San Diego was attacked. And it has only gotten worse since then.

In this truly crushing episode, Ira Glass speaks with Sandy and Lonnie Phillips whose daughter died when she was shot by a gunman in Aurora Colorado. They stepped forward to do something about gun violence because the Government hasn’t done anything of consequence in more than 20 years. A sincerely damning indictment of government at every level.

In the closing segment, Ira speaks with Lenny Pozner, whose son Noah, was murdered at Sandy Hook. They discuss the harassment the family experienced when Sandy Hook became consumed in the conspiracy culture that has taken over parts of our society.

It really makes you wonder where we’re going to go as a society from here. This episode of the This American Life podcast provides no real answers to that quandary, but it does at least provide some small bit of catharsis for a society screaming for help.

No Coincidence, No Story

Episode 589, March 1, 2013

For this episode, producers Brian Reed and Sarah Koenig asked listeners to share their most memorable coincidences. From over 1,300 submissions, five stories were selected, which touch on the mundane repetition we see in our life everyday to a romantic story about a lucky dollar bill.

This episode stands out for the ability to make something from nothing, which This American Life consistently does so well. Act Three of the show is perhaps the most memorable, and begins with a college student discovering a nickel on the floor of his shower.

The errant coin leads This American Life producers to travel to college campuses coast-to-coast to report on where this mystery coin came from. The story’s conclusion is so satisfyingly simple, putting a perfect cap on a story you have probably never thought about before, and may never think about again.

129 Cars

Episode 513, December 13, 2013

Every now and then, a new This American Life comes out about a topic full of curiosity that few journalists have thought to explore before. In this single-story episode, the focus is a Jeep dealership on Long Island, with vignettes from a month of sales as the goal of 129 cars is reached.

Why was this topic selected? Well, it’s unclear, even though Ira Glass spends the first few minutes of the episode explaining how the dealership was selected and how the place works. The segments of the 60-minute episode revolve around different salesmen at the dealership, all competing to have the most monthly sales and possibly get their hands on a big end-of-the-month bonus. Listening to the episode is almost like watching a reality T.V. show, with high-stakes drama revolving around something that you probably never put stakes in before.

Notes On Camp

Episode 109, August 28, 1998

Host Ira Glass has frequently mentioned this early episode of This American Life as one of his favorites, probably because it encapsulates what the show is really about. Summer camp is a part of American life that some people take part in and love (or hate) and others never experience and have no grasp of. The episode attempts to bridge that gap with stories from producers and listeners that share what it was really like to a be a school-aged child at camp for the summer.

In the episode, Act One follows a long-time camper who has transitioned into being a counselor and looks into the work that goes in to becoming the “cool” counselor at camp. Later, Glass investigates the economics of camp and how rituals and routines like the fake Native American pow-wows he took part in can help bring back return customers.  

What’s Going On There

Episode 567, September 18, 2013

The theme of this emotional two-part episode is stories where the outside perspective looks dramatically different than what is actually going on. First, a 17-year-old named Rainy reports on the reality of an abusive relationship she was in with an older man. The result is a powerful look at a part of life outsiders are quick to assume they are fully understand. The second half of the show is about Larry, a 20-year-old who has struggled to communicate and bond with his work-focused father. Larry was raised only speaking English, never learning the Chinese dialects of Fujianese and Mandarin that his father speaks.

Both stories of Episode 567 come to emotional, powerful conclusions that are equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. The stories are both masterfully reported and produced and give listeners a true look into the inside of the lives of young Americans that are drastically different, but in a way related.

Harper High School

Episodes 487 and 488, Feb. 15, 2013 and Feb. 23, 2013

This American Life has accumulated a variety of reporting awards over the years, but few stories were as celebrated as the show’s two-part investigation into a series of gun-related deaths surrounding Harper High School in Englewood, Chicago. The investigation won a Peabody Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2013.

The reporting took place over five months and in the two episodes, investigation is done not only into what caused the increase in violence in the first place, but also how it affected the high school community. Interviews with both students and administrators shed light into a greater issue of gun-violence in Chicago and tell a deeply personal story of a community broken by a news story that we can sometimes go numb towards. This American Life has also worked hard to follow up a number of the subjects interviewed for this story and have published updates about notable characters online.

Christmas and Commerce

Episode 47, December 20, 1996

Going way back into This American Life’s second year will allow you to find one of David Sedaris’ first radio pieces, a gonzo-style look into the life of an elf at Macy’s Santaland in New York City. Sedaris’ self-deprecating and witty humor is on full display in this 30-minute segment where he shares with full vulnerability what it was like to be a elf for a the holiday season. The funniest part of the episode is his balance between attempting to dismiss wanting to be an elf and realizing he may be deeply under-qualified for the job.

Anyone who has visited Macy’s at Christmas time or any other large-scale Santa production will appreciate the attention to detail and the deep look into the bizarre world of holiday elves and Santa Clauses.

Switched at Birth

Episode 360, July 25, 2008

This American Life often broadcasts short fiction or essays that touch on absurd or deeply imaginative, but this single-story episode proved that sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. In the episode, reporter Jake Halpern introduces us to a story of two baby girls who were accidentally switched at birth in 1951. After going home with the wrong families, one mother realized the mistake but chose to remain quiet for over forty years. In this episode, Halpern talks with both daughters and both mothers, revealing the profound ways the realization changed their lives and the equally interesting ways it did not.

Especially moving is the final segment of the show, where 69-year-old Kay McDonald, the mother who did not know about the switch, reflects on what it felt like to learn she had raised the wrong daughter for 40 years and why another mother who keep the information from her.

Longtime listeners of This American Life may remember that this episode came out in the midst of some excellent political stories about the economy, the Middle East and other current affairs. The deeply personal nature of it was a reminder of just how excellent the show is at personal reporting during a time when many of their stories were more news-driven.

20 Acts in 60 Minutes

Episode 241, July 11, 2003

This off-kilter episode quickly became a fan-favorite by moving away from the show’s typical two or three story format. The stories squeezed into the hour of radio are both big and small and mostly all fit a profound “a-ha!” moment into their 180 second timeframe.

One of the best parts of the episode is how many notable This American Life producers and guests it includes. In Act Seven of the episode, Jonathan Goldstein shares a story about a character named The Penguin. In Act Eighteen, Chuck Klosterman introduces a pop-culture game he invented called “Monkees Equals Monkees,” where players draw comparisons between musical acts and T.V. shows. At the middle of the episode, experimental theater troupe The Neo-Futurists present a two-minute play.

Numerous other radio shows and podcasts have paid tribute to this form of micro-storytelling (99% Invisible does an excellent end-of-year mini-stories episode, for example) and it truly stands out as one of This American Life’s funnest, but also weirdest, episodes.

The Room of Requirement

Episode 664, December 28, 2018

One of This American Life’s newer episodes, this show focuses on the American library and the wide range of roles it can hold in the lives of Americans.

First, producer Zoe Chace introduces a unique library on the border of Canada that has become a critical space for a select group of visitors. Next, a series of surprising coincidences emerge during the story of a library that was inspired by Richard Brautigan’s novel “The Abortion.” Finally, Stephanie Foo reports on the real impact libraries can have on communities and the people within them by sharing the story Lydia, who spent hours upon hours in a library as a teenager without realizing why.  

With a mix of humor and emotion, the stories capture the true spirit of a part of life that we may typically take for granted.

Invisible Made Visible

Episode 464, May 18, 2012

Act Two of this episode, which was originally performed live, comes from Tig Notaro and still remains one of the funniest fifteen minutes of This American Life ever. Before a surprising end, Notaro shares the bizarre experience of seeing 80’s pop-star Taylor Dayne repeatedly throughout Los Angeles.

The episode also features a touching story about a blind father and his daughter encountering a bear in the wood’s near their home and how it helped them both learn about what it means to be blind.

I Thought It Would Be Easier

Episode 636, January 19, 2018

In addition to real stories about everyday Americans, This American Life occasionally takes on the world of politics, with a handful of recent stories touching on immigration and the Mexican border. The theme of the episode is stories of politicians on both sides finding they are unable to accomplish work that seemed simple, and the true shining moment is Act One, about courts in the border town of Laredo, Texas.

By simply focusing on the day-to-day of one of the busiest border courtrooms in the United States, producers Jonathan Menjivar and Julia Preston give a profound and telling perspective on the impacts of recent immigration policy.

This episode, like many of This American Life’s political episodes, let’s anecdotes and interviews form their own opinion and never takes a true, biased stance. It gives a rare look into what is actually happening at the U.S. border, free of a partisan agenda that other similar reporting might include.

 If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS

Episode 545, January 23, 2015

This American Life tends to bring positivity and uplifting stories to the radio, but this episode tackled some of the nastier, ruder topics that fit into our lives. Specifically, the episode share stories of online trolls, bad behavior online and other forms of cyber-harassment. Even with the darker, grimmer topic, the show remained in good spirits and blended laughs with frustrating sentiment.

Act One is a fan-favorite story from Lindy West about connecting with an online troll and asking why people behave how they do online. The 20-minute story puts a rare voice to anonymous online trolls and shows a side of the deep, dark Internet that we rarely get to see. Act Two is one of This American Life’s most self-reflective segments to date. Ira Glass investigates “vocal fry,” including what it means, what causes it and why so many listeners complain about its presence in the voices of some of the show’s female producers.

This American Life Podcast is… well, all of us

If you haven’t been listening to the This American Life Podcast you are missing out on something unifying in a truly divisive world. The storytelling is absolutely spot on, engaging, and emotive.

Where we can’t agree on up or down, the This American Life podcast keeps us all grounded and gives us perspective on where we are at in the world.

Even if that’s nowhere special.

The post The 12 Best This American Life Podcast Episodes appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

If so you’re certainly not alone. I don’t have 6 hours of driving to do, but for those of you who do (or if you just want some entertainment while you prep) I have put together 7 podcasts to achieve the perfect state of mind for Thanksgiving.

1. Poulty Slam 2011 – This American Life

This American Life is a treasure, an iconic radio program, perfect for bridging the gap between your urban bubble and the bucolic landscapes of the American countryside. It’s not quite Aaron Copland, but Ira Glass’ voice still belongs in the Smithsonian. This particular episode has it all, and I believe it’s some of the best stories ever told about birds, and by way of birds, us. Note – This episode no longer exists on iTunes so you will have to play it from the TAL app or the mobile site.

2. Dialogue and Exchange – TED Radio Hour

If you had to make a bingo board for Thanksgiving dinner, I think the ‘free’ space could be “Someone says ‘We live in a divided country'”. It seems to be all I hear, and division is really the opposite of a family gathering. But did you know that do what different groups value effect how they communicate with one another? This episode includes some tips for getting past the anger to have a real conversations. Even if your Mom told you to try to avoid politics altogether, give this a listen for some tips for when you’re feeling a little feisty off that third glass of wine.

3. The Big Thanksgiving Dinner – Bon Appétit Foodcast

Hungry yet? If you’re like me the first part of this week is a fast. I drink water and coffee and maybe snack on some healthy stuff. Knowing the gluttony in which I’ll soon be partaking, this practice prepares me. However it made listening to this episode all about new and old Thanksgiving dishes rather… difficult.

4. A.J. Jacobs on Thanks a Thousand – EconTalk

AJ Jacobs, an author and podcast darling (he even had his own short-lived show on Gimlet for a time) joins EconTalk for an episode all about his book and showing gratitude. This episode was touching in a way I hadn’t expected, and made me miss the members of my family I’ll never get to properly thank. Typically this show is dry, but like a properly brined bird, this conversation is anything but.

5. Crantastic – Gastropod

I’m a huge Gastropod fan and the two hosts are veteran feature writers and really take the time to craft an incredible show. This episode is about a topic I didn’t think it was possible to care less about, but after listening I felt wonder at how this little fruit ever made it to the table, and a strange tingle pride for the tenacity and spirit of the American settlers.

6. Shmanners – Conversation

I’m no master conversationalist by any means and I still feel awkward butting into a group. But especially at big dinner parties or even family get-togethers, you may find yourself alone, drink in hand, scanning a room full of small groups wondering “What do I do now?” This episode offers some helpful tips, like making eye contact (but not too much), and having conversation starters on deck if things fizzle out. What are podcasts for is not starting conversation anyway, right?

7. Dina – Heavyweight

You’re returning to your family home, and it’s been too long. Your life has changed significantly, and you just know something your parents do will annoy you, or scare off your new partner, or keep your new baby awake all night. If any anxiety is nagging at you over the Holidays, you’re not alone. In this episode the host turns the focus onto himself and overcomes something with his Mother he should have done years ago, now who can’t relate to that?

Hopefully this gets you safely to your destination with a few more ready-made conversation starters. For even more Thanksgiving themed streams, check out another list of Turkey Day episodes on Discover Pods!

The post 7 Thanksgiving Travel Podcasts appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

But what exactly is a documentary podcast? They tell true stories through a heavily produced / polished style consisting of music, many interviews and tight editing that feels like a documentary film. They’re the most difficult and most time consuming podcasts to create. Many exists but only a few pass as the best. The following list is a glance at some of the very best documentary podcasts.

This American Life

Episode: When Patents Attack!

About: Who knew patents were so mysterious and twisted? This episode sheds light on the dark side of patent trolls and how they can bankrupt a company or make a company billions. This episode was so popular This American Life produced a sequel appropriately titled, When Patents Attack Part 2! The runtime is about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

American Fiasco

Episodes: Season 1

About: United States has always been on the cusp of a soccer revolution but soccer fever never seems to fully arrive before the excitement burns off. This was never more true than in 1998. The U.S. men’s World Cup team had a golden opportunity to create magic but the team’s internal drama destroyed their chances of becoming soccer royalty. Cinderella story to Fiasco. Disclaimer: You do not need to be a soccer fan to enjoy this show! Each episode is easily digestible, running about 30 minutes each.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Criminal

Episode: Deep Dive

About: Criminal tells one-off stories each episode and one of their finest productions is Deep Dive. A Los Angeles rescue diver who never turns down a dive mission meets his match in this suffocating and heart pounding story. The runtime is only 20 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: Phoebe Judge Pulls Double Duty with Criminal and This is Love

The Leap

Episode: 17 and Me

About: A college student needs money. So he donates sperm. Every week for years. Fast forward twenty years later, that poor college student is now a loving husband and dad. But his college “job” soon catches up with him as dozens of teenagers began to seek out their biological father. An easy listen in less than one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Mystery Show

Episode: Belt Buckle

About: Mystery Show was one of those rare podcast that broke the mold for what a podcast could be… unfortunately it was plagued with it’s own internal dramas and was canceled. But fortunately for us, the first season will always be online — I highly suggest Belt Buckle be your first listen of this Mystery Show. It’s a simple story with incredible heart and soul. Runtime is roughly one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Planet Money

Episode: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil

About: How does a country re-establish a new currency? For Brazil, all it took was four buddies drinking beer at a bar and advising a plan. This is truly a fascinating look into how the Real was created out of thin air — This episode is a short listen and you don’t need to be an economics geek to enjoy!

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Reply All

Episode: Long Distance pt. 1 and pt. 2

About: Reply All creates shows around a very wide theme: the internet. These two episodes are mysterious and eye-opening that pull back the curtain on international tech scammers. Who are these people who spam for a living and why do they do it? Each part runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

S-Town

Episode: Season 1

About: From the producers of This American Life and Serial podcasts, S-Town is a strange one. I can’t describe it without giving anything away so just give it a listen and enjoy. A NSFW heads up, there are many F-bombs dropped and it pours with vulgar language. S-Town is a seven part series, each part running roughly one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: The 20 Best True Crime Podcasts (Beyond Serial & S-Town)

Serial

Episode: Season 1

About: This is the most popular podcast of all time so if you haven’t listened to it, you’re probably on this page by mistake. Can’t recommend season one enough. It was the OG that started the true crime podcast craze that’s been ignited over the last couple of years. The season is 12 episodes and each episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: 8 of the most chilling podcasts like Serial

Snap Judgement

Episode: Bait and Switch

About: Snap tells different gripping stories every episode. If sneaky drug smuggler stories are your thing, then this episode is all you! It’s like an episode of Narcos in podcast form. Sketchy characters, big money, and the true tale of a man who always had to keep one step ahead. This is a one-off episode running about 30 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

StartUp

Episode: S3 E4 Dear Music Fans

About: StartUp tells the stories of you guessed it, tech startups. Grooveshark was an illegal music website that attempted and (almost) succeeded in changing the music industry forever. The creators of this site saw an unbelievable rise to fame but also a heartbreaking crash to reality. This episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Embedded

Episode: The League

About: Embedded is an extremely polished show that tells many stories pressing in today’s political climate but they also tell non-political stories about hidden worlds. Like this episode about the NBA D-League and the struggle of many players trapped in this world of almost making it to the big court of the NBA. So much hard work and sacrifice, this episode follows two players as they try to earn their way out of the D-League. This episode runs about 45 minutes.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

30 for 30

Episode: The Trials of Dan and Dave

About: ESPN’s series consistently incredible stories and The Trails of Dan and Dave is one their best. This story falls back to the 1992 ad campaign by Reebok promoting two athletes. A campaign that equated to the company’s entire year’s marketing budget of 25 million. The campaign was supposed to be a massive lift ended up being a complete bust, ending in gut wrenching embarrassment. This episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Related reading: Jody Avirgan can’t just stick to sports hosting both ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and FiveThiryEight Politics

Up and Vanished

Episode: Season 1

About: Serial spawned a slew of true crime podcasts but only one has caught similar attention and its for good reason. Up and Vanished starts like any other true crime show but as the show progresses more information comes to light and suddenly (almost in real time) the case begins to unravel. It’ll be hard to top the ending to this season, it was spectacular and if you haven’t heard this one and are a fan of mysteries — go listen now. There’s a reason it’s still on the top charts two years later. Each episode runs about one hour.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

The post The 14 Best Documentary Podcasts appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

I was trying to describe Heavyweight not too long ago, but had some difficulty. It’s hard to properly articulate the proportions of deep personal stories, host Jonathan Goldstein’s threaded (sometimes dark) humor, yet the true feeling of genuineness that comes from the episode. I guess if you forced me to create a comparative franken-amalgamation, I would say it’s like a good Chicken Soup for the Soul story, mixed with Wes Anderson humor, with a little Woody Allen* neurotic Jewish values sprinkled on top. And I say that with the greatest amount of praise I can.

Here, it might actually be better if I quote Reply All podcast host, PJ Vogt’s description of Heavyweight:

It’s hard to capture all of what’s great about it. It’s very very funny, and very very heartfelt. And like tender, which is an embarrassing word to say on the radio. But you listen to it and you feel like a person who loves other people which is a pretty nice feeling to be connected to.

In case you’re unfamiliar, Heavyweight is hosted by CBC and This American Life alum, Jonathan Goldstein. Each episode follows Goldstein as he helps another person reexamine something, or more usually someone, who impacted their past. A lot of times, these events are full of regret and re-opening the door and having an honest discussion becomes almost therapeutic for all the parties involved.

Heavyweight remains on my must-listen list and constantly tells stories that stoke all your emotions.

I was fortunate enough to get the chance to speak with Jonathan about Heavyweight. Our conversation spanned several topics including his origin story, his thoughts on speed listening, his unique relationship with This American Life, and how he balances the comedy and serious manners of his podcast.

*in light of recent — and not so recent — events, we really need to find another example. Larry David maybe?

Listen: iTunes

***

Kevin: To start things off, can you give us a little bit of background on who you are, how you came from the CBC, to This American Life, and now Gimlet with Heavyweight?

Jonathan: I was doing some freelance radio essay type stuff for the CBC, and I was given a summer radio show on the CBC in the late 90s. The idea was I was going to travel to each of the Canadian provinces and do an episode on each. I was sent with this very large digital camera, that was the size of a stereo box that took floppy discs. At the time, it all felt very new. I got into radio at that point just sideways as a writer, as a venue to read my work, not thinking about radio per se.

I had a friend at the time who was involved in This American Life, Paul Tough. He knew they were looking for a producer and he encouraged me to apply. This was before podcasting, so people didn’t know about This American Life in Canada, but he introduced me to the show and I listened to it online.

I fell in love with This American Life. The idea of working at the show became very exciting. I sent off some of my radio work, which at that point was only a couple episodes of the summer radio series, and some of the radio essays. It had similar sensibility to what This American Life was doing, even though I didn’t know anything about radio. I didn’t know how to use software, how to cut tape or anything. I was hired and learned everything on the go. It was like a master class in radio. Worked there for a couple years, got some of my own stories on. Came back to Canada and did WireTap for 11 years and now I’m doing Heavyweight.

Kevin: It seems like the podcasters I’ve talked to seem to have non-traditional routes into podcasting, mostly because podcasts kind of sprung up out of the blue. It seems like your route fits that track as well. Talking specifically about Heavyweight, can you describe how you source a story and then go through producing the podcast? Obviously, some of the stories are from family members but some are from relatively unknown people.

Jonathan: Yeah. The second season was open to everybody. Heavyweight went through a big change from season one to season two because season one was mainly family and friends. People I’ve known my whole life and, in a sense, stories that have been incubating for decades. Then in season two, with that exhausted, the challenge was how do we take the literal premise of the show and apply it to people I don’t know? I didn’t know how that dynamic was going to work or whether it was going to work at all. That was scary, but it went okay and that’s heartening because it makes you feel the whole enterprise has legs and can keep going.

Kevin: Yeah, definitely. That was telling with season two. As you source the story you’re undoubtedly going to hit some walls. What percent would you estimate of your time spent ends up on the proverbial cutting room floor?

Jonathan: Not as high of a percent as a place like This American Life that has greater resources and staff. I don’t know if this is still the case, but half their stories — even ones that go into full production– end up getting killed. It’s how they maintain the level of excellence they achieve. In the case of Heavyweight, it became a different kind of challenge because there was more pressure to make things work. Really, the batting average was pretty good. There were a couple of stories that ended up on the cutting room floor and one that’s still undetermined. Another one kind of fell apart for a whole bunch of different reasons.

The challenge was taking things that were flimsy, made up of all kinds of disparate parts, and working it through doing rewrites and having very smart people bring their minds to bear on the materials. Sometimes, I believe simple stories became richer through this process. We try to give a sense of time passing in some of these episodes. It was a wonderful thing to be allowed to have the time to work on things in this way.

Sometimes the difference between a story that turns out really well and a story that dies walks along the razor’s edge for a while. Sometimes the stories that turn out to be great, are great because they almost tip into not existing.

Kevin: On that note, Heavyweight obviously deals with a lot of very personal, serious matters and some dark areas in people’s past lives. Throughout, however, you’ve maintained your comedic presence that’s interwoven within the stories. Was this a conscious decision going into the podcast, or something you knew was inevitable with your personality?

Jonathan: Yeah, my personality is kind of what it is at this point. I didn’t consciously decide it’s going to have such and such percentage of comedy versus this percent of seriousness. I figured it would be an offshoot of the way I write, and talk about things, and see the world. It wasn’t conscious but it still is something my editors, producers, and I wrestle with. Sometimes you don’t want to overwhelm the story with too much jokes.

To me, the best stories are the ones that have their funny moments and their dark moments. I’m probably totally mispronouncing this word, but “chiaroscuro”, a painting where the light is so beautiful because of the darkness. In this case it makes the funny parts funnier and the sadder parts even sadder, because you’re toggling between these two extremes. If you get that balance right, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s easy to get wrong and sometimes I do get it wrong, but that’s the challenge of doing this kind of thing.

Kevin: Yeah, that’s actually a great way to put it. I’m sure there’s another kind of delicate line you have to balance to add some levity but not to belittle the subject matter.

Jonathan: Yeah that’s right. I try to make it at my own expense as much as I can. I don’t want to belittle the subject and you don’t want to make light of someone else’s pain either, but you also want to be true to your own way of seeing the world too and not be too reverent.

Kevin: What’s something an everyday listener doesn’t know about you, the show, or the process behind the scenes?

Jonathan: The first thing that comes to mind is all of the people that weigh in on it and the collaborators in the process. It’s a collaborative effort to create this thing that sounds as personal as it does.

There are people who are transcribing the tape, pulling the tape, fine editing the tape, and helping to structure it. There are a lot of talented, smart people involved with each episode. Often times, I’ll play a near-final mix for my wife, Emily, and she’ll catch important things that would substantially change people’s enjoyment. There’s moments like that all throughout and you end up feeling fortunate to have people who are able to see and hear things that you’re missing.

Kevin: I was trying to explain Heavyweight to my wife, and I was having difficulty but then I heard PJ Vogt on the crossover Reply All episode describe it as “tender”. Is that how you would describe it or how would you give your elevator pitch of Heavyweight?

Jonathan: I have an elevator pitch, but it’s a little reductive and makes me feel like Dr. Phil. It’s sort of in keeping with the therapeutic project, it’s about being able to journey to the past, and actually being able to deal with the past in the present in order to move forward. Journeying back to some significant transitional moment in a person’s past in order to unpack it and see how that moment shaped the present. Because it’s a personal story, often times those moments were complicated and require unpacking, and sometimes have been traumatic. That’s probably not a very good elevator pitch.

Kevin: No, that’s good, at least it wasn’t canned; It was genuine. So changing gears a bit, focusing on podcasts and the realm at large. What are some podcasts you enjoy listening to in your spare time?

Jonathan: I’m now resurfacing from the past couple of months being caught up in production and everything of Heavyweight, but there are things I want to catch up on. There are certain comedy podcasts I enjoy. The Daily, I think takes up a lot of my time now — as maybe it does for a lot of people — it’s so consistently good I marvel how they do it. So many Gimlet shows I’m catching up on now. Reply All, of course, is the best. I’ve been enjoying Uncivil and catching up on The Nod. I really get such a kick out of Science Vs. It sounds like I’m focusing on Gimlet here. I recently listened to the No series From The Heart. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard, it’s incredibly unique and ambitious. Benjamin Walker’s series Theory of Everything. This American Life, of course. There’s so much stuff I have standing by I want to listen to, I know I’m missing all kinds of things too.

Kevin: Speaking about This American Life and you brought up your wife Emily (Managing Director of This American Life) earlier, are there any friendly podcasting rivalries between you two.

Jonathan: With This American Life? I also forgot to mention Serial. Whenever Emily is able to communicate to me what they thought of a particular episode, it always means a lot. In terms of rivalry, they set the bar. I feel like they’re the level you are trying to rise to. Simply knowing the people you admire so much are listening to what you’re doing is so … both nervous-making and kind of keeps you on your toes and always trying.

Kevin: One of the conversations that has been going on in the last couple of weeks is about speed listening. A lot of the apps nowadays allow you to listen at faster than 1X speeds, but from my conversations from other podcasters, it’s kind of a dig at them because they’re spending so much time producing and editing, and making sure all the pauses are worthwhile. What are your thoughts on speed listeners?

Jonathan: I think for produced radio it’s, the word coming to mind is “abomination”, which feels way too strong. But I must admit, there are certain long podcasts I will listen to at 1.5x speed. But for produced radio it undoes everything. It’s about timing, it’s about thinking about the way time works and to impose your own kind of listen to it at whatever speed you want undoes that. I think you’re not really listening to it.

But then again, who knows? I love watching silent movies and they’re all sped up. In some ways that stuff got screwed up, I don’t know if it’s the way it was originally seen by the audiences. So who knows how this stuff is gonna survive and how people will listen, and how people’s brains will change as a result of listening to things at double speed. Maybe whatever I’m saying right now will prove to be archaic and will look like something you’re watching from a newsreel in brown and white in sped up motion. Maybe that’s my fate, but my feeling is you’re better off listening to something properly than listening to a whole bunch of things at double speed.

I don’t think I’ve given a very articulate defense of listening to it at one speed. It’s more than honoring the intentions of the producers. It is — it sounds very banal to say — but it is an art form or medium that exists in time. It has to unfold as something that remains loyal to that. Would you listen to the music you like at double speed?

The post Jonathan Goldstein perfectly blends humor and personal stories in Heavyweight appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

Few podcasts have penetrated the mainstream the way Serial has. The team behind the biggest podcast success launched their newest show S-Town, and I told you all about it in my previous article. S-Town only took one week to reach 16 million downloads, which is a fourth of the time it took Serial season two and an eighth the time it took Serial season one.

(If you’d like to listen to my full podcast on this subject, click here or through the player at the bottom of this article.)

S-Town is the love child of Serial and This American Life, taking after both, and standing on its own in a brilliant way. These producers created a new experience for listeners, not only familiar but also a remarkable blend of genres. Let’s go back to the sources and see why their collaboration works so well.

This is Brian Reed’s first podcast as the full time host. Previously, he produced a few of my favorite segments for This American Life including articles from episode 513 “129 Cars,” episode 524 “I Was So High,” and episode 547 “Cops See It Differently.” Brian’s delivery has a genuine and affable quality, and he charms people to acquire the real story someone may be reluctant to share.

On the episode “129 Cars,” This American Life goes to a car dealership to get the real story about the different tactics salesmen use to meet their monthly quota. Brian tries to interview Manny, the top car salesman on the lot, who wants no part of the radio interviews, but Brian persists and finds an opening. Brian’s ability to read anything his subject throws at him, and that he keeps coming back for more, allows him to get close, personal, and emotional stories. Similarly, in S-Town, Brian reads John McLemore’s recommended short stories by Shirley Jackson, Guy de Maupassant, and William Faulkner the first night they meet in Alabama. Brian just picks up “The Art of War” and jumps back into interviewing Manny, showing his dedication to understanding the subject he’s covering

“129 Cars” of This American Life actually has a web-exclusive clip by Sarah Koenig, his future partner on S-Town.

Sarah Koenig is an award-winning journalist and worked at This American Life for a few years, but she may be most well known for her reporting on what was the biggest podcast before S-Town, Serial. The first season covered the flawed case against Adnan Syed for the murder of Hae Min Lee. The second season focused on the story of Bowe Bergdahl who was charged for leaving his post in Afghanistan. Both seasons of Serial are some of the best podcasting in terms of compelling narratives and amazing reporting.

Sidenote: If you enjoyed following Hae and Adnan’s story from Serial season one, check out the podcast Undisclosed. Undisclosed is hosted by three lawyers including Rabia Chuadry who originally brought the Adnan case to Sarah Koenig. They dive deep into the minutia of one case per season and uncover all the details that the state fails to reveal in criminal cases against the wrongfully convicted. Also, my colleague compiled and wrote about 18 true crime podcasts (including Undislosed) if you’re interested.

Starlee Kine is the story consultant for S-Town, so I’m going to take this opportunity to share her previous podcast, Mystery Show, as it also includes long unedited phone calls, exposing quirks and passions, and has multiple mysteries that have satisfying resolutions. I hadn’t re-listened to Mystery Show until I was pulling clips for this episode, and it made me laugh so hard I cried.

Mystery Show was my favorite podcast of 2015. Produced by Gimlet Media for one season, Starlee narrates her quirky adventures as she attempts to solve weird mysteries in her guests’ lives. The first episode is about how Laura rents a video from a store, and the next day the store is shut down and empty! What happened?

My favorite episode by far is called “Britney” where Andrea, a not-so-well-known author, sees a photo of Britney Spears holding Andrea’s book! How’d she get it? Did she like it? Starlee goes to awesome lengths to answer these questions and more. Similar to S-Town, many books are mentioned during the episode. The part that I love best about Starlee’s production style is the long conversations and therapist-style probing questions.

Many of the S-Town producers that you don’t hear on the show are seasoned professionals from This American Life. Julie Snyder is the executive producer of S-Town and is the co-creator of Serial. Before that she was a senior producer at This American Life. Ira Glass, the host of This American Life, was an editorial advisor for S-Town, as was Neil Drumming who is a producer at This American Life, often covering race and family. The whole production team is top notch and it permeates through almost every moment of the show.

Through the combined work of many great producers, and Ira Glass insisting that Brian record everything always, pod-listeners were all able to experience a new level of audio storytelling and start the next chapter of podcasting with S-Town.

I’ve seen many requests on Facebook and Twitter for other podcasts to listen to that can fill the void left after listening to S-Town, but for the same reasons S-Town is special, it’s impossible to give a good recommendation of another podcast. I could list some true-crime podcasts, or human-interest podcasts, or narrative podcasts, but none of them have that literature quality. As much as it pains me to say it, to fill the void left by S-Town, you may need to look into audiobooks.

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song are recommendations from my wife Sarah. They’re both close journalistic examinations of murderers, great for anyone who wanted more murder mystery than S-Town provided.

You can find more about S-Town at http://stownpodcast.org. There is also a Facebook group and a sub-reddit, http://Reddit.com/r/stownpodcast.

The post Meet the S-Team, The Producers Behind Serial and S-Town appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

S-Town, an audio masterpiece that takes podcasting to a new level more akin to literature than you may expect, is by the producers of This American Life and Serial. S-Town is a seven-part series, ranging from 48-63 minutes per episode, released all at once, for a total of six and a half hours. It’s binge’able, right now.

The main premise is about John B. McLemore, a clockmaker, in Alabama who contacts Brian Reed at This American Life about a murder that he believes was covered up by the police. However, the show is more about understanding the people of Woodstock, Alabama, what John calls Shit-town, their misunderstandings, their feuds, and their humanity.

Should you listen to it? Yes. The crew behind this show is a group of seasoned producers and hosts, the audio quality and production is top of the line, and it’s just a great story that you’ll want to hear to the end and talk about with all your friends, and hopefully me! I’m @ThePodPlaylist on Twitter.

The podcast This American Life brought the established radio show to the medium of on-demand audio programming, which has always felt like the podcast equivalent of a magazine. Serial tweaked and played with that format to bring podcasts to a new level of popularity and awareness. According to an article in Wired, Serial was modeled after television, ending each episode with a cliffhanger. S-Town is the refinement of the medium to the mature artistic level podcasting deserves.

I compare S-Town to This American Life and Serial not just because they’re from the same creators, but because they are two of the most well-known podcasts, and they produce high-quality programming.

To keep with the theme of a literary novel, each episode of S-Town is a chapter. Through the series and in each chapter, S-Town illustrates the human condition.

In the first chapter, Brian defines proleptic, a word that John uses to describe the town. Proleptic, meaning the representation or assumption of a future act as if presently existing, is a theme throughout the series, with person after person declaring or claiming something to be true, when it hasn’t happened, or at least not yet.

Another prominent theme is horology, the study of time and making clocks. With this, Brian is building a great analogy that sets a couple themes and ideas to hook the listener, but quickly the podcast is no longer following the original investigation. S-Town is about a dead man, but that only scratches the surface.

S-Town isn’t about a town. It isn’t about a murder. It isn’t about a mystery. It’s about people, the people of S-Town, specifically, one person from that town, an amazingly talented and troubled person—John B. McLemore, an antique horologist, conspiracy theorist, poet, semi-homosexual, chemist, masochist, canine caretaker, horticulturalist, altruist, mentor, pessimistic idealist, and atheist, yet he won’t let any of those things define him. He is most often simply described by his friends as a genius, but he is also known by the townspeople for how he can talk for hours and is exhausting and he is not without his quirks. At one point John pisses in his kitchen sink, and this may seem like a random or gross thing to do, but he’s actually conserving water and fighting for his environmental beliefs.

Halfway through the second episode, John becomes a friend, a person who you want to get to know deeply but shield your kids from, a person who is relatable, yet is fascinatingly new and different. S-Town is about the literal and metaphorical maze that John has made, not just for Brian, but for everyone he’s ever contacted, for the townspeople in S-Town, and now for everyone listening. The flow of the show is steady, starting new threads but wrapping up others along the way, and the season ends with a great resolution that is both bittersweet and utterly fascinating.

There’s a lot of commentary in this show about small towns. When I was young, I lived in a small town here in Oregon, and this show has wonderfully captured that small town feel. But there’s a fascinating other side to John’s hatred for the town and people in it. He hates it because he loves it. It’s two sides of the same gold-plated dime.

S-Town is a great name for the show. Throughout that S has different meanings. Here is how I break down the chapters:

1. Chapter I Shittown
2. Chapter II Social
3. Chapter III Self-destruction
4. Chapter IV Scavenger hunt
5. Chapter V Strife
6. Chapter VI Sexuality
7. Chapter VII Struggle

During chapters IV and V, the people of John’s Shit-town try to make their way through the maze of John’s mind, and the world he has created, putting them through tests of will and morality and even making them question themselves and their actions. This may be exactly what John is hoping for. John relays a story of how the people around him see the world and the other people in it, and it takes some time for Brian to fully grasp John’s analogy.

Some people argue that this series exploits the people in and around the story, but everyone agreed to be on the record for their interviews. John, after pushing away the friends in his life, reached out to Brian as a new companion. John not only uses Brian to help solve a murder, and expose the town of Woodstock to the light of day, but John also shares his 53-page manifesto while they were sitting together. John uses Brian as a biographer.

In addition to the incredible story, I find myself moved by the instrumental music used throughout as transitions and interludes. My head bobs as the plucked cello leads into the heavy beat. The music transports and engulfs me into the story.

Even though clips of interviews are played out of order for narrative effect, I can tell when Brian is interviewing based on his skill level, his comfort, and his questions, because during the three years that he devoted to this man and this town, he grows as an investigator and a reporter. I am very excited to see more from Brian Reed and the rest of the crew.

S-Town is neither Serial nor a true-crime podcast. It’s a journey through the degrading mind of a troubled genius. This podcast shines from its use of storytelling and analogies to convey morals and humanity. This isn’t light listening but something that reflects a mirror on yourself and your community. S-Town is a well-produced, enthralling, and thoroughly entertaining podcast. Like a great book, I didn’t want to put it down; in fact, I listened through seven times. S-Town gets better with each repeat experience. I’m so glad that John reached out to Brian, and they went on this journey together.

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