A queue with lots for me and you

Aging apprehension, Niecy Nash-Betts, loving our planet, political disagreements, poisonous dust, broken internet.

This edition of Podstack is spanning across genres, industries, and topics in a way that I love to be able to do. I know my listening habits can become extra fixated on certain topics sometimes, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I love having a little bit of everything to write about. It makes me feel excited by the possibility that more people will find something they want to add to their queue. Let me know if you do and what stands out to you! How many different kinds of shows do you have in your queue?

This week’s podstack

How to Age Up - How to Defy Death

Are we all scared of aging now? More than we were before? The Atlantic doesn’t miss with their series and this time they’re exploring all the ways we feel about aging. Whether we’re trying to defy it, deny it, or embrace it, there are a lot of things pulling us in each direction. From grappling with our own mortality, to navigating food trends that keep us thriving, to learning how to actually love the aging process. It doesn’t have to be dark and it doesn’t have to feel bad. Oh, and it also doesn’t have to involve expensive and drastic changes! One doctor revealed just how important connection, smiling, and movement can be. As we try to optimize ourselves and hack our way to longevity, what really matters to our mind, body and soul as we age? (transcript)

My Hollywood Story - It’s Niecy Nash-Betts…her first line of on-screen dialogue was with Whoopi Goldberg!

I really didn’t know much about Niecy Nash-Betts’ story before listening to this episode, but I dare you to listen and not be impressed with the pure determination that made her the star she is today. She didn’t just manifest things, she went into it knowing this job and success could be hers. I know it might seem like a bit of a cliche thing for an actor to talk about, but her confidence in herself is unlike anything I’ve ever heard and I think we can all learn from her. And it’s not just her confidence in herself, it’s her defiant dedication to being her true, authentic self. That’s what made her special and people took notice. This is one of my favourite Hollywood stories I’ve heard across any podcast.

What If We Get It Right - 9 ways to feel about our changing planet, with Dr. Kate Marvel

It’s really hard to pick a favourite episode of What If We Get It Right. They all teach me so much and shine light on actual solutions that help you believe in the future of our planet. This episode with NASA climate scientist Dr. Kate Marvel covers sooo much I couldn’t believe it was all one episode. Kate reminds us that our planet, Earth, is the best possible planet for us to live on. Getting caught up in living on another planet sounds silly when you consider just how hostile those environments would be for us. So why not just invest in keeping our planet safe and alive? One of the things that Kate said stood out to me so much that I saved the audio clip on my phone for deniers. It was a story about how she couldn’t even convince her own dad that climate change was real and serious…until he realized how insurance companies were treating it. They know it’s real because it’s in their policies and if they ignored that they would lose money. And no other insurance company can swoop in with cheaper prices, because the risk is too high. Kate’s perspective on our planet and science is fun, realistic, and will inspire you to know more and do more.

I Feel That Way Too - Can We Be Friends If We Disagree Politically?

Creating a podcast is an investment no matter what. Sometimes it’s time, sometimes it’s money, often it’s both. But then there are some where the personal investment feels like the biggest part. You know the shows? The ones where the hosts share their own personal and emotional stories to support the grander storytelling of the show. They feel up close, they’re the furthest thing from robotic, they’re the ways we really learn about each other. That’s what Michelle is doing in I Feel That Way Too. She wants to help us feel seen and she’s sharing herself in the stories so we don’t feel alone in it. This episode highlights the friction that can happen when you have a friend who isn’t invested in the causes that you deem of the utmost importance to be involved with. If their actions aren’t as involved as yours or they don’t take actions at all, does it change how you feel about them? What this situation really reveals is the high standards that we hold ourselves to and then others in our life. Even Michelle struggles with being perceived like she’s not doing enough and then sometimes does the same to her friends. Is this really helpful? What can we do instead? Instead of choosing disconnection, maybe we try harder to understand each other.

LEAD - Episode 1 - The Monster in the Walls

LEAD is a visceral retelling of a parent’s real life nightmare. When her son mysteriously becomes ill, Shannon Burkett goes in search of an answer. An explanation for his sudden developmental regression. And once they find it, they find it everywhere. A toxic, poison dust that would be entirely preventable if better policies were in place. Shannon’s son had lead poisoning from construction below their apartment. He was developing ahead of his age and suddenly it was all taken away. Stuck in a poisonous apartment they can barely afford, what do they do? The visceral feeling of this show comes from the storytelling and sound design, but it is compounded by the frustration you feel for Shannon. This is a story of a mother fighting so hard for her son that she not only becomes a nurse to learn more, she is also actively fighting for policies that protect this preventable situation from ever happening to another family again. The episodes are short and feel even shorter by how immersed you get in the story. I wouldn’t be surprised if you finish this all in one afternoon.

Long Shadow - The End of the World as We Know It

When was the last great day on the internet? Some would argue it was ten years ago and involved a dress that was definitely black and blue. What happened next is the story of the internet’s demise, but what about everything that happened leading up to its peak? The first episode of this new series from Long Shadow travels back in time and gave me a greater appreciation for the Y2K scare when everyone feared the internet was going to break and nuclear weapons might be accidentally fired, all because of some code. Obviously, it didn’t happen but that’s not by chance. It’s like a perfect example of how powerful the internet can be and we’ve kinda lost sense of that as its become even more powerful. The second episode dissects some of the early firsts of the internet. From flash mobs to wartime blogging, to the internet’s first political campaign. I thought this would be too similar to Who Broke the Internet, but it’s a different approach. In a lot of ways, it goes deeper and broader. It’s the way that Facebook was the tool that helped the Arab Spring happen. It’s the shift to a click-baiting newsfeed. It’s the movie that launched cyberattacks against the U.S.

More sweet treats

• Switched on Pop’s episode about podcast theme songs is EVERYTHING and I loved the analysis of how these theme songs have evolved over time. I love podcast theme songs!!!

• If you’ve become obsessed with Diabolical Lies like I have, you might enjoy Dire Straights while waiting for more episodes.

• Lauren told me about kill switch and now I’m adding every episode to my queue.

Thank you for reading! If you listened to something this week that made your heart sing, your imagination wander, or your brain ponder, I’d love to hear about it!