Appreciating podcast episode art
Time study, awards costs, grateful travelogue, sci-fi in 1984, accepting our bodies, bad sweaters.
This week some really great podcast episode art caught my eye and it made me want to give a moment of appreciation for it. I love when I’m scrolling through my podcast apps and I see the creative episode art that shows are making. In the grand scheme of things, the main show art understandably gets the most attention but putting the time and effort into creating such interesting art for each episode deserves recognition. Sometimes it’s the thing that helps an ongoing show catch your attention and be reminded that you need to revisit their feed. That’s definitely what happened to me this week!
This week’s podstack
To The Best Of Our Knowledge - Deep Time: The Tyranny of Time
Are we thinking about time a lot more lately or is it just in my queue? If you enjoyed The Atlantic’s How to Keep Time series, you’ll love this one from To The Best Of Our Knowledge. Not only does this episode begin with captivating sound design that somehow articulates that feeling of scarcity we have towards time, it also goes deep on the history of time. When did time become so linked to money? Do we even know how to think or measure it outside of that? According to a clock historian, who has thought a lot about time, clocks have always been symbols and systems of power. This series is going to look at all the different ways of measuring time and maybe through that we can heal our relationship with it. Thank you to Shreya for knowing I’d love this episode! (transcript)
Distribution Advocates Presents - The Truth About Awards
I tend to watch a lot of award shows, I’m just a sucker for those sweet acceptance speeches. It’s no secret that award shows don’t really award things equally, but this will make you realize more reasons why. Did you know that most films hire multiple PR teams to help with their award campaigns? The cost for this can run as high as $200,000!! Beyond that, there are so many layers of fees that come with submitting to awards. Like how sometimes you pay one fee to enter and one fee to upload your movie for viewing. If you can’t afford that second fee, how can anyone vote for your film?! Streaming platforms are also using their own tactics to gain some award credits. This episode talks about ways to better support independent filmmakers so that there’s more opportunities to be considered for awards. What’s the real value of these awards? How much do audiences really care? It’s a lot of important questions and perspectives to consider while we’re coming to the end of this year’s award season. (transcript)
The Secret Adventures of Black People - 1. No One is On Plan A | DC '22
Where have you been? Where are you going? These are the questions Nichole Hill asks people as she travels across the country to start a new phase of her life on the west coast. The episodes in this series are short but sweet and it really has that raw travel diary feel to it. What makes it special is the honesty people have when sharing a not so great time in their life and the humble gratitude for where they ended up. It’s a good reminder that if you keep moving forward, you can move toward better things. I also really enjoyed the second episode where Nichole shared her story about the jobs and thoughts that lead her to podcasting.
Imaginary Worlds - Class of '84: Rise of The Villains
This new mini-series from Imaginary Worlds is all about the sci-fi and fantasy movies that made an impact in 1984. After talking about the special effects and character building of The Terminator, you hear from a criminal psychologist who analyzes movie villains. It’s like you get to hear viewers talk about why Terminator resonated so much and then you get to understand it from a psychological perspective. Movies like the Gremlins gave audiences the ability to see sci-fi movies that had a more child-like wonder, instead of heavily cerebral experiences and this represented a shift in the kinds of sci-fi movies that were popular. If you like sci-fi or movie history, you’ll love this! (transcript)
Bodies Are Telling - Bodies Are Telling: Part One
Do you remember when you first noticed your body? Or more specifically, became aware that other people were noticing your body and had things to say about it? That serves as the driving question of this exploration of our relationships to our bodies and how often shame can be part of it. It’s a deeply personal story from Jimanekia Eborn, as she takes us through her life and the way her body was treated by herself and others. From age 5 to 35, it’s everything from awareness, to awkwardness, ashamed, and finally acceptance. With perspectives from psychologists and complimentary sound design throughout, it hits hard but it’s an important lesson in how we talk about ourselves and others’ bodies.
Radio Atlantic - Don’t Buy That Sweater
If you feel like your newer clothing isn’t as good quality as before, this episode will validate and infuriate you. Even though it applies to all our clothing, they’re focusing on sweaters because we tend to think of them as being immune to some of the fast fashion impacts. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. A change in trade agreements in 2005 completely shifted our clothing forever. From how and where it’s made, to what it’s made of. The standards are pretty low now, but thankfully this episode does include some suggestions on how to still find quality items and what to look out for so you don’t end up buying flimsy plastic pretending to be like Billy Crystal’s sweater in When Harry Met Sally. (transcript)
More sweet treats
15 very scientific (and relatable) charts and graphs about podcasts.
Millennials trying to pick their next hobby.
A scale model of the solar system using food for reference.
Do I dare try this post-it note origami?
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!
Fantastic as always! Thank you for including Distribution Advocates. Oh and don't you just LOVE the cover art of Future Ecologies <3