The Oscars in my podcast queue
The Oscars in my podcast queue
The future of the internet, salt's saltiness, script supervisors, thawing Canadian communities, body image around the world, heartfelt medical biases.
After watching the Oscars last night, it became aggressively obvious how invested I am in my pop culture podcasts. I was eagerly awaiting Commotion’s episode today to hear the group chat’s thoughts on the event. I’m counting down the hours until Vibe Check drops on Wednesday because Sam Sander’s excitement in last week’s episode was so much fun. I know Critics at Large were having a viewing party, so I’m curious about their reactions. I’ve heard many of the nominees discussed across these shows and more all awards season long. Just as podcast appearances have become part of movie press tours and awards campaigns, podcasters have become the voices I want to hear from about it all.
This week’s podstack
At Tink we looooove reverse interviews. That’s where a guest host takes over an episode to interview the usual host and the audience gets an opportunity to learn more about the host. And that’s exactly what Hank Green has done on Decoder with host Nilay. I don’t know what’s better - Hank’s giddiness or his perfectly curious questions. That kind of questioning is one of Hank’s specialties and as a genuine fan of The Verge, he’s learning more about how they operate and what’s happening to the internet in general. It ends up being a look at how media is reacting to and interacting with the wild landscape of the internet, and what that means for everyday people. I really liked when Hank and Nilay commiserate about why they keep sharing free content on The Bad site while also talking about how work in media needs to be valued and supported. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “content is king”, Nilay challenges that really well by pointing how distribution might actually be the most important part.
The Sporkful - Anything’s Pastable 1 | Every Grain Of Salt
Have you ever had a recipe turn out too salty or kinda bland? This could be because of the varying degrees of saltiness of each kind of salt. That’s right - not all salts are equal. You know what keeps cookbook writers and recipe developers up at night? Not knowing which kind of salt a person will be using and therefore not knowing what quantity of salt to suggest. This is just one of the small but significant details that Dan Pashman is realizing as he’s working on his own cookbook. It’s a follow up to his last venture, creating cascatelli - a new pasta shape. Now he’s on a mission to give people more variety of sauces to have with different kinds of pasta and he’s documenting the whole process. From choosing the title to taste testing way too many pasta recipes. (transcript)
What Went Wrong - Below The Line - Script Supervisor (Killers of the Flower Moon)
This is a bit of a different episode for this show, but it’s a fascinating look at a job I knew nothing about. A script supervisor has to be thinking like an editor, director, and actor the whole time to help make sure everything is flowing properly. Their minds are focusing on where cuts will be, what the continuity is, if things in the scene match the script and more. It sounds like such a difficult skill set to build up! Jessica Lichtner talks about learning how to keep track of cuts by watching movies without sound and noting the cuts. By thinking about cuts during the filming process, it helps the editors have the shots and movements they need for cutting together in an easy way (hopefully). She talks specifically about working with Martin Scorsese and his editor Thelma Schoonmaker and how their timing for cuts and emotional moments tends to go beyond typical formulas. Almost like they have their own special rhythm to it.
The Place That Thaws - Tracing one warm line
This show is about life in the warming parts of the Arctic and how locals in these small Canadian towns are experiencing the changes. The first episode takes place in the second most northern community in Canada - Resolute Bay. Unrelated to weather, we hear about how more people are spending time inside on their phones, but the welcoming community tends to keep their doors unlocked as a friendly tradition and for safety - in case someone needs to run inside quickly to escape a polar bear! Locals talk about how the landscape has changed and what they’re worried will be an issue next. It’s got such a nostalgic feeling as they discuss how winter used to be. But in an interesting plot twist, some expensive ships have been seen exploring the area and there could be changes to shipping paths with how the melting is clearing up space. This is a complicated impact, both economically and environmentally.
Where To Be A Woman - Body Image
If you were creating a safe and accepting place for women, what would you include? Hosts Scaachi Koul and Sophia Smith Galer are on a mission to learn about the best of women’s well-being from around the world. Where are women living their best lives? Their goal is to imagine what the ideal female fantasy land would include. Even though it’s for a fantasy land, it’s based on real lived experiences. In this first episode, they’re in search of the places where women’s body image is treated best. When it comes to body image, they’re kind of thinking in terms of body satisfaction and the types of bodies that are represented in each country. By learning about the different perceptions of an ideal body in St Lucia, they gather some promising practices to bring to their fantasy land. It’s an interesting format for learning about what it’s like to be a woman in different parts of the world and I’m curious to hear what else they collect.
A Touch of Hysteria - PILOT: A Touch of Hysteria
Even though there’s only one episode of this show so far, I can see why it won JAR Audio’s International Women’s Day Pilot Competition. It’s investigating the different ways that women’s experiences are downplayed and disregarded in the healthcare system. The first episode centres around heart conditions and introduces you to how bad things can be through the story of one woman’s close call with heart disease. It took several visits and concerning symptoms before a doctor finally asked the right questions. Part of the reason the right questions didn’t get asked ties back to the assumptions and longstanding practices that exist in the healthcare system that neglect to properly understand women’s bodies. There are built in biases and stigmas that lead to this, but the show helps us learn what to pay attention to so we can better advocate for ourselves. As interested as I was in the topic, it was the production quality that really sold me on it. Host Ann Kane weaves the information and lived experiences together to guide listeners through each stage of understanding this issue. I hope there’s more to come!
More sweet treats
I have a new found appreciation for the thoughtful engineering of coffee cup lids.
This was a good reminder to read more.
A day in the life of Barbie’s wardrobe stylist seems pretty fun.
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!