This queue has range
Demonic takeover, sassy Mother Nature, startup fertility clinics, a lesson in community, damaging digital devices, the heaviest box of tapes.
It’s hard to say if there’s really a peak release season for podcasting these days, but wow have there been a lot of amazing shows and seasons launching lately! I’m trying to listen to as much of them as possible before sharing them here, but sometimes I just want to shout them from the rooftops as soon as I finish the first episode. We need good art and storytelling right now and so many podcasts are making sure we have it. Do you have a favourite new release of the fall so far?
This week’s podstack
Two Thousand and Late - 1.01 - HOW TO PROCRASTINATE THE END OF THE WORLD
What happens when a demon takes over your body and doesn’t hold back when you come up against some of society’s bullshit? That’s what Harper is dealing with when Havoc moves into her body. It’s like having the sassy demonic voice in your head, with a running commentary at all times. It’s harmless commentary…until it’s not and the rage takes over! Even though I don’t want a demon to take over me, there is something fun and cathartic about listening to how Havoc reacts to the ridiculous hellscape of late-stage capitalism that we’re all living through. Will Havoc inspire Harper to make some changes?
Sweet Little Human - Bored to Death
I wish that Havoc could have a conversation with Mother Nature from Sweet Little Human because the two of them together would be so sassy, easily annoyed, and swapping stories about all the ways humans have disappointed them. In this hilarious twist on a climate podcast, the host is Mother Nature and they are grumbling, whiskey-drinking, no bullshit-taking as they try to make a show that is actually interesting to people. I dare you to listen to the first five minutes and not be entertained by Mother Nature’s take on what humans have done to the planet.
IVF Disrupted - The Fertility Spa
Start-up culture mixed with healthcare is a recipe for some pretty bleak medical experiences. This story investigates the Kindbody fertility clinic’s messy attempt to become the Starbucks of fertility clinics. They put ambitious profit goals over patient care and it lead to some devastating and expensive experiences for those people. When you’re trying to profit off of people going through an incredibly vulnerable experience, the predatory tactics take advantage of their desperation so fast. We’re talking egg retrieval quotas! The term quotas doesn’t belong in healthcare at all!!! This is a frustrating listen but an important story to be told.
We Are North Nashville - Episode One: Home
The need for community is a popular topic lately, but what does it actually mean to live in community? To really know your neighbours and be there for each other? And wrapped up in all of that, to know the history of the neighbourhood you are all connected by. We Are North Nashville might be the best example of that. It captures that so well, thanks to the elders who are interviewed throughout the show. If you love the sound of conversations that you can tell happened in homes, not studios, you will love hearing these stories. The history of North Nashville isn’t an easy or simple one, but it teaches us so much about what it means to live together.
Left To Their Own Devices - Internet Addicts Anonymous
Can you become addicted to a digital device? We’re learning that the symptoms are very similar to other addictions. Are social media platforms actively trying to make us addicted? They measure everything we do and know what will make us need to come back or keep scrolling. Is social media harming the brains of young people? Unconfirmed but closely monitored. Even though this series is all about the impact of digital devices on young brains, it’s still teaching me a lot about my own brain and my relationship to my devices and scrolling them too much. This is a difficult thing to study and make definitive conclusions on but there’s a lot that scientists have learned so far. What are we going to do about these little dopamine devices and how we all, especially kids, use them?
I’m less than five minutes into this and I pause and say holy shit. You know that feeling? When you hit play on something and start on whatever task you were pairing with your podcast listening. And then you realize. This is something I should savour. This is drawing me in and making me feel that special feeling that audio is exceptional at. I want to soak up this story completely. So I rewind and start again so I don’t miss anything. Archival audio is so special. It has a texture to it that is unmatched. But when Katelyn hears an old radio broadcast on a tape she thought was blank, she actually ends up hearing a voice she’d never heard before. Her dad. “This was a portal. There you are. Here I am. At this sonic axis of space and time.” Imagine hearing a narration like that with this incredibly personal archival audio playing in the background. You don’t have to imagine. Go listen to this pilot episode. The heaviest box of tapes set Katelyn on a journey to understand country music and its impact. Her father loved it, she doesn’t really understand why, but she wants to. I sure hope we get more episodes! Pitch Party is a new place for pilot episodes to find listeners and hopefully the chance to be more than just a pilot and the episodes are SO GOOD.
More sweet treats
I’m just SO happy that Home Cooking is back. It’s my favourite cooking advice! I’d also pair it with Samin’s interview on The Wirecutter Show where she shared so many great kitchen tips.
Conversations like this one with Bill McKibben about just how advanced, affordable, and effective solar power has become are a must listen for anyone who thinks we don’t have solutions to help the climate crisis right now. I listened twice.
If you have kids in your life and need podcasts to listen to with them, I gotta recommend If Objects Could Talk! It’s like Everything is Alive meets Sidedoor and it’s such a fun way to learn about artifacts from the Getty Museum.
Cool Industry Things:
Want to know about the top podcasting events in Europe? Eurowaves has the essential guide!
The Audio Fiction Convention is bringing fiction creators and fans together next June! Learn more and grab a ticket now!
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!