Got lost in the queue
motherly advice, iconic canned meat, the yips, how to sci-fi, a comic book heist.
I have to confess something. You may have noticed that I like listening to lots of different podcasts. I like to jump into new shows, go back to old favourites, and soak up all the variety. But sometimes that comes at a cost… Sometimes I start a series and then get so distracted by other shows that I forget to finish it. There’s just too many great shows to listen to! Not that I’m complaining! I am, however, trying to correct that tendency. This newsletter is kinda helping me keep track of my listening a bit better, which brings me to this week’s round up!
This past week I decided to focus most of my listening time on returning to series I loved but never finished. I let newer releases pile up a bit and tried not to get distracted by my existing queue. Keyword being tried. I still listened to new stuff and got distracted enough that I almost completely changed this whole newsletter. Let that just serve as a good tease for how many more shows I’ve got lined up to share with you. I’m trying to keep things relatively short here, but just know I’m impatiently excited for what’s next in my queue.
Anyways, on to the forgotten series! If you’re like me and accidentally forgot about a series you started, I highly recommend going back to it. I’m so so glad I did! I kicked myself for taking so long to do so! It’s never too late to go back to a show. You’re not late to the party, the party never really ends!
Hello podcasts, my old friends. I’ve come to listen to you again…
Radiotopia Presents: My Mother Made Me
This four episode series features Jason Reynolds sharing the advice his mother taught him, which sounds fairly simply but a podcast written by a poet just hits different. The narration is descriptive, rhythmic, and raw. What I love about the parts where he talks directly to his mom is that they aren’t in a studio, they’re just hanging out together. He’s just talking to her and she’s enjoying the conversation. And his narration that ties all these conversations together tells the story of bigger themes about life. The music perfectly compliments the words with lots of soft songs with piano and light strings. There are even some subtle touches of sound design when Jason is describing things like searching through letters. It’s personal journal that’s written poetically and scored perfectly. I think the words would sing without the music and sound design, because Jason Reynolds is just that good, but they elevate his words to their full potential. I also loved the opening monologue in the first episode that’s a montage about all the podcasts, what they sound like and what they’re about. These personal, memoir-esque podcasts are becoming my favourite genre. (transcripts)
Like all episodes of The Experiment, the three episode SPAM series is a stylishly assembled, narrative documentary that mixes personal interviews, historian interviews, and lots of archival references. I truly love the editing style with its perfect music choices, sound design that paints a picture and exceptional mix of field recordings and studio recordings. It’s almost like a tale of (at least) two SPAMs – the SPAM that is tied to wartime experiences and the way it spread around the world, and the current state of SPAM in the U.S.. Did you know there’s a SPAM museum in Texas? I didn’t, but now I want to go! This feeds my love for fascinating and complex food stories. And it’s so awesome when something that you think is going to just be one episode becomes more because you discover these other, equally important parts of the story. P.s. I miss The Experiment. (transcripts)
I watch a lot of basketball and hockey, and often find myself thinking about the mental game of being an athlete. Losing Control studies that mental game through one, extreme and game changing phenomenon that some athletes experience- the yips (I’m whispering so that Ted Lasso doesn’t hear). Can you imagine suddenly not being able to perform? Out of nowhere? Each episode features interviews with athletes and experts in sport psychology. Even though the yips are the big question of the show, there are so many other experiences of an athlete’s mind that host Justin Su’a explores. As he describes, each episode builds on the next to give you the full picture of how the mental game is just as important as the physical.
What happens when a team of comedy writers try to make a sci-fi? You learn a lot about writing, world building, character development, and the sci-fi genre! Ryan, Mark, and Maddy have fun chemistry together and I like the mix of situations we hear them in. Having an all night sci-fi movie marathon, interviewing other writers and actors, struggling in their own writing room. I can only imagine how much tape they had for this series but the team did an excellent job piecing it all together. With all the recognition this show got at the end of 2022, I knew I had dropped the ball. It’s such a fun and refreshing format! There are a lot of shows that talk about the creative process, but this one gives you such an honest look behind the scenes at the actual process and struggles. Plus, when I heard they’re coming out with Let’s Make a Rom-Com I knew I really had to catch up!
When pieces from Nicolas Cage’s extremely rare comic book collection go missing in 1999, a long saga to find Superman begins. It’s a bit more complicated than a typical robbery, but maybe not quite as complicated as a full on art heist… or at least some would assume it’s not as complicated. But Dana Schwartz gives it the art heist treatment and that’s what I like about it. A job like this takes some planning! You learn about the ways someone might get away with this, what has happened in other (suspiciously) similar incidents, and how long it can take to recover. There’s also another angle to the story, about the other times that Superman has been “stolen” in different ways. You get an interesting look into Nicolas Cage’s life, the world of rare comics, and just the right amount of crime for my taste.
More sweet treats
I’m throwing in some quick links to other things I enjoyed this week.
The brilliant Lauren Passell matching favourite movies with podcast recommendations.
The replies to a tweet about exceptional moments in audio fiction.
A Twitter Space filled with wonderful podcast newsletter writers.
7 Black Pioneers Every Podcaster Should Be Thankful For.
Proof that I’m not the only one cooking and cleaning my way through 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!
Even though I loved My Mother Made Me, I never thought of it as poetic until I read this. In retrospect, you're right. It is!