Podcasts of the Week Ending July 13

Hit Parade :: The History of Show Tunes and the Pop Charts

A broad history of Broadway tunes and cast albums making it to the top of the charts, whether as original cast recordings, covers, or even samples.  I learned a lot, such as the fact that Natalie Wood did not sing her own songs in West Side Story, and that Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita were concept albums before they were staged as shows.

StoryCorps :: A Danger to My Country

Stories of the “Lavender Scare” in the 1950s federal government, and the gay man who had to enforce it.

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Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• AirSpace – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left– 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring  – 2
• Fresh Air – 6
• Futility Closet – 1
• Have You Heard? – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 3
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 3
• Lost Notes – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• The Moth – 1
• 99% Invisible – 9
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Science Talk – 1
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
• Sound Opinions – 1
• StoryCorps – 2
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 5
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week for the (three weeks) ending June 29

AirSpace :: Rock on the Moon

Not moon rocks, but the music astronauts listened on the journey to the moon and back.

Best of the Left :: Modern Monetary Theory: We already use it, now we need to understand it

I didn’t know much about Modern Monetary Theory and it’s benefits to sociery, so I found this very illuminating.

Decoder Ring :: Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War

My grandmother took my sister and I to a Chuck E. Cheese in the 80s when we were much too old for Chuck E. Cheese.  From this podcast I learned that the audioanimatronic shows were intended for adults and that they no longer exist at Chuck E. Cheese today.  And that’s just the beginning of a lot of strange stories.

Fresh Air :: How Ordinary People Got Us To The Moon

Some great stories of the unheralded people behind the race to the moon.

Have You Heard? :: White Homebuyers, Black Neighborhoods and the Future of Urban Schools

Hub History :: Boston Marriages in Literature and Life

The history of romantic relationships between women in 19th century Boston.

Smithsonian Sidedoor :: The Worst Video Game Ever

I remember playing E.T.: The Game as a child and constantly falling into pits.  The @#*!! pits!!!!

StoryCorps :: Remembering Stonewall: 50 Years Later

First-person stories of the riot that changed the world.

WBUR News :: Should Massachusetts Change Its Flag?

Massachusetts’ flag is boring and features a racial stereotype.  We can do better.

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Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• AirSpace – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left– 3
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring  – 2
• Fresh Air – 6
• Futility Closet – 1
• Have You Heard? – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 3
• Lost Notes – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• The Moth – 1
• 99% Invisible – 9
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Science Talk – 1
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
• Sound Opinions – 1
• StoryCorps – 1
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 5
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending June 8

BackStory :: Songs of Ourselves?

Walt Whitman and the American Imagination on the 200th anniversary of his birth.

The Moth :: Mets, McDonalds, and a White House Secret

The story of the author of “Go the F**k to Sleep” ends up at a fundraiser with Dr. Ferber and a family finds a way to get to see the Mets first World Series championship.

Code Switch :: The Original ‘Welfare Queen’

The story of a con artist, child abductor, and possible murderer whose crimes were used to justify to slash welfare safety nets by the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

99% Invisible :: The Automat

When I was a kid, I loved going to the last surviving Automat in New York City, a surviving relic of Old New York.  This podcasts details the 100 year history of the innovative Horn & Hardart restaurants in Philadelphia and New York that became a cultural touchstone.

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Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 3
• Best of the Left– 2
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 5
• Futility Closet – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 2
• Lost Notes – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• The Moth – 1
• 99% Invisible – 9
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Science Talk – 1
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• Sound Opinions – 1
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 4
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending June 1

Futility Closet :: The General Slocum

The grim history of the worst maritime disaster in New York City.

Best of the Left :: Our built environment shapes society and vice versa

The issues of increasing urban density, building social housing, and deprioritizing the automobile in cities are near and dear in my heart. And yet, even Leftists tend to fall into the pro-car/pro-sprawl trap, so it’s good to hear these arguments for a more livable urbanism.

Hub History  ::  Love is Love: John Adams and Marriage Equality 

It seems like yesterday, but 15 years have passed since Massachusetts became the first state to perform legal same-sex marriages.  Here’s the history of how that came to be.

Sound Opinions  ::  De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising

I have a lot of nostalgia for De La Soul’s debut album which came out when I was a nerdy high school student.  The Sound Opinions crew explore how the album was created and explain why it’s so hard to find the album today.

Hit Parade :: The Invisible Miracle Sledgehammer Edition

If you turned on the radio in the mid-1980s, you were likely to hear music by members of Genesis (Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Mike and the Mechanics) while the band Genesis continued to make hits.  Chris Molanphy explains this unusual situation in pop music history.

Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 2
• Best of the Left– 2
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 5
• Futility Closet – 1
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 2
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 2
• Lost Notes – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• 99% Invisible – 8
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Science Talk – 1
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• Sound Opinions – 1
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 4
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week: Special New Podcasts Edition

I haven’t heard any standout podcast episodes to share with you for a while.  But, I’ve also started listening to some (new to me) podcasts.  Here are my latest discoveries:

Baby Geniuses

I subscribed to this because it’s co-hosted by Lisa Hanawalt, creator of Tuca & Bertie.  The show seems to just about sharing stuff you know.

Greater Boston

A serial audio drama set in an alternate universe Boston where, among other things, there’s an effort afoot for the Red Line to secede and become its own city.  The show started several years back so I’ve started listening from the beginning.  Quirky and entertaining, so far.

Lost Notes

A podcast series that tells obscure music stories.  So far I’ve listened to excellent episodes about how a bad recording of “Louie, Louie” became the defining interpretation of the song, the scandal of Boston’s New Edition filming a music video with the LA Lakers, and how synthesizer pioneer Suzanne Ciani explored her art in commercials.

Next Left

The Nation interviews up and coming progressive leaders.

Science Rules!

Bill Nye – the science guy -answers your questions about science.

White Lies

A serialized documentary about the murder of Reverend James Reeb in Selma, Alabama in 1965 and how no one was ever brought to justice for the crime.

And, podcast of the week episodes:

Fresh Air :: Lizzo on “Cuz I Love You,” Self-Love And Bringing ‘Hallelujah Moments’ To Stage

Lizzo is a terrific artist, as demonstrated on her album Cuz I Love You, and a terrific interview, as demonstrated with Terri Gross.

Science Talk :: Secrets of the Universe Revealed

Steven Strogatz makes calculus interesting for the lay person.

Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 2
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 5
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Lost Notes – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• 99% Invisible – 8
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• Science Talk – 1
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 4
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending May 11

More or Less :: Avengers: Should We Reverse the Snap?

The economic impact of losing half the earth’s population, and possible negative impact of restoring 4 billion lost souls.

Memory Palace :: This Story Climbed Mount Washington

The history of Mt. Washington’s Cog Railway and early tourism potential.

Radiolab :: Dinopacolypse Redux

How did the dinosaurs die, and more to the point, how quickly did the dinosaurs die after the earth was hit by an asteroid?  Newly discovered evidence is updating the theory of what happened and when in surprising ways.

30 for 30 Podcasts :: Back Pass

Building on the US Women’s National Team’s success at drawing crowds to the 1999 Women’s World Cup, a new professional soccer league was born.  WUSA folded after three seasons, but this documentary shows that the league was far more sucessful than we’ve been lead to believe.

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Running tally of Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 2
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 4
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Memory Palace – 3
• More or Less – 2
• More Perfect – 2
• 99% Invisible – 8
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 2
• Radio Boston – 2
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 4
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending April 27

Fresh Air :: Actor Glenda Jackson Is King Lear

Glenda Jackson is an experienced actor who talks about her long career.  She’s also a former Member of Parliament who spoke the truth about Margaret Thatcher after the latter’s death.  She’s now portraying King Lear on Broadway and I want to go see that now.

99% Invisible :: Play Mountain

Isamu Noguchi was a sculptor and designer with an interesting life story.  He designed an abstract playground structure for New York City but was rejected by Robert Moses, who became a lifelong enemy (and this makes me love Noguchi more).  During World War II, he volunteered for internment in order to design a humane camp for the Japanese-American internees, and then found himself both unable to influence the design and unable to leave.  Today, his legacy lives on in unique, abstract playgrounds.

More or Less :: The economic impact of mega sporting events

Proponents of the Olympic Games claim the event can bring great economic benefits to host cities, but the numbers show otherwise.

 

Running tally of Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 1
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 4
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Memory Palace – 2
• More or Less – 1
• More Perfect – 2
• 99% Invisible – 7
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 2
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending April 21

Fresh Air :: Robert Caro

I happen to be in the midst of reading The Power Broker right now so I was postively giddy to hear Robert Caro talk about writing his extensive biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, and their exploration of power.

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Running tally of Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 1
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 3
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Memory Palace – 2
• More Perfect – 1
• 99% Invisible – 7
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 2
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending April 14

The Memory Palace :: Jackie Mitchell

The story of the first woman to play on a professional baseball team, most famous for pitching in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees and striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Hidden Brain :: Radically Normal: How Gay Rights Activists Changed The Minds Of Their Opponents

The acceptance of LGBTQ people in the United States has improved radically in a short period of time.  Hidden Brain explores what brought about the change in attitudes, and questions why other groups discriminated against have not seen as much positive change.

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Birdsong

Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?  Perhaps because they have something important to say.

99% Invisible :: Froebel’s Gifts

The origins of kindergarten date to the late 18th-century when Friedrich Froebel came up with the idea of teaching young children through the structured use of educational toys.

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Running tally of Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 1
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 2
• Hidden Brain – 2
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Memory Palace – 2
• More Perfect – 1
• 99% Invisible – 7
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 2
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 2
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1

Podcasts of the Week Ending April 7

I’ve let my podcasts pile up this week because I’ve been listening to audiobooks instead, but the one podcast I’ve singled out here for recognition is an absolutely fabulous podcast about a certified genius.

Hit Parade :: The Everybody Say YEAH! Edition

Hit Parade traces Stevie Wonder’s career from his first #1 single – ““Fingertips, Part 2” in 1963 – and his emergence as a song writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and recording artist into his imperial period of the 1970s.  Chris Molanphy’s description of “Little” Stevie Wonder improvising on the live performance recording of “Fingerpits” as a 12-year old doing everything he can to stay up later past bedtime, is absolutely perfect.

Running tally of Podcast of the Week appearances:

• Afropop Worldwide – 1
• The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
• BackStory – 1
• Best of the Left– 1
• Code Switch – 2
• Decoder Ring  – 1
• Fresh Air – 2
• Hidden Brain – 1
• Hit Parade – 1
• Household Name – 1
• Hub History – 1
• Memory Palace – 1
• More Perfect – 1
• 99% Invisible – 6
• The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
• On the Media – 2
• Planet Money – 1
• Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
• Re:Sound – 1
• Radiolab  – 1
• Radio Boston – 2
• 60 Second Science – 1
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 2
• This American Life – 1
• Throughline – 4
• To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
• Tomorrow Society – 1
• The Truth – 2
• Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 1
• The War on Cars – 1
• WBUR News – 2
• We Need Some Milk – 1
• What Next – 1