Podcasts of Two Weeks Ending September 12

AirSpace :: Me and the Sky

The story behind the musical Come Far Away which draws upon the life of one of the first women to become a commercial airline pilot, Beverly Bass, and the grounding of 38 passenger planes in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001 (a story also covered in the book The Day the World Came To Town).

The Moth :: All Together Now​: ​Fridays with The Moth​ – Caroline Hunter & Anne Moraa

I’m sharing this particularly for Caroline Hunter’s story of working at Polaroid in Cambridge, MA and discovering that her supposedly progressive company was aiding the Apartheid regime in South Africa, and how she lead the fight to stop it.

99% Invisible :: Podcast Episode

This podcast traces the rise and fall of generic supermarket products in the 1970s & 1980s through the story of the Canadian chain Loblaws.

:: Where Do We Go From Here?

The controversies over transgender people using public restrooms is only the latest issue related to toilet facilities that has split the American people.  Designers in this episode note that public restrooms are actually poorly designed for most people and introduce a new design that would address the problems faced by transgender people, disabled people, and many others.

Planet Money :: The Old Rules Were Dumb Anyway

The COVID-19 is changing many of the rules from medical practices to restaurants. This podcast episode argues that the rules should not revert to normal when the pandemic ends.

Radiolab :: Translation

Several stories that address the idea of translation and attempting to find truth and meaning.

Sound Opinions :: The Replacements & Mission of Burma

Two of my favorite bands in one podcast.  The Replacements get the biographical treatment, with the help of the author of Trouble Boys Bob Mehr, and then we hear an in-studio performance by Mission of Burma.

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RUNNING TALLY OF PODCAST OF THE WEEK APPEARANCES

• AirSpace – 1
• Afropop Worldwide – 3
• All Songs Considered – 3
• BackStory – 4
• Brattle Film Podcast – 2
• Best of the Left – 2
• Coronavirus Daily/Consider This – 4
• Code Switch – 3
• Decoder Ring – 5
• Fresh Air – 9
• Futility Closet – 3
• Have You Heard – 3
• Here & Now – 1
• Hidden Brain – 3
• Hit Parade – 2
• Hub History – 1
• The Last Archive – 4
• LeVar Burton Reads – 1
• Memory Palace – 4
• More Than Enough – 4
• Mortified – 1
• The Moth – 1
• Nice White Parents – entire series
• 99% Invisible – 8
• 60-Second Science – 4
• Planet Money – 4
• The Politics of Everything – 2
• Radio Boston – 3
• Radiolab – 7
• Retro Disney World – 1
• Risk! – 1
• Science Talk – 2
• Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
• Snap Judgment – 1
• Sound Opinions – 1
• The Thirty20Eight – 1
• This American Life – 2
• This Day in Esoteric Public History – 1
• Throughline – 10
• The Tomorrow Society – 1
• Twenty Thousand Hertz – 7
• Wedway Radio – 1
• What Next – 10

Podcasts of the Week Ending October 5th

99% Invisible :: The Help-Yourself City

A discussion of “Informal Urbanism,” the practice of ordinary people making changes to the city outside the legal and regulatory framework, either for needed improvements to the community or for self-interest.

Code Switch :: Political Prisoners

One of the many injustices of mass incarceration is “prison gerrymandering,” which results from prison being counted by the census and districting as part of the population where they’re incarcerated rather than their prior permanent address.  The non-prison population of the districts, often a small minority, are able to elect representatives who have no interest in representing the prisoners in their constituency.

Sound Opinions :: Fugazi’s Repeater

A breakdown of the Washington hardcore punk band’s seminal 1990 album, including interviews with the great Ian MacKaye.

The War on Cars :: The Problem with Public Meetings

Are public meetings the most democratic and effective way of finding common ground on the use of shared urban spaces?  Probably not.  This episode breaks down the problems of public meetings through the lens of a town hall forum in Brooklyn.

Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• • Afropop Worldwide – 1
  • AirSpace – 1
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
  • BackStory – 5
  • Best of the Left– 3
  • Code Switch – 5
  • Decoder Ring  – 3
  • Fresh Air – 8
  • Futility Closet – 1
  • Have You Heard? – 1
  • Hidden Brain – 2
  • Hit Parade – 4
  • Household Name – 1
  • Hub History – 6
  • Lost Notes – 1
  • Memory Palace – 5
  • More or Less – 3
  • More Perfect – 2
  • The Moth – 1
  • 99% Invisible – 11
  • The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
  • Next Left – 1
  • On the Media – 4
  • Planet Money – 3
  • Planet Money: The Indicator – 1
  • Re:Sound – 1
  • Radiolab  – 2
  • Radio Boston – 2
  • Science Talk – 1
  • 1619 Project – 4
  • 60 Second Science – 1
  • Smithsonian Sidedoor – 3
  • Sound Opinions – 4
  • StoryCorps – 2
  • 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
  • This American Life – 2
  • Tiny Desk Concert – 1
  • Throughline – 7
  • To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
  • Tomorrow Society – 1
  • Travel with Rick Steves – 1
  • The Truth – 3
  • Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 3
  • The War on Cars – 3
  • WBUR News – 5
  • We Need Some Milk – 1
  • What Next – 1

Podcasts of (Two) Weeks Ending August 17

Sound Opinions :: Why the Ramones Matter

Breaking down the importance of New York’s great punk band.

Planet Money :: Deep Learning With Elephants

Studying elephants by recording the sounds they make and then the technology needed to break down all that data.

Sound Opinions :: The Legend of Robert Johnson

Separating the reality from the myth of the great Delta Blues guitarist. One thing that struck me is that Johnson was born after my grandparents, people I knew, making the Johnson shrouded in myth seem closer to me than I’d ever though before.

Decoder Ring :: Ice-Cream Truck

The history of ice-cream trucks in New York City, and more startling, the mob-like operation of different trucks and different companies staking out territory in the city.

Fresh Air :: Sister Helen Prejean

An interview that discusses the life of the great activist and spiritual leader.

Hit Parade :: The Bridge: Nostalgic for No. 1’s

I’ve long been a fan of Chris Molanphy’s analysis of record charts on Hit Parade and recently also began reading Tom Breihan’s column in Stereogum reviewing The Number Ones from 1958 to the present.  This show brings them together.

Running tally of 2019 Podcast of the Week appearances:

• • Afropop Worldwide – 1
  • AirSpace – 1
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed – 1
  • BackStory – 4
  • Best of the Left– 3
  • Code Switch – 4
  • Decoder Ring  – 3
  • Fresh Air – 8
  • Futility Closet – 1
  • Have You Heard? – 1
  • Hidden Brain – 2
  • Hit Parade – 4
  • Household Name – 1
  • Hub History – 4
  • Lost Notes – 1
  • Memory Palace – 3
  • More or Less – 2
  • More Perfect – 2
  • The Moth – 1
  • 99% Invisible – 10
  • The New Yorker Radio Hour – 1
  • Next Left – 1
  • On the Media – 4
  • Planet Money – 2
  • 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 – 3
  • StoryCorps – 2
  • 30 for 30 Podcasts – 2
  • This American Life – 2
  • Tiny Desk Concert – 1
  • Throughline – 5
  • To the Best of Our Knowledge – 1
  • Tomorrow Society – 1
  • Travel with Rick Steves – 1
  • The Truth – 2
  • Twenty Thousand Hertz  – 3
  • The War on Cars – 1
  • WBUR News – 5
  • 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 Ending June 9

RadioLab :: Poison Control

Ever wonder why there’s a number to call with questions about poisoning, who answers those calls, and what the experience is like on their end?  Here’s that story.

99% Invisible :: 77 Steps

99pi breaks down the history and design of the Emeco 10-06 Navy chair and its many impostors.

Decoder Ring :: The Johnlock Conspiracy

Investigating the role of shipping in the consumption of popular culture through the story of the controversy among fans regarding a possible romantic relationship between the lead characters on BBC’s Sherlock.

HUB History :: Wicked Proud

LGBTQ history in Boston and the local origins of pride.

More Or Less: Behind the Stats :: How Many Wizards & Witches are Britain and Ireland?

Statistical analysis determines the number of witches & wizards in Britain & Ireland based on the Harry Potter books.  Spoiler: J.K Rowling greatly lowballs the actual number!

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Amen Break

A history of the most famous drum solo and it’s many sampled appearances across music.

Sound Opinions :: Give the Drummer Some

Speaking of drummers, here’s an entire episode of appreciation of great rock and roll drummers with some great analysis from Joe Wong.

Disney History Institute :: An Unusual History of Disney Audio-animatronics

How a 1934 World’s Fair exhibit inspired Walt Disney and what Gene Kelly thought of seeing his audio-animatronic double.

Podcasts of the Week Ending January 27

A good crop of podcasts this week featuring Parliament and owls, but not a parliament of owls.

Twenty Thousand Hertz :: Six O’Clock Soundtrack

I always liked tv news music as a child too, particularly the Action News theme.  Here’s the story of how news music is made.

Sound Opinions :: New Wave & Alison Moyet

Another defining musical style of my childhood, New Wave, is examined along with an interview with New Wave musical great Alison Moyet.

Code Switch :: The ‘R-Word’ In The Age Of Trump

An exploration of when it’s appropriate to describe someone or something as racist and why some journalists are hesitant to do so.

All Songs Considered :: George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars

Parliament Funkadelic are back and as funky as ever.

LeVar Burton Reads :: “The Truth About Owls” by Amal El-Mohtar

A sweet story about a girl from Lebanon who immigrates to England and finds her place through the study of owls and Welsh mythology.

Snap Judgement :: Senior Year Mixtape

The touching and heartbreaking of three students at a San Francisco high school over the course of their senior year.

Hit Parade :: The B-Sides Edition

The first live-audience Hit Parade episode features pub trivia questions about b-sides that became bigger hits than their a-sides and a performance by Ted Leo, “the nicest guy in punk.”

Podcasts of the Week Ending December 23

The final Podcasts of the Week post is all Christmas content.

StoryCorps :: Cynical Santa

This story is from 1990 and it’s hard to imagine that there could be a Cynical Santa in today’s New York, at least at Rockefeller Center.

Tiny Desk :: Hanson for the Holidays

Hanson is a band of brothers who had big pop hits in the 1990s and I hadn’t thought of them since, but I heard this concert of Christmas music and … I liked it.

Tiny Desk :: The Big Tiny Desk Holiday Special

If Hanson wasn’t enough, here’s a collection of holiday music concerts from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Polyphonic Spree, and Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, among others.

Irish and Celtic Music Podcast :: Joy on Your Celtic Christmas Day

If you prefer your holiday music with a Celtic flair.

Sound Opinions :: The Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular 2017

A collection of arcane holiday tunes collected by Andy Cirzan called Snowbound Soliloquies.

What I’m Listening to Now – April 2017

Song of the Month

“Cherry Blossom” by ALA.NI

Podcasts of the Month

Best of the Left – Progressives Fight on Multiple Fronts

I hear too much infighting about the best way to conduct the resistance, so it’s good to hear this podcast the multiple fronts on which progressives are fighting for our country and our future.

Sound Opinions – Mavis Staples

An insightful interview with the musical legend.

The Memory Palace – Temple

I’ve always enjoyed visiting the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Turns out that the temple is not as old as I thought nor has it been in the Met for as long as I’d imagined either.  The stories of why it was built and how it ended up in New York are equally fascinating.

Ben Frankin’s World – Paul Revere’s Ride Through History

Four scholars explore the history of Paul Revere and why we remember him today.

99% Invisible – Sounds Natural

Viewers of nature documentaries expect that everything in the film comes directly from nature, but having microphones in the right place to capture sounds is so difficult and dangerous that most animal sounds are produced by foley artists.

StarTalk Radio – Baseball: Physics at the Plate

A baseball player, physicists, and comedians join together to discuss baseball at SXSW.  Good things happen

Planet Money – Georgetown, Lousiana

The story of a Louisiana town where many of the residents are descendants of 272 slaves sold to fund Georgetown University.

Albums of the Month

Artist: Charly Bliss
Album: Guppy
Release Date: April 21, 2017
Favorite Tracks: “Glitter,” “Black Hole,” and “Ruby”

Thoughts: The Brooklyn power pop quartet bring back a mid-90s sound reminiscent of  Letters to Cleo and Velocity Girl.  Eva Hendricks sings a bit nasally over fuzzed-out guitars and drums with lyrics that aren’t anywhere as sweet as they’re sung.  It’s a great throwback but having lived through it all the first time around, I’d prefer something new.
Rating: ***

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Artist: Future Islands
Album: The Far Field
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Favorite Tracks: “Beauty of the Road,” “Cave,” and “Shadows”

Thoughts: I was not familiar with the Baltimore-based synthpop outfit, but the reviews of the album were good so I thought I’d give it a shot.  The sound is very 80s, reminiscent of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, but Samuel Herring’s vocals overlaying the synths are more growly than romantic.  Once again, I’m feeling that I’ve heard this all before. The highlight is the duet with Debbie Harry on “Shadows.”
Rating: **1/2

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Artist: Alexandra Savior
Album: Belladonna of Sadness
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Thoughts: This debut from the Portland, OR singer-songwriter features moody crooning over 60’s style jazz-pop.  It’s a little bit reminiscent of Fiona Apple, not to mention umpteen singers from the swinging sixties.  There’s too much polish on this album and the raw talent Savior has is unable to shine through.
Rating: **

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Artist: The New Pornographers
Album: Whiteout Conditions
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Favorite Tracks: “High Ticket Attractions”

Thoughts: I’m a long-time fan of The New Pornographers and I’m disappointed by their latest release.  There’s nothing new about it as the reliance on synthesizers seems to just water down their traditional sound rather then expand into new territories.  The emotion and variety of previous albums.  Perhaps the absence of Dan Bejar contributes to the lack of balance and feeling of incompleteness.
Rating: **

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Artist: Gorillaz
Album: Humans
Release Date: April 28, 2017
Favorite Tracks: “Ascension” (feat. Vince Staples),”Momentz” (feat. De La Soul), “Let Me Out” (feat. Mavis Staples and Pusha T), and “We Got the Power” (feat. Jenny Beth)

Thoughts: The band of animated characters is joined by an army of guest artists on this hip-hop, indie pop, electronic dance party album.  It’s all over the place and delightfully strange but there’s a little something for everyone.
Rating: ***1/2

That’s April!  If there’s something I should listen to in May, let me know in the comments.

Podcasts of the Week – Week Ending August 14

BackStory – “Another Man’s Treasure”

Several fascinating stories of the history of trash in America.

Have You Heard? –  “The Middle Class Myth: Why College Doesn’t Solve Poverty“>

Another myth of the meritoricracy busted.  Attending college actually creates debt rather than raising people out of poverty, especially if they’re unable to graduate

Sound Opinions – “Ska”

I’ve always been a fan of ska music, especially the first and second waves, the third wave less so. Here’s a great historical background of this music, great for parties and political messaging alike.

Re:Sound – “The Whatever Suits You Show”

Really liked the story of the business making custom-made suits for women and transmen. Also, a good 99% Invisible episode about police uniforms.

99% Invisible – A Sea Worth It’s Salt

The unlikeley story of California’s largest body of water, created by accident in the early 1900s, turned into a tourist resort in the 50s and 60s, and today scorned for it’s unaturalness even within the environmental movement, despite being home to scores of unique species of birds.

Podcast of the Week: “Music of the Civil Rights Movement” by Sound Opinions

Show 534 of WBEZ Chicago’s music show Sound Opinions combines some of my favorite things: music, history, and social justice!  Hosts Jim and Greg discuss the importance of music to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s and play uninterrupted tracks of brilliant songs such as “Mississippi Goddamn” and “A Change is Gonna Come.”

This is a brilliant episode of a consistently good radio program.

Listen here: http://www.soundopinions.org/show/534