7 Comments
Apr 24Liked by Arielle Nissenblatt

I'd love to recommend Rock That Doesn't Roll!

Season 2, Episode 1: https://episodes.fm/1703257857/episode/cHJ4XzQ3MTVfMmE5OWUwMjgtYTA2OS00MzExLWI2YWUtMjgwZDg1MmFhNTQ0

Season 2 dropped on April 24th! It’s an eye-opener about the billion-dollar Christian music industry and its unexpected sway over modern culture. I was amazed to recognize so many bands and didn’t realize just how religious their lyrics were, or the extent to which Christian music evangelized youth across the country. Not being religious myself, it really schooled me on the music industry's power.

I’m particularly hooked on the first episode with Grammy-nominated artist Jennifer Knapp. It talks about her struggles with her sexual identity while being at the top of the Christian music world.

Expand full comment

We will not let you down on listening, Arielle — enjoy the family time!

I'm recommending Bat Therapy: https://bat-therapy.com/

It's the result of a clinical psychologist and an aspiring Transformer — both comic book nerds — realizing there's quite a bit of psychology and mental health recovery going on in their favorite stories. I'm not a particularly huge fan of comics (Calvin and Hobbes being an exception, of course), yet I still find this podcast both entertaining and educational. There are good breakdowns of different storylines and the hosts dive into these worlds as if they're the characters themselves, helping them overcome the robust struggles life throws our way.

To quote a Frank Turner song I heard a few minutes ago, it's a reminder that "We can get better, because we're not dead yet." I'll raise a bat signal to that!

Expand full comment

If you haven't checked it out yet, you HAVE to listen to This Is Propaganda! (https://www.thisispropaganda.show/)

The first season is available in full, and listening to hosts Josh and Malcolm discuss consumer propaganda is absolutely riveting. Both working in marketing, they make their own propaganda and help deconstruct the collective delusion about what we do as marketers so that we can be more thoughtful about how we do it. Each episode explores the significance of a different topic in the history of propaganda and how its omnipresence across generations of media has had a profound influence on today's culture.

And more importantly, you'll learn how everything is propaganda... even you.

Expand full comment

I'd like to recommend HOBO CODE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hobo-code/

It's a 4-part limited magical-realist series about two hobos and a young girl with a best friend who lives in a coffee can. It's an epic journey spanning from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression, all the way to the Great Recession of 2008. It features Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping) and Susan Ruttan (LA Law, Sprung). 

It's an audio fiction series that examines human cycles, whether it’s generational trauma or economic crises. (But... it's also pretty funny and has an incredible original score steeped in Americana and jazz music.)

Expand full comment