These? THESE are the podcasts for you.
Back at it with your favorite reader-generated podcast recommendation newsletter
Happy weekend! Let’s get you some podcast recommendations, shall we?
This newsletter is reader-generated. You listen to podcasts. You comment on these posts telling me about them. I recommend your recommendations.
Thank you to Holly, Joey, and Shane for commenting on our last issue. Now, we feature their recommendations!
Your podcast recommendations:
Recommender:
fromPodcast: Rock That Doesn’t Roll
Why do you recommend it: 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.
Recommender:
ofPodcast: Bat Therapy
Why do you recommend it: 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!
Recommender:
Podcast: Hobo Code
Why do you recommend it: It's a four-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).
What next?
Listen to these shows and leave a comment on this post with your thoughts
Or recommend another podcast you love by commenting! (You can recommend your own show).
AIR Media’s New Voices is back. Learn more and apply for this five-month virtual program that comes with a stipend here.
Check out the incredible Tribeca Audio line-up. WOW.
Until next time, happy listening!
hi hi hi! Recommending two queer-focussed shows for pride month!
Recommender: Jesse Lou Lawson
Podcast 1: Because the Boss Belongs to Us: https://open.spotify.com/show/33BxEoWfbSJ22NWap9pxhU?si=82bd9dda0cb64c98
A podcast all about how, though you might not expect it, Bruce Springsteen is a queer icon. Holly Casio and Jesse Lawson go on a mission to get The Boss the queer icon credentials he deserves, and to explore what it even means to idolise a rich, cis, white, straight celebrity in this way. The series is, kind of, about Bruce Springsteen. But it ends up being much more about queer history, identity, politics, and that feeling of being so completely obsessed with something that you totally lose track of what it is, and what you’ve turned it into in your head.
Podcast 2: Resurrection
https://www.resurrectionpodcast.com/
Series two is just starting to come out now! It's a show sharing the stories of people we lost during the aids crisis, creating an archive of queer histories that have long been forgotten. It's really beautiful!
I’d like to recommend a new show that I’m enjoying - But We Loved!
The show features intimate interviews with LGBTQ+ elders as a way of learning more about queer history and hearing wisdom from role models. It’s hosted by journalist Jordan Gonsalves, who grew up in Conservative Texas and wants to share the wisdom he wishes existed when he was younger. Through the conversations, Jordan shines a light on the often hidden history of the queer community. I’d recommend starting with Jordan’s intro episode, where he’s interviewed by Eric Marcus, the host of Making Gay History. I think this sets the show up so well and gets you invested in the mission that Jordan is on. The storytelling of Jordan’s guests is so open that you feel yourself there with them and gets you so emotionally invested before you know it.
Meet Your Host (with Eric Marcus)
https://episodes.fm/1745330721/episode/MmQ0NGEyNmEtZDRkYy00OGNiLTk3NmItYjE2YzAxMTM3MTU1