April 9, 2018

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Another short edition of The Pod Piper, but no lack of stellar content! With any luck, we'll be back to form next week.
THE LIST

Baseball and I have a weird relationship. Despite being one of the premier sports of my youth, my attention to the sport has been waning since I departed for college. But every April a surge of nostalgia overtakes me and I have a brief flicker of hope of reconnecting with the great American pastime. The long-running season inevitably wears me down, though my track record never prevents me from hoping to rekindle that spark. All that said, this episode from Cracked is accessible to die-hard fans or the baseball agnostic.

2. Showcase from Radiotopia - "Errthang #1 - 808s and Three Heartbreaks"
The Al Letson-helmed variety show Errthang returns for it's second season nearly 3 years after it first surfaced in May of 2015. It's reminiscent of the poetically scripted interludes of Glynn Washington and Snap Judgement, with tidbits of radio play drama, music, and comedic autobiography all in the mix. Fans of Letson's reportage on the excellent Reveal podcast will delight in seeing the other side of this clearly very talented individual. I'm excited to dig more of the latest Showcase offering.

3. Desert Island Discs - "David Byrne"
David Byrne gracefully plays the role of aging rocker as he talks through some of his favorite music and dives into his life and work. The selections are almost too perfectly eclectic, but still revelatory of the influences that shape an artist who continues making meaningful work long after his most broadly culturally impactful days.

HONORABLE MENTION
It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders - "Momofuku Chef David Chang's 'Ugly Delicious'"
On the Media - "We, the Liberators"

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