September 28, 2019

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Note.

THE LIST

This episode merges the worlds of Off Book (a musical improv podcast) with Switched On Pop (a musical analysis podcast). It dissects the musical theatre genre via a musical created on the fly, with the level of wit and insight listeners have come to expect from each of the shows. I’m a big fan of cross-pod collaborations, and this particular one seems like a no-brainer.

This is by far the most entertaining yet serious analysis of the field of Democratic nominees. It is also a quiet flex of Still Processing’s range to incisively critique a topic while also laughing along the way..
Two of the heaviest hitters in the podcast game hang for a spell, covering all the topics in the episode title and so much more. For the podcast industry curious, there are some great spots about how the medium has had some sway on the audio edition of Gladwell’s latest book release.

If you’ve been following the Antonio Brown saga, this is probably already dated. If you’ve never heard of him, this is a fascinating look mid-story. Also, the cult-like nature of a certain college football culture that, if I had to guess, could be overlain atop many schools in this country.
There aren’t many (any?) jazz baronnesses (baroni?) these days. There are likely even fewer people sporting the name Pannonica. Well, Pannonica “Nica” Rothschild stood in the center of that very specific venn diagram, and her story of breaking boundaries across class, race, and nationality deserves to be heard. 

I love listening to Slate’s Culture Gabfest while I run, and ever since day one of dog ownership I tend to run mostly when I am away from home (he is not a natural runner and our forays tend to consist of brief sprints punctuated by forceful sniffing...not my ideal tempo). A recent Chicago trip afforded me a chance to partake in this exercise/pod combo, and I loved surveying new landscape while hearing the trio of critics discuss Lana Del Ray, American Factory, and Dana Stevens’ recent writing retreat in a nunnery in Idaho.
This fictional podcast from Radiotopia has the feel of being the next big audio drama. It does some interesting stuff with advertising, and the story is compelling. Also, it is coming out weekly, one episode at a time, and we’re only three episodes in right now. I tend to favor that kind of listening over binges when it comes to fiction, and if that’s your thing now is the chance to down a couple episodes and hop on the weekly drop in real time.

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