Saturday, June 20, 2020 | If we reached Peak TV a few years ago, we’re damn close to Peak Podcast. Each week, it seems, you hear about a rich new soundscape, jaw-dropping interview or side-splitting satire worthy of your earbuds. Some of us even resort to amping up the speed so we can get through more pods. Today we humbly submit the aural goodies that really go there, in service of insight, transgression or just plain fun. Let us know your favorites by replying to this email. |
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| | 1. Higher Learning Hosts Van Lathan, formerly of the TMZ television show, and Rachel Lindsay, best known as the first Black Bachelorette, chew over the biggest topics of the day in Black culture, politics and sports. The debut episode dropped three days after George Floyd’s killing, putting the show on the front lines of the debate — while the hosts’ loose and entertaining style keeps it from getting too weighted down. |
| | | 3. Reset America Swag You asked for it, you got it. We’ve launched our Reset America section in the OZY Store, with 100 percent of profits being donated to your choice of racial justice organizations. Grab a Reset America T-shirt, backpack and more to look good while doing good. And be sure to post your pics on social using #ResetAmerica and #OZYmerch! |
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| | | 1. The Editors They’re uneasy with Donald Trump but even more so with the mainstream media and the Left. Meet the editors of National Review, the influential conservative magazine, who have amped up their remote podcasting schedule during the pandemic to dissect the rapidly shifting news. With a rotating cast — Charles C.W. Cooke stands out for his libertarian-ish screeds and withering Trump put-downs — moderated by Editor-in-Chief Rich Lowry, the podcast gives a right-leaning spin on the news of the day that’s driven by ideology more than fealty to the president, which is more than you can say about most in the Republican Party these days. |
| | 2. The Women’s War Women fighting for a better, fairer future is the theme of this podcast from iHeart Radio, in which host Robert Evans goes on a quest for hope and finds it in just about the unlikeliest place on the globe: northeast Syria. |
| 3. The Long Game Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward gets listeners blessedly out of the news cycle with deep discussions about institutions in American life, and how they’ve weakened — from the press to political parties to Congress. The big-picture discussions in a Twitter world are enlightening and refreshing. |
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| | | 1. Flashback OZY’s chart-topping podcast takes listeners on a journey through the unintended consequences of history. This week, we learn how the discovery of one of the most hazardous elements on earth helped light the match that would eventually ignite a social movement that changed labor relations. It all started with a 17th century German chemist named Hennig Brandt, who was convinced that by distilling human urine (yep, urine), he could somehow create gold. |
| 2. Wind of Change Did the CIA write the song “Wind of Change,” a metal smash by The Scorpions that may well have hastened the end of the Cold War? Investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe traverses the globe as he searches for the elusive answer, packing each gripping episode with colorful characters. |
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| | 1. Where Should We Begin? Couples therapist Esther Perel gives you an ear into her sessions as anonymous real couples bare their souls for at times jarring personal discussions. This year’s fourth season examines couples in lockdown around the world who are probably dealing with the same junk you are.
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| | 2. Last Day Let’s start at the end. Host and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs focuses on a person’s last day of life for a podcast that begins with overdose deaths and the opioid crisis, but ends up being about so much more. |
| 3. WTF with Marc Maron The comedian and podcasting pioneer is known for plumbing our darkest emotions. In the striking and emotional recent episode “Remembering Lynn Shelton,” Maron honors his creative collaborator and romantic partner who died in May at age 54. |
| 4. Caliphate The New York Times’ Rukmini Callimachi, one of the best terrorism reporters on the planet, takes listeners along as she tries to understand ISIS. The bingeable 12 episodes dropped two years ago but remain worth your time. |
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| | 1. Capitalisn’t The engaging, informative and eminently digestible show features economists Kate Waldock and Luigi Zingales debating the issues of the day as if they were shooting the breeze at the bar. They cover issues as diverse as Milton Friedman’s “shareholder primacy” theory — which holds that corporations should prioritize shareholders over stakeholders — and the pros and cons of initial public offerings. The recent pandemic-induced economic shock has given them ample fodder.
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| | 2. Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness The Queer Eye star plays delightful everyman as he invites experts in their fields on the show to explore weighty topics in extremely easy-to-understand terms. Recent episodes range from “Is Trump an Autocratic Basic B?” to “What Was Poppin’ in Prehistoric America?” |
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