Podcast recommendations part 5
I am going to keep doing these, because there are so many mini-worlds out there in podcasts, and on Twitter I hardly ever see anyone talk about these.
I follow way too much politics and tech on Twitter.
One pro-tip: if you can’t see a playback speed control on a site, open up the JavaScript console and enter
document.querySelectorAll('audio').forEach(a => a.playbackRate = 1.6)
Crypto Critics Corner
This is an excellently-reported series which started in March 2021. I found this through Molly White’s episode on ‘Web3’, which delves into the psychology of crypto promotion, scams, and credulous journalism.
Dead Eyes
Connor Ratliff has been repeating a story about how Tom Hanks pulled him from Band of Brothers in 2001. He invites people on the podcast (2020-2022) for a variety of reasons (they were there, or appeared in the episode, or have had interesting experiences with memory). There is an escalation element of the podcast reaching more actors, writers, etc., but I missed out by only hearing about it after Ratliff announced a finale episode with (at last) Tom Hanks. I won’t spoil it for you.
Ratliff and guests share stories about getting rejected, being cut from films, and having to fire people and edit out roles themselves. Many episodes could help new creatives or anyone who’s been cut deep by a negative comment.
One element that I don’t know how to feel about: Ratliff has been in many TV series but in admittedly unglamorous roles: in Veep he did a voice part, one podcast guest is another actor he meets at auditions for ‘creeps’. So beyond the Tom Hanks fiasco, there’s a bleed-over to feeling overlooked in his career, so not quite the feel-good chicken soup when you’re at a low point.
Exit Scam
A podcast from spring/summer 2021 about Canadian crypto exchange Quadriga’s Gerald Cotten, whose sudden (maybe faked?) death exposed that the company was a long-time fraud. The host is Aaron Lammer, a cryptocurrency journalist.
I listened to this podcast after Cotten’s widow published a book: “Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal, and the Missing Millions”. A Netflix documentary is on the way, too. If you’re into true crime, it can be fun to speculate on a serial fraudster faking his death, but reporting on the ground looks legit, and the widow is a real victim. The podcast walks that line, but I could see why someone might find it offensive or harmful.
The Lazarus Heist
A BBC News podcast about North Korea’s criminality including the Sony hack, counterfeiting, and the international banking system. One of the hosts is Jean Lee, who led the AP’s experimental Pyongyang office. The first season was produced in spring 2021, but it’s coming back for Season 2 in ‘the second half of 2022’.
I was thrown by episode 3 about ‘superdollars’ counterfeiting and a sting operation, but the rest of the show was focused on North Korea’s hacking, development of tech talent, and investigating those schemes.
Also — if you watch Yellowjackets, the podcast theme may remind you of that.
Legally Stolen
A 3-part series (Winter 2021-2022) from the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago, and artist-in-residence Tonika Lewis Johnson, about land sale contracts and redlining.
I was explaining the basic premise to my mom about the contracts and misinformation and it ended up being a lot to remember, it’s multi-faceted.
On Peace
I’ve followed the US Institute of Peace for years for their talks, reports on conflict situations, and studies on governance during conflicts. Such as, how does the Taliban do routine government functions. I wouldn’t say this group is ahead of the curve on predicting events, but it is a good insight into international relations research and experts.
The podcast episodes are short (~10 minutes) and are released about once per week, going back to late 2017.
UCLA Housing Voice
This is a series hosted by experts at UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, and running since April 2021. This digs deep into research and doesn’t have trendy episodes like ‘tiny houses’ or ‘Zillow fail’ , but an hour on ‘transit-induced displacement’ or ‘Japanese housing policy’.
Even if the progressive / social equity / YIMBY values align with your politics, compared to ‘Legally Stolen’ you have a more impersonal approach. This academic conversation is absolutely something I would like to learn more about or elevate in a policy discussion, but as a podcast it’s not an easy fit for your headphones or binging through a bunch of episodes.
Follow-up on previous pods
- I am listening to the old ‘5–4' episodes, and on this episode about eminent domain case Kelo v. New London, I regret that I didn’t hear about it before living in New London!
- Oklo (nuclear startup) had a disappointing rejection from the NRC.
