Pod City: ‘The Disney Click,’ ‘Rerun,’ and More New Podcasts Worth Checking Out
Tired of commuting to work in silence? Today I’m sharing a few new podcasts that may make your ears tingle. They run the gamut from retro TV to true crime, so I hope you find something up your alley.
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LIKE RETRO CULTURE? TRY THE THROWBACK.
Hosted by Eric Greenberg, The Throwback features interviews with notable figures from pop culture history. The first episode might be hard to top: In it, Greenberg talks to actor Ken Osmond, best known for playing Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver.
LIKE THE MOUSE? TRY THE DISNEY CLICK.
This new podcast from Meltdown Comics explores all things Disney (which is quite a lot, since it also encompasses Marvel, Pixar, ABC, Lucasfilm, and your firstborn child). The last couple episodes offered lots of insight into the D23 convention, and I’m eager to see where they go from here.
LIKE CLASSIC TV? TRY RERUN.
BuzzFeed may have hit a homerun with Rerun, its new podcast about fan-favorite TV episodes. So far, host Doree Shafrir has talked Freaks and Geeks with Tavi Gevinson and Daria with Aminatou Sow.
LIKE SERIAL AND WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE? TRY LIMETOWN.
Limetown blends the most addictive elements of Serial and Night Vale to concoct an engrossing, entirely fictional mystery. (And since I live in Tennessee, I was particularly intrigued by the story, which follows the sudden, unexplained disappearance of 300 residents of a Tennessee town.)
LIKE PROCEDURALS AND TRUE CRIME? TRY LIVE LAW.
I quickly became a fan of this show, which is like a Law & Order-ized version of The Moth. In each ep, people discuss their legal entanglements in moving, funny, and very personal ways. All episodes so far have been great, though I’m partial to Skylar Fein’s skatepark story.
LIKE GOSSIP? TRY THE PHP.
The new podcast from Perez Hilton and Chris Booker focuses on celebrity gossip, but it’s not as mean-spirited as the Perez of yore (yay for progress!). Episodes feature caffeinated celebrity banter and interviews with Margaret Cho, Debi Mazar, and other notables.
LIKE LIFE HACKS? TRY THE MOST USEFUL PODCAST EVER.
Popular Mechanics’s new show wants to help us get things done. Episodes supply tips on things we can make (like a paddle board) and inventions that may or may not make our lives easier (like a new kind of earplugs).
LIKE HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES? TRY SOME VERY FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’VE NEVER REALLY HEARD OF.
It may have a long title, but this show offers thoughtful, condensed bios of people history books usually overlook. So far, host Philip Gibbons has spotlighted the incredible life of German Resistance fighter Mildred Harnack, among others. (And fun fact: Gibbons once won $500,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.)
LIKE TRUE CRIME? TRY DETECTIVE.
The folks at Investigation Discovery know truth is stranger than fiction, and their new podcast proves it by handing the mic to Joe Kenda, a retired detective who spent 23 years working in the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Homicide Division. The result is engrossing, though not the kind of stuff you wanna hear during dinner.
LIKE ARCHIVAL INTERVIEWS WITH LEGENDARY FIGURES? TRY WHAT IT TAKES.
Finally, I’m loving the new podcast from the Academy of Achievement, which shares rare interviews with world-changing artists, politicians, and thinkers. I’d say the first ep, which spotlights a 1993 chat with Johnny Cash, is a must-hear.