FriendsLikeUs has long been a gem of podcasting, providing women (and particularly women of color) a place to sit down and unapologetically discuss their lives in the world of comedy. These conversations are often quite frank, touching as much on the issues of the day as the minutiae of the stand-up scene and all with…
Few foods straddle the middle of the Venn diagram between “wholesome, pastoral staple of the American diet” and “hotly contested ethical minefield” quite like a glass of milk. According to culinary historian and journalist Mark Kurlansky, many of the nutritional and moral questions surrounding human consumption of…
“Iconic” is a word people often use to describe the music of James Bond. Like the clothes, cars, and gadgets of the early films, John Barry’s original 1960s arrangements feel like immutable elements of the franchise’s titular character. It just isn’t Bond if you don’t hear that certain chord progression. In the second…
A Woman’s Smile could spawn a Literally Unbelievable Tumblr just as easily as The Onion did. It’s billed as a podcast where co-hosts Patti Harrison and Lorelei Ramirez “talk about, well, everything! But especially the gentle and kind nature of a woman’s smile,” a summary that exemplifies the tone—but it could be taken…
Oh, bless this podcast. Cher And Retweet springs from a delightful corner of the podcast world, where two or more people come up with some super-specific thing to discuss—in this case, Cher’s Twitter feed—as an excuse to get together and crack each other the hell up. It’s the podcast equivalent of a hangout film,…
Anyone who assumes that “a podcast about dictionaries by people who write dictionaries” might have limited appeal hasn’t heard lifelong lexicographer Kory Stamper rattle off the word “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” with aplomb and glee. She and fellow dictionary editor Steve Kleinedler approach Fiat Lex…
With one study recently estimating that as many as 180 million Americans are listening to online audio each month, podcasting as a form is indisputably on the rise in every way—a fact demonstrated by its inclusion, for the first time, in The A.V. Club’s “best of the year so far” coverage. As the sheer number of…
Bubble, the first scripted comedy series from Maximum Fun, begins as a cutting and comic look at millennial misadventures. Set in Fairhaven—“a literal bubble of corporate utopia”—the opening scene depicts a bunch of young people as they all “brunch and vape and watch shelter dogs and have too-loud conversations” about…
Last month saw the start of Love + Radio’s seventh season. Nick van der Kolk’s podcast is known for its in-depth and expertly produced interviews that cover “an eclectic range of subjects, from the seedy to the sublime.” Even before it found a permanent home at Radiotopia in 2014, Love + Radio was an award-winning…
ESPN’s 30 For 30, the documentary hub known for producing stories “too dramatic not to be real,” just delivered a one-two punch to the world of podcasting. First, a quick jab with “Bikram,” its first serialized season in its three-season run, and second (and most importantly), a power punch in the form of Julia Lowrie…
In the episodes leading up to January 1983, co-host Scott Weinberg lamented that he was dreading 1983, calling it one of the worst cinematic years he experienced in his lifetime. June certainly is a mixed bag of films for the summer season, featuring teen sex comedies, Gérard Depardieu, and a 4-hour-long Ingmar…
Okay, so this NASA-produced podcast is never going to win any production awards or spawn legions of imitators, but if you’re looking for cutting-edge insights on nutrition, this episode must be in the running for the most scientifically sound diet advice on the internet. Nutritional biochemistry is a big deal at…
Melody Cheng, Helen Wu, and Janet Wang get together every week to discuss their careers, personal lives, and everything else modern Asian-American women experience. This week is all about first dates: dos and don’ts, dealbreakers, the best and worst places to meet, and more. The trio share real-life stories about…
Two and a half episodes in, and The New York Times’ ambient, immersive, and ambitious podcast about the workings of ISIS is vivisecting the deadliest cell on the planet. The cold open of the show’s prologue offers an ISIS member’s rationale for all the killing he’s ordered to perform. It’s the same justification that…
This podcast is for people who enthusiastically greet a pup on the street without ever looking its owner in the eye. Hosts Allegra Ringo and Renee Colvert give updates on their own dogs, Tugboat and Pistachio (both of whom make a barking cameo or two throughout the show), and go into detail on all their encounters…
There are plenty of places to listen to two geeks dissect the new Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer, but few are as funny as Jason and Gabe on Blast Points, and there’s not a trace of cynicism to be found. A new trailer for this foray into the Star Wars universe—which apparently belongs to Ron Howard now—dropped Sunday…
It’s a “big one” this week on As You Were: A Podcast About Alkaline Trio as Tim Crisp and David Anthony get “Jaked On Green Beers.” The tune is a fan favorite and notable for being the first recording to feature drummer Derek Grant. According to the hosts, Alkaline Trio was always a killer compilation band,…
Before becoming a renowned poet and Yale Law School graduate, Reginald Dwayne Betts found himself in front of a judge as a teenager, facing hard time for carjacking. What he heard from the bench that day turned out to be a foreshadowing of a shift in our nation’s criminal justice system and its attitudes toward…
Nothing about this podcast should work: It’s two entertainment writers in London talking, often for an hour or more, about the upcoming royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. But Daniel Krupa and Joe Skrebels bring so much chemistry and curiosity to the podcast that it’s one of the most enjoyable podcast…
In Podmass, The A.V. Club sifts through the ever-expanding world of podcasts and recommends the previous week’s best episodes. Have your own favorite? Let us know in the comments or at podmass@avclub.com.
