Office Poll: The Podcasts the Interview Editors are Devouring During Alone Time

 

It’s not always pleasant to remember that, while some of us are watching Buffy for the sixth consecutive time, our more curious peers have chosen the podcast as a means of filling their downtime. Whether digging deep into the most infamous impeachment trial in our nation’s history or unraveling the tangled web that connects Fiona Apple to Beyoncé, there’s something about the podcast that signals self-improvement. But even the staunchest vampire slayers must admit that we all have to leave Buffy eventually (for supplies), so why not learn a thing or two on the walk to the grocery store? From gleeful celebrity roasts to cogent analyses of the failings of our two-party system, the Interview editors—who, rest assured, are watching their fair share of bad television—bring you their favorite podcasts of the moment. – MARA VEITCH

———

MEL OTTENBERG

Creative Director

“The C Word. I am really here for the Mariah [Carey] during Glitter episode. The Daily, ever heard of it? Lol.”

———

JACK VHAY

Designer

“My favorite podcast currently is Las Culturistas, hosted by Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. It’s a truly enjoyable pod. Each episode, Matt, Bowen, and a special guest pick apart, champion, and roast the culture. Allow Las Culturistas to change your life for the better. Additionally, I’m a big fan of Still Processing, another culture-focused podcast, hosted by The New York Times culture writers Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris. Most recently, I’ve started listening to Yo, Is This Racist? where hosts Andrew Ti and Tawney Newsome, along with a featured guest, “answer questions from fan-submitted voicemails and emails about whether or not something is, in fact, racist.”

———

SARAH MORRISON

Production Director

“I just listened to Slow Burn: The Clinton Impeachment, and it was absolutely fascinating, taking you back to long before any blue dress. Lies. Murder. Politics. Sex. Scandal. It’s dark as hell, but utterly consuming.”

 

———

NICK HARAMIS

Editor-in-Chief

“I’m a philistine when it comes to podcasts, but there are two that I love. One is Still Processing, a smart, bantery examination of everything from the AIDS epidemic to Halle Berry’s Catwoman, hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, two genius culture writers for The New York Times. The other is The C Word, hosted by Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett. Every episode, each one funnier than the last, is dedicated to a woman who society has deemed to be crazy.”

 

———

ALEXA LANZA

Market Director

“This is TOUGH. Anything with Kai Wright: The Stakes and United States of Anxiety are particularly good. Unlocking Us with Brené Brown—love you Brené! Bowery Boys, always something new to learn about my home town. Hidden Brain with Shakar Vedantam when I wanna get deep. Lastly, Design and Architecture with Francis Anderton for an L.A. sprawl update. Is that too many? Ugh.”

 

———

BEN BARNA

Executive Director

“It’s not a podcast, but The Howard Stern Show takes priority over the many podcasts I do listen to. Once I crush all nine hours of that, I move on to my regular rotation pods, most of which are on The Ringer Podcast Network. They include The Watch (shout out to Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald), The Big Picture (shout out to Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins), The Press Box (shout out to Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker), The Dave Chang Show (shout out to Dave Chang), and The NBA Show (shout to Kevin O’Climber and Verno).”

 

———

MICHAEL QUINN

Photo Director

 

“I’m obsessed with this podcast called Swindled. The host is an anonymous ‘concerned citizen’ based in Austin, Texas (I think). Each episode explores a different white-collar crime, corporate fraud, political scandal, or Ponzi scheme. From the infamous to the obscure, he recounts the stories, describing the events and all the characters in immense detail. And in the same, serious—somewhat disdainful and occasionally bitchy—monotone voice, as ambient techno plays in the background. Its absolutely gripping stuff.”

———

CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN

Editor at Large

“At the risk of being the guy who brings a chess set to board-game night, I recommend the podcast I’ve been listening to religiously for more than a decade. Stanford Humanities professor scholar Robert Harrison’s Entitled Opinions has been filling my ears for fifteen years with hour-long conversations on philosophy and literature. Here, on this radio-show turned podcast, high-quality intellectual conversations take place that are urgently applicable to our balled-up world on fire right now. It’s a remedy for dumbness and knee-jerk thoughtlessness, an opportunity to dwell in the stratosphere of meaning and life, and Harrison makes it a lot of fun to listen to (embarrassingly I often listen to it during workouts, which might explain the current state of my body). Recently I’ve been going back to early episodes—the René Girard, the Hannah Arendt, the state of Athenian Democracy, all pretty relevant to the moment. I also like that it’s West Coast, a different academic dream factory than my university of the East.”