Trawling through pop culture... so you don’t have to
With a plethora of culture and content releasing at an incessant rate, finding someone to have that cliched watercooler moment with is getting harder and harder. However, there’s a whole host of pop culture podcasts that do the heavy lifting/watching with you.
Fresh Air goes to the source, the creator of what you’re consuming. It’s most definitely a radio show, broadcast on NPR across America, but available in daily podcast form.
Terry Gross has been the unflappable host for over 30 years. New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum was a recent guest, discussing her new book, I Like To Watch, and the idea of the ‘bad fan’ — the one who watches The Sopranos for the whackings, for example. Elsewhere, Gross bounces off singer Lizzo, impossible to escape in 2019, who declares: “You hear a lot of flute in rap!”
When you’re ready for in-depth discussion of the arts, another NPR show, Pop Culture Happy Hour, is the go-to destination. Linda Holmes is the main host of a roundtable that pulls no punches.
‘You Should Watch Fleabag. Here’s Why’ is one episode title where the critics can’t find fault with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s 12-episode series, newly laden with 11 Emmy nominations. It’s easy to dip into chats about shows and movies you’ve already seen and, with twice-weekly 20ish-minute episodes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome — unlike so many TV show nowadays.
And when you just simply want to indulge in fandom, The Watch, from the Ringer Podcast Network, binge-watches at the same time you do. Chris Ryan is the regular host, joined by the erstwhile critic-turned-showrunner Andy Greenwald and a rotating panel to discuss Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, or whatever else the monoculture is talking about in a given week, and the pop culture news you need to know. It’s fun, enthusiastic and zippy.
The only disappointing thing about these shows is that you can’t join in the conversation yourself.
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