Thanksgiving weekend: the perfect time to catch up on your favorite TV shows, books and, of course, podcasts. In case you haven’t heard, Nashville Public Radio has ventured boldly into the podcasting world with our own three shows. We’re also addicted to a number of shows not produced by us.
So while you’re traveling this weekend, or recovering from a turkey-induced coma, or avoiding a contentious conversation among politically disparate cousins, you can check out our favorite 12 episodes from some of the best podcasts in the game.
Heavyweight — “Gregor”
This was originally Tony’s pick, but then Emily said she wanted it to be hers (and Mack who first recommended it, and Meribah loves the show too) — so we’ll just say that half the WPLN staff is obsessed with this new podcast hosted by Jonathan Goldstein. In this episode, not only do you learn something surprisingly wild and emotional about world-famous musician Moby, but it also captures truly hilarious moments between friends.
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Song Exploder — “Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks”
The premise of Song Exploder is genius: deconstructing a single great song with the musicians who made it, and all the raw audio layers. This episode excels in its sound production and surprise after surprise about one of the most famous whistling melodies in pop music. —
Tony Gonzalez
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Fresh Air — “Leonard Cohen”
If you missed this in 2006, if you missed the replay earlier this year and the repeat of the replay, then thank the digital gods for Leonard Cohen’s tête-à-tête with Terry Gross. It might be the best half hour of your holiday. —
Anita Bugg
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Neighbors — “The Genius Improviser”
When we want to convert podcast-skeptics to the power of audio storytelling, we simply play them the first two minutes of this episode. Jakob Lewis introduces us to a Nashville comedian who makes bad puns and seems rather nondescript, until you realize his life has been filled with surreal experiences. It still hooks us every time.
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Mystery Show — “Belt Buckle”
Starlee Kine built her short-lived podcast on a simple premise: In each episode, she sets out to solve a mystery. The cases are decidedly mundane, like when she attempts to trace the origin of a very unusual belt buckle that a kid found on the street decades earlier. But getting to the bottom of the question is only half the fun. Kine follows just about any tangent when interviewing people, and the result is both hilarious and heartening. —
Mack Linebaugh
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Snap Judgement — “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
In this strong episode, I most highly recommend the segment “12 Pageant Queens, 10,000 Snakes,” for turning a subject that comes with so many preconceptions into a profoundly moving story. And for Anna Sussman’s interviewing skills, which should be a lesson to us all. —
Natasha Senjanovic
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Death, Sex & Money — “Confessions of a Nashville Power Couple”
When I need inspiration for interviews, I either listen to Terry Gross of Fresh Air or Anna Sale of Death Sex & Money, who asks beautifully pointed questions. In this episode from 2014, Sale talks to musicians Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires shortly after they got married about overcoming addiction and staying faithful on the road. The interview made me fall more in love with them than I already was. —
Emily Siner
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Movers & Thinkers — “When Interpreters Can’t Translate Everything”
The most recent episode of our live interview podcast could be surprisingly useful in your daily life: It’s all about translating ideas between people who don’t understand each other. Come for Grammy award-winning banjo player Abigail Washburn, who loudly busts out into Chinese song; stay for the quiet moments where these interpreters grapple with their identities.
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Crimetown
— Chapter 1: Divine Providence
A new, serialized podcast by the veterans at Gimlet and the guys behind HBO’s the Jinx. Every season they dive into a different city and its crime culture. The first season is Providence, Rhode Island. It’s got everything: mob, political corruption, great accents. —
Meribah Knight
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More Perfect — “The Political Thicket”
I’m not typically one for spinoffs of any kind, but More Perfect reeled me in this year, an idea born out of Radiolab. It draws surprising modern day connections from sometimes obscure Supreme Court decisions. This episode is based on a Tennessee case I’d never heard of, Baker v. Carr, about redistricting. But, of course, it’s about so much more — including one Supreme Court justice’s nervous breakdown. —
Blake Farmer (co-recommended by Chas Sisk)
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Curious Nashville — “A Tombstone Mystery”
This episode started with an eye-catching question from a listener: “In the Nashville City Cemetery, there’s a grave that says ‘Margaret H. McCutchen: She Turned From Bloodkin.’ What’s the story behind that?” Indeed. Why would someone put such a scathing epitaph on the headstone of a loved one? She must have done something terrible, right? WPLN’s Emily Siner follows the trail to the answer and brings you along.
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Hello From The Magic Tavern — Ep. 1
A improv comedy podcast based on the fictitious land of Foon, which is accessible through a portal behind a Burger King. —
Jakob Lewis
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