Pod City: This Week's Most Interesting Podcasts

getty images
getty images / getty images
facebooktwitterreddit

Welcome back to my weekly roundup of notable podcasts. I include different shows in each installment, so check the archive for more recommendations!

1. A concert at the Lincoln Memorial changed Dave Grohl’s life.

All Songs Considered, Nov. 11 episode

In this standout episode of the NPR podcast, Grohl shares some tidbits about growing up in Washington, D.C. and talks about attending a landmark concert in the early ‘80s when the Dead Kennedys and other punk bands performed at the Lincoln Memorial. “That’s my Woodstock,” he says, adding that the show “totally changed my life.” 

2. Bill Murray wishes he’d been in The Year of Living Dangerously.

Grantland Pop Culture, Nov. 13 episode

Getty Images

In a lengthy and entertaining interview, the actor says the 1982 Peter Weir flick is the only one he wishes were on his resume. (Mel Gibson played the lead.) Alas, he said he was “sort of a nobody back then” and wasn’t offered a part.

3. Meryl Streep once gave Allison Janney a facelift.

Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, Episode 221

Getty Images

The actress talks to Pollak about how, when she kissed Streep in 2002’s The Hours, Streep held her face to give her a bit of a cinematic lift. (Janney adds the veteran actress wasn’t thrilled with the lighting on set, so she did her part to make her co-stars look better.)

4. You don’t have to be rich to invest in a new company.

StartUp, Episode 7

Getty Images

Episodes of Alex Blumberg’s podcast take listeners through each step as he starts a business. In this intriguing episode, he offered an opportunity for his audience to invest in Gimlet Media, which is now fully funded.

5. Pauline Kael loved Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The Canon, Episode 2

Getty Images

This new podcast examines films and tries to determine if they’re classics that belong in, yep, “The Canon.” Hosts Devin Faraci and Amy Nicholson are sharply divided on this Indy sequel—he loves it, she hates it—but both find it intriguing that the esteemed critic wrote a glowing review.

6. Christopher Guest cries at It’s a Wonderful Life.

Crybabies, Episode 1

Getty Images

OK, so everyone gets weepy at It’s a Wonderful Life, but it’s interesting to hear the actor, writer, and director (Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show) talk about how much the movie affects him. Like The Canon, Crybabies is part of the new Wolfpop podcast network. Each week, guests speak about the pop culture that brings them to tears.

7. Your kid might enjoy a Mary Pope Osborne book.

Between Two Worlds, Episode 12

Getty Images

Hosted by a charming 9-year-old named Sadie, Between Two Worlds offers book recommendations for younger listeners. (Sadie also travels quite a bit, and this week she observes, “The basic food groups in Argentina seem to be pizza, ice cream, and steak. That’s my food paradise!”) On this week’s ep she delves into Osborne’s “Magic Tree House” series, shares fun facts about dinosaurs, and tells a few jokes. All podcasts should aim to be so inspired.