Pod City: This Week's Most Interesting Podcast Episodes

Welcome back to my weekly roundup of notable podcast episodes. I include different shows in each installment, so check the archive for more recommendations!
‘Serial’ fans are organizing their own meet-ups.
Slate’s Serial Spoiler Specials, Nov. 13 episode
Yes, we’ve finally reached a point where there are podcasts about podcasts—and while that may sound unnecessary, this one is actually pretty interesting. Each week, journalists and legal experts dissect the latest episode of Serial and potential theories about the crime. At the end of this installment, we meet a hardcore Serial fan who, when she’s not chatting about the podcast on “six IM windows” is attending fan gatherings with her friends.
Neil Young, Lily Allen, and Rancid have something in common.
Parlophone
Unfortunately, it’s not something good: Hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis cite their recent records among 2014’s biggest turkeys. Karen O, Damon Albarn and the Buzzcocks also make their list of the year’s disappointments.
Stephen Colbert once advised Ed Helms to put his soul in a closet.
Wolfpop
In the latest episode, Helms discusses his time as a Daily Show correspondent. Colbert, his colleague at the time, told him to put his soul temporarily “on a hanger” while doing the show’s interview pieces, which were often edited to make subjects look less than intelligent.
It’s lonely out in space.
iStock
The Elton John lyric proves true in Jane Harrison’s sci-fi short story Launch, which she reads on this ep. The tale focuses on a man and woman’s trip to Mars—and to say more would give it away.
John Waters feels a kinship with Johnny Knoxville.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The latest episode from the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s new podcast features a lively conversation with the director, who says Knoxville's movies are "the closest in spirit to Pink Flamingos” of anything he could think of. He adds, “The difference is, Johnny’s make millions and mine make hundreds!”
Denzel Washington is the master of the “thousand yard stare.”
Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period, Episode 3
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Hosted by W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery, this new Wolfpop show offers funny and appreciative discussions by two self-proclaimed “Denzealots.” Each week, the duo dissects a different Denzel flick, and the friends reveal they discovered their mutual appreciation after seeing 2007’s American Gangster. Other highlights this week include hearing teens rap about Denzel and the guys reflect on the TV miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream.
Michael Ian Black once had a bad experience in Amsterdam.
Getting Doug with High, Episode 56
YouTube
Many visitors to Amsterdam return with a marijuana-related story, but Black’s is particularly bad/funny. He appears on Doug Benson’s podcast to chat and smoke marijuana with comedian Greg Proops, but he makes it very clear he’s not a habitual pot smoker by any means.