Knob Feel: the Story of the Greatest Podcast Ad Campaign of All Time
Phonograph
On this episode, Rob and Britta tell the story of the golden age of podcast advertising — how it started, why it worked, and why it seems to be over. Along the way we tell the story of what happened when Cards Against Humanity partnerned with a very opinionated tech podcaster to create the most entertaining ad campaign in the history of the medium. Guests include Lex Friedman, one of the first people to sell podcast ads, and John Siracusa and Casey Liss, co-hosts of Accidental Tech Podcast. Discussed in this episode: The Wolf Den: (Episode 71) Hypercritical: Hypercritical: (Episode 42)...
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Found Footage Horror: Podcast Coverage of the Ice Invasion
Phonograph
In the weeks since Alex Pretti's murder, Rob and Britta have been listening to numerous podcasts that covered the ICE invasion of American cities over the past year. Ingesting a year of audio ICE coverage puts this story (not to mention our conception of audio journalism) into a whole new perspective. Come for the heartfelt media criticism. Stay for Rob's brutal takedown of The Daily. If you’d like to donate to people helping those targeted by ICE in Minneapolis, . If you like the work we’re doing, you can . Our music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Discussed in this Episode:...
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To Show What’s Going On - Photojournalists in Minneapolis
Phonograph
Rob and Britta both live in the Twin Cities, so on this episode, we took a break from discussing audio storytelling, and Britta interviewed two photojournalists who’ve been covering ICE in Minneapolis. It’s a conversation about what they’ve seen, about the vital role of photojournalism at this moment, and the personal toll of doing this work. Our Guests: Media: Music by
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Some Crazy Joyous Thing - Apocalyptic Vox Pop from Scott Carrier and Erica Heilman
Phonograph
At the tail end of 2025, Rob and Britta discuss work by Scott Carrier and Erica Heilman that captures something about how it felt to live through this harrowing year. To support our show and access our bonus story feed, . Show Links: from Scott Carrier’s Home of the Brave from Erica Heilman’s Rumble Strip Rob and Britta’s Erica Heilman’s episode of Rumble Strip Erica Heilman’s episode of Rumble Strip from Transom.org
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Weirdly Fun - What Podcast Bonus Feeds Are Offering
Phonograph
To explore the phenomenon of podcast bonus feeds, Rob and Britta start by discussing an episode of Yowei Shaw’s podcast Proxy (with guest Alex Goldman) about the struggle of podcasters having to ask listeners for money. We then dig into several podcast bonus feeds (This American Life Partners, Slate Plus, and others), to find what they’re offering. And we are pleasantly surprised. To access our bonus feed story of Rob’s harrowing Thanksgiving road trip back in 2008, . You can listen for free with a seven day trial membership and see if it’s worth it. Podcasts discussed in this episode:...
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Hey Jackie - The Evolution of Jonathan Goldstein
Phonograph
Episode Description: With the triumphant return of the podcast Heavyweight, Rob and Britta trace the career of Jonathan Goldstein through several of his stories, including his early work at This American Life, the CBC radio show Wiretap, and his podcast Heavyweight. Stories and episodes discussed: Our music comes from . To support Phonograph, , which features experiments in audio storytelling.
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What a Wonderful Thing - 99% Invisible
Phonograph
As the 15th anniversary of 99% Invisible approaches, Rob and Britta dig into four very different episodes from the first four years of that show’s run (as well as the story of the time Rob met Roman Mars): Episode 6: “” Episode 29: “” (Produced with Katie Mingle) Episode 103: “” (Produced with Sam Greenspan) Episode 83: “” (Produced with Alex Goldman) To support Phonograph, , which features experiments in audio storytelling, including this month’s story about a young mother’s relationship to her hearing aids, having refused to wear them since she started losing...
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What Covid Did to Them - Nancy Updike's "We Were Three"
Phonograph
Episode Description: Rob and Britta discuss Nancy Updike’s podcast “We Were Three,” which tells the story of one family devastated by Covid and what that devastation revealed. Also discussed: Nancy Updike’s status as as one of the all time great audio producers. To support Phonograph, , which features experiments in audio storytelling. This month’s story comes from Rob: a collage of recordings he made in the spring of 2020 around the theme of anxiety and grocery shopping. Show Notes: talking about the state of nurses near the end of 2020 Serial Productions podcast about private...
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Where People Put the Radio Tower - Signal Hill
Phonograph
Rob and Britta discuss the new podcast Signal Hill, which takes its inspiration from the world of print magazines. Rob talks to Liza Yeager and Jackson Roach about the project, and then we dive into a handful of the stories from Signal Hill’s first “issue.” Show Notes: by Jackson Roach by Neena Pathak by Hannah Sassoon by Hannah Kingsley-Ma Music by
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I Don't Know If It's God - Alix Spiegel's "Pray"
Phonograph
Rob and Britta discuss the classic Alix Spiegel story “Pray” from This American Life, including Spiegel’s origin story as a producer and what happened to her when members of the megachurch she was reporting on urged her to become a Christian. This is the second of three episodes Rob and Britta recorded in 2019 and never released until now. The first of those was Show Notes: Music: Other Music -
info_outlineRob and Britta dig into two classic episodes of the podcast Love and Radio, "The Wisdom of Jay Thunderbolt" and "Choir Boy," sparking a discussion about the appeal of abrasive art.
Show Notes:
The Wisdom of Jay Thunderbolt - Love and Radio
Salvatore Scibona reads Denis Johnson - New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Music:
The Bus at Dawn - Blue Dot Sessions
Orchard Lime - Blue Dot Sessions
Nine Count by Blue Dot Sessions
Plum Blossom - Blue Dot Sessions
Throughput - Blue Dot Sessions