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 -
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The Story Becomes the Medicine - The Retrievals (with guest Sophie Nikitas)
Phonograph
Rob is joined by the audio producer Sophie Nikitas to discuss 's Peabody award winning podcast from 2023: . Show Notes: Sophie's online dating podcast miniseries Sophie's horror anthology podcast Susan Burton's story "" Susan Burton's story "" Music from
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I Wanted to Be a Stranger - Cement City (with guest Samantha Hodder)
Phonograph
Rob is joined by the podcast critic Samantha Hodder, who writes the newsletter Bingeworthy, to discuss the podcast Cement City: a sound-rich, character-rich, immersive exploration of the struggling rust belt town Donora, Pennsylvania. Show Notes:
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What the Evidence Shows - The Problem We All Live With
Phonograph
Rob and Britta discuss a ten year old story from This American Life called "The Problem We All Live With" produced by Chana Joffe-Walt and reported by Nikole Hannah-Jones. It's an example of the kind of documentary journalism we need more than ever, in a world where such journalism is increasingly under threat. Show Notes: Music -
info_outlineA discussion of This American Life Episode 10: Double Lives. Topics include Rob and Britta's own experiences leading double lives, Rob's childhood habit of breaking into schools at night, why this episode feels like the birth of This American Life, why parents so often hide secrets from their children, what Britta’s parents have been hiding from her, and how it feels to hear Ira Glass talk about sex.
This episode also includes an interview with Peter Bresnan, a podcast producer for Gimlet, about what it's like to listen to this old episode of TAL on the topic of closeted gay men.
Links and Show Notes:
Coffero’s Theme by Bill Frisell Quartet
It Might Get Loud - a documentary about Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White
Another Version of You by Chris Zabriskie
Tell Me I’m Funny - a podcast by Peter Alexander Bresnan
Catalog & Classify by Mark Robinson