"I hate when people get the words wrong" podcast recs?
October 25, 2021 3:15 PM Subscribe
After avoiding them for years, I've found in the past 18 months that I actually can enjoy podcasts, and I like to listen to them in the morning when I'm getting ready. However, I've run out of stuff to listen to that doesn't drive me nuts--my faves (You're Wrong About, Maintenance Phase) don't update regularly lately, but other stuff I've tried, the hosts constantly misuse or mispronounce words.
I used to hate listening to people speak without seeing faces, until I happened upon a review of You're Wrong About, and I instantly liked it: the way Sarah Marshall and Michael Hobbes were friends helped a lot, and the topics they chose were often dear to my heart (like the Disco Demolition one), plus I really respect their research skills. Maintenance Phase was a no-brainer to follow along on that one, though Sarah's other podcast is a bit more hit or miss for me. I tried a few other podcasts based on their guest history: American Hysteria and Noble Blood, in particular.
But I quickly had to give up on American Hysteria, even though it is so totally right up my alley, because the host just cannot pronounce or use words correctly so much of the time; Noble Blood is interesting but I often find myself grinding my teeth when she (frequently) misuses or mispronounces words that are so easy to find online to learn how to say them. Call me a snob or whatever--words are how I make my living, and I can skate over a few things (like Mike's "denowmint" on YWA) but when it's like, 25 noo-kyoo-lers on a half-hour ep of AH, I can't deal with it. I'm like Crash Davis, I hate when people get the words wrong.
Are there any cool podcasts in the vein of YWA, MP, or even the topics in AH and NB that might be less tooth-grindy, have great mythbusting or deep dives on culture stuff, have a good vibe like Sarah and Michael had if there are multiple hosts or who can read and write well if they're solo scripted? (I tried the screen writing podcast Craig Maizen did with some other writer, after I'd enjoyed listening to him so much on the Chernobyl podcast, but after he went off on a rant about how people shouldn't be allowed to say the Game of Thrones finale was bad, I checked out of that one--pomposity is definitely a dealbreaker.)
If they're podcasts run by men, I'd prefer they be more open to other perspectives than a lot of cishet white men usually are, and I think the compassionate perspectives of the podcasts I mentioned were a huge draw for me, even if the word thing wasn't good. Bonus points for great voices, too--one of the first podcasts I ever listened to was for the Good Place, and Marc Evan Jackson's voice was like honey.
I used to hate listening to people speak without seeing faces, until I happened upon a review of You're Wrong About, and I instantly liked it: the way Sarah Marshall and Michael Hobbes were friends helped a lot, and the topics they chose were often dear to my heart (like the Disco Demolition one), plus I really respect their research skills. Maintenance Phase was a no-brainer to follow along on that one, though Sarah's other podcast is a bit more hit or miss for me. I tried a few other podcasts based on their guest history: American Hysteria and Noble Blood, in particular.
But I quickly had to give up on American Hysteria, even though it is so totally right up my alley, because the host just cannot pronounce or use words correctly so much of the time; Noble Blood is interesting but I often find myself grinding my teeth when she (frequently) misuses or mispronounces words that are so easy to find online to learn how to say them. Call me a snob or whatever--words are how I make my living, and I can skate over a few things (like Mike's "denowmint" on YWA) but when it's like, 25 noo-kyoo-lers on a half-hour ep of AH, I can't deal with it. I'm like Crash Davis, I hate when people get the words wrong.
Are there any cool podcasts in the vein of YWA, MP, or even the topics in AH and NB that might be less tooth-grindy, have great mythbusting or deep dives on culture stuff, have a good vibe like Sarah and Michael had if there are multiple hosts or who can read and write well if they're solo scripted? (I tried the screen writing podcast Craig Maizen did with some other writer, after I'd enjoyed listening to him so much on the Chernobyl podcast, but after he went off on a rant about how people shouldn't be allowed to say the Game of Thrones finale was bad, I checked out of that one--pomposity is definitely a dealbreaker.)
If they're podcasts run by men, I'd prefer they be more open to other perspectives than a lot of cishet white men usually are, and I think the compassionate perspectives of the podcasts I mentioned were a huge draw for me, even if the word thing wasn't good. Bonus points for great voices, too--one of the first podcasts I ever listened to was for the Good Place, and Marc Evan Jackson's voice was like honey.
I was going to say No Such Thing as a Fish, except that Dan Schreiber literally mispronounces the location they're coming from as Coverrrnt Garden instead of Covent Garden in every single intro. But it kind of becomes a running joke and anyway if you're not from London you probably don't care and mostly the presenters' pronunciation is spot on because they're nerdy, pedantic types who like to get things right. James Harkin even insists on calling a panini a panino because it's singular.
Dan mispronounces other things very occasionally (I think on account of having grown up mostly in international schools in Australia and Hong Kong), but he's only one of four presenters and always gets the piss ripped for it by the others, so as long as you don't mind English pronounciations you'll probably be fine with it. He does at least, after many years, seem to have stumbled onto the correct pronounciation of the surname of co-presenter Anna Ptaszynski.
posted by penguin pie at 3:30 PM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
Dan mispronounces other things very occasionally (I think on account of having grown up mostly in international schools in Australia and Hong Kong), but he's only one of four presenters and always gets the piss ripped for it by the others, so as long as you don't mind English pronounciations you'll probably be fine with it. He does at least, after many years, seem to have stumbled onto the correct pronounciation of the surname of co-presenter Anna Ptaszynski.
posted by penguin pie at 3:30 PM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
I should add: I don't mean to cast aspersions on the pronounciations of Australia or Hong Kong. He's just clearly moved around so much and been exposed to so many different accents over the years that his own wanders and he'll occasionally over-confidently take wild stabs at pronouncing things he's not sure of, with varying results. I realise this sounds like exactly what you're NOT looking for, but it's not a constant and it's always called out, which is kind of fun.
Also: Nothing wrong with being a nerdy pedantic type who likes to get things right...!
posted by penguin pie at 3:37 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also: Nothing wrong with being a nerdy pedantic type who likes to get things right...!
posted by penguin pie at 3:37 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Not done! It’s Sarah and guest hosts now. Michael is the one who is leaving.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:38 PM on October 25, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by ocherdraco at 3:38 PM on October 25, 2021 [8 favorites]
A Way With Words might fit the bill.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:38 PM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by iamkimiam at 3:38 PM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
I'm a big fan of Futility Closet Podcast which every week is something different about odd history topics or other offbeat things. You can skip episodes that don't interest you.
There's also a lateral thinking puzzle at the end each week.
I'd listen to a newer one to see if it interests you, and if you like it start at the beginning. They do followups and spoilers to previous episodes in newer ones, which is why I recommend starting at the beginning.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
There's also a lateral thinking puzzle at the end each week.
I'd listen to a newer one to see if it interests you, and if you like it start at the beginning. They do followups and spoilers to previous episodes in newer ones, which is why I recommend starting at the beginning.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
You might like This Podcast Will Kill You, a medical/epidemiology/disease ecology podcast. Two very interesting hosts (both, confusingly, named Erin, but I don't suppose there's anything to be done about that) who talk about a different disease each week, mostly infectious diseases of humans (but not all).
Maybe this sounds like EXTREMELY NOT YOUR JAM, especially in These Unprecedented Times, in which case avoid, for sure. But they're interesting, the topics are interesting, they have good hostfriend chemistry, and once in a while they don't *know* how to pronounce something, but they generally acknowledge that (and in fairness to them, there are some wildly idiosyncratic pronunciations of scientific terms in common usage - that whole thing where you see a word a million times but never hear it spoken out loud is very very real in scientific labs).
posted by mskyle at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
Maybe this sounds like EXTREMELY NOT YOUR JAM, especially in These Unprecedented Times, in which case avoid, for sure. But they're interesting, the topics are interesting, they have good hostfriend chemistry, and once in a while they don't *know* how to pronounce something, but they generally acknowledge that (and in fairness to them, there are some wildly idiosyncratic pronunciations of scientific terms in common usage - that whole thing where you see a word a million times but never hear it spoken out loud is very very real in scientific labs).
posted by mskyle at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
I’m not a super podcast person but you might like The Allusionist, which is about language.
posted by brilliantine at 4:01 PM on October 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by brilliantine at 4:01 PM on October 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
A Way With Words might fit the bill.
Caution: the hosts (including Mefi's own Mo Nickels) have a decidedly descriptivist approach to linguistics, and if
posted by zamboni at 4:02 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Caution: the hosts (including Mefi's own Mo Nickels) have a decidedly descriptivist approach to linguistics, and if
noo-kyoo-lerbothers you, some of the linguistical variations they cover will cause conniptions.
posted by zamboni at 4:02 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Came to suggest No Such Thing As a Fish as well. They often have fellow podcasters on as guests if one of the regulars is out for some reason, so that's another vein of possibilities you could mine.
posted by ninazer0 at 4:04 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ninazer0 at 4:04 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
My favorite podcaster voice belongs to Rabia Chaudry - currently she has a spooky fiction anthology podcast going (Nighty Night) as well as The Hidden Djinn previously, and also the latest season of Undisclosed, which covers wrongful convictions (she has cohosts for this one).
Caveat: I do not think she is prone to mispronunciations, but they don't bother me in general and I like the Noble Blood podcast fine. Also, I say milk like "melk" and can't be bothered to correct myself despite being aware of it, which may affect your opinion of the credibility of my suggestions.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:22 PM on October 25, 2021
Caveat: I do not think she is prone to mispronunciations, but they don't bother me in general and I like the Noble Blood podcast fine. Also, I say milk like "melk" and can't be bothered to correct myself despite being aware of it, which may affect your opinion of the credibility of my suggestions.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:22 PM on October 25, 2021
Would you enjoy more “produced” podcasts that may have more oversight like “The Dream” or “Serial”?
posted by raccoon409 at 4:37 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by raccoon409 at 4:37 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Some podcast genealogy:
Helen Zaltzman and Ollie Mann started "Answer Me This" way back in twenty tickity two (2007). It was (gasp) a sweet, informative banter driven show that has great british accents and research. A fair bit of their 400 episode archive is available for free. While AMT has ceased (SOB!) as of this year, the two hosts have gone on to create other, slightly niche-ier pods that you may like. brilliantine already mentioned Helen's above, The Allusionist. Ollie has several, but depending on how long it takes you to get ready, I'd recommend The Retrospectors. It's ten minutes every day of a decently researched, delightfully bantered about 'on this day in history' event. I use it to time my morning toilette. As the hosts have british or australian accents, i'd hope that any pronunciation issues will be muted. Also as it's 5 show a week production, if i'm not into the current day's topic, i can easily skip back and find something more interesting to me.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 4:43 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Helen Zaltzman and Ollie Mann started "Answer Me This" way back in twenty tickity two (2007). It was (gasp) a sweet, informative banter driven show that has great british accents and research. A fair bit of their 400 episode archive is available for free. While AMT has ceased (SOB!) as of this year, the two hosts have gone on to create other, slightly niche-ier pods that you may like. brilliantine already mentioned Helen's above, The Allusionist. Ollie has several, but depending on how long it takes you to get ready, I'd recommend The Retrospectors. It's ten minutes every day of a decently researched, delightfully bantered about 'on this day in history' event. I use it to time my morning toilette. As the hosts have british or australian accents, i'd hope that any pronunciation issues will be muted. Also as it's 5 show a week production, if i'm not into the current day's topic, i can easily skip back and find something more interesting to me.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 4:43 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Maybe On the Media? It’s originally/primarily a public radio show and sounds like it, but the topics (careful scrutiny of how media works and how coverage interacts with stories) are great. Michael Hobbs has been on a few times.
They’re professional broadcasters so typical US pronunciation is more likely.
posted by jeoc at 4:48 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
They’re professional broadcasters so typical US pronunciation is more likely.
posted by jeoc at 4:48 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Vocal Fries is exactly what you're looking for! It's hosted by two linguists who have fantastic research practices...
... Also, it's all about linguistic discrimination, so it might be useful for other reasons too. :-)
posted by meese at 4:53 PM on October 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
... Also, it's all about linguistic discrimination, so it might be useful for other reasons too. :-)
posted by meese at 4:53 PM on October 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
Ologies seems like it could be up your alley and I love the host. I feel like she usually pronounces words correctly, but I am often not listening so closely that I would necessarily notice that if it weren’t egregious. There is a pretty huge backlog on so many niche topics with great guests and somewhat regular new releases (weekly? biweekly? something like that).
posted by gooch at 4:53 PM on October 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by gooch at 4:53 PM on October 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
I am surprised no one has yet mentioned 99% Invisible. The topics are wide-ranging and include language, sometimes, and it is very easy to skip around to those that are most interesting to you. There's a huge back catalogue.
Like you, I can get very irritated by mispronunciation, and also by certain grammatical errors (Sarah and Mike are definitely guilty but I have been able to forgive them for their content). So far I have not been unduly irritated by word pronunciation on 99PI, at least not the English. There was a recent episode on the Euro which featured an American absolutely butchering various European languages, notably French. Host Roman Mars is a white man (tm) but I think the show does a reasonably good job at representing other viewpoints. And his voice is incredibly soothing. Seriously, I want him to read me bedtime stories.
Agree with the Allusionist, as long as a British accent doesn't count as mispronunciation for you (assuming you are American; apologies if not). Throughline does history/culture deep dives, not necessarily mythbusting but sometimes, with a definite focus on minority views and stories. Hosts are not white.
Unobscured does season-long historical deep dives with a slant towards the darker/spookier parts of history - the first season was on the Salem Witch Trials, second on the Spiritualist movement; third on Jack the Ripper (I skipped that one because I am over Jack the Ripper) and the latest, still being released, is on Rasputin. The host is a white man, but he does a good job paying attention to minority viewpoints and angles in history that are often overlooked by "white" history. He can't pronounce non-English very well, which can be very irritating, but does ok with English.
And one more, which doesn't have a lot of episodes and isn't released very often, but is really good: Stuff the British Stole, hosted by an Aussie and often interviewing a lot of British people for obvious reasons, so again if accents bother you maybe not. Really interesting look at cultural history and colonialism.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:33 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Like you, I can get very irritated by mispronunciation, and also by certain grammatical errors (Sarah and Mike are definitely guilty but I have been able to forgive them for their content). So far I have not been unduly irritated by word pronunciation on 99PI, at least not the English. There was a recent episode on the Euro which featured an American absolutely butchering various European languages, notably French. Host Roman Mars is a white man (tm) but I think the show does a reasonably good job at representing other viewpoints. And his voice is incredibly soothing. Seriously, I want him to read me bedtime stories.
Agree with the Allusionist, as long as a British accent doesn't count as mispronunciation for you (assuming you are American; apologies if not). Throughline does history/culture deep dives, not necessarily mythbusting but sometimes, with a definite focus on minority views and stories. Hosts are not white.
Unobscured does season-long historical deep dives with a slant towards the darker/spookier parts of history - the first season was on the Salem Witch Trials, second on the Spiritualist movement; third on Jack the Ripper (I skipped that one because I am over Jack the Ripper) and the latest, still being released, is on Rasputin. The host is a white man, but he does a good job paying attention to minority viewpoints and angles in history that are often overlooked by "white" history. He can't pronounce non-English very well, which can be very irritating, but does ok with English.
And one more, which doesn't have a lot of episodes and isn't released very often, but is really good: Stuff the British Stole, hosted by an Aussie and often interviewing a lot of British people for obvious reasons, so again if accents bother you maybe not. Really interesting look at cultural history and colonialism.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:33 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
I love On The Media. Love love love. Also like You're Wrong About, so if we're liking the same sorts of things in shows, stands to reason you may also like On the Media.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:35 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by Don Pepino at 5:35 PM on October 25, 2021
Futility Closet Podcast
Was coming to recommend this as well. It's a husband and wife team. Previous episode spoilers are always right at the end and also warned ahead of time. The format changed sometime around episode 20?? and they got more polished over a long time. If you like something in the 300s episode range I'd suggest skipping the the first couple dozen or so until after you are hooked.
posted by Mitheral at 5:40 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Was coming to recommend this as well. It's a husband and wife team. Previous episode spoilers are always right at the end and also warned ahead of time. The format changed sometime around episode 20?? and they got more polished over a long time. If you like something in the 300s episode range I'd suggest skipping the the first couple dozen or so until after you are hooked.
posted by Mitheral at 5:40 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Lingthusiasm, being a podcast about linguistics, is unsurprisingly precise about pronunciation, grammar, and usage -- that said, the subject matter often includes specific analysis of what you might consider incorrect pronunciation or usage, so if that discussion would annoy you in the same way, be warned.
posted by egregious theorem at 5:43 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by egregious theorem at 5:43 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for so many answers so far! Wow! I was hoping for maybe one or two things, but this is a trove, yay!
I never thought to mention:
- I'm not especially interested in fictional casts, or at least, I've never been drawn to anything fictional yet and since that's a good chunk of my copyediting/proofreading work, I'm not sure I'd want to add fiction, but I am sure I could be convinced by something compelling.
- I am American but have spent a lot of time in the UK (very nearly moved there), and I have no issues with any kind of accented English. I have worked with English as a second language speakers for a long time; that's not where my frustration comes in with pronunciation/usage in scripted casts. Some of the Brit or Aussie ones sound perfect, in fact.
- I wasn't actually asking for podcasts on language or linguistics? If they're more in the vein of interesting cultural deep dives about language, that's great, but if it's something mentioned here because they talk about pronunciation, that wasn't necessarily what I was looking for.
- There've been plenty of times in my life when I found out a word I'd only ever read in print was pronounced differently from what I had in my head. But a huge part of my life is spent helping people with their written communication, so it tends to matter to me more than to most. My high horse is not that high, I'm just trying to reduce frustration.
I'm looking forward to hearing more!
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:58 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
I never thought to mention:
- I'm not especially interested in fictional casts, or at least, I've never been drawn to anything fictional yet and since that's a good chunk of my copyediting/proofreading work, I'm not sure I'd want to add fiction, but I am sure I could be convinced by something compelling.
- I am American but have spent a lot of time in the UK (very nearly moved there), and I have no issues with any kind of accented English. I have worked with English as a second language speakers for a long time; that's not where my frustration comes in with pronunciation/usage in scripted casts. Some of the Brit or Aussie ones sound perfect, in fact.
- I wasn't actually asking for podcasts on language or linguistics? If they're more in the vein of interesting cultural deep dives about language, that's great, but if it's something mentioned here because they talk about pronunciation, that wasn't necessarily what I was looking for.
- There've been plenty of times in my life when I found out a word I'd only ever read in print was pronounced differently from what I had in my head. But a huge part of my life is spent helping people with their written communication, so it tends to matter to me more than to most. My high horse is not that high, I'm just trying to reduce frustration.
I'm looking forward to hearing more!
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:58 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm really enjoying "I said no gifts" with Bridger Winegar. He has a really pleasant speaking voice & a really pleasant way of putting words together. The show is just him having a pleasant conversation with a guest on various urbane topics of the day. It's not the deep dive kind of thing but I usually wind up learning something interesting.
posted by bleep at 6:41 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by bleep at 6:41 PM on October 25, 2021
Seconding “This Podcast Will Kill You”.
posted by kellygrape at 6:49 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by kellygrape at 6:49 PM on October 25, 2021
If you are ok with Canadian accents, most of the CBC podcasts are quite professional. I like the first season of Uncovered, how to start a revolution (about the FLQ), and I listen to a lot of Canadian politics.
Also - thanks for this question, I live you’re wrong about, and I’ve been searching for new podcasts.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 7:19 PM on October 25, 2021
Also - thanks for this question, I live you’re wrong about, and I’ve been searching for new podcasts.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 7:19 PM on October 25, 2021
I listen to a lot of podcasts from Slate, and some that might work for you:
Culture Gabfest features three smart folks, often including two women, chatting about different current cultural things like tv, film, books, etc
Decoder Ring is new on my list
Hit Parade is a deep dive into a different top 40 song, artist, or theme in music. You could go all the way back to the beginning. It's fantastic, though I'll add the host is a man.
One Year is quite interesting. The first season focused on 1977 and it was a fascinating way to explore historical topics that still resonate. Also hosted by a man.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:40 PM on October 25, 2021
Culture Gabfest features three smart folks, often including two women, chatting about different current cultural things like tv, film, books, etc
Decoder Ring is new on my list
Hit Parade is a deep dive into a different top 40 song, artist, or theme in music. You could go all the way back to the beginning. It's fantastic, though I'll add the host is a man.
One Year is quite interesting. The first season focused on 1977 and it was a fascinating way to explore historical topics that still resonate. Also hosted by a man.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:40 PM on October 25, 2021
It sounds like we have similar tastes in podcasts. Some favorites of mine that I don’t see here yet.
You Must Remember This: Film history, but using film as a lens to view larger US cultural patterns through. Incredible depth of research. Single host, so none of the delightful banter you get with YWA and Maintenance Phase, but I love host Karina Longworth’s dry little asides. Start with the Manson Family, Blacklist, or Dead Blondes series.
Jamie Loftus’ two limited-run podcasts, Lolita Podcast and Aack Cast. Lolita podcast starts with background on Vladimir Nabokov and the novel Lolita, then does a deep dive into later representations of Lolita in popular culture and how the image of Lolita has been continually changed and reclaimed. Aack cast is about Cathy comics, their place in a larger history of US feminism and women’s art, and the ways they’re remembered today. Loftus is a little younger than Sarah Marshall, but she has some of the same sarcasm and draws on the same kinds of pop culture references; Aack Cast even briefly mentions YWA as an influence.
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs: This one is hosted by a man, but one who takes great pains to acknowledge his privileges and blind spots when it’s appropriate and is meticulous about trigger warnings. Title is self-explanatory, but this stands out to me among music history podcasts for the hosts’ self-awareness as mentioned before, the degree of research that clearly goes into each episode, and the ways it draws connections between genres and artists I never would have linked, not to mention each songs’ place in the larger pop cultural moment. Worth listening to in order to really see the narrative threads come together.
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:45 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
You Must Remember This: Film history, but using film as a lens to view larger US cultural patterns through. Incredible depth of research. Single host, so none of the delightful banter you get with YWA and Maintenance Phase, but I love host Karina Longworth’s dry little asides. Start with the Manson Family, Blacklist, or Dead Blondes series.
Jamie Loftus’ two limited-run podcasts, Lolita Podcast and Aack Cast. Lolita podcast starts with background on Vladimir Nabokov and the novel Lolita, then does a deep dive into later representations of Lolita in popular culture and how the image of Lolita has been continually changed and reclaimed. Aack cast is about Cathy comics, their place in a larger history of US feminism and women’s art, and the ways they’re remembered today. Loftus is a little younger than Sarah Marshall, but she has some of the same sarcasm and draws on the same kinds of pop culture references; Aack Cast even briefly mentions YWA as an influence.
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs: This one is hosted by a man, but one who takes great pains to acknowledge his privileges and blind spots when it’s appropriate and is meticulous about trigger warnings. Title is self-explanatory, but this stands out to me among music history podcasts for the hosts’ self-awareness as mentioned before, the degree of research that clearly goes into each episode, and the ways it draws connections between genres and artists I never would have linked, not to mention each songs’ place in the larger pop cultural moment. Worth listening to in order to really see the narrative threads come together.
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:45 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
In Our Time is a good, long-running programme on 'the history of ideas', with a static host and a weekly panel of four experts on whatever subject is being discussed in a given week. There's a wide range of subject matter so it's easy to pick and choose between episodes if one doesn't happen to be up your street. As they're all experts in their field, there may be the odd disagreement on pronunciation but not in the manner of sloppy errors.
If you enjoy satire, The Bugle is a weekly satirical news podcast helmed by Andy ('Brother of The Allusionist's Helen') Zaltzman, with a changing group of guests/co-hosts. Alice Fraser is his most regular contributor and they both have a wordsmithy style of satire you may enjoy. The OG Bugle was Andy and John Oliver, so if you like what the latter does on LWT it may be worth checking out.
And re: No Such Thing As A Fish ... right. So, I love the podcast. I've listened since almost the beginning, catch every episode when it comes out, I've been to a live show. But you should definitely be prepared for two things:
Dan is a 'clumsy talker'. Not only is his pronunciation bad but he's not great at putting a sentence together, to the point that on a few occasions the other hosts have had to stop him talking to work out what it is he's actually trying to say. It's very acknowledged and obviously embraced as a feature instead of a bug, but even as a lover of the podcast it still irritates the shit out of me.
Every last one of them is AWFUL at pronouncing pretty much any non-English words. Even if it's an idea or a name that's the centrepiece of the subject they're discussing they do no advance prep or research on how to pronounce it correctly, and have admitted on several occasions that they don't even make an effort. They are all QI 'elves' whose literal job is to sit in an office and research obscure or interesting information, but they can't even be arsed to look up basic pronunciation rules or read the IPA on the Wikipedia page or to e.g. watch a Youtube video that explains how to pronounce the most common Vietnamese surname and instead sound out "Nguyen" on-air as "Na-goo-yen". There's no reason they can't do better, and their DGAF attitude has reduced my enjoyment of the podcast. I'm not a letter-writing person at all but it's so pervasive I've seriously considered emailing them about it. So if this sort of thing bothers you, be aware.
posted by myotahapea at 12:02 AM on October 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you enjoy satire, The Bugle is a weekly satirical news podcast helmed by Andy ('Brother of The Allusionist's Helen') Zaltzman, with a changing group of guests/co-hosts. Alice Fraser is his most regular contributor and they both have a wordsmithy style of satire you may enjoy. The OG Bugle was Andy and John Oliver, so if you like what the latter does on LWT it may be worth checking out.
And re: No Such Thing As A Fish ... right. So, I love the podcast. I've listened since almost the beginning, catch every episode when it comes out, I've been to a live show. But you should definitely be prepared for two things:
Dan is a 'clumsy talker'. Not only is his pronunciation bad but he's not great at putting a sentence together, to the point that on a few occasions the other hosts have had to stop him talking to work out what it is he's actually trying to say. It's very acknowledged and obviously embraced as a feature instead of a bug, but even as a lover of the podcast it still irritates the shit out of me.
Every last one of them is AWFUL at pronouncing pretty much any non-English words. Even if it's an idea or a name that's the centrepiece of the subject they're discussing they do no advance prep or research on how to pronounce it correctly, and have admitted on several occasions that they don't even make an effort. They are all QI 'elves' whose literal job is to sit in an office and research obscure or interesting information, but they can't even be arsed to look up basic pronunciation rules or read the IPA on the Wikipedia page or to e.g. watch a Youtube video that explains how to pronounce the most common Vietnamese surname and instead sound out "Nguyen" on-air as "Na-goo-yen". There's no reason they can't do better, and their DGAF attitude has reduced my enjoyment of the podcast. I'm not a letter-writing person at all but it's so pervasive I've seriously considered emailing them about it. So if this sort of thing bothers you, be aware.
posted by myotahapea at 12:02 AM on October 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
One more that you might enjoy, or maybe not - Australian interview show Conversations which is really a series of conversations between the hosts (only one host at a time) and their guest. Not the deepest of dives in only an hour-ish, but I have never regretted listening to an episode, even if I had never heard of the person being interviewed or didn't think the topic sounded interesting. Both hosts are white, and the most frequent host is also a man, but there is a diverse range of people they interview and they definitely present non-cis-het-white perspectives. Richard Fidler also has a very warm voice.
Thinking about it, something else that might help you find more to listen to is looking for those associated with radio broadcasters/shows (CBC, BBC, NPR; Conversations which I mention above is from our public broadcaster ABC) because in general I have found them to do better on the pronunciation front. Probably helps that they have an organisation behind them.
posted by Athanassiel at 12:19 AM on October 26, 2021
Thinking about it, something else that might help you find more to listen to is looking for those associated with radio broadcasters/shows (CBC, BBC, NPR; Conversations which I mention above is from our public broadcaster ABC) because in general I have found them to do better on the pronunciation front. Probably helps that they have an organisation behind them.
posted by Athanassiel at 12:19 AM on October 26, 2021
I love NPR's "Throughline" for deep dives into sometimes surprising or more obscure topics with very nice production values - their Latin America/Puerto Rican history material, the history of tipping in America, and the Public Universal Friend I thought were particularly great. I would also recommend "Human Resources" as a British podcast probing links to slavery in our past with, again, beautiful production and a thoughtful presenter and script. For a podcaster with a dry, funny manner and beautiful pronunciation and research, Professor Peter Adamson's "history of philosophy without any gaps" and "history of Indian and Africana philosophy" are great. Seconding In our time and you're dead to me as a brit!
posted by MarianHalcombe at 1:13 AM on October 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by MarianHalcombe at 1:13 AM on October 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ologies?
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:28 AM on October 26, 2021
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:28 AM on October 26, 2021
If you find you like "This Podcast Will Kill You", then Sawbones might be right up your alley as well.
posted by kathrynm at 8:09 AM on October 26, 2021
posted by kathrynm at 8:09 AM on October 26, 2021
I also deeply dearly love Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone despite sometimes extreme challenges. (Among the many assaults on the ear, everybody on the show misuses lie and lay. This is particularly painful because of course, like every podcast, they're nearly always advertising a mattress.)
I think what makes it tolerable is that Paula Poundstone knows she doesn't know, and she tries to get better. The show isn't about language, but at one point pretty early on Paula realized she only knows about thirty words and so she introduced a "vocabulary" segment on the show where she introduces new words and adds them to her hilariously terrible "vocabulary song." I learn words sometimes! And it's nice to hear her and the other hosts striving to improve. Last week Paula said "protege" when she meant "prodigy." But this week she took some congressperson to task for mispronouncing "infrastructure" and referring to an "analogy" as an "example." She's a flawed but valiant warrior in the battle, so I hang in there with her. Also, they pull fantastic guests who are experts in various fun and interesting things.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:12 AM on October 27, 2021
I think what makes it tolerable is that Paula Poundstone knows she doesn't know, and she tries to get better. The show isn't about language, but at one point pretty early on Paula realized she only knows about thirty words and so she introduced a "vocabulary" segment on the show where she introduces new words and adds them to her hilariously terrible "vocabulary song." I learn words sometimes! And it's nice to hear her and the other hosts striving to improve. Last week Paula said "protege" when she meant "prodigy." But this week she took some congressperson to task for mispronouncing "infrastructure" and referring to an "analogy" as an "example." She's a flawed but valiant warrior in the battle, so I hang in there with her. Also, they pull fantastic guests who are experts in various fun and interesting things.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:12 AM on October 27, 2021
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Ahem.
You may like the BBC History series You're Dead To Me. It's got a host, a comedian, and an expert who is there to correct said host and comedian when they screw things up.
posted by phunniemee at 3:20 PM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]