Riding in cars with podcasts
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Time for a road trip podcast playlist!
As someone who grew up heavily influenced by the timeless cinematic classic Clueless, driving around with my friends brings me great joy.*
It was one of the things I missed most when we were in deep lockdown—being able to go for a hike or a little jaunt out of the city with a friend. As cliché as it sounds to say the journey is just as important as the destination, that’s how I feel about car trips. With nowhere to go and only each other, I’ve had some of my most intimate conversations with friends when we’re on the road.
But some of those car trips have been… long. I’ve taken five days to drive to Los Angeles, and have driven to and from northern Wisconsin a few times—two days there, one 14-hour day back. On a 14-hour car trip, you can run out of things to talk about pretty quickly. And that’s where podcasts come in.
Podcast listening seems like it should be a solitary activity, like reading a book. But I’m here to tell you: listening to podcasts with your friends is the best.
I spent a few weeks listening to Canadaland’s The Backbench with my roommate when we were on our way to volunteer—it’s only a half-hour drive across the city of Toronto, but it was early in the morning and we needed something stimulating to hype us up. Usually, listening to podcasts is passive; this time, we became part of the discussion. We could pause the podcast to weigh in on the topic ourselves, or flag things we didn’t know about. It’s kind of like sitting in a university lecture vs. taking a seminar class; you can learn a lot in the lecture, and they can be interesting, but talking about the material in the seminar allows you to put it in context and make connections. Talking about the material takes it from being kind of abstract to something more tangible.
If you’re planning a road trip with your double vaxxed friends this summer, ask everyone to pick one podcast episode you can all listen to. Then, you can judge them based on their taste. You’re welcome.
*I promise I stop at stop signs and don’t clip other cars, unlike Cher Horowitz
Why Oh Why (listen here)
For when you’re driving with your single friends who are all sick of the apps. Why Oh Why, hosted by Andrea Silenzi, is a kind of sociological look at modern love and dating. It blends her own experiences with reporting and interviews, live-recorded dates, and focus groups. I listened to this on the way back from a music festival in Wisconsin in 2017, crammed in a car with four of my closest friends (sigh) and we were all happy and tired from a weekend of camping and hopping between our favourite bands. Listening to Why Oh Why prompted us to talk about our own strange dating stories. Andrea was funny and relatable, and later that summer I binged the show from the beginning. If you’re looking for a place to start, I love the episode on how to stage a fight with Esther Perel. Similar vibes to Why Won't You Date Me? With Nicole Byer, a show that makes me cry laughing every time I listen to it.
The Shadows (Listen here)
For when you’re driving with your horny theatre friends. This fictional series from Kaitlin Prest and the CBC is about the anatomy of a relationship, and I binged this six-episode series by myself in about a day. There are sex scenes, so again: horny theatre friends. Or friends you’re already comfortable with.
Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids (Listen here)
For when you’re driving with someone you don’t necessarily know so well. The title gives away what the show is about: Dan Misener hosts live shows where adults read their childhood and teenage writing, and then turns it into a podcast. I started listening to it when I was working in a basement bookstore in the summer of 2014, and every Tuesday morning, my boss and I would turn up CBC Radio 1 and cry laughing for half an hour. Luckily, we had no customers. It’s sweet and awkward, and laughing with people is good for bonding. They have six seasons of episodes to choose from, but I’m in this episode from 2015. Remember live shows? Sigh.
Hidden Brain (Listen here)
For when you’re driving with your (social) science nerd friends. Hidden Brain is a show looking at all sorts of facets of human behaviour. Host Shankar Vedantam explores everything from apologies, to gender, to self-improvement. This is a show that’s safe to listen to with pretty much anyone—it’s well-reported and not raunchy or edgy. The episode with Alan Alda from 2018 is a treasure.
We have a few journalism jobs this week that aren’t specifically in audio, but are worth noting. Fun fact: both of these publications are named after marine mammals! Another fun fact: when people ask me, "What job would you want to do if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?" my answer is marine biologist.
The Narwhal is hiring an Ontario bureau chief and two Ontario reporters! If you’re itching to be a part of the team that brings the Narwhal to Ontario, now’s your chance.
The Walrus is hiring a digital editor!
CBC Toronto is hiring a community producer, which is a new role. This seems like a really interesting role for someone who is plugged into Toronto’s different communities, and wants to engage those communities in their journalism.
X University (formerly known as Ryerson) is hiring a production assistant (audio) at the RTA School of Media. They’re looking for someone to help operate and maintain equipment and facilities, so if you’re super knowledgeable about all things audio tech, apply! The position starts August 16, and applications are due on July 22.
For readers eligible to work south of the border, here’s a roundup of U.S.-based jobs:
StoryCorps is hiring a temporary senior podcast producer
The L.A. Times is hiring a senior podcast producer
Crooked Media is hiring a news and politics producer
Who? Weekly is hiring a Wholigan to be a researcher and editorial assistant. Crunch crunch!
And here are the positions we posted in last week’s newsletter that are still open:
eOne is hiring a senior producer to oversee production and operations at their podcast network, and you can apply on LinkedIn.
Unreserved is CBC’s weekly radio show for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. They’re looking for a senior producer, and you have until EOD August 2 to apply.
The Cost of Living is looking for a new producer! This is a show that looks at how our individual lives are tied to the larger economy. Apply by EOD July 19.
The Sunday Magazine is hiring a permanent, full-time producer to join the team. Apply by EOD July 19.
Feeling bored with your invoices? Here are 50 invoice designs to inspire you so you can ask for your money, please, but make it pretty!
Misha Euceph, CEO of Dustlight Productions, is hosting a Q&A about podcast budgets and rates on July 22 at 6 p.m. EDT. Tickets range from $35-$50
And don’t forget about these events we told you about last week!
The Writer’s Co-op is hosting an event on how to make journalism more efficient.
Vocal Fry Senior Producer Ellen Payne Smith is hosting a workshop about using interviews to communicate climate stories with CJLO at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 19.
If you’re subscribed to this podcast, it’s likely you have already listened to Radiolab at least once or twice or a hundred times. But their most recent mini-series is worth a shout out. The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a six-part series about Harry Pace, the man who founded the first Black-owned record label and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago… and then, disappeared. I’m only on episode two, but they’re all out now.
If you loved Dolly Parton's America, chances are, you’ll love this one, too.
This week on the blog, contributor Carol Eugene Park writes about CBC’s Love Me, the show that’s been keeping her company during the pandemic.
And listen to this week’s episode of Building Good, where host Tim Coldwell talks to Senator Ratna Omidvar about The Century Initiative: a project to grow Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100.
We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or at info@vocalfrystudios.com. Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.
We’ll see you again on July 23. Until then, here’s an update from the robin’s nest outside of principal Katie Jensen’s house.
Yours in friends and fries,
Michal
