Pick of the Pods

Willa Paskin, host of Slate's Decoder Ring, joins POP-The Podcast to talk about her show that delves into the fascinating back-stories of everyday cultural phenomena.Curious about why a thing is a thing? Decoder Ring investigates the stories behind cultural phenomena such as sun tans, mullet haircuts or the Jane Fonda Workout.Host Willa Paskin shares with Pick of the Pods:- how ‘writing for the ear’ is different from writing an article- what’s a ‘high touch’ podcast, and did Willa jump into the podcast deep end by choosing to make one?- should you be ‘nice’ to the people featured in your podcasts?Decoder Ring - homepage: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring- on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1376577202- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYjxRBfBp4syi0tCgWRnwXGkF4i2lbvoREpisodes of Decoder Ring featured on this episode:Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2020/10/jane-fonda-leni-cazdenThe Sign Painter: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2021/06/ilona-granet-feminist-artBridget in the Buff: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2026/09/bridget-in-the-buff-naked-fat-puzzles-puzzles-gifts-1970s-naafaWilla’s Pod Picks:Death of an Artist Introducing Death of an Artist Season 3: Petra Mathers and Her Michael: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/death-of-an-artist/introducing-death-of-an-artist-season-3-petra-mathers-and-her-michaelDan Taberski’s Manifesto https://podcastreview.org/review/dan-taberskis-manifesto/The Rest is History (of course): https://therestishistory.com/series/the-french-revolutionWatch here on the POP YouTube channel or listen on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310.POP-The Newsletter: For a fresh recommendation of the one podcast you should be listening to right now, follow POP at pickofthepods.substack.comPOP-The Podcast:Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7Listen on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

Update: Episode 7 is now available wherever you get podcasts: https://pod.link/1891273310 or here on Substack: Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

Some people use podcasts to help them fall asleep. Some people are kept awake by existential dread. How about a podcast that can combine the two?! Are We Doomed? is an excellent narrative documentary series that looks at genuine, or potential, threats to the planet or humanity. Think nuclear war, the next pandemic, or killer robots. Host Ben Bradford joins us on POP-The Podcast to tell all about the show, published by National Public Radio (NPR). Find out: * why nuclear armageddon is perfectly possible, but would be “embarrassing” * is there really a “supervolcano” waiting to blow up the entire United States? * why Ben hates one futurist’s idea that one day we will all have tiny pet hippos Yes, it’s a fun, but not flippant, podcast that is rooted in science and expertise. Links: Are We Doomed on the Pick of the Pods newsletter: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/p/armageddon-it-are-you Are We Doomed * homepage: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/21/g-s1-118208/a-new-npr-network-podcast-asks-the-big-question-are-we-doomed * on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1893359212 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AreWeDoomedPod Episodes of Are We Doomed featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: * Our Vision of the Post-Apocalypse Is Wrong: * The Yellowstone Supervolcano Panic! * How To Survive a Nuclear War Ben’s Pod Picks: * This American Life, Swim Towards the Shark: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/837/swim-towards-the-shark * Oh, Hello: the P’dcast: * Search Engine: https://www.searchengine.show/ Ben’s fantasy interview: Sam Altman or Jeff Bezos, locked in a room and forced to say honestly what is their vision of the future. Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy Discover one new podcast every week with the Pick of the Pods Substack: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/Watch POP-The Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7 Or follow on any podcast app - new episodes drop monthly: https://pod.link/1891273310 Music by fAR Pick of the Pods: copyright Spinney Hill Media 2026. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

What actually is money? This new podcast from the Financial Times takes a historical view of this question which is crucial to understanding human civilisation and the world we live in today. Robin Wigglesworth, who co-hosts the show with fellow FT journalist Gillian Tett, picks some of his favourite episodes so far and tells us why some of the greatest humans ever - Churchill? Newton? - were not always brilliant with money. The Story of Money: * Pick of the Pods: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/publish/post/201028489 * Homepage: https://www.ft.com/tsom?shareType=nongift&syn-25a6b1a6=1 * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1376303362 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney Episodes of The Story of Money featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: * The Bretton Woods agreement: a tale of boozing, womanising, espionage and a heart attack * The financial scams that brought Albania to the brink of war * They are history’s geniuses. But were they any good at investing? Robin’s Pod Picks: * The Rest Is History https://pod.link/1537788786 * Greeking Out https://pod.link/1483233279 Robin’s dream interview: * Jay Cooke (1821–1905) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke Robin’s forthcoming book: * A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/461949/a-fabulous-debt-by-wigglesworth-robin/9780241705674 Listen to POP-The Podcast - new episodes monthly - on any app: https://pod.link/1891273310, watch on YouTube: Let me know what you think of the episode. And if you have a favourite podcast you would like to hear on the monthly POP-The Podcast or see featured on the weekly POP Substack, I’d love to hear about it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com

It’s Episode 4 of POP-The Podcast and we’re talking to Francine Lacqua, Editor at Large and TV news anchor for Bloomberg. With decades of experience interviewing leaders in business and politics, she has launched a podcast, Leaders, and talks us through three very different interviews: a CEO of one of the world’s biggest banks; a fashion entrepreneur who has a “shapewear” partnership with Kim Kardashian; and Melinda French Gates, business leader and philanthropist and former wife of Bill Gates. Leaders with Francine Lacqua: * Homepage: https://www.bloomberg.com/btv/series/leaders-with-lacqua * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1623682235 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqq4LnWs3olXnyY_CJUC2M1NtT_VdXw8i Episodes of Leaders featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast: ‘I Was Ruthless About Killing Complexity’: HSBC CEO on Rewiring the Bank: Emma Grede on the Kardashians and Why Work From Home Is ‘Career Suicide’: Melinda French Gates on Tech, Billionaire Wealth and Why She Worries About the Truth: Francine’s dream interview:Chinese President Xi Jinping Francine’s Pod Picks: Acquired: * Homepage: https://www.acquired.fm/ * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/acquired * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiredFM Odd Lots: * Homepage: https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1056200096 * YouTube (audio): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV How To Fail With Elizabeth Day: * Homepage: https://www.elizabethday.org/podcasts * Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1407451189 * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowToFailPodcast Francine’s book picks: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/238226991-london-falling Supremacy by Parmy Olson: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/parmy-olson/supremacy/9781035038244 Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy Get the weekly Pick of the Pods: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/Watch POP-the Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pickofthepods.substack.com