Bingeworthy Podcasts

A collection of some of the best links from around the web, manually curated.

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Unmapped world

An excellent episode from the BBC’s The Documentary Podcast. On the importance of maps (for, among other things, fighting epidemics), and why so much of Africa is still not mapped properly. Listen to it here.

From Weekly Filet #310, in July 2020.

Startup: Burnout

This week, I re-listened to Gimlet’s Startup podcast, in which founder Alex Blumberg documents the first steps of what would become his podcast company (it’s even more interesting to listen to now with the hindsight knowledge that Gimlet was recently acquired by Spotify for more than $200 million.) I realised that I had missed one episode when it came out, which to me is the standout episode in an already outstanding first season: It’s the episode in which they report on a time when several employees are on the brink of burning out. Highly recommended.

From Weekly Filet #292, in March 2020.

Level Up

How do you create a piece of music that excites for hours and that can automatically adapt to what happens in the world it helps create? A fascinating dive into sound design for video games.

From Weekly Filet #251, in October 2017.

The most popular song in the world

A brilliant, detailed musical analysis of arguably the most popular song in the world, with one billion plays a day (!) at its peak: the Nokia ringtone. Yes, that one. This is an older and somewhat atypical episode of my new favourite podcast, «Switched On Pop». A musicologist and a songwriter go deep into the anatomy of popular songs (usually not ringtones) and explain what makes them hits and «help listeners find a-ha moments in the music». They are at their best when they cross-examine songs – like in «Hotline Hello: Drake and Adele».

From Weekly Filet #242, in August 2017.

The Money Fixers

Inside the curious world of the «Mutilated Currency Division». I wasn’t aware of this: You can send in destroyed money (meaning: burned, shredded, digested by a cow, even) and if those people can establish it’s real money, you are reimbursed.

From Weekly Filet #239, in July 2017.

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