MetaPod

“Radio Spätkauf is Berlin’s English-language news show, keeping international residents informed about local politics, public transport, urban development, culture, bicycles, bars and more.”

Most people can name a famous attraction or historical event in Berlin. Many can tell you a musician or artist that spent time in the city. When it comes to city politics, local business and garbage in Berlin, Radio Spätkauf picks up where the others left off.

Hosted by four international residents of Berlin, Radio Spaetkauf presents facts and opinions on local issues with entertaining cultural insight. The show is produced for podcast and live audience and calls listeners to action on local issues. Bello Collective has recognised the podcast for its examination of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport project, aptly titled “How to F**k Up An Airport”.

You don’t need to live in Berlin to enjoy Radio Spaetkauf. Listeners from other international cities will recognise common themes of urban life. The hosts provide irreverent, analytical twists on each topic, resulting in a show with local and international flair.

“What’s going on right now with Covid in Germany or Berlin ends up in the international press, but local elections don’t,” explains Daniel Stern, one of the show’s hosts. “That’s one of the times when I really feel like we’re doing our job and something valuable.”

In this episode of MetaPod, we learn about current affairs in Berlin and how the Radio Spätkauf team performs with a sense of humour and wonder. We also hear about expat life and two pressing issues for the city, the housing crisis and notorious Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

Daniel also reveals to MetaPod a few of the hot topics of life in Berlin, like trash sorting and abandoned bike locks. Wendy suggests an episode that explores the German art of sandwich lettuce.

About Daniel Stern

Daniel Stern is an American living in Berlin. He is a former talk show host, a retired competitive eater, a screenwriter, actor and stand up comedian. Stern’s live performances are a manic, sweaty collage of anarchic wit, earnest confessions and stories about riding the bus. His acting resume includes dramatic roles, voice work and a bit of tasteful partial nudity.

Daniel podcasts with local news show Radio Spätkauf and has produced countless live shows with titles like “Motherfudgers,” “An Hour on the M41 Bus” or the sort of eponymous “Staniel Dern Show.” Stern took last place behind three children in an NBA Summer League half time dance-off.

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“My grandad worked on the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima. Could another man – Leo Szilard – have stopped it?“

The Bomb explores the scientific and political events that led to the development of the atomic bomb. The story focusses on scientist Leo Szilard and his role in the discovery of nuclear fission. The Bomb follows Szilard, a Hungarian exile, to his work in Berlin, London, New York and Chicago. The story also highlights his attempts to stop the use of nuclear energy in warfare.

Emily Strasser is the narrator of The Bomb. Her personal connection to the development of the atomic bomb if familial in nature; Emily’s grandfather was a chemist on the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was a secret US government initiative during World War II to develop an atomic weapon before the Germans did the same.

Emily has researched and written about nuclear arms. Her work also considers the powerful effects of state regimes of secrecy, institutional structures and individual choice and action. Her personal journey to come to terms with her grandfather’s work along with her passion for meaningful change make her more than just a narrator. Listeners can expect to be asked to do more than think.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Emily about what it was like to work with the BBC on The Bomb. We also hear her personal stories and opinions on the threats and choices that we face today, such as climate change and cyber warfare.

Show notes:

• Doomsday Clock
• The weight of a butterfly
• Why the world needs more Leo Szilards

About Emily Strasser

Emily Strasser is a writer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work has appeared in Catapult, Ploughshares, Guernica, The Bitter Southerner, and The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, among others, and twice been named notable in Best American Essays. She was the presenter of the 2020 BBC podcast “The Bomb.” She is working on a book about the intersection of family and national secrets in the nuclear city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

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“Two barrels. Four bodies. And the decades-long mystery that led to a serial killer. Bear Brook is a podcast about a cold case that’s changing how murders will be investigated forever.”

The Bear Brook story begins in the mid-80s with a startling discovery. Two unidentified bodies, stuffed inside of barrels in the woods of a small town in New Hampshire. Not far off in the woods, known as Bear Brook State Park, another disturbing discovery is made fifteen years later. Two more unidentified bodies in a barrel. By 2017, advances in DNA testing together with genetic genealogy bring a serial killer and a number of victims into view.

Produced by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), award-winning Bear Brook tells the story of how the serial killer known as “The Chameleon” and his victims were identified via new forensic techniques.

Hosted by investigative reporter Jason Moon, the podcast explores the application of DNA testing in criminal investigations. The podcast also examines the ramifications of DNA testing on identity, privacy and the criminal justice system.

In this episode of MetaPod, Jason Moon talks to us about the unique characteristics of the case. He also discusses how the NHPR team avoided the pitfalls of the “true crime” genre and the original music that he composed for the podcast. We also touch on the importance of local and long-form journalism in the changing landscape of media and public radio.

Show notes:

• Podcast Explores How N.H. Cold Case Will Forever Change Murder Investigations
• “Three Bear Brook Murder Victims Identified; Citizen Sleuth, Genetic Genealogy Provide Key Clues”
• “Serial killer Terry Rasmussen’s victims, known and unknown”
• State of New Hampshire’s website for Bear Brook State Park

About Jason Moon

Jason Moon began reporting on the Bear Brook murders back in 2015, when it was announced that new forensic techniques were being used to try to identify four bodies that were discovered in two barrels in the woods of Allenstown, New Hampshire.

In early 2017, authorities revealed a break in the case that made it clear this story was bigger – and had more significance – than previously thought. That’s when Jason and New Hampshire Public Radio‘s editorial team began work on what would become the Bear Brook podcast.

Before coming to NHPR, Jason honed his reporting chops with a variety of public radio teams including StoryCorps, Transom.org, and WBHM in his home state of Alabama.

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“Mark Thomas has moved back in with his mum for the duration of the pandemic. He’s 57 and she’s 85. He says she’s curmudgeonly; she says he’s the most aggravating person on the planet.”

Mark Thomas, during normal times, is a stand-up comedian, activist and writer. But 2020 changed everything for him (as it did the rest of us).

He returned home, to live with his mum again, during the first lockdown of the pandemic in the UK. Such a set of circumstances would be like gold dust to a joke-hungry comic but Mark took the opportunity to do something more.

In Mark Thomas’s Lockdown Check-up he charts the experiences of his mum and NHS healthcare workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic. From his bedroom, which he describes as having “the facilities of a monk’s cell with the charm of a panic room,” Mark calls healthcare professionals across England to discuss their work caring for patients under exceptional circumstances.

From the lack of PPE to grappling with the rigid hierarchy of the medical professional, to communication and coping, the conversations seem to carry some therapeutic value for both parties. “I’ve always found the act of creating something incredibly therapeutic,” says Mark.

In this episode of MetaPod, Mark talks to us about what he learned from his conversations with NHS staff and living with his mum during the pandemic.

Honest and heartwarming, but also raw and troubling, Mark recounts the emotions and working conditions that his conversations revealed. He also discusses states of mind and ideal environments for creating and receiving information. You’ll discover his ideal surroundings for creativity include a bit of Vincent Price. Mark also admits how many f-bombs he was asked to cut from the final podcast.

Show notes:

• Comedy and Performance with Mark Thomas
• “Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS at 70 review – infectious wit and political fury”
• Mark Thomas shares his Campervan Confessions

About Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas is a British comedian and political activist, mixing stand-up comedy, theatre, journalism and “the odd bout of performance art”. Mark has been performing for more than 30 years, has written five books and four play scripts and has even won a bunch of awards – eight in total, three for human rights work and one that he invented himself. Mark is pictured holding his Emerald Eagle Award for Unbiased Journalism.

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“A Sonic Hug is a thought-provoking podcast series where you’ll hear from people from different walks of life who deal, experience and battle mental health issues. “

Halina Rifai founded A Sonic Hug as a “mental health safe space” – a project with various initiatives, including a podcast that sheds light on mental health issues as people experience them. A Sonic Hug the podcast is presented and produced by Halina.

Halina’s interview style gives the guest full space to present and reflect on their topic of choice. As a result, this allows the guest and listener to both benefit from open reflection on personal experience. Unmediated by an interviewer, the honest and open style can feel intensely confronting, at moments. You may feel as though you are the spectator of a confession that would not normally be yours to witness.

However, A Sonic Hug provides more than a privileged vantage point from which to listen. Halina summarises with care and precision key points raised by the guest. As a result, this leaves listeners with practical take-aways for the issues at hand and the guest with positive affirmation of their achievements – a sonic hug, so to speak.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Halina Rifai about two foundations of A Sonic Hug, Scotland and the music industry, and how the podcast is expanding its reach.

Show notes:

• 13 unsung Glasgow heroes that deserve recognition
• The Mental Health MOT: how to check if your pandemic blues are a cause for concern
• More Scottish podcasts from The Big Light

About Halina Rifai

Halina Rifai is founder of Podcart – a music blog and podcast focusing on new music from Scotland and beyond. She has led podcasting workshops with a range of organisations, charities and institutions including Glasgow University, Stirling University, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Dardishi Festival, University of the West of Scotland and more. She is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio Scotland.

In 2017, Halina founded mental health online and offline safe space A Sonic Hug. The project also launched a mental health podcast series for Scotland’s newest podcasting platform The Big Light, founded by broadcaster Janice Forsyth and producer Fiona White.

In 2020 Halina was commissioned to produce a four-part series for Barclays as part of their Buchanan Wharf launch in Glasgow. She has also produced Scottish Women Inventing Music’s new podcast The Culture Dive.

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“Weird Hit Wonder. Rare hits… songs that you perhaps never want to hear again or perhaps at some moment you do!”

A co-production of Dutch broadcasters VPRO and Radio 2, Weird Hit Wonder is a podcast featuring unusual Dutch hit songs from the 1990s. Music journalist and presenter Atze de Vrieze speaks with the artists and industry influencers associated with each song to uncover the cultural context and secrets behind each hit.

The podcast features five songs that achieved some level of commercial success in The Netherlands during the 1990s. Weird Hit Wonder demonstrates that weirdness has no boundaries when it comes to the musical genre. There’s something for everyone whether it’s the pulsing electro “gabber” trash of “Alles Naar de Klote,” the dorky, clap-alongs of “One Day Fly” and “Mooi Man” or the bouncy “bubbling” of “Meisje (Zo Lelijk als de Nacht)”.

Beyond the Dutch borders, Atze is interested in the stories behind odd international hits like “Barbie Girl” by Aqua or “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex. A unique sound and sense humour are important criteria for “weird” hits, but equally important are the historical context and deeper layers that form hits. Weird hits are also songs that you wouldn’t play at your funeral, according to Atze. “I will not play “Barbie Girl at my funeral – of course I won’t”.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk and laugh with Atze about the songs of the Weird Hit Wonder podcast and other popular one-off hits from around the world. We also discuss how nostalgia and the total availability of music since the Internet have led to a re-evaluation of music from the 80s and 90s.

Furthermore, we talk about manufactured pop, music critics and COVID-induced creativity. There’s even a bit of Depeche Mode and Anton Corbijn.

Show notes:

• Euromasters – “Alles Naar de Klote”
• Mannenkoor Karrespoor – “Mooi Man”
• DJ Madman – “Mesje (Zo Lelijk Als De Nacht”
• Aqua – “Barbie Girl”
• What is the secret of “Weird Hit Wonders”? [Article in Dutch]

About Atze de Vrieze

Atze de Vrieze is a music industry journalist based in The Netherlands, working for Dutch broadcasting network VPRO and its music platform 3VOOR12. He is the host of the podcasts Weird Hit Wonder and De Machine. Atze is a frequent commentator on the music industry, festivals and the cultural sector in The Netherlands. In 2014 he won the Dutch Pop Media Prize.

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Endless Thread is a show for “Reddit connoisseurs, skeptics, and the rest of us“.

Endless Thread is a podcast produced by WBUR in Boston, Massachusetts and Reddit. Co-hosts Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson explore the online communities of Reddit, searching for mysteries to solve and stories to tell.

Started in 2018, Amory and Ben sift through “the weird, the wonderful, and even the scary stuff” on Reddit “the front page of the internet”. They connect with guests, listeners and each other with humour and respect while highlighting very personal, yet universal human emotions.

You’ll find stories related to grief, generosity, activism, guilt and shame, as well as investigations into cultural phenomena like all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants and dad jokes

In this episode of MetaPod, Amory and Ben talk to us about their search for engaging stories on the Internet, the social value of online communities and finding hope in humanity in even the darkest corners of the Internet.

We also discuss the awakening of big tech platforms like Reddit and Twitter, action and non-action to stop hate speech and misinformation on such platforms and the violent siege on Capitol Hill in January 2021.

Show notes:

• New To Reddit? New To Endless Thread? Start Here…
• WBUR Wins Two 2020 National Edward R. Murrow Awards
• Reddit Teams Up With WBUR for New ‘Endless Thread’ Podcast

About Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson

Amory Sivertson is the co-host of Endless Thread. Previously, she was one of the founding producers of Modern Love: The Podcast and Dear Sugar Radio (now Dear Sugars). Before joining WBUR’s iLab, she was the studio director and a producer for Radio Boston. Amory is also a musician.

Ben Brock Johnson is a senior producer at WBUR, where he helps direct strategic and editorial initiatives across WBUR’s iLab. Ben also co-hosts the podcast Endless Thread, serves as a tech correspondent for Here and Now, and is a guest host for WBUR programs including On Point.

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“The Town That Didn’t Stare is a podcast documentary about Britain’s Twin Peaks: East Grinstead, the home of alternative religions and spirituality in the UK.”

Over six episodes, writer and producer Nick Hilton explores how East Grinstead became a “figure of national curiosity” in England. The culprits? The Mormons, Scientologists, Guinea Pigs, prime meridian and maybe even Led Zeppelin.

Located in the South East of England, East Grinstead has an unusual history for a small town. It is home to a surprising array of religious groups and is perhaps best known for its association with Scientology. L Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology set up residence and international headquarters there in 1967.

During World War II, an innovative medical institution was founded in the town. Directed by Sir Archibald McIndoe, the centre specialised in reconstructive surgery and other experimental treatments for RAF burn victims. It became known as The Guinea Pig Club.

Nick pursues an explanation for East Grinstead’s status as a “hot spot of alternative thought” through interviews with Jon Ronson, Ian Sellar, Itiel Dror, John Sweeney and others. The Town That Didn’t Stare is an informative and entertaining podcast that is also a serious and humorous listen.

In this episode of MetaPod, Nick Hilton talks to us about influences on the The Town That Didn’t Stare. These include Jon Ronson‘s The Butterfly Effect, Kevin Roose‘s Rabbit Hole podcast and the soundtrack of Stranger Things. We also discuss the state of play for independent podcast producers, podcast marketing and the role of influencers in podcasting.⁠

Show notes:

• The Town That Didn’t Stare – podcast explores East Grinstead
• The town that went sects mad
• The Town That Didn’t Stare interview with BBC Radio Sussex, July 2020.
• Behind the scenes of The Town That Didn’t Stare on Medium.

About Nick Hilton

Raised in the East Grinstead area, Nick Hilton is now a journalist and podcast producer. He was previously broadcast editor at The Spectator before starting his own company Podot, which specialises in current affairs and makes a slate of podcasts including A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard, The Everyman Podcast with James Naughtie, and House Work with Harriet Harman. He is also the podcast editor at the New Statesman, producing the biweekly New Statesman Podcast, as well as World Review and Skylines. As a journalist he has written for The Guardian, Vice, The Independent, the I, and Prospect, as well as The Spectator and New Statesman.

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"Death In Ice Valley is about an investigation into one of the world's most intriguing true crime stories - the mystery of the Isdal woman."

The Isdal woman is the name given to the severely burned body of a woman found in the Isdalen Valley near Bergen, Norway in November 1970. To this day, the identity of the Isdal woman remains unknown.

Many questions about the case, which was investigated by the Bergen police, remain unanswered. Theories lean toward stories of international espionage and a Cold War spy - yet decades have passed and the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Isdal Woman and the official investigation are complex and unresolved.

50 years on and the case (a well-known mystery in Norway) caught the attention of a global audience, thanks to Death In Ice Valley - a production of Norwegian public broadcaster NRK and the BBC World Service, jointly presented by Marit Higraff and Neil McCarthy.

Together, investigative journalist Marit and Neil, a radio documentarian, take listeners along the trail of known sites of the mystery while also pursuing new paths related to clues that emerge from their own investigation and those suggested by amateur web sleuths on social media.

The pair track down former-police officers involved in the initial investigation and find themselves uncovering new lines inquiry, including the use of cutting-edge forensic techniques.

The podcast features wonderfully effective "immersive sound design" by Phil Channel, an award-winning composer and sound designer for film, television and radio.

Marit joins us from her home in Oslo, Norway, for this episode of MetaPod.

Show notes:

• Pictures and stories related to the case of the Isdal woman, BBC World Service.
• How the crowdsourced investigation Death In Ice Valley became the podcast of the year, The Drum, March 2020.

About Marit Higraff

Marit Higraff has been working as an investigative journalist for more than 25 years, mainly with the Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK. She has won many awards for her TV documentaries and investigations. Since 2017 she has been cooperating with the BBC World Service on the podcast series Death in Ice Valley and co-hosts the podcast together with BBC’s Neil McCarthy.

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"The Cut is a magazine-based podcast and a chronicle of the way we live now."

From dick pics to tarot cards and then irony to earnest, The Cut isn't afraid to touch anything.

Avery Trufelman took over New York Magazine's The Cut podcast in August 2020 and jokes about her experience to date as being like a cover band covering someone else's songs, but it's a podcast.

Just as with her previous podcast Articles of Interest, exploring the social and cultural history of clothing, Avery takes listeners to the crux of the story before unraveling it with them.

In this episode of MetaPod, Avery Trufelman talks with us about her career in podcasting for shows like Articles of Interest, what it's been like to move to a new city to take over a show as a new host and the "delicious" topics that The Cut as both a magazine and a podcast has in mind for 2021.

Alongside dispelling a few myths about the podcast's target audience (we turned Kev around here), we also get into important topics such as how deep a host's voice can go over time.

Show notes:

• Avery Trufelman finds optimism in the relaunch of The Cut podcast
• What every audio producer can learn from Avery Trufelman

About Avery Trufelman

Avery Trufelman is a podcaster who currently works for The Cut, from New York Magazine. She’s been a longtime producer on the architecture and design podcast 99% Invisible, where she hosted her own series about fashion called Articles of Interest. She’s also the host of Nice Try!, a show from Curbed.com about failed utopian experiments.

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