This week on Podcast Playlist, great podcasters share their fave shows! We’re back with Part 5 of our Recommendation Chain series.

When Ian Coss got married, it seemed like every other married couple in his family had gotten divorced. On his podcast Forever is a Long Time, he speaks with his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to explore what it means to love, and whether there's value in a lifetime commitment.

Then, we’ll visit the "Mining City" of Butte, Montana – home of one of the biggest toxic messes in America. One reporter looks at the efforts being made to clean up, and how to solve the lingering environmental problems affecting the community.

Plus, we’ll hear a series of unconventional pep talks that will hopefully inspire you to finish what you've been avoiding.

Featuring:

How We Survive: "What happens to all those spent batteries? Is extraction the only way to get the metals we need to transition off fossil fuels? What about batteries that don't require lithium at all? For answers, we visited Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where a couple of scientists are figuring out how to build the better, safer batteries of the future. Kristin Persson and Gerbrand Ceder specialize in materials science, battery technology and energy storage, and are conducting their research on behalf of the Department of Energy."

Richest Hill: "If you don't know Butte Montana, you might have heard it's one of the biggest toxic messes in the country. But now the "Mining City" is on the verge of sealing a deal that could clean it up once and for all. So how did we get here? What comes after Superfund? And who gets to decide?"

Forever is a Long Time: "The idea of a lifetime commitment can feel impossible, when it can still fall apart in year 20, or year 30, or 35. My own parents' marriage never made it that far, but some of my aunts and uncles did, only to find that after all those years, they too were better off apart."

The 11th: "Look, times are tough, and we could all use a little encouragement. Here's a bunch of pep talks."

Storytime with Seth Rogen: "A 20-year-old waiter from Georgia makes a joke that haunts him forever. A comedic lesson in Karma featuring Yassir Lester."

All that and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.