The Big Listen

Actor Denis O'Hare tells us about Deadly Manners and the ingredients for a dismal dinner, Liz Plank talks feminism with Divided States of Women, and Joel Werner puts numbers on the air with Sum Of All Parts. Plus: Alice Wong of Disability Visibility describes all the voices she wants to hear on the radio.

It's a Big Listen smörgåsbord! We'll meet Francis Lam, new host of The Splendid Table, taste chocolate with The Slow Melt and hear which food podcasts New York Times food writer Kim Severson favors. Plus: Lauren enters brunch hell with Brendan Francis Newnam.

We head back into the golden age of Hollywood with Karina Longworth, explore representation in film with Aisha Harris, and predict this year's Oscar winners with Erik Anderson. Plus: Paul Scheer talks about his affection for movies that are so bad they're good.

Comedian Nicole Byer shares some of the tips she's learned from friends on her podcast Why Won't You Date Me. Reporter Dan Lamothe tells us about reading hundreds of letters from World War II, Heather Mizeur describes how she rebuilt her politics after losing an election, and Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin define what being Unladylike means to them.

DeRay Mckesson discusses going from newsletter to podcast, Uncivil tells the untold stories of the Civil War, and Trey Kay explores our divides in Us & Them. Plus: Oral history podcast Ferguson Voices.

Lauren Shehadi shares the stories behind the Olympics with The Podium, Dan Zirin explains the dark side of hosting the Olympics, and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates tell us about their sport and their favorite podcasts. Plus: Learning to curl with Ed Scimia!

Norman Lear's work in television and movies could fit every category, which might be why he calls his podcast All Of The Above. We also hear about the culinary delights of hotdish from Senator Heidi Heitkamp, explore the many facets of veterans with Battle Scars, and phone our rage into the For A Bad Time Call hotline.

Le Tigre's JD Samson talks composing music for podcasts, Nora McInerny says she's Terrible, Thanks For Asking, Helen Zaltzman unpacks annoying language. Plus, we check out the Potluck, a collective of Asian American podcasters.

"Keep It" is pop culture writer Ira Madison's way to say "No thanks" to, well, anything. Also: Breasts Unbound on everyone's favorite body part, Seeing White on the history of race, and Harry Leslie Smith on being a 95-year-old podcaster.

Abbi Jacobson gets artsy with her podcast A Piece Of Work; Leila Day and Hana Baba of The Stoop dialogue about the diaspora; YouTube provocateur Dylan Marron confronts his online bullies and Kathleen Barber dishes on her debut suspense novel, Are You Sleeping.