LoathedVermin72 wrote:I’ve fallen pretty hard for the American Cinematographer podcast. Fascinating interviews with DPs. And they really get into the nitty gritty technical details that I love about visuals, like lens, lighting, aspect ratio, and film stock choices.
LetMeSleep wrote:Just binged the Watergate pod "Slow Burn". I knew the skeleton of the story, the rest was fascinating.
Second season announced yesterday too. Step up Bill and Monica.
The dream (and nightmare) of the ‘90s is alive in Slow Burn. After spending its first season examining the Watergate scandal and the fall of Richard Nixon, Slate’s political documentary podcast is coming back for its sophomore season on August 8. This time, host Leon Neyfakh and producer Andrew Parsons will train their attention on a more recent presidential scandal, the shadow of which looms large over us even today: the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.
When Slow Burn debuted last November, the podcast presented itself as a pursuit of the following question: What did it feel like to live through a significant historical episode? Neyfakh and Parsons were additionally guided by a more pressing question: How can the past help us understand the present? The show’s efforts to build an analytical bridge between Watergate and the current presidential drama didn’t end up being particularly revelatory, but the gambit was nonetheless appreciated and the quality of its execution was far above so many other Trump-themed and Trump-adjacent podcasts. With its focus on the Clinton impeachment — which features individuals and questions that remain very much active today — the Slow Burn team has the opportunity to more immediately thread together the past and the present, and as a result, insert itself more aggressively into current political conversations.
Expect overlooked side-stories and semi-forgotten characters (Linda Tripp! Lucianne Goldberg!), excessive use of the -gate suffix (File-gate! Travel-gate! Nanny-gate!), and all the details that come with the ‘90s (fax machines!).
This has been good so far. I was barely conscious when Clinton was elected (8 years old) and starting to become politcally aware at the end of his term, so it's good to get a deep dive on some of these things that I've heard about for years, was alive for, but don't know the details on.
Cover Up about Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick Island is alright. Not quite as good as Slow Burn or RFK tapes. Still a decent listen though.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
tragabigzanda wrote:I've really grown to love Stuff You Should Know. The hosts have a great rapport, like the millennial versions of the guys from The Simpsons' KBBL. All sorts of awesome episodes, but the one on The Dyatlov Pass Mystery is a great place to start.
I used to love SYSK. My brother & sister in law are huge fans so they took us to one of their live shows. It pretty much sucked & turned me off from listening to the pod. I have been thinking lately that it might be time to give them another chance. The Dyatlov episode sounds like a great re-entry point.
LoathedVermin72 wrote:The Dyatlov mystery is one of my favorite things in the world. I am fascinated by it.
Speaking of favorite mysteries
Tamam Shud or gtfo
Rank your top ten favorite mysteries.
1. Tamam Shud
2. Zodiac
3. Karina Holmer
4. clitoris
5. B.D. Cooper
6. Roswell
7. Dyatlov
8. Wow! signal
9. John Titor
10. general unknown physics/space questions e.g. fate/origin of the universe, life on other planets, etc.
LoathedVermin72 wrote:The Dyatlov mystery is one of my favorite things in the world. I am fascinated by it.
Speaking of favorite mysteries
Tamam Shud or gtfo
Rank your top ten favorite mysteries.
1. Tamam Shud
2. Zodiac
3. Karina Holmer
4. clitoris
5. B.D. Cooper
6. Roswell
7. Dyatlov
8. Wow! signal
9. John Titor
10. general unknown physics/space questions e.g. fate/origin of the universe, life on other planets, etc.
I feel like I'm being set up but...where can I find the clitoris?
The dream (and nightmare) of the ‘90s is alive in Slow Burn. After spending its first season examining the Watergate scandal and the fall of Richard Nixon, Slate’s political documentary podcast is coming back for its sophomore season on August 8. This time, host Leon Neyfakh and producer Andrew Parsons will train their attention on a more recent presidential scandal, the shadow of which looms large over us even today: the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.
