MetaPod

“Nina Gilden Seavey was twelve in May 1970, when an Air Force building in St. Louis burned to the ground. Her dad represented a young man arrested in connection with the fire: Howard Mechanic. Facing serious federal time, Howard fled and became one of the longest-running fugitives in U.S. history. As an adult, Nina picked up the trail. My Fugitive asks: Whatever happened to Howard Mechanic?”

Just the story of the disappearance of Vietnam War protester Howard Mechanic is an intriguing one, worthy of any podcast.

After his arrest and conviction for an obscure offence within the Civil Obedience Act, Mechanic went on the run for the next 28 years.

He settled in Scottsdale, Arizona, but eventually gave himself up to the authorities when a local reporter became suspicious about his candidacy for public office in the area. He was pardoned in January 2001 by the outgoing President Bill Clinton.

But My Fugitive is much more than the Mechanic saga, with Nina Gilden Seavey cleverly weaving in her personal connection to the case (her father was Mechanic’s lawyer in St. Louis) and investigating connections in the city to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.

What emerges is a fascinating yet unsettling look at the behaviour of government agencies (namely, the Federal Bureau of Investigation) during that period of huge civil unrest in the U.S.

In this episode of MetaPod, we speak with Gilden Seavey about her tireless work to uncover the truth about Mechanic and the FBI, how the U.S. used a combination of surveillance and the Dark Arts of domestic espionage to thwart the efforts of the anti-war movement and what it means for today’s society.

Show notes:

• The Feeling Of Being Watched – documentary film
• Enemies: A History Of The FBI – book by Tim Weiner
• Doesn’t Anybody Know How To Be A Fugitive Anymore? – New York Times article, April 2000
• Pineapple Street Studios

About Nina Gilden Seavey

Nina Gilden Seavey is an Emmy Award-winning documentarian with a 30-year career in the non-fiction world and president of Seavey Media. Seavey’s documentaries have won numerous awards including five National Emmy nominations (one statue awarded). She is the founding director of The Documentary Center in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. She holds the academic rank of full research professor of history and media and public affairs, with appointments both in the Department of History and in the School of Media and Public Affairs.

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The Apology Line podcast tells the unsettling stories of a secular confessional telephone line.

The Apology Line project invited the public to call a telephone line and leave anonymous apologies for wrongdoings on an answering machine. The project was started by artist Allan Bridge, anonymously, in the early 1980s in New York City. Allan ran the project for more than a decade and also published a magazine companion to the telephone line.

Questions about morality and the criminal mind intrigued Allan and drove his work. Before the Apology project, Allan created an interactive art piece called Crime Time. Crime Time replicated the act of stealing. A user could either get away with the act or be caught with one’s hand, literally, in the act.

This interactive art was reportedly Allan’s way of coming to terms with his own shoplifting. Later, his purpose for the Apology project was “to provide a way for criminals and wrongdoers to apologize for their misdeeds in the hope that this will help them turn over a new leaf.”

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Marissa Bridge, widow of Allan Bridge and narrator of The Apology Line. Marissa talks to us in detail about the podcast and the original Apology Line project. As a result, we learn that the original project had far greater scope and insight on human behaviour than the podcast.

Marissa also recounts life in Manhattan in the 1980s and the historical context of the Apology project. She speaks candidly to us about her life with Allan and the callers whose apologies occupied much of their time together.

Show notes

• The Apology Line project
• A selection of calls to The Apology Line
• New Yorkers Who Said Sorry

About Marissa Bridge

Marissa Bridge is a painter and multi-media artist who lives in New York with her husband, three cats and a dog. Her art work is inspired by nature and its structures. One of the most important influences in Marissa’s art and life was her relationship with the conceptual artist Allan Bridge, also known as Mr. Apology. She met Allan in November 1980, a few weeks after he launched his groundbreaking project, the Apology Line. They spent the next 15 years together, until Allan’s untimely death in a scuba-diving accident in 1995.

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Twenty Thousand Hertz tells “the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.”

Are you conscious of sound – especially sounds that you hear all the time?

“Our brains are very good at filtering out – especially things we hear a lot,” explains Dallas Taylor, sound designer and host of the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast. “Sound is something that generally we have a hard time making conscious – but it’s very easy to.”

The Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast is an enjoyable way to become more aware of sound. Dallas and the podcast team devote a great deal of care and craft to each episode. As a result, listeners will gain an appreciation for sound, as well as the people and devices behind those sounds. Whether it’s a microphone, dinosaurs, a drum machine, or a corporate jingle, you’re sure to learn something interesting on Twenty Thousand Hertz.

“I hope that we start to really understand how sound can have a hugely negative influence on our life and how it can have a hugely positive influence,” says Dallas. “If you ever want to become conscious, just say ‘I want to become conscious about sound, right now’ and you can start to hear things that your brain filters out all the time.”

In this episode of MetaPod, Dallas Taylor explains the work of sound designers in enhancing emotion, plus his own emotional objectives for the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast. Dallas shares the backstories of several episode of the podcast, explaining how he chooses topics for the show.

He also reveals two significant moments in the show’s history to date (thank you, Bose and thank you, Roman Mars). We also discuss the changing relationship between humans and the sonic environment. Finally, MetaPod host Kevin May quizzes Dallas on some of the sounds in his personal life.

Show notes

• What silence can teach you about sound
• Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)
• Celebrating 40 Years of the TR-808 Drum Machine

About Dallas Taylor

Dallas Taylor is the host and creator of Twenty Thousand Hertz, a lovingly crafted podcast revealing the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. He is also the creative director of Defacto Sound, where he has led thousands of high-profile projects ranging from blockbuster trailers and advertising campaigns to Sundance award-winning films and major television series. A sought-after speaker, Dallas is a frequent contributor to conferences and publications, and a respected thought leader on the narrative power of sound.

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Decoder Ring “takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.”

The mullet isn’t just a peculiar haircut from the 1980s, (strangely) loved by hipsters in the 2020s – it has a backstory all of its own, from sports stars to soft metal bands. The same goes for why clowns are feared more often than they’re enjoyed, or why some television shows have a “laugh track”.

Cultural phenomenon don’t just get thrust into the mainstream overnight (although some do, admittedly) as they are often the result of years of slow evolution, twisting and shaping here and there.

That’s where the popular Slate podcast Decoder Ring comes in. In each episode, host Willa Paskin unravels the origins of a different mystery and breaks down its impact on society and culture.

In this episode of MetaPod, Willa tells us about her favourite mysteries on the show. She explains how one slice of contemporary or historical significance might make the cut and why others will not.

MetaPod co-host Wendy Morrill also sends a barrage of quick-fire A or B questions at our guest. Fellow host Kevin May admits he’s never heard the phrase “business at the front, party at the back” in relation to the mullet.

Show notes:

• “Karen” – Wikipedia article
• Why the mullet is the hairstyle of 2021
• Willa Paskin on the Oscars 2021.

About Willa Paskin

Willa Paskin is a TV critic at Slate and the host of the Decoder Ring podcast. She has also written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and New York, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn.

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“On a long weekend in the summer of 2002, Lisa Marie Young went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. That night Lisa got into a red Jaguar with a young man from a prominent local family and was never seen again.”

A mysterious and hardly straightforward case, Island Crime tells the story of a young woman who went missing on a celebratory evening surrounded by friends.

Lisa Marie Young was an energetic and bright 21-year-old from Vancouver Island. Her disappearance on June 30, 2002 was initially played down by local authorities. Police deemed the case as that of a young woman who may have been partying too hard and failed to get in touch with family afterwards.

However, those who had been with Lisa on that night knew something was wrong. In the absence of an official search for Lisa by the police, the community initiated their own. Almost immediately, speculation concentrated on the driver of a distinctive red Jaguar. Some of the darker elements of the local Nanaimo scene came into view too.

Lisa would have turned 40-years old this week.

Island Crime host Laura Palmer originally set out to pay tribute to Lisa Marie. A former producer for CBC, Laura uncovered many new leads and witnesses while investigating for the Island Crime podcast. As a result, the mystery of Lisa’s disappearance continues to unravel.

In our episode this week, Laura details her work on the case and the impact of the investigation on Lisa Marie’s family and First Nation community. We also discuss issues surrounding institutionalised bias against indigenous Canadians.


Show notes:

• Frequency Podcast Network page for Island Crime
• Disappearance of Lisa Marie Young – Wikipedia
• Podcast breathes new life into historic case of missing Nanaimo woman – Nanaimo News Now article

About Laura Palmer

Laura Palmer is an accomplished CBC radio producer. Before moving on from her Executive Producer position, Laura produced Network radio & TV shows, racking up numerous awards and becoming a respected industry leader. Island Crime is Laura’s first independent podcast production. Season 1 ‘Where is Lisa?’ shot up the Apple podcast charts in the summer of 202 and is now one of Canada’s top True Crime podcasts.

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"Hit Parade is a podcast of pop-chart history that dissects how songs become hits: the intersection of art and commerce that is popular music."

How do songs and albums achieve success on the charts and become lasting memories, for better or worse, in popular culture? Chris Molanphy, a pop-chart analyst, looks at both culture and commerce to arrive at answers.

The answers, along with plenty of trivia, song clips, unexpected stories and entertaining cultural analysis form the Hit Parade podcast.

“I’m always looking for the best stories,” explained Chris. “For ways to make the audience go, ‘oh yeah… I’ve experienced that… that’s the song about the such and such with the so and so’.”

In this episode of MetaPod, Chris Molanphy makes the case that the music charts still matter. He also outlines the key developments that have shaped the evolution of the Billboard charts up to the streaming era.

We discuss with Chris how he uncovers chart phenomena and conceives topics for episodes of Hit Parade. Plus, Kevin and Wendy quiz Chris on some of his favourite music-related picks, which leads to Chris revealing a cherished item from his clothes closet.


Show notes:

• How the Hot 100 Became America’s Hit Barometer
• Christmas Is All Around
• The AC/DC Rule

About Chris Molanphy

Chris Molanphy is a chart analyst and pop critic who writes about the intersection of culture and commerce in popular music. For Slate, he hosts the Hit Parade podcast and writes their “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series. His work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Vulture, NPR Music’s The Record, The Village Voice, Billboard and CMJ. Chris has also been a frequent guest on National Public Radio (All Things Considered, Soundcheck, Planet Money, On the Media) and on Slate’s podcasts The Gist and the Culture Gabfest.

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“Hidden Brain explores the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior and questions that lie at the heart of our complex and changing world.”

Imagine years of academic research distilled down to a 45-minute conversation. The conversation is easy to understand and offers new ways to look at things. It’s unimposing, yet applicable to your own life. It’s also calming to listen to. That is roughly what you can expect from a podcast called Hidden Brain.

Hosted by Shankar Vedantam, a social science correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) in the USA, Hidden Brain draws on social science and storytelling to examine everyday social dynamics. It aims to “connect the ivory tower with the public square”. Its team is guided by the principles of “scientific and journalistic rigor” and “deep empathy” for listeners and contributors. As a result, listeners gain new perspectives on culture and society.

“We’re almost sort of wincingly earnest as a team and as a show, laughs Tara Boyle, the executive producer of the show. “I like that about us. I think there needs to be more space in the world for vulnerabilities.”

The show started out as a podcast in 2015 and later spun off a radio programme for NPR stations. In late 2020, the show spawned an independent production company.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Tara Boyle, Executive Producer of Hidden Brain. Tara shares the origin story of the podcast and explains Shankar Vedantam’s skill in bringing together a wide range of research topics into accessible discussions about society, culture and self. Tara also discusses how listener feedback and suggestions are incorporated into the show. Plus, she reveals some of the most popular aspects of the show according to its global base of listeners.

Show notes:

• Useful Delusions: The Power & Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
• Unsung Heroes

About Tara Boyle

Tara Boyle is Executive Producer of the Hidden Brain podcast and radio show, and the head of content for Hidden Brain Media. Tara oversees the production of both the Hidden Brain radio show and podcast, providing editorial support to host Shankar Vedantam and the shows’ producers. She also provides strategic support to Shankar in the development of new projects for Hidden Brain Media. Previously, Tara spent a decade at WAMU, the NPR station in Washington, D.C. She has reported for The Boston Globe, and began her career in public radio at WBUR in Boston.

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“The Battersea Poltergeist is a paranormal cold case, re-investigated through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary. The true story of one of Britain’s strangest hauntings.”

Danny Robins doesn’t believe in ghosts, however, he thinks that we need them.

The Battersea Poltergeist is the story of a haunting in south London that started in 1956. At the centre of the decades-long drama is the Hitchings family, its teenage daughter Shirley and a noisy ghost known as “Donald”.

At first the family is spooked by loud sounds and moving household objects. Then more threatening acts start to occur. Scrawled messages on the wall, flying pots and pans and a fire – all of it unexplainable. The podcast blends documentary, expert commentary and drama to recount and analyse the happenings that tormented the Hitchings family at 63 Wycliffe Road.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Danny from his shed about ghosts and “bringing the dead to life” through the use of dramatisations in the podcast. We also discuss his experiences listening to people tell their own ghost stories, including Shirley Hitchings.

Danny also talks about the community of believers and sceptics that has formed on social media since the podcast started, both camps trying to understand what happened to Shirley and her family during those years.

Show notes:

• Gallery of pictures from the original case
• How to Create a Haunting
• Fear in your ear: the unstoppable rise of the horror podcast
• Danny Robins feature in SCAN Magazine
• Lily Allen to make West End debut in new Danny Robins play 2:22 – A Ghost Story

If you liked this conversation, check out our episode with Danny Robins that is devoted to his series Uncanny.

About Danny Robins

Danny Robins is an award-winning writer and journalist. He writes and makes drama, comedy and documentaries for TV, audio and the stage. On The Battersea Poltergeist, he writes, presents and co-produces.

His interest in ghosts stems back to childhood. He has made several shows about the supernatural, most recently the acclaimed podcast Haunted, exploring real-life ghost stories.

Danny grew up in Newcastle and started performing and writing comedy aged 15. As a comedy writer for BBC Radio 4, he has written the hugely popular shows The Museum of Everything, Rudy’s Rare Record and The Cold Swedish Winter. For TV he co-created the RTS-Award winning CBBC series Young Dracula and has presented for shows such as BBC2’s The Culture Show and Newsnight. He has written two critically-acclaimed stage plays.

Amongst his weirder achievements, he also once had a Number 11 hit single without realising it, entered North Korea for a few minutes and came second in the UK AirGuitar Championship final (he was robbed). He lives in Walthamstow in East London with his Swedish wife and two sons.

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"Peta and Chris are in paradise – they sail into hell. Why does it take 38 years to arrest the only suspect: Silas Duane Boston?”

Murder cases that take nearly four decades to solve are rare and usually reserved for when there is no idea as to the identity of the perpetrator.

The brutal killings of Peta Frampton and Chris Farmer in Latin America in 1978 should have seen the suspect Silas Duane Boston arrested and convicted quickly – especially as there were two witnesses: his sons.

But a case such as this doesn’t get a podcast – the BBC’s Paradise – devoted to the tale if things are straightforward. Far from it, in fact.

Boston’s sons were young and scared of their father, only coming forward decades later. Law enforcement agencies, armed with snippets of information about the disappearance of Peta and Chris, did not put the pieces together for years.

BBC journalists Dan Maudsley and Stephen Nolan tell the story of Chris and Peta, Silas and his sons, and the investigation – uncovering many new details and discoveries along the way.

Their journey takes them to a crime convention, lawyer and police offices in the US, the homes of Chris and Peta’s family members in England and a trip to the region where the murders took place, including a graveyard as Dan and Chris’s sister search for the graves of the victims.

Listeners will soon realise that Dan’s work on the Paradise case is not over, as he explains in this episode of MetaPod.

Show notes:

• Picture galleries
• Discovery of the graves in Guatemala
• The Paradise theme music: Paradise by The Neighbourhood

About Dan Maudsley

Dan is a senior journalist for BBC Radio 5 Live and producer of the 2020 British Podcast Awards Best True Crime winner, Paradise, and 2020 Foreign Press Association Media Awards shortlisted On The Ground.

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“Lost And Sound is a podcast series bringing the stories of people who make exciting innovative music from across the world to your ears.”

When did music first come into your life? Who was there and how did you feel? Where did that moment or period of time lead to?

These are some of the questions answered by guests of the Lost And Sound podcast, hosted by Paul Hanford. The podcast features a far-flung list of guests yet hones in on innovation and creative process.

Listeners will discover personal conversations with well and lesser-known artists from various genres of music, all of whom speak to their individual influences and creativity.

In this episode of MetaPod, Paul talks about the evolution of the Lost And Sound podcast and its backdrop, the city of Berlin.

Paul also explains his interest in the human, rather than technical, aspects of music and how those feed the identity of people and places. We also learn about when music first came into Paul’s life. Did we mention that Paul might be the only DJ that moved to Berlin to stop being a DJ?

Show notes:

• Berlin clubbing and COVID-19: how Europe’s party capital is changing
• Broken English

About Paul Hanford

Paul has written for WIRED, Beatportal, Mixmag, WePresent, Boiler Room, Somesuch Co, Crack, Highsnobiety, Borshch Magazine, Wire, Dazed and Little White Lies. He has curated music for events at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Somerset House and Top Shop.

From 2015 to 2018, Paul presented a weekly radio show on Hoxton Radio and the music news on London Live TV. Have radio on BLN.FM. Before this, he was Head of Music for London based event company Secret Cinema.

At the very dawn of this millennium Paul was part of indie electronica act Brothers In Sound, who released three EPs and an LP with Regal/Parlophone Records, before releasing two electronic LPs as Sancho for Superglider and then Seed Records. 

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“Sonixcursions explores the far reaches of modern music – space rock, dream pop, post-rock, shoegaze, electronic, ambient and other outer sounds from that end of the spectrum.”

If you were into the spacey fringes of 90s alternative music that only got played on college radio stations, you’ll probably know a band or two mentioned in this week’s episode. If you’re wondering what happened to those bands, there’s a good chance that our guest Ryan Anderson knows.

Ryan was part of the psychedelic synth pop/rock band Füxa which hailed from Michigan’s space rock scene of the mid-1990s. During that time, Ryan also compiled the zine Masstransfer. The DIY publication covered bands of the space rock and related genres. Ryan’s commitment to independent music and the DIY spirit remains but is actualised in a modern format – a podcast called Sonixcursions.

In this episode of MetaPod, we talk to Ryan Anderson about the origin and evolution of the mid-90s space rock scene of the Detroit, Michigan area. We also discuss changes in music formats since the 90s and how he chooses bands to feature on the Sonixcursions podcast.

“It’s kind of like a whole resurgence and rediscovery of this music from the mid-90s. A lot of it only exists on 7-inch or possibly even cassette tape,” Ryan told us.

We also discuss the role of Big Tech platforms like Spotify in music discovery and distribution. Plus, Ryan mentions some of the current projects by musicians of the mid-90s that he’s kept up with and tells us about his new e-book, Masstransfer: A Zinethology.

MetaPod Special Cut

Our MetaPod special cut dips into 90s college radio and that pink vinyl split 7 inch of Füxa and Bright. We also learn there could be tapes out there of Füxa and Bright, recorded in the summer of 1996 in Allston, Massachusetts.

Show notes:

• Masstransfer: A Zinethology
• Füxa on Bandcamp

About Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson is a musician and writer who was part of the 1990s space rock scene in Detroit, playing in such bands as Füxa and Delta Waves. He also published the DIY Masstransfer music zine. He currently produces the Sonixcursions podcast, which promotes the latest dream pop, ambient and electronic music in a 30-minute escapist mix.

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“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 Fuck 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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