Dec 9, 2023·edited Dec 10, 2023Liked by PJ Vogt, Sruthi Pinnamaneni
One of the most fun things I ever got paid to do was interview Jonathan Goldstein about his Little Mermaid story. Not surprisingly, he’s as good at explaining the thinking behind his work as he is at everything else he does. Sharing for any Jonathan fans who like to geek out on this kind of stuff: https://niemanreports.org/stories/annotation-tuesday-jonathan-goldstein-and-the-little-mermaid/
Heavyweight is one of those shows where, after I’ve heard an episode, I save it to listen to it again with my family. Just yesterday my 20-year-old daughter and I listened to “Rob” (the one where Rob remembers breaking his arm, and his family is convinced it’s a false memory) on a long drive. We were shrieking with laughter, but the show also led to a good conversation about memory, family legends, and the struggle to have our version of our history believed.
My husband and I recently listened to the episode about the man whose coach hugged him after his mom died and it changed the course of his life, making him a more open and loving person. I was in tears at the end, when Alex told him, “I love you man.”
It takes courage in our cynical, irony-laden culture to tell stories about deep, authentic, and sometimes uncomfortable feelings like the ones in Heavyweight. Every episode is a tiny masterpiece. I was so sad to hear that the show was canceled, and I hope with all my heart that you are right, PJ, and that Alex and the crew will be back very soon.
PJ, you're a brave man to admit that you kept eating food that was making you very sick...
Also very gutted that Heavyweight has been cancelled, Jonathan is a a master at telling such emotional stories without being saccharine or manipulative. I look forward to seeing (hearing?) what he does next.
Kudos for the TWiT Leo Laporte reference as what could be an emergency podcast. I'm with you, I also miss the early days of podcasting before Spotify ruined it.
I had never her the Mermaid Story, so thanks gig that! Classic. And also for your candid behind the scenes. There have been so many bad actors in podcasting over the years. It makes me sad because I didn't expect it so soon. I do hope that you persist, PJ, because there are not a lot of good narrative style podcasts left.
Big fan of you, PJ, and of Jonathan. I appreciate hearing your candid thoughts on the industry. It’s confusing as a listener to hear podcasts have empty ad spots some weeks and then a couple of weeks later have major brands and wonder what it all means.
Man the whole sushi episode was so conflicting for me! Theres a whole series more to commercial fishing than was covered in this episode, but I do think it was approachable for regular viewers. Our ocean is being overfished and kinda collapsing and we need to decrease our consumption as a species to let it grow back. It is wild-but that wildness can thrive in the absence of humanity! I think desiring specific fish is causing much harm and overall.. people eating tilapia or ‘snapper’ instead of the “exact” fish is likely helping. So many fish are killed and discarded because they aren’t the right species. Including dolphins. 🐬
Man, reading this as a photojournalist who has suffered similar ups and downs in the past 15 years is rough. This sentence specifically: "This weird artsy-casual, sometimes-reported narrative audio we love to make and listen to … to what degree can we actually make it work, as a business?"
I feel this deeply while I try to do meaningful work in journalism that is still beautiful and important. It's hard to do deep, long-form work when you have to dig to find people to pay for it and when you also have bills to pay. Luckily, I live in the Midwest. But to top it off, I live in the Midwest. My cost of living is low, but the budgets come from the coasts and the things I care about and document here aren't always the things that the people with the money want to pay for.
Anyway, it's a weird time to be in storytelling and journalism, whatever format. I'm glad that you're still doing the work telling beautiful story, and I hope to find Jonathan Goldstein doing so elsewhere, too.
This inspired a meta-question that I'm curious about: how can a podcast listener tell the difference between shows that are doing fine and those that are struggling to survive? The frequency of requests for support doesn't seem to have any correlation to success (unless RadioLab is somehow hurting for cash). I am at a point where I can support a show or two (like this one!), and I want to make sure the dollars I contribute (spend?) do the most good in terms of helping keep shows alive.
For more information about food fraud check out Larry Olmsted's book Real Food/Fake Food. Other commonly faked or substituted foods include olive oil, avocado oil, "parmesan" cheese, mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar, and others.
When we lived in China, my wife taught English at a university and was doing a unit on culture shock. She asked the students what they thought was weird about American culture that they saw in movies and TV and then they asked what she thought was weird about living in China. One of those things was that at restaurants and markets, you'd often get meat packaged with bits of the animal that would get thrown away in the US: chicken heads and claws, whole fish with head and tail on a platter, etc. Americans seem to want the food they eat to be abstracted from the animals they know, or something. Anyway, the Chinese students all laughed about it and said that it was important to have those bits on the plate or in the package...in a country with so many adulterated/fake/quality food scandals, how else would you know what kind of meat you're eating? And also, fish cheeks and eyeballs are apparently the tastiest/funnest parts to eat!
Funny thing… Marshmallows are not actual marshmallows. Meaning there is no actual 'marsh mallow' in marshmallows, at least the ones found in common grocery stores.
I am loving this podcast. Sorry to be pedantic.
I have always found it funny that we call marshmallows by an ingredient they no longer have. The word ‘marshmallow’ is just an adjective now; maybe it’s onomatopoeic. The word just feels and sounds soft and sugary. I have never had a marshmallow made with actual marsh mallow, but I am certain there is a vegan shop in Brooklyn that makes them. I just don't care that much about it. I just wanted to share this weird anecdote.
One of the most fun things I ever got paid to do was interview Jonathan Goldstein about his Little Mermaid story. Not surprisingly, he’s as good at explaining the thinking behind his work as he is at everything else he does. Sharing for any Jonathan fans who like to geek out on this kind of stuff: https://niemanreports.org/stories/annotation-tuesday-jonathan-goldstein-and-the-little-mermaid/
Heavyweight is one of those shows where, after I’ve heard an episode, I save it to listen to it again with my family. Just yesterday my 20-year-old daughter and I listened to “Rob” (the one where Rob remembers breaking his arm, and his family is convinced it’s a false memory) on a long drive. We were shrieking with laughter, but the show also led to a good conversation about memory, family legends, and the struggle to have our version of our history believed.
My husband and I recently listened to the episode about the man whose coach hugged him after his mom died and it changed the course of his life, making him a more open and loving person. I was in tears at the end, when Alex told him, “I love you man.”
It takes courage in our cynical, irony-laden culture to tell stories about deep, authentic, and sometimes uncomfortable feelings like the ones in Heavyweight. Every episode is a tiny masterpiece. I was so sad to hear that the show was canceled, and I hope with all my heart that you are right, PJ, and that Alex and the crew will be back very soon.
PJ, you're a brave man to admit that you kept eating food that was making you very sick...
Also very gutted that Heavyweight has been cancelled, Jonathan is a a master at telling such emotional stories without being saccharine or manipulative. I look forward to seeing (hearing?) what he does next.
Absolutely loved the storytelling in this week’s podcast! Thanks for the cliffhanger lol.
Such a shame about Heavyweight too - one of my all time favorites. I truly hope they get picked up elsewhere.
Kudos for the TWiT Leo Laporte reference as what could be an emergency podcast. I'm with you, I also miss the early days of podcasting before Spotify ruined it.
I had never her the Mermaid Story, so thanks gig that! Classic. And also for your candid behind the scenes. There have been so many bad actors in podcasting over the years. It makes me sad because I didn't expect it so soon. I do hope that you persist, PJ, because there are not a lot of good narrative style podcasts left.
Big fan of you, PJ, and of Jonathan. I appreciate hearing your candid thoughts on the industry. It’s confusing as a listener to hear podcasts have empty ad spots some weeks and then a couple of weeks later have major brands and wonder what it all means.
Man the whole sushi episode was so conflicting for me! Theres a whole series more to commercial fishing than was covered in this episode, but I do think it was approachable for regular viewers. Our ocean is being overfished and kinda collapsing and we need to decrease our consumption as a species to let it grow back. It is wild-but that wildness can thrive in the absence of humanity! I think desiring specific fish is causing much harm and overall.. people eating tilapia or ‘snapper’ instead of the “exact” fish is likely helping. So many fish are killed and discarded because they aren’t the right species. Including dolphins. 🐬
Man, reading this as a photojournalist who has suffered similar ups and downs in the past 15 years is rough. This sentence specifically: "This weird artsy-casual, sometimes-reported narrative audio we love to make and listen to … to what degree can we actually make it work, as a business?"
I feel this deeply while I try to do meaningful work in journalism that is still beautiful and important. It's hard to do deep, long-form work when you have to dig to find people to pay for it and when you also have bills to pay. Luckily, I live in the Midwest. But to top it off, I live in the Midwest. My cost of living is low, but the budgets come from the coasts and the things I care about and document here aren't always the things that the people with the money want to pay for.
Anyway, it's a weird time to be in storytelling and journalism, whatever format. I'm glad that you're still doing the work telling beautiful story, and I hope to find Jonathan Goldstein doing so elsewhere, too.
This inspired a meta-question that I'm curious about: how can a podcast listener tell the difference between shows that are doing fine and those that are struggling to survive? The frequency of requests for support doesn't seem to have any correlation to success (unless RadioLab is somehow hurting for cash). I am at a point where I can support a show or two (like this one!), and I want to make sure the dollars I contribute (spend?) do the most good in terms of helping keep shows alive.
I’m so happy to listen and glad that you’re here. Sad and disheartened to hear about Heavyweight.
Today at Wasabi Sushi in Bemidji, MN, I saw a “Corona Roll: spicy tuna crunchy lime roll with escolar top eel sauce and wasabi sauce.”
I had never heard of escolar before this podcast and now I guess I’m doomed to see it everywhere.
Heavyweight has been cancelled?!?!?!??
For more information about food fraud check out Larry Olmsted's book Real Food/Fake Food. Other commonly faked or substituted foods include olive oil, avocado oil, "parmesan" cheese, mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar, and others.
When we lived in China, my wife taught English at a university and was doing a unit on culture shock. She asked the students what they thought was weird about American culture that they saw in movies and TV and then they asked what she thought was weird about living in China. One of those things was that at restaurants and markets, you'd often get meat packaged with bits of the animal that would get thrown away in the US: chicken heads and claws, whole fish with head and tail on a platter, etc. Americans seem to want the food they eat to be abstracted from the animals they know, or something. Anyway, the Chinese students all laughed about it and said that it was important to have those bits on the plate or in the package...in a country with so many adulterated/fake/quality food scandals, how else would you know what kind of meat you're eating? And also, fish cheeks and eyeballs are apparently the tastiest/funnest parts to eat!
Funny thing… Marshmallows are not actual marshmallows. Meaning there is no actual 'marsh mallow' in marshmallows, at least the ones found in common grocery stores.
I am loving this podcast. Sorry to be pedantic.
I have always found it funny that we call marshmallows by an ingredient they no longer have. The word ‘marshmallow’ is just an adjective now; maybe it’s onomatopoeic. The word just feels and sounds soft and sugary. I have never had a marshmallow made with actual marsh mallow, but I am certain there is a vegan shop in Brooklyn that makes them. I just don't care that much about it. I just wanted to share this weird anecdote.
https://foodcrumbles.com/marshmallows-a-peak-into-a-fascinating-history/