Celebrating 300 episodes with our fabulous former hosts
It's our tercentennial episode, and wow, we've come a long way from episode one. To celebrate this milestone, we invited all five of our former hosts to return. We reminisce on past episodes, catch up on the incredible things they're doing now, and hear which podcasts they've been listening to.
First up, we're joined by one of the show's first hosts, Sean Rameswaram. He hasn't strayed far from the podcasting world. We'll hear about his work as host of Today, Explained, a daily news explainer podcast by Vox. Together we'll travel back in time with Storytime with Seth Rogen to hear what it was about musician David Crosby's first encounter with The Beatles that haunts him to this day.
Next, we'll check in with former Podcast Playlist co-hosts Lindsay Michael and Matt Galloway. They're busy people — from hosting CBC's The Current to curating all of the Canadian podcasts Amazon Music has to offer — but we'll hear what they're making time to listen to.
Then we'll cover the early work-from-home days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the path to more inclusive journalism, and podcast production with former interim host Nana aba Duncan. Plus, her podcast pick tells the story of Mary Ann Shadd, the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America.
Finally, we'll catch up with Elamin Abdelmahmoud who has been busy writing his memoir, Son Of Elsewhere. In his pick from Switched On Pop, we'll talk about Disney earworm "We Don't Talk About Bruno." What it owes to the Cuban Guajira music genre and how it displaced Adele from the music charts.
We've covered a lot of ground in 300 episodes — join us to continue the adventure and discover something new from some of the most discerning listeners we know!
Podcasts featured this week:
Storytime with Seth Rogan: "After the worst set of David Crosby's life, he befriends his hero: George Harrison of The Beatles. This relationship results in the best song David Crosby has ever recorded: 'Laughing.'"
Boys Like Me: "Evan and Alek are in the same special-needs program in high school, where they're both bullied and ostracized. But while Evan tries to break out of his shell, Alek retreats further into himself and finds solace in some of the most disturbing corners of the internet."
The Last Archive: "In the 1980s, Rush Limbaugh transformed talk radio. In the process, he radicalized his listeners and the conservative movement. Limbaugh's talk radio style became a staple of the modern right. Then, the left joined the fray. This week: partisan loudmouth versus partisan loudmouth, and the shifting media landscape that helped create modern political warfare."
Strong and Free: "Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America. But Mary Ann Shadd didn't just make history by being first. With her newspaper "The Provincial Freeman," she captured history. Today, her perspective deepens our understanding of the past and is an example of why representation in journalism matters. In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with two of Shadd's descendants: Marishana Mabusela, our researcher for this podcast, and her mother, writer and historian Adrienne Shadd."
Switched On Pop: "In Disney's Encanto, Bruno is the uncle of the Madrigal family, whose skill for seeing the future portends gloom and sends him into exile. In his namesake song "We Don't Talk About Bruno," an ensemble cast trade verses about his ghostly presence (Bruno haunts the family home, living inside its walls). It is an odd ball song, with dark and bizarre lyrics. So then what makes it a hit? A distinctive concoction of salsa piano rhythms, familiar Lin Manuel Miranda-isms, and contemporary pop connections to Camila Cabello, Britney Spears, J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Cardi B. Listen to solve the mystery of what makes "We Don't Talk About Bruno" a hit."
What's a podcast memory you wouldn't mind reliving? Email, tweet us @PodcastPlaylist, or find us on Facebook.
For more great podcasts, check out CBC's podcast portal, subscribe in Apple Podcasts.