Best Andrew Wiseman Podcasts (2024)

1
Should Biden stay or should he go? Jay and Tyler DEBATE 1:26:28

3d ago1:26:28

1:26:28

Hello! This week, we are back from vacation and catching up on the only story in America, which is the mental fitness of the President. Jay is on Team “The Democrats are probably too incompetent and divided to actually run a difference candidate in time and so it might actually make sense for them to just get behind Biden and hope everything breaks…

1
Heidi Fardell and Keelan Carew round off the series 42:25

15d ago42:25

42:25

Recorder and baroque flute player Heidi Fardell and pianist Keelan Carew join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the last five tracks, which include the theme for a famous animated woodpecker, a huge recent TV soundtrack with echoes of Beethoven, and a funked-up version of a classic 1960 guitar track by The Shadows. Add to Playlist will ret…

1
The misunderstood 1990s, LA Riots, and the triumph of the Paleoconservatives with John Ganz 1:50:50

17d ago1:50:50

1:50:50

Hello! Today, we are extremely excited to have on John Ganz, author of the new book When the Clock Broke, a retelling of the 1990s that touches on politics, music, television, and the history of right wing cranks who ultimately would become a prelude for Trumpism. There’s a ton that we discuss: The LA riots, Pat Buchanan, Murray Rothbard, Sister So…

1
Jasdeep Singh Degun and Anne Dudley head to the tavern 42:38

22d ago42:38

42:38

Sitar player and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun and composer and musician Anne Dudley continue the musical journey with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye. From New York punk to Björk's debut via a 13th century drinking song in Latin, this penultimate episode of the series brings the current tally of tracks to 25. Producer: Jerome WeatheraldPresented wit…

1
Dimension Apple, Biden's Age, and Modern Tiger Parenting 1:03:36

24d ago1:03:36

1:03:36

Hello! Today we’re doing a Pardon The Interruption-styled show in which we go down a list of topics. We’re experimenting a bit with format these days and so please let us know if this more rapid fire version works for you! Today’s topics: Hobby Horsing as a sport? Dimension Apple from a great post from the Read Max Substack. Tiger parenting in 2024…

1
Andrew Roachford and Anna Lapwood celebrate the intricacies of singing 42:45

29d ago42:45

42:45

Singer-songwriter Andrew Roachford and organist and conductor Anna Lapwood join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye in the studio as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. Starting in Jamaica in the 1960s, they travel via the Hunger Games and a Rolling Stones choir classic to the Congo, finishing up at arguably the most famous song on the planet…

1
VICTIM, a hilarious new novel by Andrew Boryga. Plus Caitlin Clark takes and James by Percival Everett 1:23:27

1M ago1:23:27

1:23:27

Hello! Today, we have a great conversation with Andrew Boryga, the author of VICTIM, a truly subversive and funny novel about a young writer who hustles his way through the media world by just giving it what it wants from him: oppression stories, identity trauma tales, and a lot of embellishment. We also talk about Caitlin Clark (Jay tries to do a …

1
Emma Rawicz and Gavin Higgins take us from Aldeburgh to Bicycle Town 42:56

1M ago42:56

42:56

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Emma Rawicz, and composer Gavin Higgins, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. From a Muddy Waters masterpiece, they take us to Aldeburgh for Benjamin Britten's tragic tale, before jumping on their bicycles and heading to Copenhagen for an audacious saxophone composition. The five…

1
What are Children For? A talk with Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman about their new book 1:23:22

1M ago1:23:22

1:23:22

Hello! Today’s show is a talk about an exciting new book by Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman titled “What are Children For?” (Release date: June 11) We talked about “slow love,” the common complaint from millennials that they do not have enough financial stability to start families, the ambivalent mother narrative, and something right in Tyler’s w…

1
Sam Lee and Debbie Wiseman head to outer space 43:15

1M ago43:15

43:15

Folks singer and song collector Sam Lee, and composer Debbie Wiseman, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye in the studio as they add the next five tracks. Starting with time travel, they head to a ground-breaking Coachella performance, a May Day celebration, and finish off with an unexpected dogleg from Fleetwood Mac, following their all-conquering …

1
Biden's Disappointing Black Voter Agenda and RIP Bill Walton 1:05:45

2M ago1:05:45

1:05:45

Hello! Today, we talk about Biden’s speech at Morehouse College which should be seen as a preview for his message to Black voters amidst polling results that show he has lost a significant percentage of both the Black and Latino vote. We also talk about the passing of Bill Walton, activism in the NBA and sports, in general, and what we should think…

1
Natalie Duncan and Neil Brand take us on a manic journey 42:51

2M ago42:51

42:51

Add to Playlist returns for its ninth series and Jeffrey is joined by a new co-host, the violinist and composer Anna Phoebe. To kick off the new six-part series, Jeffrey and Anna are joined in the studio by the composer and silent film specialist Neil Brand and jazz singer and composer Natalie Duncan, who create a playlist of five tracks which take…

1
The Coddling of the Far Right. A Conversation with David Austin Walsh 1:03:21

2M ago1:03:21

1:03:21

Hello! This week, we have on David Austin Walsh, author of “Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right,” a new book that tracks the development and coddling of far right political figures and their co-dependent relationship with mainstream Republicans. Lotta good history here and David asks Kang whether he thinks “Rich Men Nor…

1
Macklemore and Biden's polling problems 1:15:04

2M ago1:15:04

1:15:04

Hello! This week we talk about something we meant to discuss last week — Macklemore’s new song “Hind’s Hall,” and politics in music and literature. There’s some Immortal Technique, the Coup, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young thrown in there too. We also talk about the pretty bad polls that came out for the Biden campaign, which showed him losing …

1
How the media has handled the protests and the lessons of the 2010s with Vincent Bevins 1:07:30

2M ago1:07:30

1:07:30

Hello! This week we are happy to present one of our most requested guests, Vincent Bevins. He is a longtime foreign correspondent and the author of two books, The Jakarta Method and If We Burn. We talked about the lessons of the mass protests of the 2010s around the world, the allure and some of the downsides to leaderless/horizontal protest moveme…

1
MAILBAG TIME! Momala, Extreme fishing, the SATs, the protests and much more. 1:15:22

3M ago1:15:22

1:15:22

Hello! This week we revived a TTSG tradition of answering your questions on the air. Topics covered range from why Tyler puts on a wetsuit and swims out to rocks to fish for striped bass, the rise in extreme sports, why standardized tests are actually good, the state of the student protests going forward and our worries about state repression, and …

1
Campus Crackdown and an Assessment of Leaderless Activism post Occupy 1:08:20

3M ago1:08:20

1:08:20

Hello! Today, we talk about everything that’s happening on campus from Columbia to NYU to Berkeley. Tyler talks about the responsibilities of faculty in these moments and what he thinks is driving a surprisingly strong faculty response to the arrests in New York City. We also talk about how to process the instances of antisemitism at these protests…

1
A Trauma Surgeon's Account of a Hospital in Gaza. Our conversation with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa. 29:27

3M ago29:27

29:27

Hello, Today’s episode is our conversation with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who traveled to European Hospital in Gaza in late March. He talks to us about what he saw there and the massive humanitarian toll, particularly on children. We talked about the conditions at the hospital and the role of the doctor as truth teller in a conflict that …

1
Rural Rage Debunked and the other side of the fascism debate w Danny Bessner 1:31:41

3M ago1:31:41

1:31:41

Hello! Today, we have a packed show with our guest Danny Bessner of the American Prestige podcast. Danny argued the other side of the fascism debate and expressed why he and others believe the word is not appropriate to describe what’s happened to the American right. And Danny stuck around while we discussed Tyler’s debunking of the book “White Rur…

1
In Defense of Normie Liberals and the F Word Debate with John Ganz 1:02:29

3M ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Hello! Today’s guest is the John Ganz, author of the Unpopular Front substack and the upcoming book “When The Clock Broke.” We talk about the now years-long debate about whether what’s happening among the right wing in American should be called “fascism” and how such definitions should and should not be used in a political manner. We also talk abou…

1
Maya Youssef and Keelan Carew ride into the sunset 42:53

4M ago42:53

42:53

UK-based Syrian qanun player and composer Maya Youssef and concert pianist Keelan Carew put the finishing touches to the current playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The final leg of the journey takes us from Wagner's famous water nymphs to a massive Beyoncé hit from this year, via France, Sicily and Lebanon. Add to Playlist returns to …

1
The Kang School for Luddite Teens and Yelling about Kate Middleton 1:03:49

4M ago1:03:49

1:03:49

Hello! Tyler is back for today’s episode in which we talk about open container laws in New Jersey, the discourse about the discourse on Kate Middleton and the Royals, and some thoughts on how to get children off their phones and the Internet, more broadly. Jay reveals that his takes are aging at a more rapid rate than he is and Tyler proves his Mar…

1
Eliza Carthy and Tim Rhys-Evans share the joys of singing 42:43

4M ago42:43

42:43

Fiddler and folk musician Eliza Carthy and choral conductor Tim Rhys-Evans join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. Starting at a famous masked ball in Vienna, they then head for the Genoa docks, rounding off with a cheeky Soca hip-thrusting classic. In the penultimate episode of the current series, recorder player a…

1
Why Can't Women's Coaches Also be Bad People? with Jane Coaston 1:01:21

4M ago1:01:21

1:01:21

Hello! Today a very special March Madness episode with New York Times and CNN contributor Jane Coaston. We talk about the recent ascent of women’s basketball, the gendered ways in which we always expect good, progressive behavior from women’s coaches and athletes, Caitlin Clark-as-Larry Bird and Caitlin Clark-as-baller, and a bit about NIL and the …

1
Anne Dudley and Emily Sun are on a Mission 42:40

4M ago42:40

42:40

Composer, producer and arranger Anne Dudley and concert violinist Emily Sun add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The journey takes them from a dark tale of deceit and entrapment to a hotel you can never leave. Irish pipes and whistle player John McSherry also calls in to tell us about his live recording of tr…

1
GREAT EXPECTATIONS -- TTSG legend Vinson Cunningham talks about Obama, Paul Pierce, and his new novel 1:10:27

4M ago1:10:27

1:10:27

Hello! Today’s episode is a talk with Vinson Cunningham about his new novel GREAT EXPECTATIONS which came out yesterday and is in bookstores everywhere. It’s everything you would expect from Vinson: beautiful sentences, long meditations on hoops, the church, and love, and a engrossing storyline that follows a young man who goes to work on the campa…

1
Anna Meredith and Joe Stilgoe head for South Africa 42:32

4M ago42:32

42:32

Anna Meredith - composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music - and singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks. The journey takes them from Hugh Masekela's South Africa to a masked ball in Brazil, and ending up at arguably the most famous notes ever played on th…

1
AI is still a bit disappointing but at least it uses a lot of energy. A talk with Karen Hao and Ben Recht 1:55:31

4M ago1:55:31

1:55:31

Hello! Today, we talk to two people who have been thinking about reporting about AI for quite a long time: Repeat guest Ben Recht, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley and Karen Hao, a journalist who has written an excellent series of pieces for the Atlantic. We talk to Ben about SORA, OpenAI’s video generator that…

1
Leo Geyer and Gillian Moore take us from Bach to Bowie 42:40

5M ago42:40

42:40

Composer, conductor and bassoonist Leo Geyer, and The Southbank Centre's Gillian Moore, join Jeffrey Boakye and saxophonist Jess Gillam - standing in for Cerys Matthews - as they head from a famous Bach well-tempered classic, via Taiwan, to David Bowie's parting gesture. British-Chinese flautist Daniel Shao explains the intricacies of a traditional…

1
How We Talk about Self Immolation 1:13:44

5M ago1:13:44

1:13:44

Hello! On today’s episode, we talk about Aaron Bushnell, the active-duty Air Force twenty-five year old who self-immolated in Washington, D.C., the history of the act and how it has been seen in different eras and different contexts. We compare, for example, how Barack Obama talked about the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street ve…

1
Amy Harman and Debbie Wiseman get In the Mood 42:43

5M ago42:43

42:43

Bassoonist Amy Harman and Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman are today's studio guests, as Linton Stephens sits in for Cerys Matthews alongside Jeffrey Boakye. This episode takes us from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Glenn Miller's wartime smash hit. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Linton Stephens The fi…

1
Will Minorities Actually Vote for Trump? 1:15:23

5M ago1:15:23

1:15:23

Hello! Today, we talked about a topic that we’ve been circling around for a while — the minority vote. We now have months of polls all pointing towards the same trends in terms of Black, Latino and Asian voters all moving towards the right for a variety of reasons, most of which are left unexamined by many in the mainstream presses. That, of course…

1
Anna Lapwood and Benjamin Appl go on a European dance adventure 42:49

5M ago42:49

42:49

Organist Anna Lapwood MBE and Bavarian baritone Benjamin Appl join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a trans-continental journey as they explore the music of dance in different cultures, from the beer tents in Munich to Transylvania. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye The five tracks i…

1
What It's Like to Work at a Hedge Fund -- a talk with Carrie Sun, author of the new memoir PRIVATE EQUITY 1:25:20

5M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

Hello! Today’s episode is an interview with Carrie Sun, whose memoir PRIVATE EQUITY came out yesterday. (Buy it here!) The book is a memoir about the time Carrie spent working as the right hand for one of the country’s most famous billionaire hedge fund managers. We talk about the allure of finance and Wall Street, Ishiguro and restraint in writing…

1
Corinne Bailey Rae and Nicky Spence launch a brand new series 42:44

5M ago42:44

42:44

It's the start of a new playlist, and to get things going, singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae and the Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks. As well as discussing the five compositions, the four are outnumbered by the London Bulgarian Choir who give a special live performance…

1
Virtual Insanity and Heavy Ass Ski Goggles 1:10:16

5M ago1:10:16

1:10:16

Hello! Today, we talk about the Apple Vision Pro and its grim vision for how you should be spending your time. Also, we talk a lot about Jaron Lanier’s most recent essay about the Virtual Reality in the New Yorker, specifically the question he poses about how technology should fit into our lives and whether tech can just create things because they’…

1
The Kids Are Not the Problem! A talk with Musa Al-Gharbi 1:36:41

6M ago1:36:41

1:36:41

Hello! This week we have on Musa Al-Gharbi, a professor of sociology at Stony Brook University. We talk a lot about “kids these days” and the tendency for all sorts of reactionaries to blame them for everything that’s wrong with this country. Don’t like illiberal attitudes on campuses? Blame the kids. Do you think free expression is at risk? Blame …

1
Polyamory is Not Political, Solarpunk, and Fishing at Night in a Wetsuit 1:02:21

6M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

Hello! This week, we talk about the big Polyamory article in New York Magazine and the proposition that breaking the bonds of monogamy might be a political statement, one that frees both sides from the constraints of marriage. Are we just reinventing ways to justify selfish behavior? And why does every personal decision in the lives of upper middle…

1
Octavia Butler's Grim Vision of a Post Climate Change World, Apocalypse Cliches, and Black Quarterbacks 1:06:47

6M ago1:06:47

1:06:47

Hello! In today’s episode, we talk about Octavia Butler’s “The Parable of the Sower,” a science fiction novel from 1992 that unexpectedly found itself on the best seller’s list in 2020. The novel imagines a violent and grim future in which the world has warmed beyond safe inhabitation, the lucky get to live in walled off communities while the poor …

1
A New Co-Host, the True Crime podcast wave, and a Final Word on All That Harvard Crap 1:11:40

6M ago1:11:40

1:11:40

Hello! I’m very excited to announce that Tyler Austin Harper will be our co-host for the next month or so. Tyler was on the show last month and introduced himself then, but for those who missed it, he’s a writer at the Atlantic and a professor of literature in the environmental studies department at Bates College. He specializes in extinction liter…

1
Housing, Homelessness, and the L.A. Political Machine with L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman 1:00:17

7M ago1:00:17

1:00:17

Hello! Today we have a great interview with Nithya Raman, the City Councilmember for Los Angeles’s District 4. We talk about housing, the despair around the homelessness problem in California’s biggest cities, and whether there might be a different future for the city’s political machine. My interest in Councilmember Raman started back when I was w…

1
Does politics have a place in sports anymore with Bradford William Davis 1:05:53

7M ago1:05:53

1:05:53

Hello! In our Discord server, which you can access by subscribing to the show for a measly $5 a month, a user asked me to not do shows about sports. I took this request seriously as I generally aim to please, but am sad to announce that after much deliberation, I do think it’s worth having a conversation about a very distinct phenomenon I’ve observ…

1
Extinction Talk and All That College Stuff with Tyler Austin Harper 1:30:42

7M ago1:30:42

1:30:42

Hello! Today on the show, we have Tyler Austin Harper, a literary scholar and an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Bates College. We talk about the history of extinction literature, the books that tech moguls read and the vision it inspires, the dangers of science fiction and all that’s happening in the Ivy Leagues right now. 0:00 - J…

1
Neil Brand and Anna Phoebe round off the latest series 42:54

7M ago42:54

42:54

Composer, silent film music specialist and musician, Neil Brand, and violinist and composer Anna Phoebe, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye for the final episode of the current series. From Ma Rainey's loud and proud blues to a singalong classic from 1981, via an 8'25" digitally-manipulated track that could split the room, the current musical j…

1
Tammy and Mai’s last hurrah! 1:12:35

7M ago1:12:35

1:12:35

Hello from the “White Projects”! For Tammy’s final ep as co-host, we answer questions from our beloved subscribers. Thank you for asking us to ponder: * Vice, Jezebel, and the loss of irreverent digital media * What makes podcasting so terrifying (and freeing) * Biden vs. Trump in early polls + in Tammy’s reporting on young voters * Our worst takes…

1
BOOK TIME with Jillian Tamaki 1:01:57

8M ago1:01:57

1:01:57

For Tammy’s last TTSG book club as pod host (!), we welcome Jillian Tamaki, award-winning author and a key member of our early-COVID Discord crew. Jillian’s new graphic novel, Roaming, published with her cousin and co-author, Mariko Tamaki, follows three Canadian college freshmen on a spring break trip to New York. We hear about Jillian’s use of ve…

1
Natalie Duncan and Martin Phipps unpick a children's festive favourite 43:02

8M ago43:02

43:02

Pianist, singer and songwriter Natalie Duncan and Martin Phipps, composer of TV's The Crown and Ridley Scott's new film Napoleon, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they travel from Senegal to a massive Cher hit from 1998. Producer Jerome WeatheraldPresented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye The five tracks in this …

1
“Everything is collapsing around the world,” with Andy Liu 1:23:36

8M ago1:23:36

1:23:36

Hello from Philly! This week, Andy joins us for one of Tammy’s last eps as a host of TTSG. 🥲 After catching up on dog COVID, [6:10] we discuss how China’s historical self-identification as a vanguard of the Third World has given way, through decades of technological and economic growth, to a more general anti-West position. [29:00] We also reflect …

1
Debbie Wiseman, Rhodri Marsden and Lang Lang enjoy a Beethoven classic 42:41

8M ago42:41

42:41

Composer Debbie Wiseman and the writer and multi-instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks, taking us from a Drifters' classic hit to one of Beethoven's most famous compositions. For Add to Playlist, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang reflects on playing Beethoven, and percussionist Ruairi Glashee…

1
A crackdown on campus 53:33

8M ago53:33

53:33

Hello! This week, Jay talks to a student organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of seventy five student organizations who have been organizing and putting on protests on campus. Last week, the administration of Columbia University suspended two of the student groups – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for …

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