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Something a little different on the menu this week.
(Hmm, sounds familiar.)
Suffice it to say, its all very much my shit.
The texture of that continuity, by the way, makes for the seasons most intriguing hook.
This joint interview with Longworth, conducted last Thursday, is edited and condensed for clarity.
Its somewhat dense with proper nouns and concepts, so Ive linked aggressively out to pieces with more context.
Lets get to it.
Karina Longworth:You know what?
Theyre sort of taking what something like theDailyMaildoes narrativizing paparazzi photos and doing it in this crowdsourced way.
It unlocks so much.
Quah: Do you think theres a Parsons-Hopper equivalent today?
What are they really like?
doesnt seem to be driven by big personalities like Louella or Hedda any more.
I think celebrity gossip is driven by different forces now than it was in that time period.
Petersen: Yes, oh my gosh.
Do you coverSheilah Grahamat all?
Longworth: I do, yeah.
Shes a major character in a couple of episodes.
Petersen: Ah, amazing.
I think youre totally right about those shifts.
That was the other thing: All these celebrities invited these older ladies to their parties.
They were, like, present at their baby showers.
It took her a really long time to understand that people were using her.
Petersen: And she was using them.
Could you talk a little bit about your research process?
Hedda and Louella each wrote two autobiographies, and its hard to believe a word of them.
And its like, really?
Nobody was really applying too much scrutiny to it.
Quah: Tell me a little more about that.
How do you second- or third-hand reconstruct the truth?
How do you set up your listeners to be on board with that sort of ambiguity?
Longworth: I guess Ive just always kind of positioned what Im doing as more historiography than history.
Longworth: I definitely feel that in terms of sports writing, for sure, and even in sportscasting.
So, obviously, theres no way theyre doing it based on an interview or anything.
Theyre just making it up based on the evidence put in front of them.
Celebrity gossip is inherently political the framing of it, and so on.
I would love to hear more about your thoughts on that idea.
Longworth: Do you know the site,Crazy Days and Nights?
Its gone kinda QAnon, right?
So, thats what I would say if anybody says that celebrity gossip isnt politics.
Theyre accusing people like Steven Spielberg of being serial predators.
We just received these things as news, and that wasnt that long ago.
Quah: Could you walk me through the production process for this season?
I read some David Halberstam about newspapers and media brands.
I read Neal Gablers book about Walter Winchell.
[Nicks note: you could find Longworthsfull reading list in her show notes.]
I just recorded episodes eight and nine over the past couple of weeks.
Hes doing basically about one a week right now.
Quah: Two random questions to wrap this up.
First, what obsessions or rabbit holes are taking up your free time right now?
Longworth: I dont know if I have any, to be perfectly honest.
So, I just dont really have any free time.
When Im not working, Im trying to not be on the computer, because it drives me crazy.
Im basically watching baseball and going to bed early.
Quah: Which segues nicely to the second question: Whats your take on the Dodgers right now?
Longworth: Well, you know, its very difficult to win two World Series in a row.
Weve also had a lot of injuries.
Theres really no reason why Sheldon Neuse should be playing every day.
The release also noted thatOn The Mediawill continue production with Brooke Gladstone as the sole host.
Anger mismanagement, sorry to say.
But in all cases, the provocations were just shocking.
If youre at the station and would like to talk about it, you know how to find me.
In other words, its prudent to pay closer attention to the trend line than the actual numbers.
One should take any and all optimism around these points with a grain of salt, however.
And the volume of these problems doesnt appear to be abating anytime soon.
All these issues are exacerbated by whats been described to me as slow customer-support systems relative to other platforms.
Apple declined to comment, by the way.
In the meantime, I imagine creators should keep hassling the company through the Apple Podcasts Connect portal.
Something to know if youre keeping the org chart in the back of your head.
Apropos of absolutely nothing,heres your periodic reminder that behind every so-called No.
Lets not underplay the true costs.
That app, by the way, is Castbox.
FromTheAtlantic: On Clubhouse, a black badge was meant to identify trolls.
Its become an emblem of the apps dysfunctional moderation system.
Long live the peeklay.
Shout-out tothePlanet MoneyTikTok legend.
Dustlight Productions is staging an apprenticeship program, in collaboration with Simplecast.
What the hell ishappeningwithJoe Budden?
Perhaps, then, youll feel better knowing that even established creators arent immune to this feeling.
Rose Eveleth, the host and creator of the acclaimedFlash Forward, recently released abook adaptation of her show.
And, honestly, it kind of freaked her out.
And that expansion was modest, adding just one producer to the team.
But consider that this book wouldnt have even happened had it not been for the input of other people.
Then came Goldstein, an artist with an idea.
New takes on the stories didnt diluteFlash Forwards brand, either, which was Eveleths other fear.
At the same time, once the topics were confirmed, Eveleth stood her ground.
She also created and shared an in-depth document, solely to detail the vibe ofFlash Forward.
Whats more, the realm of art is completely out of Eveleths wheelhouse, and she knows it.
I cant draw at all, she says.
Im a terrible drawer.
And those changes of heart, too, have been the product of other people.
Disagreement in that context can endanger the group; disagreement in other contexts, however, may improve it.
It isnt so bad.
In fact, its good.
And if, in that context, it still scares you, thats exactly the point.
Thats where possibility hides.
