Willa Paskin, host of Slate's Decoder Ring, joins POP-The Podcast to talk about her show that delves into the fascinating back-stories of everyday cultural phenomena.Curious about why a thing is a thing? Decoder Ring investigates the stories behind cultural phenomena such as sun tans, mullet haircuts or the Jane Fonda Workout.Host Willa Paskin shares with Pick of the Pods:- how ‘writing for the ear’ is different from writing an article- what’s a ‘high touch’ podcast, and did Willa jump into the podcast deep end by choosing to make one?- should you be ‘nice’ to the people featured in your podcasts?Decoder Ring - homepage: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring- on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1376577202- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYjxRBfBp4syi0tCgWRnwXGkF4i2lbvoREpisodes of Decoder Ring featured on this episode:Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2020/10/jane-fonda-leni-cazdenThe Sign Painter: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2021/06/ilona-granet-feminist-artBridget in the Buff: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2026/09/bridget-in-the-buff-naked-fat-puzzles-puzzles-gifts-1970s-naafaWilla’s Pod Picks:Death of an Artist Introducing Death of an Artist Season 3: Petra Mathers and Her Michael: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/death-of-an-artist/introducing-death-of-an-artist-season-3-petra-mathers-and-her-michaelDan Taberski’s Manifesto https://podcastreview.org/review/dan-taberskis-manifesto/The Rest is History (of course): https://therestishistory.com/series/the-french-revolutionWatch here on the POP YouTube channel or listen on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310.POP-The Newsletter:

For a fresh recommendation of the one podcast you should be listening to right now, follow POP at pickofthepods.substack.comPOP-The Podcast:Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7Listen on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310

Update: Episode 7 is now available wherever you get podcasts: https://pod.link/1891273310 or here on Substack:

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7

Some people use podcasts to help them fall asleep. Some people are kept awake by existential dread. How about a podcast that can combine the two?!

Are We Doomed? is an excellent narrative documentary series that looks at genuine, or potential, threats to the planet or humanity. Think nuclear war, the next pandemic, or killer robots.

Host Ben Bradford joins us on POP-The Podcast to tell all about the show, published by National Public Radio (NPR).

Find out:

* why nuclear armageddon is perfectly possible, but would be “embarrassing”

* is there really a “supervolcano” waiting to blow up the entire United States?

* why Ben hates one futurist’s idea that one day we will all have tiny pet hippos

Yes, it’s a fun, but not flippant, podcast that is rooted in science and expertise.

Links:

Are We Doomed on the Pick of the Pods newsletter: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/p/armageddon-it-are-you

Are We Doomed

* homepage: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/21/g-s1-118208/a-new-npr-network-podcast-asks-the-big-question-are-we-doomed

* on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1893359212

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AreWeDoomedPod

Episodes of Are We Doomed featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast:

* Our Vision of the Post-Apocalypse Is Wrong:

* The Yellowstone Supervolcano Panic!

* How To Survive a Nuclear War

Ben’s Pod Picks:

* This American Life, Swim Towards the Shark: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/837/swim-towards-the-shark

* Oh, Hello: the P’dcast:

* Search Engine:

https://www.searchengine.show/

Ben’s fantasy interview:

Sam Altman or Jeff Bezos, locked in a room and forced to say honestly what is their vision of the future.

Subscribe to Pick of the Pods - the newsletter - on Substack: https://substack.com/@robinpomeroy

Discover one new podcast every week with the Pick of the Pods Substack: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/Watch POP-The Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7

Or follow on any podcast app - new episodes drop monthly: https://pod.link/1891273310

Music by fAR

Pick of the Pods: copyright Spinney Hill Media 2026.

What actually is money? This new podcast from the Financial Times takes a historical view of this question which is crucial to understanding human civilisation and the world we live in today.

Robin Wigglesworth, who co-hosts the show with fellow FT journalist Gillian Tett, picks some of his favourite episodes so far and tells us why some of the greatest humans ever - Churchill? Newton? - were not always brilliant with money.

The Story of Money:

* Pick of the Pods: https://pickofthepods.substack.com/publish/post/201028489

* Homepage: https://www.ft.com/tsom?shareType=nongift&syn-25a6b1a6=1

* Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1376303362

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney

Episodes of The Story of Money featured on this episode of POP-The Podcast:

* The Bretton Woods agreement: a tale of boozing, womanising, espionage and a heart attack

* The financial scams that brought Albania to the brink of war

* They are history’s geniuses. But were they any good at investing?

Robin’s Pod Picks:

* The Rest Is History https://pod.link/1537788786

* Greeking Out https://pod.link/1483233279

Robin’s dream interview:

* Jay Cooke (1821–1905) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke

Robin’s forthcoming book:

* A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/461949/a-fabulous-debt-by-wigglesworth-robin/9780241705674

Listen to POP-The Podcast - new episodes monthly - on any app: https://pod.link/1891273310, watch on YouTube:

Let me know what you think of the episode. And if you have a favourite podcast you would like to hear on the monthly POP-The Podcast or see featured on the weekly POP Substack, I’d love to hear about it.

Dropping July 1, 2026. Get it on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310 or YouTube.

Bloomberg TV anchor Francine Lacqua tells us about her new podcast, Leaders, and how doing a long-form interview differs from live TV.

Welcome to the June edition of POP-The Podcast, where we hear from Jonathan Block on how he makes Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made.

There are countless podcasts out there about leadership, but this one has a twist - it explores the mistakes, failures or misfortunes that have hampered and helped the interviewee become what they are today.

🤳 Listen to POP - The Podcast right here, or on any podcast app: https://pod.link/1891273310

📺 Watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQu6D1uClH0i-nR9YppCSgzhElMbfPcv7

Please subscribe - here or on any podcast app - so you get POP - The Podcast when it lands (currently monthly).

Stumbling Blocks was a Pick of the Pods back in March - read that POP pick here:

Thanks for listening!

A few weeks ago I was invited to talk about podcasts to an audience of content creators and communications professionals in the offices of the Content Engine, a Geneva-based company that makes all manner of content for companies and non-profits. Every couple of months they host the Content Cocktail and invite a speaker along, and on this occasion it was me.

I spoke about my work making podcasts for the World Economic Forum, and my own podcasts, Pick of the Pods and A Book - A Place, and took questions on all manner of subjects, not least how artificial intelligence will transform podcasting.

The talk was moderated by the Content Engine’s Editor in Chief Ceri Radford, a former colleague of mine at the World Economic Forum.

Enjoy this bonus episode of POP-The Podcast, the next regular episode will drop on June 1 - get it wherever you get podcasts.