The Daily
To spare 20 minutes each morning for The Daily is to eat an intellectual breakfast: the most important meal of the day. Produced by The New York Times, it elaborates on a topic of their standard reporting, but with a more personal and intimate element. Part of this is the nature of a podcast in general—real voices with emotion and intonation and character—but listening to The Daily makes you feel like the content was chosen just for you, mending every query or misconception you had. Many days, the unique news podcast will provide breaking news, making you wonder how on earth there was time to produce such a flawless episode; on Feb 15 and 16, for example, The Daily broadcasted in-depth reporting on the Parkland, FL shooting, just a day after the tragedy. Other times, writers take a step back from the most pressing issues and present a unique take on an ongoing current issue, turning kernels of knowledge into fluffy popcorn. For example, on the morning of Tuesday Feb 20, their episode announced Vladimir Putin’s recent reelection and then told the fascinating story of his gradual rise to power in Russia. Whatever the subject matter, The Daily always brings a pleasing audio aesthetic; listeners swim in crisp orchestration and Michael Barbaro’s soothing narration. Dive in any weekday starting at 6am; you’ll thank yourself.
Reviewed by Mimi Mays, Staff Writer
Still Processing
Prepare to be simultaneously relaxed and educated as you dive into this podcast from the New York Times, hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris. The hosts are both PoC and both write for the Times, discussing the intersection of humans and pop culture, technology, and the arts. They do a similar thing in the podcast, delving into relevant topics such as movies and art with a signature mix of intellect, joking, emotions, and reasoned debate. In recent episodes, they have taken on such material as the four romantic Best Picture Oscar nominees, Black Panther (featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates), A Wrinkle in Time (and why it’s okay not to like every single thing made by African-American creators) and the National Gallery portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. Wortham and Morris creatively and hilariously approach their subject matter with nuance and honesty, doing exactly what the podcast title says — they continue to process their ideas and views as they frankly discuss them with one another. For listeners, they can get deep at times, but it helps that they have excellent voices to listen to for stretches at a time. If your view of pop culture needs a little less Twitter and a little more context, try out Still Processing.
Reviewed by Emily Chilton, Co-Editor-in-Chief