There’s new crime on the agenda for podcast listeners this week with a new series about the mysterious death of the artist wife of famous sculptor and a series about a prolific cyber-stalker who terrified people in his home town for over a decade with harassment that began with a simple message: “Hey hun, can I tell you a secret?” Plus a new anonymous audio time capsule series that goes inside the mind of one Gen Zer. And new season, including for a podcast hosted by pop star Dua Lipa.
Here’s some of what’s new this week in podcasting—
Death of an Artist is a new true crime podcast from Pushkin and Somethin’ Else. The series is set to dive into the mysterious death of Ana Mendieta, the artist wife of famous sculptor, Carl Andre. Months after their wedding, Andre called 9-1-1 following a fight where he said his wife “went out the window” of their 34th floor apartment in New York City. Andre was charged with his wife’s murder and eventually acquitted. Host Helen Molesworth revisits Mendieta’s death and the trial that followed, and interrogates both the silence and the protest that have accompanied this story ever since.
The Conversation: About The Men is a new series hosted by Amanda de Cadenet as she connects with high profile men to chat about topics from consent, parenting, race, hook up culture, porn and toxic masculinity. Following Amanda’s success with The Conversation where she interviewed female thought-leaders and innovators, she is now turning her attention toward men and male-focused topics for uncensored and honest conversations. Featured guests will include Matthew McConaughey, Charlamagne tha God, Zachary Levi, Dr. Terry Real, Nick Viall, Kal Penn, and YungBlood, to name a few.
“Men have undeniably had a massive cultural reckoning over the last few years. The existing concepts of masculinity have been shattered and need to be rebuilt. Men’s voices are crucial in the restructuring of modern masculinity,” said Cadenet. “As the mother of a teenage son and someone who values a multitude of opinions, my hope is to build bridges and create a space for men to speak honestly and openly in a collaborative way. Consent, parenting, race, cancel culture, porn, Roe versus Wade and toxic masculinity are just some of the subjects we get into in an uncensored and authentic way.”
New episodes will be released each Monday.
Can I Tell You A Secret? is a new podcast from the U.K. newspaper The Guardian. The six-episode podcast explores the case of Matthew Hardy, a prolific cyber-stalker who terrified people in his home town and beyond for over a decade. Hardy’s harassment would often start in the same way, a fake profile posing as a young woman with a simple message: “Hey hun, can I tell you a secret?” It is The Guardian's first ever standalone true-crime podcast series, hosted by Guardian journalist Sirin Kale. In it, she examines Hardy’s relentless campaign of fear, through exclusive and deeply personal interviews with his victims and people who know him.
“I’ve written about stalking throughout my career and thought, probably naively, that there was very little that could shock me. The case of Matthew Hardy is one I still struggle to wrap my head around, even now,” said Kale. “How did Hardy manage to go on for so long and torment so many people? What motivated him to do it? And - most importantly for his victims - is he likely to stop? We explore all of these questions and many more.”
Walks Of Life is a new podcast from SomeFriends, SALT, and In The Know by Yahoo. The show is an anonymous audio time capsule where every episode brings you inside the mind of one Gen Zer while they take a walk in their neighborhood. No script, no interviewer, no filter. The first-of-its-kind podcast features the youth of America, honest and raw, speaking directly into the microphone sharing their thoughts with the world. The podcast was created by Kareem Rahma, this innovative format features authentic stories told directly into the microphone by the youth of America and encapsulates all backgrounds, genders, sexualities, ethnicities and religions from big cities to small towns.
“Not only is Gen Z the most diverse and multicultural generation, they are also the only generation to grow up with 24/7 internet and social media, making them natural born storytellers,” said Rahma, who is also the cofounder of SomeFriends. “Walks of Life gives listeners the chance to ‘walk a mile in someone else's shoes’ and young people the opportunity to share their stories with the world.”
Walks of Life releases new episodes every Tuesday.
Passport to Everywhere is a new travel podcast from SiriusXM. Hosted by Melissa Biggs Bradley – the CEO and founder of Indagare Travel — the show each week heads off to somewhere new. The show will first air live on SiriusXM’s Business Radio each Thursday at 12pm ET and then become a podcast. During the show, Bradley will talk with passionate travelers, thought leaders, innovators, tastemakers and hoteliers from around the world. Listeners will hear in-depth conversations on the future of travel and inspirational stories about global adventures.
We Are As Gods is a new eight-episode audio documentary from Audible. The series explores the life of radical thinker, environmentalist, and controversial technologist Stewart Brand (creator of The Whole Earth Catalog).
The We Are As Gods podcast is produced and hosted by award-winning filmmakers David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg. It is a cinematic audio documentary that marries psychedelia, counterculture, and futurism—to tell the real-life story of a complicated and fascinating American polymath at the vanguard of our culture.
Using never before heard archival material, original music, and interviews with some of the most interesting thought-leaders of our era, the producers take a deep dive into Stewart’s life and ideas, and how they have shaped our century. The podcast features theatrical sound design, interviews from thought leaders, and observational vérité audio. When listeners turn on a chapter and close their eyes, We Are As Gods transports them into a sensory experience.
We Are As Gods debuts on Thursday, September 29 exclusively on Audible. The podcast arrives shortly after the release of documentary feature “We Are As Gods” from leading documentary film distributor Greenwich Entertainment and publisher Stripe Press, which opened in select U.S. and Canadian movie theaters and debuted on all leading on demand streaming services.
“David and I spent three years filming and recording with Stewart and his colleagues, diving into the archives, building relationships, and spending time with him around the world,” said Producer Jason Sussberg. “With an embarrassment of riches of original film and archival materials, we have created a unique audio experience that explores every twist and turn of Stewart’s amazing story. We’re excited to take our storytelling expertise and apply it to the podcasting medium for the first time."
The Langley Files: A CIA Podcast is a new podcast from the Central Intelligence Agency. It says the mission of the series is to educate and connect with the general public, sharing insight into the agency’s core mission, capabilities, and agility as an intelligence leader -- and to share some interesting stories along the way! Each episode is approximately 15-30 minutes in length and will feature our hosts leading conversations with a range of special guests. CIA Director William Burns is in the inaugural episode.
The Randy Rainbow Podcast is a new series from Hazy Mills Productions. The podcast is hosted by viral sensation and musical comedian Randy Rainbow. In his latest comedic journey, Randy brings his unique flair to the world of audio entertainment with a weekly show featuring compelling interviews, hilarious sketches, and show-stopping musical performances. Guests will include Sean Hayes, Carol Burnett, Josh Gad, Jon Cryer and more.
The Iowa Podcast is a new series from former WHO Des Moines talk show host Justin Brady. He says the show is about “real Iowans:” talking about real events and stuff within the state worth paying attention to. Each episode will be about a half hourlong and will feature Brady speaking with politicians, business leaders, and other influencers in the state. Brady, who now operates a public relations firm, also hosts The Justin Brady Show podcast. Brady left his WHO morning show in 2020.
Hollywood Gold is a new talk show podcast that will pull back the curtain on the making of some of the industry’s most iconic movies, through interviews with notable producers and filmmakers. The show is created by producer Daniela Taplin Lundberg’s Stay Gold Features.
The Mel Robbins Podcast is a new series from Stitcher and SiriusXM. The podcast is co-produced and hosted by the motivational audio creator and international best-selling author Mel Robbins. On the show Robbins delivers her signature blend of storytelling and research-backed advice twice a week. Every episode is packed with deeply relatable topics, science-backed tools, hilarious screwups, compelling conversations, and the takeaways and inspiration listeners need to create a better life.
“My mission with The Mel Robbins Podcast is simple - to inspire, motivate and empower you to create a better life,” Robins says. “I am excited to connect with you, learn with you, cheer for you, and invite you into my life every week in a deeply personal way.”
Beginning October 6, new episodes will be available every Monday and Thursday. Robbins will also release longer, uncut versions of each episode on her YouTube channel.
The series is created, produced, and hosted by Robbins. The show is executive produced by 143 Studios’ Andrea Puckett and Stitcher’s Josephine Martorana. The show's music and sound design is by Brendan Byrnes.
The Outlaw Ocean is a new podcast from CBC Podcasts and L.A. Times Podcasts. The high seas are beyond the reach of international law, and beyond the beat of most reporters, but journalist Ian Urbina has sailed into uncharted territories. She set out on a years-long quest to investigate murder at sea, modern slave labor, environmental crimes and quixotic adventurers. Part travelog, part true-crime thriller, this seven-part series takes listeners to places where the laws of the land no longer apply. The series is launching Monday, September 26.
Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman returns for a second season. The series is hosted by iHeartMedia’s Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman and it will feature visionaries, from CEOs to neuroscientists and everyone in between. They discuss how marketers, the very best in the business, continue to cut through the noise and share their first-hand marketing knowledge. New episodes are released each Thursday.
Dua Lipa: At Your Service is launching a second season. The show hosted by the pop superstar features her conversations with the brightest minds in music, fashion, literature, activism and more. In the season premiere, released today, Lipa sat down with Monica Lewinsky to unpack the decade-long “quiet despair” that followed Monica’s surfaced affair with President Bill Clinton, the years of harassment she faced from women who called themselves feminists, and her decision to produce “American Crime Story: Impeachment.” Dua Lipa: At Your Services is a production of iHeartMedia and Studio 2054 Productions.
Suspect returns for a new second season. The true crime show from Wondery and Campside Media. The second season is titled “Vanished in the Snow” is focused on the mystery of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, whose murder has stumped local Colorado authorities for decades. When Jonelle’s remains were found near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in 2019, a sudden realization that the truth might’ve in plain sight the entire time arose. Former CNN reporter Ashley Fantz and executive producers Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (Suspect, Over My Dead Body) dig into one of the most mind-bending cold cases in modern history, in an attempt to separate fact and fiction, compulsion from guilt, and true-crime fandom from a motive for murder. With the trial of Jonelle’s kidnapping and murder starting on October 4, 2022, Suspect’s second season is a timely examination of Jonelle’s case. Season two launches exclusively on Amazon Music on October 17.
Heavyweight is returning for a seventh season. The show from Gimlet Media is hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, who continues telling intriguing, challenging and heartwarming stories, helping people dig through both difficult and fascinating moments in their pasts and resolve their unanswered questions. In season seven, Goldstein introduces us to a woman hoping to return the work of a famous artist she found discarded in the garbage, a couple searching for a missing photo captured 20 years ago on their first date, a man set out to thank his football coach for a life changing hug, a daughter looking to make things right after destroying a prized possession of her father’s, a family seeking to lift a 500 year old curse, and more.
It Was Said returns for a second season. The history series is a production of Cadence 13’s C13Originals, its documentary division., and The History Channel. Hosted by historian Jon Meacham, the show looks back on some of the most powerful, impactful, and timeless speeches in history through the inspirational speeches of generation-defining figures including Winston Churchill, Frederick Douglass, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Margaret Chase Smith.
Notable voices featured on the second season include Princeton scholar Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, host of C13Originals’ History is US , who will re-enact Fredrick Douglass’ "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" as well as offer insight and analysis on Mandela’s "I am Prepared to Die” speech. Throughout the series, Meacham will be joined by other top historians, authors and journalists relevant to each respective speech and figure.
“I’m delighted to bring such wonderful voices—past and present—to our listeners,” Meacham said. “The speeches we’re exploring this season touch on our highest aspirations as a people—and on our darkest chapters. The speeches and the guests shed important light on the perennial issues that shape us still, and I’m excited to be working with the C13Originals team on this special show.”
It Was Said will launch its new season on September 28. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays throughout the season.