Take a break from your screen and tune into tales of love, murder and local creatives with our Metropolis fall recommended podcasts.
My Favorite Murder
The ultimate marriage of comedy and tragedy, this weekly podcast hosted by California-based “murderino” duo Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark is the ideal starter kit to your true crime addiction. Couple history’s grisliest murders with the self-deprecating humor of two veteran comedians who often spotlight lesser known (but by no means less horrific) cases of death and disappearance. Episode 189 features the spine-chilling real life story of Hollywood’s Orphan and one of New York’s deadliest industrial disasters, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
Start with: “189 – What Wonderful Luck!”
Modern Love
Social distancing is good for battling a pandemic, but detrimental to romance. “Modern Love” is for those of you romantics out there who have been harboring black holes of yearning in your hearts since March. Take a breather from your dormant love lives by listening to a story about a nosey journalist who persuaded a dating app CEO to chase after his lost love, or another about a New Yorker who realized her life’s potential after an interesting cab ride involving her toes and a co-worker. Experience the wonders, miseries and mind-boggling complexities of love, from true stories submitted by ordinary people to The New York Times’ Modern Love column.
Start with: “Sharing a Cab, and My Toes,” with Greta Gerwig
This Is Actually Happening
This biweekly podcast “probes the chaotic interiors of the human experience”. The episode titles are intriguing enough. “What if your mother left to follow a cult?” or “What if oral sex triggered a near death experience?” are only some of these enticing gateways into uncanny, extraordinary and, above all, true stories that have dramatically altered the lives of their narrators. Get started with one professor’s mind-blowing ayahuasca trip and the transformation that followed.
Start with: “158: What if you entered The Void?”
Kurly in Kansai
Hosted by the founders of Black Creatives Japan, and based in Osaka, this podcast brings a voice to the harsher realities of living in Japan. “Kurly in Kansai” covers topics such as discrimination, cultural appropriation and working in corporate Japan, occasionally inviting guests to speak about topics in which they specialize. Read more about the podcast founder Ayana Wise here.
Start with: “Weird Flex Japan – Weebs, Incels,& Antifeminist on JPN Twitter” Episode 58
Tokyo Speaks
Hosted by Brooklyn native Terrence “Cliff” Holden, who has been a resident in Japan for eight years, this podcast focuses on Japan’s international community. Formerly known as “Raw Urban Mobile Podcast,” “Tokyo Speaks” features a diverse panel of guests — activists, business owners and artists — who each join Cliff in conversations about entrepreneurship, women empowerment, social impact and much more. Some notable guests on the show include Tokyo’s own creatives such as singer Crystal Kay, actor Dante Carver and anime studio-owner Arthell Isom.
Start with: “Life & Music: A Chat with Crystal Kay”
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Elsewhere on Metropolis:
- ‘Black Creatives Japan’ Opens the Dialogue: What’s lacking in the J-vlogging scene?
- Who’s Who in the J-Vlogging Scene?
- Viral TikToker Teaches Anti-Racism in the Classroom
