Peas in a Pod(cast)

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Here at Jungle Red, we've given recommendations on movies, books (many, many times!) TV shows and even websites. But one big aspect of today's culture we haven't dished on - podcasts. Not ones we've been in, or how to be an effective guest, but the ones we enjoy listening to at home, in the car, or downloaded on our phones.
I'm late to the podcast game, despite having many friends suggest this or that wonderful show. I tend to be a devoted MPBN listener in my car, either tuned to NPR or classical music, and I've never enjoyed listening to things streaming over my laptop - the speakers aren't the best, and unless I'm sitting right in front of it, the sound quality leaves much to be desired. Nor do I tend to download media onto my phone - in part because it's a super cheap-o one originally meant for pay-as-you-go, and it's got less memory than I do (which is saying something, these days.)
What got me started with podcasts? My friend Alexa. My brother and sister gifted us with an Echo when Ross was ill - it was the perfect thing for someone who was often too tired to get up. Ross could listen to news, sports and music without leaving his bed, and he and I together started following The Fall of Rome (2016-2017), an amazingly detailed and lively show by Patrick Wyman.

Alexa now lives in the kitchen, where she entertains me while I'm cooking and cleaning. By the late afternoon/early evening, I don't WANT to hear the news; it's usually too depressing. But I love something stimulating to focus on while doing mindless chores. Podcasts fit the bill perfectly. I've always loved history, so a lot of what I've listened to falls under that umbrella. After learning about the fall of Rome, I went back and have been working my way through The History of Rome (2007-2012) by Mike Duncan, which won several awards as an educational podcast. I've continued with both these podcasters as they've moved into new series; Duncan is currently podcasting Revolutions, digging into the events and results of major revolutions in modernity, and Wyman with Tides of History, covering the period that saw the end of Antiquity and the start of the Medieval period. I'm loving the way Wyman, a recent PhD in history, is incorporating some of the newest scholarship in the field, including the effects of climate change on the ancient world. Don't be scared away if you're not an academic type - these podcasts are very accessible, with lots of humor and 2000-year-old gossip.

I've also started streaming podcasts of several of my favorite Public Radio programs, Freakonomics and TED Radio Hour. The former takes one interesting question or issue and explores it in depth - sometimes over the course of a short series, sometimes in a single hour. Recent episodes include "Not Your Grandmother's IMF," "Why is the Live-Event Ticket Market So Screwed Up?" and "Nurses to the Rescue!" TED Radio hour is -- well, everyone's heard of TED talks, right? The podcast takes three or four presentations on complimentary topics, interviews the speakers, and excerpts relevant parts of the speeches, saving you, the listener, from having to watch three or four hours of video to get the same information. Love it.

How about you, Reds? Do you follow podcasts? If not, why not?

INGRID THOFT: I’m not well informed when it comes to podcasts, mostly because there never seems to be a good time to listen to them.  I listen to music when I exercise, and I worry that I won’t be able to focus enough when I’m cleaning up around the house.  I wonder, do I need to give a podcast my full attention?

My curiosity has been piqued by a recommendation to listen to “Someone Knows Something,” which is produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Company.  It discusses unsolved crimes, which sounds intriguing.  I've also heard good things about "Thinking Sideways," another entry in the unsolved crimes category.  


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I was addicted to Serial. ADDICTED. But let me say--every time I tried to find it, it was a huge pain. Somehow my brain can't figure out what podcasts are, so I can never find them.  So Julia, are you saying Alexa will play them?  Ingrid, how do you play them? I know they're all the rage.

JENN McKINLAY: I'm later to the party than you, Julia. I don't listen to podcasts. Much like Hank, I have no idea how to find them and like Ingrid, I listen to music when I workout or walk my dogs. I do love NPR when I drive, so maybe podcasting my favorite programs will be my gateway to podcasts. Okay, I just downloaded the Podcast App onto my phone. I will endeavor to move more with the times!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Julia, I'm late to the party, too, although we were in the first wave of Alexa adopters. I had no idea I could listen to podcasts! But how do you find things you might want to listen to? Is there a Podcast Central? Even if you can just say, "Alexa, play --- podcast," I have to know what to ask for. (Are these really dumb questions???)  I tend to listen to my Flash Briefing, music, and audio books, but it would be lovely to use that chore time to learn some interesting new things.

JULIA: Okay, so this is what I use, and it's working GREAT.  AnyPod. Go to your Alexa control on Amazon, or open the Alexa app on your phone. Select SKILLS (you have to open the hamburger to find it on the phone app) > ANYPOD > ENABLE.

With AnyPod, you can select any episode you want to play (unlike Alexa, who can only give you the most recent.) For a series like my history podcasts or Hank's Serial, AnyPod will pick right up where you left off listening last time, so you don't have to keep track. You can "rewind" forward and backwards to rehear something you missed or to skip a boring part. You can skip whole episodes. You can also subscribe and unsubscribe, but I haven't tried that yet.

Its only flaw is that when you first turn it on ("Alexa. AnyPod.") you have to listen to its little spiel about how to ask for an episode. Then, as an example, it always says, "For instance, 'Play The Dr. Laura Program.'" As if. I'd love to know how much her producers paid for that plug.

How about you, dear readers? Any pods (pun intended) you can suggest for the rest of us?

I Wish Mom Could See This

Mom at age 20 or so...

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  My mother died a few years ago—you know that, right? And I still think of her, of course. The times when I roll my eyes at something, and know she’d be doing the same thing. Or when I have a big realization, and want to give her the opportunity to say I told you so. Or when I need to make a decision about a crisis. Or a dress.

Though I became “Hank” in 1967—thanks to some unremembered classmate in college—she ever called me that. Not through all my years as a reporter with my name “Hank” on the screen.  She called me Ann, unwaveringly. Or Harriet Ann, if I was in trouble.

 It wasn’t until my first book came out, with the name on the cover, that she embraced “Hank,” It was--and this is just between you all and me—as if I had finally done something that was good enough.

She was quite the character. Brilliant, and stylish, and funny, and artistic. Generous.  And, um, opinionated.

I laugh every time Mother’s day comes around, too. Every time, when we were kids, we used to whine: “Why can't there be kids' day?”

Mom would inform us "Every day is kids' day. You just don't realize we're celebrating."

Anyway, Mom loved that I was writing, although once it led--almost--to a battle royal. I had sent her the galley of Face Time. I was all excited, I knew she'd love it.

She called me, soon after she received it, and said (please imagine a somewhat imperious tone here), "I have just read the first ten pages of Face Time. Would you like to know my reaction?”

I was all excited, even though I should have realized that question was a sure sign of imminent disaster. Silly me said, "Sure!”

Mom said: "My emotion is… rage.”

Rage? I thought--rage? How could that be?

So I said, all conciliatory, "Mom, Mom, I don't understand. Rage? Why?"

And she said (please still imagine the tone of voice) "Charlotte McNally's mother is going to Boston for a face lift. Now everyone will think I did that!"

I tried not to laugh. I explained to her, as gently as I could, that it was fiction. That Charlotte McNally was fiction, and Charlotte McNally's mother was fiction.

"You're not Charlie's mother," I tried to assure her.

My fifth birthday

There was a pause. And then she said, "Of course I am, dear."

(And now I must confess. She was kind of right. But I could never admit that. Oh, not the coming to Boston for a face lift part. But other parts.)

Anyway, finally we made a deal. 

She promised to read the whole book, and then let me know how she felt.

She did, and called me a day or so later. Crying.

Mom said, "Oh, honey. I loved it! And this is the first time I've ever cried at the end of a murder mystery. It's actually a mother-daughter love story!"

And indeed, it is. And that's exactly how I meant it.

As Mother's Day draws near, I wish Mom could see this gorgeous brand new edition out today from Forge. Like all Charlie books, you don’t have to read them in order, and if you’re a fan of Serial and Making a Murderer, Face Time is just the book for you. And your mom.

So, Reds, here's a contest! If you buy Face Time in any format and send me proof of purchase you'll be entered to win. Two lucky fans will receive a $100 gift certificate to the bookstore of their choice. And five lucky entrants will win a copy of PRIME TIME. It's easy to buy and enter. Click the following link for all the info - https://a.pgtb.me/8cxcN4

And Happy Mother's Day to all. (Wouldn’t FACE TIME be a great gift to your favorite mom? Let me know if you need a signed bookplate!)

And Reds, and readers—did your family or friends or classmates have a nickname for you? I was Pook for a while (thanks, Dad!), then Ann, or Annie.  How about you?  

What We're Writing--Hank's adventures in the past

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Everything old is new again? Well, kind of.

When my publisher asked me to take a fresh-eyed look at my Charlotte McNally books in preparation for their re-issue—my first series in all new editions with gorgeous new covers!—I knew that could be a…shall we say, fascinating experience. I could change things if I wanted. Yay. 

But I would also see—in unassailable black and white--what needed to be changed. Would that be the good news or the bad news?

So with much delight and little trepidation, I opened the pages of the four books in my first series, and read all the way through.  PRIME TIME came out in February, and I am so happy Charlotte McNally is making friends with lots of new readers.

 FACE TIME is coming next week.  So today my “what we’re writing”

today is about “what we’ve written.”  

And then written again.

First, the fabulous news. Were you hooked on Serial, or Making A Murderer, as I was? It turns out that the Serial and Making A Murder theme is what FACE TIME is all about! So that was a treat to discover.

However. It was quite the education to see what needed to be changed in the books. It’s like watching a movie from 9 years ago. Things that seemed so timely and hip become…well, not so relevant. 

Or just—wrong.

First, in AIR TIME (coming in June) I had to change the announcement flight attendants make before takeoff. You don’t have to completely turn off your phones any more, right? You can keep them in airplane mode.  That almost ruined a plot point—it was very nice to be able to have the flight attendant yell at Charlotte to power down.

I also almost hit plot-disaster with beepers. You remember beepers, right? Those little gizmos everyone had? Especially reporters, who were not allowed to leave the station without them. Now, almost no one has a beeper. But um, rut-roh. I really needed them in the plot of one of the books.  I finessed.  Instead of Charlotte reassuring herself: “Everyone gets beeped!”  She now thinks: “It’s okay, people still get beeped.”

n PRIME TIME, someone’s computer proclaims “You’ve got mail!” Uh, hmm.  When was the last time you heard that once-constant refrain? So now I made their email ping. But a person still says “You’ve got mail.” The “you’ve got mail” reference is critical later in the book, so I couldn’t ignore it altogether.

There’s a reference, sigh, to Puff Daddy.  Charlie’s producer Franklin, corrects the speaker, reminding him it’s now P. Diddy. (Are you with me here? Of course not. And if you are, I love you madly.)

But because a suspect wears an item from his Sean John clothing line and that leads to his identification, it was a real key to the story. (You’ll understand when you read AIR TIME. It works.)   So I had to keep it—but how?

“How do you even know about P. Diddy?” someone now asks.

 “Oh, Franklin’s big on fashion history,” Charlie now says. “He knows all that vintage stuff.”

Another oops?  Someone bought a home “a few years ago in 2005.”  Now it’s simply “a few years ago.”

The crazy-crowded Cape Cod rotary is now gone. Luckily Charlie doesn’t have to use another route to be caught in the traffic jam. The toll booth on the Mass Pike are now mostly unstaffed E-Z pass automatic machines—happily for me, not ALL of them.

My editor back then yanked out all the current cultural references, much to my chagrin at the time. I remember telling her: “Jane Pauley will ALWAYS be on the Today Show!”  Okay, the editor was right. Big lesson learned.

Some things I just left the way they were—I mean, Charlie is 46, and her mental rolodex would be that of a person that age.  So she refers to the Beatles, and Ed Sullivan, and having had a collection of VHS tapes twenty years ago.

And from the “need I say more” department, here are two more snippets from the “change” list I sent for AIR TIME :

p 217  2^nd line from bottom

change

“Josh is getting cable,” I say.

To

“Josh is upgrading his cable,” I say.

P 226  Line 12-13

Change

Time to hit the pay phone.

To

Happily, Logan still has one pay phone.

And now, here’s a bit from the about to be re-issued FACE TIME, a BookSense Notable Book (see? They’re called Indie Next Picks now!), about which Sara Paretsky (hurray!) said: “A gripping fast-paced thriller with an important story line and an engaging and unusual heroine.”

In this scene: our heroine, reporter Charlotte McNally, is not only facing a last-minute TV live shot about a new political candidate, but a disaster only possible to people of a certain age.

FACE TIME

 “Just read the news release,” Franklin instructs. “It’s got the whole drill, law and order, convictions out the wazoo, death to infidels, all that. Y’all know the lowdown on this guy, right?”

I do, in fact. Oscar “Oz” Ortega: recruitment poster for the

prosecution—cool, hot, and politically connected. Known for his

outrageous neckties and outrageous legal talent. Scholarship to

Boston College. Scholarship to Yale Law. Could cross-examine

blood out of a turnip. And, some predict, he’ll step out of the attorney

general’s office, percolate for a term or two on Beacon Hill,

then head for the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Thanks, Franko,” I say, taking the release. Less than a minute

to go. I’ll read it through quickly, then use it to sum up when Oz is

finished. Done it a million times. Like riding a bike. “No problem.”

Wrong.

I can’t see the words. I mean, I can see that there are words, but

they’re a complete blur. I glance over at Franklin, ready to ask if

there’s a problem with the copy he’s offered. I can easily see the

crease in his predictably impeccable jeans, the tiny polo pony on

his pink knit shirt, even how the ten- o’clock stubble on his face

darkens his coffee skin to espresso.

Clearly, what’s wrong is me. Without my reading glasses, this is

going to be impossible. And even if I could get to my glasses,

tucked in my red leather tote bag and back in the van, I couldn’t

go on the air wearing them.

“Thirty seconds,” I hear in my ear.

I can’t read this news release, but I have to. Tucking the paper

under one arm, I use a finger to pull back my left eyelid and pop

out my contact lens. With a brief wince of regret and one flip of a

finger, I discard the contact onto the parking lot pavement, and try

again to read Oz’s formal announcement.

 “Four. Three.” I hear the countdown in my ear. “Two. Go.”

HANK: SO excited about this! And soon I will have fabulous other news. And—soon--there’ll be the brand new SAY NO MORE, about which you will hear, um, relentlessly. I'm working on the updates to DRIVE TIME now…and I will keep you posted.

But let’s talk about change. If  you had a do-over—about anything—would you?  Or how about this: Would you mind if I’d mentioned the Cape Cod rotary or Jane Pauley?

 And—a copy of the all new PRIME TIME to one lucky commenter!