Servant of Pod is coming to an end, and since this is the final episode, we figured we’d close out the show the same way we began: in a pandemic. (Kidding, but not really.) To send off the podcast, Nick is joined by The Verge’s Ashley Carman to build a (very) brief picture of where the podcast world is at the outset of 2021.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Writer, podcaster, and cultural critic Sarah Marshall has a distinct expertise: diving deep into the messy backstories of widely known subjects that are often overlooked in their elemental details. This week, Nick speaks with Marshall about the way she approaches her topics, her various projects, and the larger enterprise of sitting, listening, and forging an emotional connection with larger than life figures.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Some call it “guilty pleasure,” some call it trash, but whatever description you use, you can’t deny that reality television is now firmly baked into the firmament of American reality. The relationship between the genre and podcasting is also increasingly felt, as more reality stars are starting their own shows — and more podcasts are affecting what’s happening on the screen. This week, Nick speaks with Mariah Smith, a reality TV expert and the host of Spectacle, a new series about the history of reality television and what it all means.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.