Podcasts that put a spring in my step
Rob Reiner, Goldie Hawn, Spencer Garrett, Kelly Clarkson, David Ajala, Adam Scott, Kelly Cantley, John Oliver, and other tomfoolery
As anyone who reads my blathering knows, I love a good celebrity-hosted podcast. I almost never know who’s going to be on one at any given moment, so this edition is going to start off with the times I opened up a podcast app, saw the guest name, and applauded gleefully. For real! Sometimes I even did a little dance.
Jumping for joy
Let’s start with the ones that put a skip in my step when I saw their names pop up.
Goldie Hawn on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Last Tuesday, I was heading treadmill-ward, wondering what I’d listen to because I’d already finished Monday’s Delta Flyers, and boom! Goldie Hawn appeared on the Armchair Expert line-up like a gift from the podcast heavens.
Dax already knows her; he used to date Kate Hudson (her daughter) so they already have a relationship, although you can tell Goldie is in charge. Of everything. He absolutely recognizes her as the alpha—and relishes it, ‘cause that’s the kind of guy he is. ❤️
If you want some insight into Dax’s history with Kate, this (very old) episode was revealing and squirmy in moments, funny in others, and thoroughly compelling.
And before that, Rob Reiner!
Rob Reiner talked about his entire career, from All in the Family to the iconic movies he’s directed. He dropped the news that he’s working on a Spinal Tap sequel. I’m not a big fan of sequels, but if there was ever a sequel idea that made sense, Spinal Tap (the band) getting old is IT.
John Oliver on Smartless
Last night when John Oliver’s name popped up in my Amazon app on Smartless, I applauded—literally. (These are the moments when my husband doubts my sanity.) Then I cleaned up the kitchen and looked for more household chores so I’d have a reason to keep listening.
I was laughing out loud right from the beginning when Will and John kept talking about (British) football and Jason Bateman interrupted with “Let’s hold on to our listeners for just a few more minutes before we lose them to soccer talk.” My thoughts exactly! I laughed a lot during this one.
Too many moments to list. It won’t be on Apple until the 18th, but you can listen early on the Amazon app if you subscribe to their music service.
Spencer Garrett on Hollywood at Home
I love Spencer Garrett.
I always liked him, having seen him on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager, Timeless (man I loved that show), Air Force One, and about a hundred other things, including Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Several years back, my friend Dominique said, “Did I tell you my uncle was on Star Trek? I bet you could interview him if you wanted.” When she told me her uncle was Spencer Garrett, I quickly sent in a pitch to the official Star Trek site, sold it, and did one of my favorite interviews ever. He was wonderfully generous with his time and I had a hell of a time cutting it because I loved every word, and even the Startrek.com editor agreed to keep it as is when I couldn’t chop one more thing without weeping.
I follow him on social, which is how I found out about this terrific interview that covers parts of his career beyond Star Trek. Still just the tip of the Spencer Garrett iceberg.
I’ve never listened to this podcast before, but look at their guests! Melora Hardin, Jason Isaacs, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Mädchen Amick, Alfre Woodard, Wilson Cruz… I will need to investigate further.
Next up: two Kellys, an Aisha, and an Adam
These next few didn’t make me squeeeeee quite as fervently, but elicited a hearty “yesssssssss!” when I saw them.
Kelly Cantley on Office Ladies
There are many things I love about the Office Ladies podcast, and one of them is that they talk to everybody: editors, prop makers, costume designers, and more. So a whole episode with first AD Kelly Cantley was a delight! If you are at all interested in hearing people talk about how to make TV, this one’s for you.
Kelly Clarkson on Smartless
Kelly Clarkson, as always, is a joy. The time whipped by; if I didn’t have proof that it was 50+ minutes long, I would’ve guessed I’d been listening for 15 minutes, tops. She’s impossibly grounded considering she won the very first American Idol and has had nothing but success since. I’m not into talk shows these days but I would hit the subscribe button like a lightning bolt it if she started up her own podcast.
Aisha Muharrar and Adam Scott and the return of Parks and Recollection
Parks and Recollection is back! I found the first, guestless episode uninspiring and did not listen to the whole thing.
I want to love this podcast, but haven’t been able to since the host swap. The solution? Great guests! First up was writer Aisha Muharrar, who wrote for Parks and Rec as well as The Good Place and now Hacks. I always love hearing from the writers, and she was the one everyone on the team thought was most like Leslie Knope. This is a good one.
And then boom! they came in hot a week later with Adam Scott. Sweet! He did not talk about Severance, sadly, but if you’re a West Wing fan, you’ve hit the jackpot. He was a great guest and he promised to come back. Hooray!
And now: great host/subject combinations
Sometimes it’s not one or the other, it’s the alchemy of both.
The SyFy Sistas talk to David Ajala
In addition to my already existing love of the SyFy Sistas—I dream of the day I become as good at interviews as they are—I’ve had a crush on David Ajala ever since he turned up on Star Trek: Discovery.
Tamia, Subrina, and David talked about Star Trek and jazz and so many other things, and it was just a pleasure to listen to. He said he’d come back when season 5 is over, so there’s also something to look forward to!
Smartless talks to Amy Schumer and Natalie Portman
I’m not a big stand-up comedy gal, but as soon as Amy Schumer is interacting with other people, I am 100% on board—especially when those other people are the Smartless guys. Everybody’s quick and funny and nobody holds back.
They also talked to Natalie Portman, who had battery/tech issues and kept having to answer the door for deliveries, which made everything better and funnier.
Other fun flotsam and jetsam
Don’t miss out on the latest batch of Armchair Anonymous episodes. “Accidentally Naked” was as good as it sounds.
The Inglorious Treksperts got Kevin Feige (president, Marvel Studios), Steve Asbell (president, 20th Century Films) & Terry Matalas (showrunner, Star Trek: Picard season 3) to talk about Star Trek III: The Search for Spock for longer than the running time of the actual movie. Great discussion!
To celebrate, we had Mark Altman on All Access Star Trek to talk about it.
Two final notes:
Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is coming back! There’s a trailer out for season 2.
Sean Hayes is now part of the Star Trek family: His husband, Scott Icenogle, co-composed the music for the Star Trek: Discovery final season trailer.
