Most of us on the Trivia Mafia staff are writers of one kind or another, so we’re really pulling for books to make it through their current fallow period and reclaim their place as the world’s favorite source of imagination fuel. We’re pulling for a lot of things that are never gonna happen, now that we think of it. Ah well, we like podcasts and YouTube and all of that too. — Editor Ira
Podcasts and Internet Stuff We Liked in 2024
Greg’s Picks
I think the podcaster I spent the most time with this year was Jamie Loftus. She has an incisive wit and humanity in both her content and production. That shines brightest in her series “16th Minute (of Fame),” in which she catches up with notable figures from internet crazes past. Highlights include episodes with the “She Came Down in a Bubble, Doug” guy, the Philadelphia rotisserie chicken guy, and a deep-as-police-transparency-allows dive into the Boston slide cop. She brings sympathy and interest to her subjects that the internet frequently lacked in the original moments. She also did a limited series called “The Legend of SwordQuest,” chasing down actual treasures from a decades-old Atari game that went missing.
– Private Events Manager Greg
Megan’s Picks
I was a big fan of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen YouTube channel circa 2018–2020, so after their downfall I desperately missed cookbook author and pastry chef Claire Saffitz recreating beloved branded snacks. Luckily for me, in April she brought the series back on her personal channel from her home kitchen, starting with Drumsticks. They’re my ultimate comfort videos, and I’ve got to figure out how to get her to send me a batch of those Zebra Cakes.
– Editor Megan Olson
Ruby’s Picks
“What Is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast” is a new podcast that recaps every episode of “Jeopardy!” This is perfect for nerds like me who need someone to yell with when something exciting happens on “Jeopardy!” Hosted by Emily Heller of “Barry” and the podcast “Baby Geniuses” and John Cullen of “Broomgate” and “Blocked Party,” it’s really fun!
– Editor Ruby
Chuck’s Picks
Like a lot of 40-something dudes who love music from the ’90s, this was the year that I got veeerrrry into "60 Songs that Explain the '90s." This podcast, produced by the Ringer and written/hosted by music critic Rob Harvilla — another 40-something dude who loves music from the ’90s — feels like it was grown in the lab to be exactly my shit. If that premise sounds like your own private hell, I get it, but I'd urge you to give it a shot anyway. I believe that every genre contains at least one masterpiece, and in the category of "Gauzy Gen X Dad Nostalgia," this is it. At the very least, check out the episode about the Santana/Rob Thomas hit "Smooth," which proves another rule: A song doesn't have to be "good" for a deep dive into how it was made and why it mattered so much 25 years ago to be insanely entertaining. (See also: the "Macarena" episode.) Recent episodes have begun covering the 2000s, with a look at Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" (another song I can't stand) being a particularly high note.
– Owner Chuck Terhark
Tony’s Picks
Last year, I gave y’all a top four episodes in 2023, mostly to avoid recommending an entire podcast to you. I’m changing that up this year and recommending just one: Historian Mike Duncan’s “Revolutions” is back, covering the Mars Revolution of 2247.
The result is, essentially, a science fiction novel from the perspective of a historian in the 26th century, trying to piece together events from sometimes-unreliable firsthand accounts, partially lost data, and hotly debated biographies. It triples as a speculative future account of the colonization of space, a mash-up of how revolutions unfold, and a look at how the sausage gets made for history.
And if you’re a history fan who is looking for more revolutionary podcasts, there are 10 seasons of “Revolutions” to listen to, from the English Civil War to the Russian Revolution, and everything in between.
– Content Creator Tony
Ira’s Picks
It took a while for it to gel, but this was the year that the Andy Daly Podcast Project became my most anticipated upload each week. Daly has been one of the most revered figures in comedy podcasting since he started bringing his darkly delightful characters to life on “Comedy Bang Bang” 15 years ago. He’s now thriving as the center of his own comedic universe, joined by co-host and fellow improv legend Matt Gourley. Anchored by the brilliant and very tongue-in-cheek recap show “Bonanas for Bonanza,” Daly and Gourley have built out a whole ecosystem of eccentrics, losers, and maniacs hosting podcasts that offer windows into their unique brands of madness. It would be worth the subscription price just for “Ship to Shore with L. Ron Hubbard.”
Shout-out to the shockingly consistent “Comedy Bang Bang World,” which still almost never misses. It’s stunning that the network’s eponymous show pulled off a 50-performance international tour without a single clunker.
Comedians Devin Field and Greg Gallant brought their chaotically hilarious “Firsthand” podcast back this year for a brief fourth season that finds the hosts traveling through time in an effort to right some of the great wrongs of history with the help of some of the sharpest minds in improv. It remains one of the greatest indie comedy podcasts on the market.
– Editor Ira Brooker
Writing We Liked in 2024
Brenna’s Picks
“Funny Story” by Emily Henry: You guys, Emily Henry is a legit writer. Her contemporary fiction often ends with a romantically satisfying ending, but more importantly, she just writes good stories – this one is funny, too. It’s poignant in the way that navigating modern relationships can be sad and challenging, and I finished it in one day.
“The Rich People Have Gone Away” by Regina Porter: It is a pandemic novel, but in that “pregnant woman gets lost in the woods and various New Yorkers deal with stereotyping” comedic, introspective, light mystery sort of way. Might feel too soon for some, but I found it to be different enough from my experience of 2020 that it was fun and incisive.
“Buried Deep” by Naomi Novik: This short story collection has some gold nuggets for people who have read other Novik books (a dragon tale, an early version of the “Spinning Silver” fable, a Scholomance scene), but also a great buffet of the range of her imagination. She is one of my favorite writers, so if you like fantasy that weaves action with ethics and wry humor, pick this up.
– EVP Brenna
Ira’s Picks
Kaleb Horton is a man out of time. Thirty years ago he would’ve had a regular long-form column and a sizable per diem with a major print magazine. Fifteen years ago he would’ve had a widely read blog and been a reliable raconteur on the podcast circuit. Five years ago he did have a devoted social media following, including many respected writers and cultural critics. Today he has a donation-based website and a standing plea for meaningful work. He writes about crumbling small towns, forgotten country songwriters, and everyday observations with a poetic, melancholy brilliance approached by few others, but there is no place for him amongst the algorithms that have supplanted our artistic institutions. I’d call Kaleb’s predicament a cautionary tale, but no level of caution could have prepared the world of writing for where we are now. Kaleb Horton is big, it’s the internet that got small.
As new fiction goes, I quite liked the darkly comic, slyly subversive, and highly violent Yakuza love story of “The Night of Baba Yaga” by Akira Otani.
– Editor Ira Brooker
MORE From the Archive:
