The Pod Report: Sep 24, Being a great podcaster
By Dana Block
"Being a great podcaster and a great salesperson requires you to first be coachable." -- Jennie Bellinger
Looking for a new podcast to add to your listening library? These five shows are new and noteworthy and could be the next "Serial," the next "SmartLess," or simply your personal favorite:
History: "About That Life" -- Journalist and video correspondent Garrison Hayes ("Mother Jones") has a large following on TikTok and has launched a new podcast uncovering the "unsung and overlooked figures from Black history who challenged the status quo." His first subject is the late sci-fi author Octavia Butler. Hayes, along with actress Erika Alexander, discuss how Butler seems to have predicted "our dystopian present" over 30 years ago! Hayes follows this episode up with a profile on George Washington Williams, a "barely literate" veteran who exposed a genocide in the Congo. (GarrisonHayes.Substack.com)
Fiction: "Blood Stone" -- If you don't have a subscription to Audible, there are some wonderful free podcasts (with ads) where you can get your audiobook fix. "Blood Stone" is a new series based on the first book of "The Stone Trilogy" by K.L. Nelson. The novel is described as "Indiana Jones" meets "The Da Vinci Code." It's about an archeologist who discovers "an ancient relic that will unveil not only the secrets of her own lineage, but a mysterious, powerful cult." (VoyageMedia.fm)
Health and Fitness: "Women's Health: The Huddle" -- This weekly podcast from Women's Health magazine features interviews with inspiring ladies to talk sports, fitness, and their secrets to longevity. Guests include Kelsie Whitmore, who joins them to discuss the exciting launch of the WPBL (Women's Pro Baseball League). It's the first time such a league has existed in 52 years -- the last league occuring back during "A League of Their Own" days. Other guests include Aditi Shah (Peloton's first-ever meditation instructor) and actress Lucy Liu, who discusses her breast cancer misdiagnosis. (WomensHealthMag.com)
True Crime: "Cruel Summer: The Violent Death of Tiffany Valiante" -- A teenager's death was ruled a suicide after she was found by the railroad tracks in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in 2015. Now journalist Marie McGovern hosts this podcast that takes us inside the theories of what really happened on that fateful day. McGovern was given unprecedented access to Tiffany's social media and also learns about a "secret someone special" in the young girl's life. (Wavland.Media)
Sports: "This Cowboy Life" -- The Carolina Cowboys are a professional bull-riding team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Coach Jerome Davis and his wife, Tiffany, are the center of this new podcast that shows the 24/7 commitment behind the eight seconds in the chute. Jerome knows firsthand the risks behind the sport; he's paralyzed from the chest down after he was thrown from a bowl named Knock-Em-Out John back in 1998. (DirtyMoMedia.com)
(c) 2026 King Features Syndicate, Inc.