View the rest of my favorites here.

IF BOOKS COULD KILL

Highlight: Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”

In which Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri appear as fad science slayers.

SEARCH ENGINE

Highlight: Is there a sane way to use the internet?

There’s a Reply All-sized hole in my heart that Search Engine doesn’t quite fill, but host PJ Vogt’s dedication to answering oft-ignored but just-as-oft-asked questions like “Why are drug dealers putting fentanyl in everything?”, “what’s going on with Elon Musk?” and “should I not be drinking airplane coffee?” is an admirable attempt to bridge the gap.

CONAN O’BRIEN NEEDS A FRIEND

Highlight: Will Arnett

I’m starting to think the “needs a friend” thing is a bit.

99% INVISIBLE

Tell me more about ZipRecruiter, Roman. 99 PI’s glory days may be behind it, but it’s still one of my favorites.

RAISIN D’OR: THE RETRIEVALS

This is such an uncharacteristic pick and a hard pivot to pull at the end of a long list of silly shows. A harrowing listen I don’t have any little jokes for, The Retrievals is a New York Times and Serial investigation into the months-long case of a nurse stealing fentanyl intended for egg retrieval procedures from the Yale fertility clinic she worked at. The series digs deep into the stories of the women affected by the intentional diversions, their pain, the institution’s failure to act, and the series of issues both local and national that led us here. Each episode is an extremely uncomfortable listen. Given the gravity, they probably should be.