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Nicholas Quah

Podcast Critic

Podcast Critic, Vulture. Writes the 1.5x Speed newsletter. Creator, Hot Pod. Contributor, Fresh Air. Member, Peabody Awards Board of Jurors.

  1. vulture recommends
    Searching for the Greatest Tennis Video Game EverBring back Top Spin 4.
  2. 1.5x speed
    Search Engine Is the Spiritual Successor to Reply AllThe new podcast from PJ Vogt makes familiar pleasures feel new.
  3. fall preview 2023
    6 Podcasts We Can’t Wait to Listen to This FallA Beatle trades in his guitar for a podcast mic.
  4. buffering
    What We Love (and Hate) About Free Streaming in 2023An emergency discussion about our “no-commitment relationship” with FAST.
  5. 1.5x speed
    The Retrievals Is a NightmareThe latest Serial Productions podcast examines how one fertility center failed to see excruciating pain.
  6. reality tv
    Whoever Starves Least, WinsBehind the making of Alone, the most genuinely perilous show on television.
  7. a long talk
    Ira Glass Just Wants to Make a Decent ShowThe pioneering radio host reflects on the legacy — and business — of This American Life 800 episodes in.
  8. podcasts
    Dua Lipa and the the Middlebrow Pop Intellectual PodcastAt Your Service aspires to be a Fresh Air for the jet set. Does it work?
  9. close read
    The Donna EffectThe Bear’s chaotic matriarch is the Berzatto family’s foundational world, cracks and all.
  10. the industry
    Spotify Is Equally Responsible for the Royal Podcast FlopSure, everyone’s looking at Harry and Meghan, but it takes two parties to tango.
  11. tv review
    Siren Goes OffNetflix’s brutal new K-reality competition elevates strategic gameplay to an art form.
  12. podcasts
    Of Course The Anna Delvey Show Is a ConBut isn’t that why we’re here?
  13. 1.5x speed
    Planet Money Goes AIThe long-standing NPR series puts together a nearly passable episode using only artificial intelligence.
  14. emergency discussion
    It’s the End of Top Chef As We Know ItWith Padma Lakshmi’s departure, the venerable series is losing something irreplaceable. But its latest season hints at an even deeper identity crisis.
  15. 1.5x speed
    Who Needs the New York Times Audio App?The newspaper of record’s new product probably won’t replace your favorite podcast app.
  16. tv review
    Universes Collide in American Born ChineseThere’s a tender, vibrant coming-of-age story in Disney+’s new series, if you can find it beneath all the tiresome celestial conflict.
  17. podcasts
    The Podcast That Isn’t Afraid of James DolanReign of Error takes on the notorious businessman who controls Madison Square Garden (and the Knicks, Rangers, and Rockettes) with an iron fist.
  18. 1.5x speed
    Sex, Lies, and Podcast AudioJo Piazza’s podcast She Wants More gets women to open up about their extramarital relationships.
  19. tv review
    Drops of God Offers an Intoxicating PairingThe Apple TV+ manga adaptation overcomes clichéd writing to serve a series unlike anything else on TV.
  20. close read
    Darth GregHow Succession’s favorite moron learned to love being evil.
  21. 1.5x speed
    What Does the WGA Strike Mean for Podcasts?And your other mailbag questions, answered.
  22. vulture investigates
    Did Kendall Do a Deep Fake?Logan Roy returned to Succession via a couple of obviously doctored videos, but exactly how they were doctored is less clear.
  23. vulture food
    How to Prepare and Eat The Little Mermaid CastThese new character posters don’t look good, but with the right recipe, they have the potential to be great.
  24. swede talk
    Succession’s Next Top WeirdoFor all their defects, at least the Roy children have clear goals. Lukas Matsson, on the other hand …
  25. best pals
    Poor ColinAn ode to Succession’s most loyal working stiff, now adrift, in jeans, without a king to serve.
  26. psa
    Toad Is AsianIsn’t it obvious?
  27. 1.5x speed
    Is The Economist Making the Best News Podcasts Right Now?The staid magazine’s podcasts are pleasantly aloof, even indifferent — and immensely listenable.
  28. 1.5x speed
    When One Podcast Picks Up Where Another Leaves OffA new project from the Marshall Project finds some overlap with a recent Serial Productions series.
  29. the industry
    The NPR Layoffs Eat Into Its FutureThe public-radio mothership made some deep cuts this week as it leans back into its broadcast roots.
  30. close read
    The Uncomfortable Dissonance of Swarm’s Faux DocumentaryDespite a standout central performance, the penultimate episode rings hollow in a show heretofore luxuriating in ambiguity.
  31. 1.5x speed
    The People’s Maximum FunA pioneering podcast company becomes worker-owned.
  32. podcast review
    Holy Week and the Aftermath of MLK’s DeathThe new podcast from The Atlantic revisits the humans who got caught up in history.
  33. finales
    The Last of Us Is Faithful to the EndThe season finale’s climax effectively streamlines its source material but illuminates the show’s narrowing adaptational ambition.
  34. 1.5x speed
    What’s So Wrong About Human-Robot Romance?The podcast Bot Love explores what happens when people get intimate with AI.
  35. podcasts
    Can Anyone Trust The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling?The podcast says it wants to have a conversation. What it really wants to do is give a sermon.
  36. podcast review
    The Coldest Case in Laramie Is Serial’s Grimmest Production YetAnd yet the show repeats many of Serial’s most familiar themes.
  37. 1.5x speed
    A Podcast Reconsiders the Romantic ComedyThe hosts of Let’s Make a Rom-Com analyze the genre — and try to write their own script.
  38. you are getting sleepy
    Joe Pera, the Sleep KingTalking to the comedian and his collaborator Ryan Dann about their new podcast, writing songs, and being slow.
  39. 1.5x speed
    What Does Spotify Want From Podcasts Now?A closer look at a head-spinning week in the audio industry.
  40. backstories
    ‘A Rosetta Stone for The Last of Us’How two non-player characters and an unexpected love story elevated the HBO series beyond its source material.
  41. 1.5x speed
    Four Podcasters to Watch in 2023And what they’re excited to work on next.
  42. close read
    Break Point’s Noble LosersSports stories have long tended to focus on the greats. What about just being in the struggle?
  43. close read
    The Last of Us Levels Up Its OpeningIn its first 25 minutes, the HBO adaptation achieves an energy the game longed to emulate.
  44. close read
    What’s Happening to Nonfiction Sports Storytelling?Welcome to Wrexham is God-tier branded content disguised as documentary. It’s also a portent of what’s to come.
  45. 1.5x speed
    This Could Be a Rough Year for the Podcast IndustryWe spoke to dozens of insiders and creators about 2023 trends, gripes, and potential pitfalls.
  46. vulture lists
    The Best Fake Podcasts of the YearFrom X, Y, and Me to The 11th Brick at Stonewall.
  47. vulture recommends
    The Town Was the Perfect Podcast for the Year Hollywood Went CrazyThe series launched in March and quickly became the watercooler of choice for the streaming wars.
  48. survey says
    The Best Podcasts of 2022, According to People Who Make PodcastsWe asked over 220 creators, producers, and hosts what they’ve been listening to.
  49. podcast review
    The Evaporated Takes Us Into a Sociological MysteryTokyo Vice’s Jake Adelstein explores the Japanese phenomenon of disappearing yourself.
  50. the year of the nepo baby
    Can There Be Nepotism in Sports? Just Look at the NBA.Ranking some of the best sons in the league.
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