Surprisingly Awesome

The Lo Life Oct 06, 2017

Gimlet Media has a new podcast all about the beautiful and complicated dimensions of Black life. It's called The Nod, and it's hosted by best friends (and Blackness' biggest fans) Eric Eddings and Brittany Luse. In this episode, Eric tells Brittany all about his love for Polo Ralph Lauren—and the story of one group of boosters in Brooklyn who took their own love for Polo to another level.

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The Hide Rug of the Plant World Apr 25, 2017

Every Little Thing, hosted by Flora Lichtman, is a show about the joy of finding things out. In this episode, learn about where office plants come from and what they're secretly communicating.

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A Message from Gimlet CEO Alex Blumberg Apr 12, 2017

A goodbye from Surprisingly Awesome. And hello to Every Little Thing.

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Update Jan 19, 2017

Our theme music is by Nicholas Britell. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, produced by Christine Driscoll, and mixed by Zac Schmidt.

If you want to subscribe to Twice Removed (you do!) you can use this link, or search for it wherever you get your podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1182594071

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Your Holiday Binge Listen Dec 22, 2016

Hey Surprisingly Awesome listeners - we think you'll love Homecoming, a fiction thriller from Gimlet Media. It was written by Eli Horowitz and Micah Blumberg, and stars some talented people you may have heard of, like Catherine Keener, Oscar Isaac, David Schwimmer, David Cross, and Amy Sedaris.

The whole first season is out now, and it's the perfect thing to binge-listen to this holiday season. We're playing the first episode here, and you can go listen and subscribe to Homecoming to hear the rest.

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Surprise Surprise! Nov 21, 2016

Hey Surprisingly Awesome listeners - we think you'll love Undone, a new show from Gimlet Media. It's about how the big stories we thought were over, were actually the beginning of something else.

Hosted by Pat Walters and developed with help from the documentary series Retro Report, Undone challenges what you thought you knew about history.

Want to hear the rest of the episode? Subscribe at gimletmedia.com/fallseason

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#23 The Wedding Oct 19, 2016

Something borrowed, something blue, something that explains why weddings look the way they do.

The Facts

Our theme music is by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Christine Driscoll, Elizabeth Kulas, and Rikki Novetsky. Sylvie Douglis and Nick Fountain field produced at the wedding.

Thank you to Sue and Austin’s friends and family for letting us ask so many questions and bother you during the whole wedding.

Thanks to Jorge Just -- and sorry we forgot to thank you last time, and to our beloved mix engineer Andrew Dunn. ANDREW DUNN MIXED THIS EPISODE, he always mixes our episodes, and we have not been great about remembering to tell you that!

Additional production assistance came from Jacob Cruz, Emily Kennedy, Melanie Kruvelis, Sarah Melton and Sarah Stoddard.

Thank you to Karen Klaiber Hersch, Gayle Strege, Patrick O’Neil, Jennifer Gellmann and Sharon Boulani.

And finally, stay posted with us as we report the next season. You can follow us on Twitter, subscribe to the newsletter, or subscribe to us on your podcatcher for all our cool updates!

See you in 2017!

Learn More

If you want to learn more Folk-Lore of Women you can access it via the wonderful Project Gutenberg at this link.

Did you like learning the value of the garter industry in 1952? What a rebel - you probably need Dr. Vicki Howard's book at this link or your local library.

There are a lot of wedding traditions out there! We obviously didn't cover them all! There's a great history about women changing their last names by Dr. Sophie Coulombeau at the BBC. For some funny and insightful thoughts on the prevalence of Corinthians in wedding vows, check out this essay by Kate Braestrup at Huffington Post.

Our Sponsors

Blue Apron – Delivering all the fresh ingredients you need to create home-cooked meals. Click now to get your first three meals for free.

Casper – Get $50 towards any Casper Mattress purchase by visiting casper.com/awesome and using the offer code “AWESOME”.

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#22 Wedding Planning Oct 05, 2016

This week: It's awesome in the sacred sense - but stressful in the practical sense.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings.

Additional music came from Kyle Morton, Sex Life, and Xolo

We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll and Rikki Novetsky. Our field producers were Sylvie Douglis and Nick Fountain.

Production Assistance came from Jacob Cruz, Emily Kennedy, Melanie Kruvelis, Jessica Langley, Sarah Melton, and Sarah Stodder.

Thank you to Meg Keene at A Practical Wedding, Erin Boll, proprietrix of the Instagram account Pisces Bride, Stevie Lane who designed our wedding invitation, and for helping us find Sue and Austin.

Learn More

Source for the inverse relationship between the cost of weddings and duration of marriages: ‘A Diamond is Forever’ and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration. At one point this was the most downloaded paper on SSRN, the database we found it on.

Here's the link to Tamara Sniezek's paper, Is It Our Day or the Bride’s Day? The Division of Wedding Labor and Its Meaning for Couples. You'll never look at invitations the same way again.

Several years ago, Slate did a great, concise post about wedding averages and how they're reported, The Wedding Industry's Pricey Little Secret.

Rebecca Mead's book is called One Perfect Day, and you can check it out at the library, like we did, or get it... you know where. (Amazon, you can buy books on Amazon.)

Our Sponsors

eero - For free overnight shipping, visit eero.com and at checkout select overnight shipping then enter “awesome" to make it free

Hello Fresh - To get $35 off your first week of deliveries visit hellofresh.com and enter promo code "AWESOME"

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#21 Postal Addresses Sep 21, 2016

4 billion people in the world don't have standard addresses - so how do they get mail?

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings.

They were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser. Peter Clowney weighed in too. The show was produced by Elizabeth Kulas, Christine Driscoll and Rachel Ward. It was mixed by Andrew Dunn. Special thanks to Maeve Higgins, who brought us that Vonnegut essay.

We had production assistance from Shani Aviram, Jacob Cruz, Emily Kennedy, Rikki Novetsky and Sarah Stodder.

Additional music for this episode came from Our Many Stars, Onry Ozzborn, and One Two Three.

Sponsors

Frank & Oak – Go to frankandoak.com/awesome to get your first outfit for $79 (a pair of pants and a shirt).

Prudential - Download the MapMyRun app and join the Prudential 4.01K challenge. When you do, pledge to save at least 1% or more of your annual income for retirement and run and log 4.01K to be eligible to win a prize.

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#20 Crying Sep 07, 2016

THE FACTS:

Surprisingly Awesome’s Theme Music is “This is How We Do” by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, Alex Blumberg, and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll and Elizabeth Kulas. We were mixed by Andrew Dunn.

Austin Thompson mixed Matthew Boll’s music. Thank you to Joe Staples. Jacob Cruz, Emma Jacobs, Tiffany Lee, Rikki Novetsky, Elah Feder, Melanie Kruvelis, and Jacqui Helbert provided production assistance.

LEARN MORE:

If you want to hear more from Tim Manley, look for his web series “The Feels,” and check out his storytelling at The Moth.

Dr. Nina Kraus at Northwestern University sent us the Smoke on the Water music – you can learn more about her lab at www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.

You can hear more of Matthew Boll at americanvacation.org and follow him on Twitter @bigbearii.

OUR SPONSORS:

Frank & Oak – Go to frankandoak.com/awesome to get your first outfit for $79 (a pair of pants and a shirt).

Lenovo – See how Lenovo is revolutionizing data center technology.

Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free.

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#19 Cardboard Aug 24, 2016

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s Theme Music is “This is How We Do” by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll and Elizabeth Kulas. Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.

Additional music came from Danca, Nathan Michel, and Marmoset.

Jacob Cruz, Cheyna Roth, Emma Jacobs, Rikki Novetsky, Anna Stitt, NPR West and WERU in Blue Hill, Maine provided production assistance.

Our Sponsor

Lenovo - See what Lenovo is doing to revolutionize datacenter technology at www.lenovo.com/datacenter

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Surprise Surprise! Aug 16, 2016

Don't fret - we'll have a regularly scheduled Surprisingly Awesome for you next week, but this week, we wanted to share something special with you, since Surprisingly Awesome listeners love learning new things.

It's a new Gimlet Media show called Science Vs., that pits the facts against everything else: everything your uncle says at Thanksgiving, everything you read on the internet, and everything you half overheard in a coffee shop.

We're sending you a segment of the Science Vs. series about gun control. If you want to hear more, subscribe where ever you get your podcasts!

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#18 Yoga Aug 10, 2016

This week, we found many surprising twists, turns, and holds in the story of modern yoga.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s Theme Music is “This is How We Do” by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll and Elizabeth Kulas. Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.

Jacob Cruz, James T. Green, Emma Jacobs, Rikki Novetsky, and Benjamin Riskin provided production assistance.

Additional music in this episode is "Santoor and Tabla at Assi Ghat, Varanasi" by Samuel Corwin and "Electronica Tanpura 9" by sankalp.

Learn More

If you want to learn more about Wendy Doniger’s banned book, you can check out its page on Amazon here -- Christine is in the middle of reading it and highly recommends it, and we are linking through Amazon so you can check out the reviews and get a window into the controversy surrounding it.

Or if you just wanna hear more about Indra Devi (and who wouldn’t?!) you can read more about her and get a copy of Michelle Goldberg’s book here. Adam “can’t recommend it enough!”

And if you're like, "no way, take me to the science!" You can read more about the current research on the health benefits of yoga, by checking out UCLA’s longer interview with Dr. Helen Lavretsky, or a super informative article from Julia Belluz at Vox -- "I read more than 50 scientific studies about yoga. Here's what I learned."

Finally... Flossgate continues! You can head to our show page at www.gimletmedia.com/surprisinglyawesome to hear an extra interview and read some of the studies we looked at while building our flossing show.

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#17.5 Untangling Flossgate 2016 Aug 05, 2016

Is it really true that you never need to floss again?

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Andrew Dunn and Austin Thompson mixed this episode. This episode was edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and produced by Rachel Ward and Christine Driscoll.

Sponsor

Spotify Discover

Learn More

Read the AP article that everyone is talking about.

Read the systematic review that no one is talking about.

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#17 Flossing Jul 27, 2016

The Facts

This week, we're joined by comedian Maeve Higgins.

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Andrew Dun mixed this episode.This episode was edited by Annie-Rose Strasser, and Peter Clowney and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll, and Elizabeth Kulas.

Jacob Cruz, David Pitman, and Laura Varela provided production assistance.

Thank you to New England Public Radio and KQED in San Francisco.

Learn More

Impress us and Punmaster Gary Roma with your best #flossipher puns and send them to us at @SurprisingShow

Did you like our incredibly fast description of biofilm? You can read a very approachable primer about the biofilm in your mouth here.

Not enough floss, hoss? You can get more flossing fix in the ebook - The Joy of Flossing, which we read for this episode. It's just 42 pages and it you'll even find some philosophy in there, too.

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#16 Follow-ups Jun 28, 2016

Journey with us back in time - but also forward in time because this is a new episode, revisiting old topics.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme song is by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser. We were produced by Christine Driscoll, Kalila Holt,Elizabeth Kulas, and Rachel Ward.

Rikki Novetsky provided production assistance. Additional music for this episode came from The Brotherhood.

Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.

Did you have fun with Wendy? Subscribe to Science Vs. so you don't miss the first episode, out July 28!

Intern for Reply All!

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#15 Extinct Hockey Jun 15, 2016

John Hodgman learns that the advantage of extinct hockey is that it can't break your heart.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme song is by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser. We were produced by Kalila Holt and Rachel Ward.

Isabel Angel, Misha Euceph, Piers Gelly, Elizabeth Kulas, Kyle McAuley, and Rikki Novetsky provided production assistance. Additional music for this episode came from Podington Bear and Lux Finite.

Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.

Notes

After you listen to the episode, take a look at John's new logo, designed by Peter Good.

If you're curious, here's the article that helped us track down the hipster.

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#14 I Told You Sos Jun 01, 2016

To all the haters, and all the doubters, we told you we could make anything awesome.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.This episode was edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg, and produced by Rachel Ward and Kalila Holt. Lily Ames, Isabel Angel, Jacob Cruz, James Green, and Kyle McAuley provided production assistance.

Here's the Bill Blankschaen post about how Jesus gets to say I told you so.

We're still taking your I Told You So stories! Email us a voice memo about a time you were right, and someone else was wrong, at itoldyouso@gimletmedia.com. Keep it to around a minute.

Sponsor

Eero

Wealthsimple

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#13 Insults May 18, 2016

Yo mama so fat we did a whole podcast about her.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings.

This episode was edited by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward and Kalila Holt. Isabel Angell, Jacob Cruz, James Green, Katie Klocksin and Tarek Fouda provided production assistance.

Zac Schmidt and Austin Thompson mixed the episode.

Sponsors

Ford

Wealthsimple

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#12 Mattresses May 04, 2016

Adam and Adam get chased out of a mattress store.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Original music in this episode was composed by Trouble Books, and Nick DePrey and Louis Weeks.

This episode was edited by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward and Kalila Holt. Isabel Angell, Jacob Cruz, Emma Jacobs and Robyn Wholey provided production assistance.

Special thanks to Karla Webb at the Bienenstock Furniture Library, Peter McCarthy at the University of South Wales, Sandy Jap at Emory University, author of Partnering with the Frenemy, Dave Perry at FurnitureToday, and Kevin Purdy at The Sweethome.

Sponsors

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#11 Boredom Apr 19, 2016

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Nick DePrey and Louis Weeks composed original music for this week's episode.

This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg and Annie-Rose Strasser. It was produced by Kalila Holt and Rachel Ward. It was mixed by David Herman with assistance from Matthew Boll. Robyn Wholey provided production assistance. Special thanks to Jacob Cruz and Isabel Angell.

Additional thanksto Peter Toohey at the University of Calgary, Richard Wolff at the New School, and Mary Mann, author of the upcoming book “Yawn.” Gillian Tett’s very good book is “The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers.”

Sponsors

Ford

Audible

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#10 Circle of Fifths Apr 05, 2016

What one idea from music theory can tell us about culture, biology, math, physics and The Simpsons.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell.

Our ad music is by Build Buildings.

This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg and Annie-Rose Strasser. It was produced by Kalila Holt and Rachel Ward. It was mixed by Matthew Boll.

Eric Mennel and Robyn Wholey provided production assistance. Special thanks to Emma Jacobs.

Sponsors

Ford

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#9 Pigeons Mar 22, 2016

The greatest love story ever told: humans and rats with wings.

The Facts

Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Our credits theme was composed by Cobey Bienert and Jacob Boll, featuring Kevin Sparks, and produced by Matthew Boll. This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg, Caitlin Kenney, and Annie-Rose Strasser. It was produced by Kalila Holt and Rachel Ward. It was mixed by Andrew Dunn.

Jacob Cruz, Christine Driscoll and Emile Klein provided production assistance. Special thanks to Courtney Humphries, Andrew Blechman and Sarah Lohman.

Sponsors

Ford

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#8 Frequent Flyer Miles Mar 08, 2016

The world in a cup of pudding - or rather, 12,000 cups of pudding. The Facts Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg, Caitlin Kenney, and Annie-Rose Strasser. It was produced by Kalila Holt and Rachel Ward. It was mixed by David Herman. Emma Jacobs, Andrew Norton, Jacob Cruz and the Block House in Austin, Texas provided production assistance. Special thanks to Steve Belkin, Gary Leff, Mara Lederman, Conor Henderson and Michael McCall. Sponsors Casper Ford Squarespace

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#7 Adhesives Jan 26, 2016

If you want perfect stickiness, look to gecko feet - not a crayfish straightjacket. The Facts Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg and Caitlin Kenney, and produced by Rachel Ward and Kalila Holt, with help from Emma Jacobs, Jacob Cruz, Laura Sims, and was mixed by Andrew Dunn. Special thanks to Jody Roberts at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Sponsors Mack Weldon Squarespace NatureBox

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#6 Broccoli Jan 12, 2016

The epic struggle of parents versus kids. Yummy versus gross. Humans versus broccoli! The Facts Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is “How We Do” by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg and produced by Travis Larchuk and Rachel Ward, with help from Emma Jacobs and Caitlin Kenney. Andrew Dunn mixed the episode. Sponsors Mack Weldon Casper Audible.com

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#5 Interest Rates Dec 15, 2015

Just because it has the word "interest" in it doesn't mean it's interesting to a teenage girl. The Facts: Surprisingly Awesome’s theme music is "How We Do" by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. This episode was edited by Alex Blumberg and Peter Clowney and produced by Chris Neary and Rachel Ward, with help from Julia Kumari Drapkin. It was mixed by Michael Garofalo. Sponsors: Ministry of Supply Audible.com Squarespace

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#4 Tubthumping Dec 01, 2015

A 1990s pop hit reveals how the Adams feel about capitalism. The Facts Our theme music is “How We Do,” written, performed, and produced by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Sponsors Audible.com PC Does Whaaaat?!

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#3 Concrete Nov 17, 2015

From the dawn of human civilization, to the end of days: Concrete will outlast us all. The Facts The Reverend John DeLore and Michael Garafalo mixed this episode. John performed music for this episode, along with his bandmates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrick, Isamu McGregor, Jon LaDeau, Dominic Fallacaro. Thanks to Matthew Nelson for production assistance. Our theme music is “How We Do,” written, performed, and produced by Nicholas Britell. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Sponsors Audible.com PC Does Whaaaat?! – This week, we featured PC Carlos Arteaga, a 7th grader at Lighthouse Community Charter School.

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#2 Free Throws Nov 05, 2015

Adam McKay helps Adam "Who Cares about Sports" Davidson conquer the free throw. The Facts The Reverend John DeLore mixed this episode, and wrote and performed music for it, along with his bandmates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrick and Isamu McGregor. Our theme music is “How We Do,” written, performed, and produced by Nicholas Britell Our ad music is by Build Buildings Sponsors Audible.com Squarespace

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#1 Mold Nov 03, 2015

Mold giveth, and mold taketh away. The same not-quite plant, not-quite animal that causes cancer can also cure infections and unite long-lost family members. The Facts Original music for this episode by Mark Phillips and Elori Kramer Our theme music is "How We Do," written, performed, and produced by Nicholas Britell Our ad music is by Build Buildings Further Reading “Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds” by George Hudler Sponsors Audible.com PC Does Whaaaat?! Thanks to Geromy Moore Justin Trosclair of the St. James Cheese Company David Nally

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