Story of the Week with Joel Stein

Pushkin Industries

On Story of the Week, “journalist” Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

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Our Editor's Take

The podcast Story of the Week with Joel Stein is not a traditional news show. It talks about current events and trending topics on social media, but the execution is different. Joel's goal is to share information in a unique way to help people pay attention. This is an idea he got when he moved to NYC in the 90s. Back then, people would start conversations at dinner parties with the same question. As he says, it was always, "Did anyone read that article in The New Yorker?" People who wouldn't want to seem uneducated answered yes, and a conversation began. The problem is even people who answered "yes" might not have read it. The people who started the conversation were looking to establish dominance.

With this podcast, Joel wants to recreate those dinner party discussions. But this time it won't be irritating, because the person speaking is the one who wrote the story. The person they'll be chatting with (that's Joel) actually read the article. He isn't pretending to be polite or seem educated. More than that, he shares followup questions and observations after the article. As a fellow journalist, he's skilled at this part of the job.

During his 25-year career, Joel wrote for countless media outlets. He published over 20 stories on the cover of The New Yorker. He had a weekly column at both Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. The journalist even led a writing class at the prestigious Princeton University. If he wanted to, he could write the investigative articles that everyone is talking about. But the podcast host doesn't. Instead, he wants other journalists to do the hard work on Story of the Week with Joel Stein. Then, he wants to analyze and ask questions after.

With the help of The Story of the Week with Joel Stein, articles stay in the public's eye longer. Instead of moving on to the next outrageous tweet or quote, he encourages people to explore and discuss a topic. This podcast may charm listeners who like to learn and laugh at the same time.

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Introducing Story of the Week

Introducing Story of the Week

Every week host Joel Stein picks a long magazine article that fascinates him – and then actually reads the whole thing, all by himself. Then he calls his fellow, but greatly superior journalist friend who wrote it, and gets them to tell him all about it. He does the work and you get the stories. More accurately, some great journalist does the work and Joel Stein puts his name, Joel Stein, on the podcast. Coming October 20th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episodes

Revisiting: The Surprising, Queer History of the 1974 Oscars Streaker

Revisiting: The Surprising, Queer History of the 1974 Oscars Streaker

With the 96th Academy Awards this Sunday, we wanted to revisit this episode from last year. The Oscars seems to be cursed with a series of chaotic live television gaffes. But one moment in Academy Award history takes the cake. In 1974, a scrawny white man named Robert Opel ran across the stage butt naked, right as the Best Picture category was being announced. New Yorker magazine writer and Oscars aficionado Michael Schulman recounts the queer, wonderful, and historic life of the 1974 Oscars streaker. You can read the full story here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/06/what-became-of-the-oscar-streaker You can find Michael Schulman’s new book Oscar Wars here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Variable Man with Gary Goldman and Angus Fletcher | Development Hell

The Variable Man with Gary Goldman and Angus Fletcher | Development Hell

Gary Goldman was a writer on “Total Recall”, a Philip K. Dick adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzeneger. It was a big hit. So why do Gary and his writing partner, Angus Fletcher, have so much trouble selling another Philip K. Dick adaptation? They tell Malcolm that it all came down to a roller coaster ride of plot twists that even A-List action actors couldn’t stomach, and an early attempt at AI that was too dumb to pick a smart script.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Duck Tales Bandit

The Duck Tales Bandit

After his cartooning career failed to take off, a German artist named Arno Funke started extorting department stores. He went by “Dagobert,” the German name for the character of Scrooge McDuck in the cartoon DuckTales. His crime spree lasted for years and made him a folk hero across Germany. Recently, reporter Jeff Maysh got to meet him. You can read Jeff Maysh’s New Yorker article “The Strange Story of Dagobert, the ‘DuckTales’ Bandit” here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-banditSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the Bronze Age Pervert Became a Far Right Icon

How the Bronze Age Pervert Became a Far Right Icon

“Bronze Age Pervert” is the moniker of an influential far-right thinker. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. His book is a top-seller on Amazon, and was reviewed by a former Trump administration official. Journalist Graeme Wood knew him before all that, back when he was just a college student in tevas. You can read Graeme Wood’s Atlantic story “How Bronze Age Pervert Charmed the Far Right” here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/bronze-age-pervert-costin-alamariu/674762/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learning to Be Blind

Learning to Be Blind

When Andrew Leland was a teenager he learned he had a rare disease that would cause him to become blind by the time he reached middle age. He recently decided to prepare by attending a special school for blind people. You can read Andrew’s essay for the New Yorker, “How to Be Blind” here: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/how-to-be-blind And you can find Andrew’s new book, The Country of the Blind here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635964/the-country-of-the-blind-by-andrew-leland/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Billion Dollar Green Energy Scam

The Billion Dollar Green Energy Scam

A car mechanic named Jeff Carpoff invented a portable solar generator. Companies like Geico and Progressive Insurance bought thousands of his generators because they got tax credits for doing so. But there was something not quite right about Carpoff’s invention. You can read Ariel Saber’s Atlantic story, “The Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme that hooked Warren Buffett and the US Treasury,” here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/dc-solar-power-ponzi-scheme-scandal/673782/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Confessions of a Wedding Planner

Confessions of a Wedding Planner

Xochitl Gonzalez spent years planning the weddings of New York’s wealthiest couples. This is the story of the craziest wedding she’s ever planned. You can read Xochitl Gonzalez’s Atlantic story “The Fake Poor Bride,” here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/07/luxury-wedding-planners-industrial-complex-cost/674169/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pancake Battles

The Pancake Battles

A developer named Domenic Broccoli wanted to build an IHOP in Fishkill, New York. But after it was discovered that the plot of land he was planning to build on may have been a Revolutionary War grave site, he became embroiled in a war of his own. You can read Reeves Wiedeman’s New York Magazine story “The Battle of Fishkill” here: https://www.curbed.com/article/ihop-fishkill-ny-domenic-broccoli-revolutionary-war.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Much is an Elephant Worth?

How Much is an Elephant Worth?

Laos used to be known as “the land of a million elephants.” Now, there are only about 800 elephants left in the country. Reporter Paul Kvinta went undercover to learn about the illegal elephant trade, and ended up putting in an offer on an elephant himself. You can read read Paul Kvinta’s Outside Magazine story “I Bought an Elephant to Find Out How to Save Them,” here: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/asian-elephant-trafficking-captivity-laos/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Implosion of a Leading Anti-COVID Vaccine Group

The Implosion of a Leading Anti-COVID Vaccine Group

Simone Gold, a former ER doctor, is the founder of a non-profit called “America’s Frontline Doctors,” known for spreading misinformation about COVID. After she was arrested for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection, she received millions of dollars in donations. And that’s when the feuding within her organization began. You can read Joel Stein’s Financial Times story, “How a squad of MAGA warriors flush with cash turned on each other” here: https://www.ft.com/stream/3264fe6d-3997-493c-9f77-e565bd75eb1aSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to Break a Guinness World Record

How to Break a Guinness World Record

How did the Guinness World Records company come to be? And how, in the age of the internet, does the company make money? Imogen West-Knights spent a year investigating. She learned how to be a record adjudicator (it’s riskier than it sounds), met a man who has broken more than 700 records, and tried to break a record herself. You can read Imogen West-Knight’s Guardian story, “The Strange Survival of Guinness World Records,” here: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/may/25/guinness-world-records-norris-mcwhirter-ashrita-furman See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Visit to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Factory

A Visit to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Factory

The history of Dr. Bronner’s soap is even crazier than the famously crazy writing on the side of a Dr. Bronner’s soap bottle. The company was founded by a man who escaped from a mental asylum. Now it is the top-selling natural soap brand in North America. How did this happen? Carrie Battan paid their headquarters a visit to find out. You can read Carrie Battan’s GQ story, “Is Dr. Bronner’s the Last Corporation With a Soul,” here: https://www.gq.com/story/dr-bronners-corporate-successSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Never-Ending Treasure Hunt

The Never-Ending Treasure Hunt

In 2010, an art collector named Forrest Fenn published a memoir called “The Thrill of the Chase,” in which he described hiding a treasure chest somewhere in the United States. His memoir inspired hundreds of thousands of treasure hunters to scour the country for it. Now, over a decade later, much about this chest still remains a mystery. You can read Svati Kirsten Narula’s story “America’s Greatest Hidden Treasure Was Found—So Why Are People Still Looking?” here: https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a43061508/forrest-fenn-treasure-hunt/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Undercover Romance

An Undercover Romance

A woman in Louisiana named Donna Metrejean fell in love with a D.E.A agent in Oregon named Robert Golden. She uprooted her whole life to be with him. But all was not what it seemed. You can read Jeff Maysh’s story “Undercover Lovers” here: https://jeffmaysh.substack.com/p/undercover-lovers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Chappelle’s Neighborhood Drama

Dave Chappelle’s Neighborhood Drama

Comedian Dave Chappelle has been buying up properties in the tiny town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. The residents have mixed feelings about their powerful neighbor’s real estate decisions and it’s been splitting the town in two. Reporter Tyler J. Kelley paid a visit to Yellow Springs to see if it’s really becoming Chappelleville. You can read Tyler J. Kelley’s Bloomberg story “What Happens When Dave Chappelle Buys Up Your Town” here:https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-dave-chappelle-yellow-springs/#xj4y7vzkgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Bloomsday Mystery

A Bloomsday Mystery

In celebration of Bloomsday on June 16th, we’re bringing you a special James Joyce mystery. Ten years after achieving stratospheric and unlikely fame, the world’s greatest Ulysses scholar disappeared. Reporter Jack Hitt went on a quest to find out if he was dead, alive or insane.You can read Jack Hitt’s New York Times story “The Strange Case of the Missing Joyce Scholar, here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/magazine/the-strange-case-of-the-missing-joyce-scholar.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 15-Minute City Conspiracy

The 15-Minute City Conspiracy

When a benign urban planning concept is co-opted by conspiracy theorists, an unsuspecting professor becomes the target of right-wing death threats. Tiffany Hsu covered the story of the 15 minute city conspiracy for The New York Times. You can read the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/technology/carlos-moreno-15-minute-cities-conspiracy-theories.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Gathering of Thought Criminals

The Gathering of Thought Criminals

Every month in New York City, a small group of people who feel like they’ve been ostracized for holding unpopular opinions and their supporters meet up to chat, debate, and even sing folk songs. Reporter Emma Green attended a recent gathering. You can read Emma Green’s New Yorker story “The Party is Cancelled” here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-party-is-cancelled See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside the Most Important Microchip Factory in the World

Inside the Most Important Microchip Factory in the World

Nearly all of the high-end microchips in the world - the ones we depend on for our phones and cars – are manufactured in an unassuming factory in Taiwan. Virginia Heffernan is one of the few reporters to go inside. She wrote about what she saw for Wired. You can read Virginia Heffernan's story, "I Saw the Face of God in a Semiconductor Factory" here: https://www.wired.com/story/i-saw-the-face-of-god-in-a-tsmc-factory/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bringing Tiffany Dover Back to Life

Bringing Tiffany Dover Back to Life

When a nurse named Tiffany Dover fainted on camera after getting a Covid vaccine, anti-vaxxers assumed the worst. Shortly after, the internet was awash in conspiracy theories that she was dead. NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny set out to prove that Tiffany Dover was alive. This turned out to be more difficult than she could have imagined. You can read Brandy Zadrozny’s story, “Conspiracy theorists made Tiffany Dover into an anti-vaccine icon,” here: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/tiffany-dover-conspiracy-theorists-silence-rcna69401 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.