If you’ve spent any time thinking about the sprawling history of crime and politics in Providence, Rhode Island in recent years, it’s probably because you’re familiar with Crimetown ...or you’re from there. In this week’s episode, Nick speaks with Marc Smerling, the pioneer true crime documentarian who co-created Crimetown with Zac Stuart-Pontier, and whose wildly accomplished resume includes Capturing The Friedmans, Catfish, and The Jinx. Smerling’s latest projects are FX’s A Wilderness of Error and its companion podcast, Morally Indefensible.

What is Hurricane Katrina's long, complicated legacy? Nick speaks with Vann Newkirk II, the host and one of the creators of The Atlantic's Floodlines, which reflects on the Katrina crisis 15 years later. What do the federal responses to Katrina and Covid-19 have in common? Can the people of New Orleans ever really "recover" from the tragedy of Katrina? And how did the team make one of the best-sounding podcasts of the year?

What makes a story…scary? You can cut this question a few different ways: through story structure, through sound design, through narrative mechanisms. In this week’s episode, Nick talks to Jeffrey Cranor, the co-creator of Welcome to Night Vale and co-writer of Within the Wires, about the ins and outs of building a scary, spooky, or creepy podcast experience. The episode also features notes from some great spooky pod creators — Unwell, Mabel, Here Be Monsters, Archive 81 — talking about the various ways they think about the nature of scary.

The latest season of Lost Notes, KCRW’s anthology podcast unearthing great stories from the music world that are generally lost to time, is distinct in two ways: first, all of its narratives are pulled from the relatively unlikely year of 1980, and second, it’s curated and hosted by the poet, essayist, and critic Hanif Abdurraqib. The end result is utterly gorgeous. In this week’s episode, Nick talks to Abdurraqib about focusing on 1980, the nature of legacy and fandom, and how to love things critically.

Kara Swisher is a journalism powerhouse known for cutting through the nonsense talking points and asking the tough questions to some of the most powerful people on the planet. She’s been doing this for nearly 30 years, and after launching two successful podcasts – Recode Decode and Pivot with Scott Galloway – she’s taking on her third: Sway with New York Times Opinion. In this week’s episode, Nick talks to Swisher about her new show’s focus – who has power and how they use it – the surprising place she found inspiration for seeking the truth, and her ultimate dream podcast guest.

Last month marked ten whole years of 99% Invisible, Roman Mars’ podcast about design, architecture, and things that quietly shape our world. That’s a long time to be making the same show, even if it’s one that’s recognized and beloved by millions. On this episode, Nick talks to Mars about the origins of 99% Invisible, the grind of making a weekly show for a decade, and how he thinks about the legacy of the podcast, and himself. They also talk about the 99% Invisible book, The 99% Invisible City, which Mars wrote with Kurt Kohlstedt, that’s coming out this month.

Nick offers a pair of podcast picks this week. You’re Wrong About and The Ringer’s The Cam Chronicles.

In these really rough times — and things sure do seem to get rougher by the day — it’s important to take care of yourself. However, the concept of “self-care” has become an increasingly complicated one in recent years, as it’s drifted further into the territory of rampant consumerism and corporate branding. Sometimes, what's needed is a really good guide that helps you find the right balance with retail therapy; to engage with it in a way that actually feels good to you. Forever35 happens to be one of those really good guides. Created in 2018 by the writers Doree Shafrir and Kate Spencer, the podcast quickly grew a strong following for its comfy, thoughtful approach to self-care. This week, Nick talks to the Forever35 hosts about starting the show, watching its community grow, and what's bringing them peace right now.