Pause Play Repeat: The Rate & Review Podcast

This week we’re talking about HACKERS and CYBER CRIME.

The Lazarus Heist podcast tells the story of the Lazarus group, an illicit ring of hackers that investigators say are linked to North Korea. The group attempted to steal over a billion US dollars and are said to be behind the 2014 Sony hack.

So this week we discuss our encounters with North Korea and the problematic, dehumanizing way North Koreans tend to be depicted. Does this podcast do anything to dismantle these tropes? And what are North Korean booze cruises and why are they so deeply unethical?

Lazarus Heist is a podcast produced by the BBC World Service with North Korea expert and former correspondent Jean Lee, and Geoff White, an investigative journalist and technology specialist.

We LOVE investigative stories. No really, we are addicted. But… sometimes… we feel like we are the ones doing the work. In this episode, we are talking about FINDING NATASHA by Message Heard. The story seems to have everything we love, a good question, a fascinating family history, USSR scaries and ballet (Anya squeals here). The one thing we were left confused by was the true crime promises the podcast was actually selling us – were they there? We aren’t so sure. Listen to us talk about what branding means for pods and why we are all so truly obsessed with the true crime genre even if it gives us the ick.

FINDING NATASHA is produced by Message Heard. 

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! IT'S OUR FIRST BONUS EPISODE! 

On last week's episode we discussed the Off Menu Podcast, a food podcast where British comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble sit down with a guest and ask them about their dream meal.

So we thought, why not discuss our favorite dishes too? 

So here you are, a short-mini-bonus episode all about food food FOOD! (And also: torturing ducks, #jianbingmemories, and why Russian and Swedish food sucks – sorry not sorry).

This week's episode is about SHEER feel-good listening: it's the Off Menu Podcast!

Every week, British comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble sit down with a celebrity (broadcasters, comedians, chefs) and ask them their favorite ever starter, main course, desert, side dish, and drink (but not in that order!)

Whenever we need a comfort podcast, this is our go-to! Long-time listeners quickly feel like they're part of the gang, keeping up with the inside jokes, learning more and more about the lives of the hosts.

Because that's why a lot of people love listening to podcasts right? To feel like you're a part of the crew, to get a new group of friends that don't even know you exist. Or is that just us?

Para-social relationships are a big thing for podcast listeners. In this episode we deep-dive into the weird relationship podcast listeners have with podcast host. We also try to analyze what makes this podcast so lovable – and why Brits love chips and hate lychees.

This podcast is produced by Plosive and the great Benit....erm...Ben Williams.

It is not black. It is not white. It is… grey. In this week’s episode we are listening to INTO THE GREY ZONE by Sky News and Deborah Haynes. From assassinations to disinformation, we touch on how states can stay out of ‘war’ as we might know it, but also be perpetually in it. We talk about the dangers of only looking outward when discussing foreign affairs, and also question our perceptions of international nerdiness and biases. Plug in this pod for your dose of scary reality, and relax to the sound of us screaming to the most dramatic music ever.

This podcast is produced by Sky News and it is reported by Deborah Haynes. All soundbites were used with permission from Sky News.  

Just a heads up: in this episode we discuss the way The Baron of Botox depicts suicide.

The beauty industry is pretty messed up. It’s an industry that feeds off of our insecurities and bombards us with air-brushed beauty standards. Luckily, lots of recent reporting has tried to expose this...

...but not all reporting.

Which takes us to this week’s podcast. A podcast about the beauty industry which we felt...might have missed the mark.

The Baron of Botox is about one of Hollywood’s most famous botox pioneers, Dr. Fredric Brandt, whose clients included Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow among others. He was a much-loved, caring, yet very troubled person.

This podcast attempts to look into the dark side of the beauty industry and to figure out what makes the industry’s leading figures tick.

So what does it get wrong? Have a listen to see what we thought!

This podcast is produced by Imperative Entertainment. It is reported by Justine Harman.

Is there a way to transform the way we listen to podcasts? What would change podcasting forever? In this episode, we take a tip from Saga’s sister Rima and relax to the sound of our first ever fiction pod that is revolutionizing our listening experience. We talk about what it means when podcasts break down our perceptions of an audio-drama, discuss why nonfiction pods rely on end-of-episode hooks, Saga imitates a door and Anya urges all to ‘supete us.’ As you can probably tell, things get a little funky as we chat about this groovy pod that had us hooked – Within the Wires. Listen to our review of a first podcast that received the coveted FIVE booms.

This podcast is produced by Night Vale Presents, it is written by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson.  Janina Matthewson also presents the podcast.

The soundbites for this episode were used with permission from Night Vale Presents. You can find more here: http://www.nightvalepresents.com 

Just a heads up: we discuss domestic abuse in this episode. If you don’t want to hear that, maybe skip this one. Stay tuned for happier episodes (they’re coming, we promise!).

Dirty John was released right around the time everyone was going CRAZY for true crime podcasts. And it makes sense. This podcast tells the hair-raising story of a dangerous con man, who nestles his way into a family and eventually splits it apart. It touches on that weirdly twisted part of ourselves that wants to understand what makes psychopaths tick.

So is this just a classic true crime podcast? Or does it do something different with the genre?

We discuss what makes the podcast so popular, and whether it falls prey to some of our least favorite true-crime tropes.

This podcast is produced by the LA Times and Wondery, it's hosted and reported by Christopher Goffard, a crime reporter for the LA Times.

Unsolicited pics, reality TV that rotted our brains, and the very sad truth of being a woman on the internet – you guessed it, it’s a Catfish review! If you (just like Saga) don’t know what Catfish the TV show is, we are here to introduce you to a world of guilty pleasures. In this episode, we travel back in time and then forward into the future where MTV is trying to be cool again by becoming a radio show. We also question our own addictions to reality drama and wonder, is there even space for this new genre of reality podcasts in today’s world? Press play and enjoy our battles with mindless obsessions.

Catfish the Podcast is produced by MTV and Wondery. 

Not an opera fan? No fear! Aria Code is a podcast that tries to fix that. In each episode, host Rhiannon Giddens dissects a famous piece of operatic music (an aria) with the help of opera singers, scholarly experts and opera fanatics.

Do they do a good job of convincing us opera is the coolest new thing? Listen to this episode to see what we thought! (Plus: Saga takes a stab at singing Mozart’s Queen of the Night).

In our second episode, we go deep into the jungle… to find a prince. Made by the NYT, “The Jungle Prince” is the perfect award-winning story that tells us a fascinating tale about history and a mysterious family. What’s not to love?! Plus, listen to us figure out the true measure of success (hint, it's the pub quiz). 

This week Pause Play Repeat is reviewing The Missionary podcast. It is an 8-part series which tells the story of a young American missionary who moved to Uganda and set up a malnutrition program. Once praised as a role model back home, she finds herself decades later accused of running an unlicensed clinic where it is rumored hundreds of children died. The podcast explores what went wrong and how this story can help shed light on the dangers of missionary work as a whole.

The Missionary podcast is produced by iHeartRadio and is hosted and reported by journalists Rajiv Golla, Halima Gikandi and Malcolm Burnley.