Story of the Week with Joel Stein
Story of the Week with Joel Stein
Playlist by Story of the Week with Joel SteinOn 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. Somet…Follow the podcast:
48 clip(s) in playlist
How Trump Won
Nate and Maria take a closer look at the results of the election. They discuss polling errors, prediction markets, demographic shifts, and campaign strategy. And Nate shares some parting advice for President Biden. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leap from Maria …
40:15Explicit
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…
38:18Explicit
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. Recen…
31:42
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 col…
32:02Explicit
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:/…
34:25Explicit
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 …
28:13Explicit
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-planner…
26:50
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 s…
27:29Explicit
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…
29:31
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 …
29:33