Mangesh’s life has been spent making things with friends—from a 3rd grade newspaper about neighborhood dogs (shockingly unpopular), to Mental Floss (more popular), to leading podcast dev at iHeart. Now he makes science shows with pals at Kaleidoscope.
I love making recommendations. I love hand-picking something to match people’s taste. And, if I’m being honest, in my head I like to picture myself as your friendly, neighborhood audio sommelier. I’ll scratch my chin, look into the distance, and then ask: What are you in the mood for? What are you planning to pair this with… a few loads of laundry? A long car ride? And often I recommend my favorite thing I’m working on at the moment: Shell Game is a superfun workplace roller coaster; getting No Such Thing on our network was such a joy. Currently, I’m loving Alice and Zoe’s reporting chops on Mind Games. Our whole roster is full of things I love, but for this, I thought I’d go to some older favorites… not so much the bigger shows that are always in my roster, like Heavyweight or Search Engine or The Daily Zeitgeist or Working it Out, but shows that have been companions for a while, and scratch a certain nerdy itch that isn’t news, and isn’t trending, but always leaves me smiling and wanting more.
Part-Time Genius
I hate talking about myself, so I asked my producer Mary, and she said: “Just start with some friendly self-promotion!” Mary is incredible. She helped me make my memoir show Skyline Drive about growing up Indian in America and losing my dad, but she steers the ship at PTG too. So, of course she teed this up for me: At Part-Time Genius, our mission is pretty simple: We’re here to celebrate knowledge, in all its weird and wonderful glory. That means uncovering surprising facts about familiar things (did you know the Mona Lisa used to have eyelashes?) and discovering incredible stuff we’ve never heard of before (turns out didgeridoos can cure sleep apnea). If you love science, history, travel, light banter, trivia games, occasional interviews with super-smart people, and atomic fireballs (the official candy of PTG, which we pony express to listeners whenever we can!), this is the show for you.
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
I had a friend who moved to Hawaii during the lockdown period of Covid and when I asked how the move was, she said: I feel so lucky that I look around and get to feel a sense of awe every day. That’s how I feel about Atlas Obscura. It makes me want to adventure; to explore; to revel and delight in the weirdness and wonder around me. And since I don’t often have time to take real world field trips to a Bad Art Museum or a Firefly Festival, I love that this show can transport me there.
Ologies with Alie Ward
I saw Alie Ward at a party once and I was too nervous to go up to her! I’ve had to talk to celebrities for various jobs, and big public intellectuals… but Alie Ward is a nerdy hero. I used to have a column at Mental Floss, this magazine my friend and I started, called Work Study, and it was always with people who had odd, specific jobs… and Alie Ward basically does that, in a hyper-specific field of science, and often in one I’d never heard of before. It’s rare that I’ll go to a cocktail party and bump into someone who studies porcupines for a living… but Alie Ward does, and my brain is happier for it!
Everything is Alive
This is so old, and I love Ian Chllag’s other stuff too, but this is a show I still evangelize about. The way Chillag brings these everyday items to life– from a can of soda to a paper towel dispenser– it’s just the loveliest, weirdest thing. And for me, it’s the way podcasts used to play and be so imaginative and experimental while creating pure delight. The other impressive thing to me, as someone who used to traffic in trivia, is that there is so much history and factual content baked into the conceit. It’s a joy to listen to.
Smash Boom Best
Ninjas or pirates? Pizza or tacos? I have two opinionated kids, and they got me into this debate show from the makers of Brains On! Greeking Out is also an excellent show for road trips, but the fun of Smash Boom Best is that each episode makes us laugh, and debate amongst ourselves, and then more often than not, sparks some hilarious and occasionally intense conversation in the car. (I learned, one of my kids believes strongly in the superiority of Hula Hoops over jumpropes; not something I ever expected anyone to have an opinion on.)
Science Friday
I was obsessed with Flora Lichtman’s show Every Little Thing. (Honestly, my admiration for flamingos and the way they withstand icy conditions, but also drink boiling hot water, comes entirely from her!) But I get my fix of Flora (and the wonderful Ira Flatow) these days on Science Friday. There’s lots that’s newsworthy, but it’s the explanation of the quirky stuff: the physics of figure skating, Greenland sharks with forever-young eyes, or the way bonobos imagine, that keeps me coming back.
Curious Cases
We (the Part-time Genius team) was so happy to see this show came back for a new season. Listeners call in with very eclectic questions, and hosts Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain attempt to resolve them using the power of science. And at the risk of sounding American, the accents are delightful!
Articles of Interest
I’m not particularly fashionable (they say your fashion sense kind of gets preserved in amber the age you get married, and that’s certainly true for me.) But I think Avery Trufelman’s way of weaving story and history, and making me care about things I didn’t think I’d care about is stunning. Suddenly, I see someone wearing a Hawaiian shirt and have an admiration for it; or look at prep style and think about how Japan sent sociologists to create a national style. The episode on perfumes and colognes is something I think about a lot, as is the peek into style casting. Avery has this wonderful way of taking something I thought was purely aesthetic and revealing the history and power behind the stitching.
Stuff You Should Know
I used to work at How Stuff Works, and all the hosts were so smart, but also so kind– from Holly and Tracy at History Stuff, to the guys behind Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know. And it’s hard to pick just one to recommend. But Josh and Chuck are just the best, as is their silent powerhouse of a producer (and most lovely person) Jeri. I love the warmth, and the way they never talk down to you, but show you how any topic is one you should know, if you approach it with genuine curiosity and look at it just-so in that light. Also, if you get a chance to see them live, go!
BONUS EPISODE:
There are so many individual episodes of things I could recommend, but just because I’ve been thinking a lot about it this week, I want to shout out my friend Foster Kamer’s episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. It’s called One on One: The Untold Story of the Game that Made Magic. Both my co-founder Will and I grew up idolizing Magic Johnson as kids. We both played basketball (him better than me!) and it was hard not to be dazzled by the Lakers. But this story about a player who played one-on-one with Magic after he announced he had HIV, when he was being treated like a pariah, is just so deeply human. And if I can use my little company Kaleidoscope to make shows that weave trivia, rabbit holes, and such deep humanity the way Pablo and Foster did here (and my old Mental Floss colleague Neely!), I could die happy.
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