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Sarah Larson head shot - The New Yorker

Sarah Larson

Sarah Larson is a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her column, Podcast Dept., appears on newyorker.com.

Ken Jennings Has Some Questions About Death

The “Jeopardy!” host on the meaning of trivia, the awkwardness of personal anecdotes, and his new book—a travel guide to the afterlife.

Judy Blume’s Unfinished Endings

Her most famous novel, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is finally being adapted for the screen. But its mysteries remain rooted in real life.

Audie Cornish’s Long Struggle to Remake the News

Cornish has watched the media evolve, experiment, and experience dramatic layoffs. In “The Assignment,” her CNN podcast, she’s trying to find a new way forward.

An Upper East Side Temple of Culture Gets a Touch-Up

As 92NY prepares for its splashy sesquicentennial, modern-day Michelangelos restore a ninety-three-year-old ceiling mural of menorahs, lyres, and tablets.

Colin Quinn Just Wants to Make Small Talk

In his new show at the Lucille Lortel, the comedian examines how “Nice day, isn’t it?” and “How about those Mets?” can make the world a better place.

The Best Podcasts of 2022

There was plenty of turmoil in the industry, but many shows continued to nourish, illuminate, and delight.

How Weird Al Spoofed Himself

In a new bio-pic, the singer applies his talents to a surprising subject: his own rise to stardom.

“Rumble Strip,” a Limitless Podcast About Life in Vermont

In its attention to local detail and character, the show both honors place and transcends it.

The Unbearable Blandness of “Barney”

A new documentary explores how a singing dinosaur charmed—and perhaps rightfully enraged—a nation.

Unboxing Lou Reed’s Posthumous Parcel to Himself

After the death of the Velvet Underground front man, two archivists and his widow, Laurie Anderson, discovered a mysterious sealed package from 1965. Inside was treasure: never-before-heard, folky versions of “Heroin” and other classics.

The “House of the Dragon” Première Recap: A Bad-Heir Day

The “Game of Thrones” spinoff tries to recapture the magic through nostalgic detail, family fights, and grisly scenes of childbirth.

Can Pickleball Save America?

The sport, beloved for its democratic spirit, could unite the country—if it doesn’t divide itself first.

Selling Lies with Jon Hamm

The actor meets up with the writer John Mankiewicz to prep for the propaganda-themed première party for their podcast, “The Big Lie,” in which Hamm, as a Commie-fighting G-man, plays a different kind of man in a hat.

The Stanley Cup Comes to Visit, Accompanied by a Handler in White Gloves

Having survived trips to strip clubs and to Afghanistan, the legendary hockey trophy submits to fondling and copy-editing by the New Yorker staff.

What Do Shakespeare and Mamet Have in Common?

“American Buffalo” ’s Laurence Fishburne, Darren Criss, and Sam Rockwell ruminate on junk and iambic pentameter on a visit to a thrift shop.

“The Trojan Horse Affair” Works Best When Studying Itself

The new podcast from Serial Productions is a careful, moving investigation of a British scandal. But it’s also the story of its own making.

Band Camp on Broadway

Blake Lively and Seth Meyers came out to salute the première of “The Music Man”; so did forty-five New York teen-agers armed with clarinets and sousaphones.

The One-Woman Glories of Monobob, the Olympics’ Newest Sport

For a century, women have been held back on the ice tracks. Now they’re gaining speed. 

In Nathan Chen’s Olympic Triumph, a Welcome Blast of Joy

The twenty-two-year-old seized the moment on ice skating’s biggest stage.

Patricia Clarkson Holds Court

The star of Sundance TV’s “State of the Union” chats over Jack-and-gingers about her crush on Brendan Gleeson, improvising with Stanley Tucci, and never getting married—or divorced.

Ken Jennings Has Some Questions About Death

The “Jeopardy!” host on the meaning of trivia, the awkwardness of personal anecdotes, and his new book—a travel guide to the afterlife.

Judy Blume’s Unfinished Endings

Her most famous novel, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is finally being adapted for the screen. But its mysteries remain rooted in real life.

Audie Cornish’s Long Struggle to Remake the News

Cornish has watched the media evolve, experiment, and experience dramatic layoffs. In “The Assignment,” her CNN podcast, she’s trying to find a new way forward.

An Upper East Side Temple of Culture Gets a Touch-Up

As 92NY prepares for its splashy sesquicentennial, modern-day Michelangelos restore a ninety-three-year-old ceiling mural of menorahs, lyres, and tablets.

Colin Quinn Just Wants to Make Small Talk

In his new show at the Lucille Lortel, the comedian examines how “Nice day, isn’t it?” and “How about those Mets?” can make the world a better place.

The Best Podcasts of 2022

There was plenty of turmoil in the industry, but many shows continued to nourish, illuminate, and delight.

How Weird Al Spoofed Himself

In a new bio-pic, the singer applies his talents to a surprising subject: his own rise to stardom.

“Rumble Strip,” a Limitless Podcast About Life in Vermont

In its attention to local detail and character, the show both honors place and transcends it.

The Unbearable Blandness of “Barney”

A new documentary explores how a singing dinosaur charmed—and perhaps rightfully enraged—a nation.

Unboxing Lou Reed’s Posthumous Parcel to Himself

After the death of the Velvet Underground front man, two archivists and his widow, Laurie Anderson, discovered a mysterious sealed package from 1965. Inside was treasure: never-before-heard, folky versions of “Heroin” and other classics.

The “House of the Dragon” Première Recap: A Bad-Heir Day

The “Game of Thrones” spinoff tries to recapture the magic through nostalgic detail, family fights, and grisly scenes of childbirth.

Can Pickleball Save America?

The sport, beloved for its democratic spirit, could unite the country—if it doesn’t divide itself first.

Selling Lies with Jon Hamm

The actor meets up with the writer John Mankiewicz to prep for the propaganda-themed première party for their podcast, “The Big Lie,” in which Hamm, as a Commie-fighting G-man, plays a different kind of man in a hat.

The Stanley Cup Comes to Visit, Accompanied by a Handler in White Gloves

Having survived trips to strip clubs and to Afghanistan, the legendary hockey trophy submits to fondling and copy-editing by the New Yorker staff.

What Do Shakespeare and Mamet Have in Common?

“American Buffalo” ’s Laurence Fishburne, Darren Criss, and Sam Rockwell ruminate on junk and iambic pentameter on a visit to a thrift shop.

“The Trojan Horse Affair” Works Best When Studying Itself

The new podcast from Serial Productions is a careful, moving investigation of a British scandal. But it’s also the story of its own making.

Band Camp on Broadway

Blake Lively and Seth Meyers came out to salute the première of “The Music Man”; so did forty-five New York teen-agers armed with clarinets and sousaphones.

The One-Woman Glories of Monobob, the Olympics’ Newest Sport

For a century, women have been held back on the ice tracks. Now they’re gaining speed. 

In Nathan Chen’s Olympic Triumph, a Welcome Blast of Joy

The twenty-two-year-old seized the moment on ice skating’s biggest stage.

Patricia Clarkson Holds Court

The star of Sundance TV’s “State of the Union” chats over Jack-and-gingers about her crush on Brendan Gleeson, improvising with Stanley Tucci, and never getting married—or divorced.