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In these final weeks of 2025, The Sunday Special is looking back at the year in culture.
Today, we’re talking about the TV we watched this year — the best shows, the most popular ones and the ones that allowed us to just enjoyably veg out. Gilbert Cruz talks with the TV critic James Poniewozik and the culture reporter Alexis Soloski about the year in television.
TV shows discussed in this episode:
“Severance”
“Common Side Effects”
“Too Much”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Dying for Sex”
“The Hunting Wives”
“The White Lotus”
“Dr. Odyssey”
“Long Story Short”
“Heated Rivalry”
“Andor”
“The Lowdown”
“Platonic”
“Pluribus”
“The Pitt”
“Adolescence”
On Today’s Episode:
James Poniewozik is the chief TV critic for The New York Times.
Alexis Soloski is a culture reporter for The Times.
Background Reading:
Photo Credit: Apple TV+; Netflix; Lucasfilm/Disney+; HBO
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
From his late-night TV show to Carpool Karaoke, James Corden has become known globally as one of the most engaging and delightful interviewers in the entertainment world -- and with his breadth of work across TV, film and stage, he has met so many incredible people whom he now gets the opportunity to spend more time with.
In this episode, James sits down with Michael Bublé, a five-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter. He’s become synonymous with ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, ever since his Christmas LP became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. A musical outsider, he has carved a path that is very much his own, one that few would have seen coming for someone who’s first career was as a commercial fisherman.
To hear more episode of This Life of Mine with James Corden, follow wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/ThisLifeofMineJamesCordenfd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
array(3) { [0]=> string(150) "https://www.omnycontent.com/d/programs/796469f9-ea34-46a2-8776-ad0f015d6beb/c7f3cf94-44da-4385-91f7-b36b010e750c/image.jpg?t=1759508688&size=Large" [1]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" [2]=> int(0) }Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and chief of staff to President Obama, joins Tommy to discuss where he thinks the Democratic Party went wrong in 2024, why he's advocating for a blanket social media ban for children under 16, and to reflect on the foreign policy decisions from the Obama era that have shaped the 21st century. Then, Tommy asks Rahm whether there might be presidential ambitions behind his recent podcast tour.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
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In light of the recent tragedy, Mike unlocks a 2016 interview with the late Rob Reiner. It is a conversation that now plays differently: Reiner discusses his film Being Charlie, which was written by his son Nick Reiner—the man now arrested in connection with his death. Mike reflects on the director's legacy, the eerie prescience of their discussion on addiction and family, and the President's disparagement of the deceased. Then, The Spiel turns to the Compact magazine essay by Jacob Savage on the "vanishing" white male in cultural industries. Mike parses the statistics—from Ivy League hiring to MacArthur Grants—to ask if the corrective pendulum has swung too far.
Produced by Corey Wara
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The writer and lawyer has been documenting the occupation for decades. Somehow, he maintains hope.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
We’re closing out the year with some of our (and your) favorite episodes to date. First up: Nate and Maria’s conversation with Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey about bringing game theory and probabilistic thinking to the NBA.
For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:
The Leap from Maria Konnikova
Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
array(3) { [0]=> string(184) "https://www.omnycontent.com/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/951120d9-cf6e-4224-93d7-b15c014dcea5/74c4d55f-e90b-43b4-aee6-b3b801451a67/image.jpg?t=1766173864&size=Large" [1]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" [2]=> int(0) }Comedian Jay Jurden explains why nine years of theater training is his "superpower" on the stand-up stage—and why he treats every punchline like a line of dialogue rather than a personal diary entry. His new special, Yes Ma'am, argues that physical specificity (from "rolling a wheelchair into affordable housing" to Marjorie Taylor Greene's hooves) is what separates a 300-level performer from a novice looking at their shoes. Along the way: memories of growing up in Canton, Mississippi, where movie sets for A Time to Kill. Plus, the greatest college football analogy ever delivered by a gay comedian—a warning against "scrambling" for viral crowd work instead of sticking to the designed play.
Produced by Corey Wara
Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com
To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/
Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g
Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM
Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack