How Joni Mitchell changed music – and America

Radio host Carmel Holt explores the singer’s cross-generational impact in The Road to Joni. Plus: five of the best podcasts about the future

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We love a totally unhinged investigative pod at Hear Here. Who Shat on the Floor at My Wedding? is an all-time great (yes, I’m going to commit the cardinal newsletter sin of linking to my own interview with the creators here); the duo behind that hit have since made another deeply peculiar show, The Case of the Tiny Suit/Case, solidifying their rep as some of the most serious detectives of the least serious crimes ever committed.

Also ploughing a similar furrow is Joanne McNally. Early this year, she was trying to find out whether Canada’s first lady of pop-punk Avril Lavigne had actually been replaced, as per internet conspiracy theories, and now she’s asking whether Furbys – those menacing talking toys that were all the rage in the 90s – were actually spying on us. As someone who was absolutely terrified of all interactions with my incredibly needy Furby I will be listening to every second. That’s below, along with the rest of the picks of the week, which include a new show I’m really excited to listen to from S-Town’s Brian Reed.