Story of the Week with Joel Stein

4.8 (400)
NEWS COMMENTARY

On 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. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

See All (49)

TRAILER

Introducing Story of the Week

Every week host Joel Stein picks a long magazine article that fascinates him – and then actually reads the whole thing, all by himself. Then he calls his fellow, but greatly superior journalist friend who wrote it, and gets them to tell him all about it. He does the work and you get the stories. More accurately, some great journalist does the work and Joel Stein puts his name, Joel Stein, on the podcast. Coming October 20th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S1

•

2 min

How the search for a missing deputy uncovered the Mojave Desert's meth epidemic, the outlaw bikers supplying it, and the corrupt police force covering it up. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park. A long-distance runner and former military, Aujay felt at home in the rocky terrain, but when he didn’t return home by nightfall, his wife reported him missing. Nearly 30 years later, Aujay has yet to be found and the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened. Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there’s another theory that many of Aujay’s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true… that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd dig into what the sheriff’s department has kept hidden all these years. Told over 8 episodes, Valley of Shadows follows the hairpin turns of the Aujay case, and breaks new ground in the search to uncover what really happened to the missing deputy. New episodes release on Mondays. Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack on Spotify.

4.5 (182)

TRUE CRIME
Maybe you’ve laid awake and imagined how it could have been, how it might yet be, but the moment to act was never right. Well, the moment is here and the podcast making it happen is Heavyweight. Join Jonathan Goldstein for road trips, thorny reunions, and difficult conversations as he backpedals his way into the past like a therapist with a time machine.

4.9 (17123)

PERSONAL JOURNALS
You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

4.7 (13940)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance. To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

4.7 (58249)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

4.7 (4738)

HISTORY
Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern reveals webs of deception and dark underworlds, through interviews with federal agents and convicted criminals. Deep Cover Presents: Snowball. A special limited series from the Unravel Podcast team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents. Binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. In the sixth season of Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah, Jake Halpern and acclaimed investigative journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year deception that upended lives of countless people. Sarah Cavanaugh was many things: A decorated veteran. A Marine who saved her comrades. A young woman fighting cancer. She was stoic, humble, tough. In short: a hero. Sarah was everything people wanted her to be—until she wasn’t. Turns out, no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades. Not her wife. No one. Jake and Jess interview all of the key sources—including Sarah, herself—to tell this sprawling tale. Season five covers the rise and fall of George Santos, the former Republican Congressman from New York, and the stories—many of which were not true—he told about his life and credentials. Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial. Season three, Never Seen Again, tells the story of two women living on opposite sides of the country, who went missing in the summer of 1999. Seven years later, their stories collided when a small town detective got a tip and became convinced that if he could solve one mystery, he’d solve the other. Season two, Mob Land, is about a high-rolling lawyer who joins forces with the feds to try to bring down one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the country. Season one, The Drug Wars, tells the story of an FBI agent who goes undercover with a biker gang, and follows a trail of clues that eventually leads to the US invasion of a foreign country. Deep Cover drops on Mondays. To hear episodes early and ad-free, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

4.3 (4372)

TRUE CRIME

View Subscription FAQs

Joel Stein

Host
Jeff Maysh

Guest
Andrew Leland

Guest
Xochitl Gonzalez

Guest
Paul Kvinta

Guest
Imogen West-Knights

Guest
Tyler J. Kelley

Guest
Tiffany Hsu

Guest
Emma Green

Guest

4.8

out of 5

400 Ratings

We love Joel

06/26/2024

Monikerying Around

BRING BACK THE PODCAST!!!!! I’ll buy merch! I’ll use whatever promo codes! come on
Embarrassing

11/12/2024

A Pair of Choppers

The over the top partisan analysis of the election was embarrassing! People want a news source that’s well thought-out and unbiased. I don’t need to agree 100%, but you can’t be this hateful and partisan!
Loved loved

03/21/2024

concretebrandi

I AM tired of scrolling and DO enjoy the long format story. This was so enjoyable. Thank you!
why cant we have good things:/

03/18/2024

evjengrace

Joel stein, i know your busy being joel stein, but please come back to us. independent funky journalism needs you

On 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. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.