50 episodes

Did you know that the novel "Lolita" would not exist if Vladimir Nabokov’s wife hadn’t stopped her husband from burning the manuscript? Or that Gandhi learned his legendary method of passive resistance from his wife? Or that the person responsible for Maya Angelou’s genre-defining memoir was her good friend James Baldwin? Significant Others is a narrated, nonfiction podcast about folks just beyond the spotlight of history. Each episode tells the story of a talented, difficult and little-known individual who altered the destiny of their better-known partner, child, sibling, or friend, and impacted the world they left behind. Narrated and written by Liza Powel O’Brien and featuring the voices of Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Jameela Jamil, Rita Wilson, Timothy Olyphant, Lisa Kudrow and many more.

Significant Others Team Coco

    • History
    • 4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

Did you know that the novel "Lolita" would not exist if Vladimir Nabokov’s wife hadn’t stopped her husband from burning the manuscript? Or that Gandhi learned his legendary method of passive resistance from his wife? Or that the person responsible for Maya Angelou’s genre-defining memoir was her good friend James Baldwin? Significant Others is a narrated, nonfiction podcast about folks just beyond the spotlight of history. Each episode tells the story of a talented, difficult and little-known individual who altered the destiny of their better-known partner, child, sibling, or friend, and impacted the world they left behind. Narrated and written by Liza Powel O’Brien and featuring the voices of Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Jameela Jamil, Rita Wilson, Timothy Olyphant, Lisa Kudrow and many more.

    Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson Are Reunited!

    Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson Are Reunited!

    Ted and Woody are back together to bring you a brand new podcast from Team Coco! It’s called “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)" and it’s out right now! They’re talking to guests like Conan O’Brien, Will Arnett, Jane Fonda, Billy Eichner, Kristen Bell, and so many more. Head over to “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)" to subscribe and listen now!

    • 2 min
    Daron Acemoglu on Marxism and AI

    Daron Acemoglu on Marxism and AI

    Are we, in fact, living in a time of revolution? What it means and what you can do about it, according to one of MIT’s greatest thinkers.

    • 28 min
    The Marxes

    The Marxes

    A man who looms as large as Karl Marx needed multiple Significant Others (although when it came to wives, he only had one).

    Starring Ted Danson as Karl Marx, Maddie Ogden as Jenny von Westphalen, and Patton Oswalt as Friedrich Engels.
    Also featuring Katie Sharer and Matt O’Brien.

    • 43 min
    Claire Dederer on Reckoning with Problematic Artists

    Claire Dederer on Reckoning with Problematic Artists

    What is a fan to do with unsavory intel on their idol? Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? Should we even try?

    • 39 min
    Gala Dalí

    Gala Dalí

    Lover and muse to multiple artists, Gala notoriously spit on people she didn’t like—or worse. Her marriage to the renowned artist Salvador Dalí was as surreal as his paintings, which he signed with both of their names even though she never held a brush.

    Starring Laura Ramoso as Gala Dalí and José Arroyo as Salvador Dalí

    Also featuring Stephen K. Amos, Nigel Daly, Neve O’Brien, and Tavis Doucette

    • 44 min
    Sandra Newman on her Retelling of 1984

    Sandra Newman on her Retelling of 1984

    Sandra Newman was given one assignment by the Orwell Estate: Re-write 1984 from the point of view of the character Julia.

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
1.6K Ratings

1.6K Ratings

Calixar ,

I confess…

I started this podcast because Conhead O’Brain told me to after she came on his show. But I’m so glad I did!
Liza is a smart person and I kind of get them as a couple a little better.
The scholarship and research on each person was is done very well. The presentation is great.

Skyneel ,

Love this podcast

I love this podcast. I love the takes of the episodes. I appreciate that you are not presenting flat linear history devoid of a viewpoint. I have cried through some episodes thinking of all the labor and pain these women have gone through. I found the Orwell episode particularly painful. Love the concept and as an architectural historian I must say there are so many famous architects who built their careers off the labor of their partners….great work!

Travelwithfamily ,

Forgotten history

As a history major in college I always wanted to know more about the people I studied. I wasn’t very interested in memorizing generals or war maneuvers or seeing the world only through the view of the men who ran countries.

This podcast tells the kind of history that fascinates me. It is behind the scenes looks at important people and their forgotten others. I love it.
Thanks for some very sound research on each topic. It’s amazing how much information your team has come up with.

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