CNN Announces New Fall Podcast Slate

 Embedded in CNN's announcement of its fall podcast lineup are two encouraging trends. First, that a fall podcast lineup attracts as much media attention as the fall lineup from broadcast television. Second, CNN has seriously "upped its game" in the podcast space and is bidding to be a serious player with quality content and a carefully calibrated strategy.

In addition to new shows, new seasons of Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, The Axe Files with David Axelrod and The Handoff with Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will be available.

More details on CNN Audio’s fall lineup are below. 

All shows will be available to listen at cnn.com/audio and across all podcast platforms.

Tug of War

From Myanmar and Syria, to Russia and Afghanistan, a new generation of activists has emerged around the globe. With authoritarianism on the rise, citizens organize online and in the streets to fuel people-powered movements in a fight for democracy. In this series, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward takes listeners around the world for unprecedented access to the universal struggle for freedom. 

In Myanmar, you’ll meet a freedom fighter who leads a chant of resistance, undeterred by the presence of government forces. In Russia, you will hear first-hand accounts from Alexei Navalny’s supporters as they fight Putin’s authoritarianism and push for anti-corruption reform. Tug of War explores stories of resistance and the emerging forces that are transforming the world order as we know it. Coming this October. 

“During my career, I’ve always been struck by extraordinary acts of courage from ordinary people,” says Ward. “Currently, authoritarian regimes are on the ascent across the world, but so are the grassroot movements resisting them. In Tug of War, we take you to Syria, Myanmar, Russia and more to meet some of the people behind these movements and see what it takes to risk everything to fight oppression.” 

 
Total Recall: California’s Political Circus

It reads like a movie script. The year? 2003. The mission? Defeat hundreds of challengers to save the state of California and become its leader. But this wasn't a movie... it was a real-life election for governor that featured adult film stars, sumo wrestlers, and comedians, and ended with the election of action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. In Total Recall: California’s Political Circus, CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash will unpack the scandal, partisanship, and celebrity of the Golden State’s 2003 recall election – and explore what it might have forecasted about politics today. Coming September 8.

Listen to the trailer HERE.

Margins of Error

Look closely at almost anything and you’ll find data—lots of it. But when you push past the calculations, what are all those numbers really saying about who we are and what we believe? CNN’s Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten is on a mission to find out. In Margins of Error, Harry looks at why a belief in ghosts is on the rise, the case for letting states decide whether to acknowledge Daylight Saving Time, and why human composting—not cremation—may be the answer to a climate friendly death. Coming September 21.

When Diana Met…

This is the story of Princess Diana as you’ve never heard it. When Diana Met… takes you inside her most notable meetings with public figures, politicians, dignitaries and celebrities to reveal often-overlooked truths and misunderstandings about Diana’s life as Princess of Wales. This show examines those iconic and memorable connections and dives into what they teach us about power, gender and control. Host Aminatou Sow looks with fresh eyes at those meetings, what they meant in that moment, and their lasting impact. Coming October 7.

Very Scary People

Very Scary People returns to Amityville to revisit the true story of the 1974 murders that spawned a cultural phenomenon. When six members of the DeFeo family were murdered in their Long Island home, only Ron “Butch” DeFeo Jr. was left alive.Very Scary People takes listeners through the twists and turns of what happened next, weaving a haunting picture of the murderer, the paranormal, and the legacy that follows the house. Coming this fall, as a companion podcast to HLN’s popular crime series of the same title.
 

Find all CNN Audio content at www.cnn.com/audio.

It's clear that CNN has developed a stand-alone content and business strategy for its podcasts that does not simply mirror its TV content. That's a positive sign. Further, the podcasts mentioned enable CNN to excel at what it really does best and not enough of: investigative journalism.

Finally, these shows potentially remove CNN from all the "teeth-grinding grievance grunts" who screamed fake news at CNN for the last few years due to its political reporting. It could still happen, but because of the quality of the reporting on these upcoming shows, that catcall projects more unremitting anger than any reasonable media criticism.