Ear Worthy Episodes From: Very Special Episodes; 6 Degrees Of Cats; Hello, John Doe

 Three ear worthy podcast episodes for your listening pleasure this weekend.

 

Ever catch yourself engrossed in a story, convinced it's movie-worthy? Enter iHeartPodcast's latest original, where hosts Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett and Jason English transform that very sentiment into a captivating podcast called Very Special Episodes. 

Each Wednesday, the co-hosts tell one stranger-than-fiction tale about normal people in an extraordinary situation. Tune in now for the latest episode, “Operation Lunar Eclipse,” that dives into the riveting story of the underground moonrock trade a teenage boy finds himself in after being gifted a piece of the moon by NASA.

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 6 Degrees of Cats has a lot of things going for it as an ear-worthy podcast. First, it's not a "cat lady" podcast where cat lovers, mostly women, tell super-cute stories about their cat Mittens. The show looks at cats in history, mythology, and culture. For example, I loved the April 25th episode about Vikings and cats. Norse folklore expert Terry Gunnell will fascinate listeners with his tales of cats and the Viking culture. 

What I like most about 6 Degrees of Cats is its scholarly intentions toward cats, the hosting skill of Amanda B, and the catchy friskiness of its audio. 

The latest episode is titled, "Pizza Paws: Decoding the Internet's Obsession with Cats and Pizza."  This is the prototypical oil and water scenario Cats and pizza don't mix, right? Alongside pizza consultant Anthony Falco, host Amanda B. takes listeners on a ride wild about the history of the internet, ordering pizza online, the history of domesticated cats, and then Maria Bustillos discusses the unique role cats play on the internet -- cat videos, more adorable cat videos, and yet more cat videos.

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Meet Todd Matthews, a self-taught detective who, for two decades, served as the go-to expert for the US Department of Justice in reuniting unclaimed and unidentified bodies with their families. But, in a surprising twist, one of the missing children from Todd's database contacts him to reveal he's alive and well.

In iHeart’s "Hello, John Doe," Todd and this 45-year-old man embark on a joint investigation to uncover his true identity. Together, they delve into his haunting past, unraveling the story of how he escaped a serial killer's clutches and seeking answers about the potential survival of his missing nephew. Tune in on Tuesdays to take a bone-chilling journey into the unknown.

In the latest episode, there are revelations galore. As a teenager, Steve didn’t dare ask his adoptive parents about his birth family. But once he was middle-aged and grieving the only father he’d ever known, Steve and his girlfriend decided it was time. What his mother told them opened a Pandora’s box of uncomfortable truths and led to a question: Why did a serial killer come up when Steve researched his family of origin online? Who was Franklin Floyd?