Check In: Curtis Sittenfeld

Check In: Curtis Sittenfeld

Author: Pushkin Industries December 10, 2020 Duration: 31:59
Jonathan speaks with Curtis Sittenfeld about her novel Rodham, which deals with many of the themes we explore on Heavyweight: things like returning to the past to change it, and the question of what our lives might have been like if we’d made one decision differently. Rodham is a novel about what Hillary Clinton’s life and political career might have looked like if she had never married Bill Clinton.

There’s a particular kind of memory that doesn’t fade-it’s the unresolved moment, the regret that quietly shapes a life. Heavyweight, from Pushkin Industries, is built on the belief that it’s never too late to go back and try to set things right. Host Jonathan Goldstein doesn’t just reminisce; he gets in the car, makes the phone call, and arranges the meeting. Each episode is a deeply human, often surprisingly funny journey into someone’s past to confront a lingering question: an apology never given, a friendship lost over a misunderstanding, a childhood promise broken. The tone here is a unique blend, fitting its categories of Society, Comedy, and Culture-it’s empathetic and thoughtful, yet laced with Goldstein’s wry, self-deprecating humor. You’ll hear the awkward silences, the nervous laughter, and the genuine breakthroughs. This isn’t a podcast about easy answers; it’s about the messy, courageous, and cathartic process of seeking closure, one personal heavyweight at a time. The conversations are intimate, the stories are specific, and the emotional weight is real, making for listening that is both moving and unexpectedly uplifting.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Heavyweight
Podcast Episodes
The Heavy Wait Diaries: Chapter 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:01
Heavyweight Season 4 begins September 26th. Until then, we bring you The Heavy Wait Diaries. Each Thursday, a new chapter will be presented to ease the burden of your wait. In Chapter 2, Jonathan tells a ridonculous lie.
The Heavy Wait Diaries: Chapter 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:35
Heavyweight Season 4 begins September 26th. Until then, we bring you The Heavy Wait Diaries. Each Thursday, a new chapter will be presented to ease the burden of your wait. In Chapter 1, Alex wants to see Jonathan in the…
#23 Alex [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
16 years ago, Gimlet Media CEO and founder Alex Blumberg made a promise that he didn’t keep. And it’s been eating at him ever since. In this season finale, Jonathan sets out to clean up his boss’s mess.
#22 Marchel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:11
Russian Ark is a cinematic masterpiece. Dozens of sets, thousands of actors, years of planning. It’s a perfectly executed work of art. Almost. In this episode, Jonathan sets off to find the one guy who ruined it for ever…
#21 Rachael [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:26
Ten years ago, Rachael had a baby. She never told the father. All these years later, she thinks it’s about time she did.
#20 Soraya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:43
When Soraya was in college, her favorite professor hired her on to help research a book she was writing. But when she fell into a deep depression and dropped out of school, she abandoned both the book as well as the prof…
#19 Joey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:39
Joey recently had a very bad day, all due to awkward misunderstandings. So now, he's enlisted the help of Jonathan "Debonair" Goldstein and Jonathan’s friend Gregor to redo the day and set things right.
Zoe, PJ, and Chanel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:27
Heavyweight performed a sold-out live show in Brooklyn, NY, last June. Jonathan is joined by This American Life’s Zoe Chace and Reply All’s PJ Vogt to talk about Heavyweight stories that never made it onto the air… until…
#18 Sven [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:50
Sven was on a jury that sentenced a man named Paul Storey to death. He's regretted it ever since. Then, eight years later, Sven gets an email from Paul’s mother.

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