Heavyweight Checks In

Heavyweight Checks In

Author: Pushkin Industries March 18, 2020 Duration: 15:50
Things are feeling strange and uncertain right now. So we on the Heavyweight team decided to record our day and share it with you.

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
Heavyweight Short: Hallie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:09
When Hallie was 17, she spent a few minutes with a stranger who changed her life. A decade later, Hallie sets out to find her.
Check In: Holiday Special [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:48
Happy holidays! In our last check in of 2020, Stevie confronts her grandfather with a question she’s been afraid to ask for over twenty years, and Kalila solves the mystery of an enigmatic gravestone.
Check In: Curtis Sittenfeld [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
Check In: Do You Like Music? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:37
Jonathan, Stevie, and Kalila are back, to talk about Thanksgiving and music.
#35 Rachel and Jon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:37
Rachel and Jon are siblings who were separated as young children. Jonathan helps them confront the woman responsible... fifty years later.
#34 Annie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:10
Every time Annie’s family comes to town, they exclude her from their plans. Annie needs to know why.
#33 Bobby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:18
How the worst McDonald’s commercial ever made came to be. And how Bobby got mixed up in it.
#32 Vivian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:16
In 1995, Vivian’s uncle Helio died of AIDS. Now, 25 years later, Vivian’s on a search to find the man who cared for him until his death.
Why Is Mason Reese Crying? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:21
Mason Reese was the biggest child star of the early 1970's. Recently, he posted a YouTube video of himself crying. Jonathan sets out to discover why. This is a story Jonathan made for Reply All in 2015. The new season of…
Heavyweight Check In 8 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:29
As we turn our attention back to producing classic Heavyweight episodes, we leave you with one last check in. SPOILER ALERT: This check in contains a special treat.