''Still Processing'' is a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' culture

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

hosted by

Jenna Wortham Jenna Wortham is an American journalist. They work as a culture writer for ''The New York Times Magazine'' and co-hosts ''The New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing'' with Wesley Morris. In 2020, with Kimberly Drew, Wortham published '' Bla ...

, a writer for ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', and

Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previously, Morr ...

, the paper's critic at large. The show debuted on September 8, 2016. ''Still Processin''g won a 2017 Webby Award in the Podcast & Digital Audio category, and was nominated for a 2019 Shorty Award.

History

Morris joined ''The New York Times'' from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' in 2015 with a podcast as part of his new contract and approached Wortham about serving as co-host. Developed under the working title ''Feelings'', the show launched as ''Still Processing'' on September 8, 2016, part of a collaboration between ''The New York Times'' and

Pineapple Street Media Pineapple Street Studios (formerly Pineapple Street Media) is a podcast studio based in Brooklyn, New York. In August 2019, it was acquired by Entercom (now Audacy, Inc.). Pineapple's work includes multi-episode narratives, investigative journal ...

to expand ''Times'' podcasts offerings. The first season ran from September 26, 2016, to March 2, 2017.

Production

Morris and Wortham host the podcast. The production team includes Pineapple Street's

Jenna Weiss-Berman Jenna Weiss-Berman (born 1983) is a podcast producer and co-founder of Pineapple Street Media. Formerly she was director of audio for BuzzFeed. Early life Weiss-Berman is a native of Massachusetts and graduated from Oberlin College in 2005. Car ...

, Neena Pathak, Sasha Weiss, Wendy Dorr, and members of the ''Times'' audio department, Lisa Tobin and Samantha Henig.

Format

The format typically includes discussion between Morris and Wortham as well as one or more interviews, sometimes in studio but often in outside locations: the first episode ("First Date") followed Wortham and Morris on a walk through

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. They have also visited the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

(NMAAHC), interviewing curator Joanne Hyppolite, among other places. Laura Jane Standley and Eric McQuade of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' described the show as "at base, a set of discussions about the big cultural events of the day. But ''Still Processing'' is sharp and intellectual, goofy and raw: The two hosts talk to each other and to guests (including

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

) about anyone from

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...

Kerry James Marshall Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955) is an American artist and professor, known for his paintings of Black figures. He previously taught painting at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2017, Marshall ...

; about society and art; about dating and work." Episodes are usually between half an hour and an hour in length, and released weekly on Thursdays.

Reception

Reviewing the podcast's launch, Tim Barnes at ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' said the "inaugural episode of ''The New York Times ''Still Processing'' podcast is an incredible mix of personality, pop culture, and education. Writers Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris bring a jolt of energy to the show, which feels like

old media Old media, or legacy media, are the mass media institutions that dominated prior to the Information Age; particularly print media, film studios, music studios, advertising agencies, radio broadcasting, and television. Old media institutions are ...

finally embracing the new." Of the first episode, Taylor Bryant said at ''Nylon'' that Wortham and Morris's "natural banter and strong viewpoints will leave you wanting so, so much more." ''

'' named ''Still Processing'' among the 50 best podcasts of 2016, citing the November 10, 2016 post-election episode "The Reckoning" as a "banner episode". ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' likewise cited the post-election episode in naming ''Still Processing'' to its list of 15 notable podcasts of 2016. ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' named the "Journey to the 'Blacksonian'" episode, about Wortham and Morris's trip to the

, to its list of 2016 50 best podcast episodes.

Awards

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

References

External links

Official website
{{The New York Times Audio podcasts American journalism 2016 podcast debuts The New York Times Cultural critics