It’s not every week you have a podcast celebrating its 500th episode. For you grammar freaks out there, you know what I’m talking about. The Grammar Girl podcast celebrated its 500th episode with, what else, grammar and writing tips. A couple hundred episodes behind, Pete Holmes celebrated the 300th episode of You Made it Weird with a show full of listener questions and plenty of wine and tequila. Add to that a new podcast from Alexi Wasser and an emotional RISK! show and you had a week of high quality podcasting.

Grammar Girl

Mignon Fogarty has been trying to improve our collective grammar and writing skills for 500 episodes. Fogarty celebrated her accomplishment with helpful tips on removing redundancy from your writing and writing a letter of recommendation. Fogarty didn’t let the occasion go by completely unnoticed, though, as she closed out the episode with notes from listeners and thanks to those who’ve helped her along the way. If you’ve missed all 500 episodes of Grammar Girl but are interested in diving in, check out Fogarty’s list of her 10 most popular episodes. They’re guaranteed to have an immediate affect on your writing.

You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes celebrated the 300th episode of his podcast with girlfriend Valerie Chaney and fellow comedian Brent Sullivan serving up listener questions. The topics ranged from practical career advice to defining “love.” Holmes was typically thoughtful, earnest and funny in his responses, and thankful for the listener support he’s received.

Love, Alexi

Holmes got a new podcast neighbor at the Nerdist with Love, Alexi. From actor, writer and podcaster Alexi Wasser, Love, Alexi promises to feature discussions between Wasser and the creative people who inspire her. First up was fellow actor Illeana Douglas, who has appeared in films such as Good Fellas and Cape Fear and recently released an autobiography titled I Blame Dennis Hopper. Wasser spoke with Douglas about their shared acting experiences, her upbringing in a hippy family, and the influences of people like Mike Nichols, Roddy McDowell, and Marlon Brando on her career and life. Wasser comes with a lot of energy and a gift for interviewing that is already on display in episode 1. This should be a fun listen well into the future.

RISK!

I almost feel like last week’s episode of RISK! needs to be included in a separate list. To call last week’s episode a “highlight” doesn’t seem right. But the episode showcases the best of podcast storytelling and it deserves a listen. You should know up front that the stories are graphic, so this show may not be for everyone. The episode, titled Tough Guys, featured the self-told stories of Steve Di Schiavi and Hank Chen. Di Schiavi, a former Marine and NYPD detective, tells the story of his life straddling both sides of the law and encountering painful deaths in his personal and work lives. No less intense is Chen’s story of personal betrayal by a close friend. This one is sexually graphic and horrifying, but Chen’s ability to not only tell it, but tell it with humor and strength, is beyond inspiring.