Popular Reviews of Heavyweight

My new favorite podcast. Such a perfect balance of narrative, humor, and emotion all masterfully produced so that it feels "real" and effortless

Oh how I look forward to every episode of this show. Heavyweight is a usually feel good podcast with nebbishy deadpan host Jonathan Goldstein attempting to help someone with some issue. It's funny, makes you think, and brings all the feels.

Amazing stories, awkward storytelling, heartwarming theme.

I was a big fan of Wiretap and it makes me very happy that Heavyweight lives up to my big expectations.Every episodes makes me go through a lot of different emotions and i love it!What a great podcast !!

A mix of comedy, slice of life, solving problems, and story telling. Jonathan Goldstein, of WireTap fame, is a masterful story teller with amazing pacing and great characters.

I just discovered his podcast and I'm totally hooked. Jonathan Goldstein is a fabulous host. He is so insightful. I love his optimism. I am going to search for everything else he's done. Keep it going!!

Consistently good episodes.

Probably the best example of audio storytelling I've ever heard - fantastic.

Real stories that make me like the world a bit more.

Jonathan dives into the moments in life when everything changed. In heavyweight we are introduced to a new person each episode and their story. Stories ranging from brothers who are in their eighties and haven’t spoken in decades to a story of a CD and musician slighted. Jonathan hears stories of friends, family and then tries to mend the point where things went wrong.I feel as though through this series we can start to see a Jonathan inside each of us, if not only just a glimmer. We all face challenges in relationships at one point and many of us have lost someone in these cases. So with Heavyweight I feel as though it's like Jonathan is speaking to us all.- Podcast Junkie

Hard to believe how good this podcast is.

This podcast is so beautiful. I've loved Jonathan Goldstein's work since Wiretap, and his book is great too. Highly recommend.

Great mix of heartfelt and hilarious.

Perfection. Jonathan is the wrong person for the job yet does it so wonderfully. The first podcast I ever recommend.

Will the real Jonathan Goldstein stand up? I don't know if he ever will. With these "check in" episodes, he's nudged his way forward, much like a groundhog seeking his shadow but not actually deciding whether he wants to spend the next six weeks within his hole for winter. Look, Heavyweight is a natural evolution from Wiretap. Goldstein is clearly smart and witty. But then anybody can be if she reads enough books. I love the idea of the Goldstein persona helping people. But I can't help shake the sense that Goldstein's idea of empathy is highly selective and that he would probably stand frozen in place if there was someone who wasn't white and middle-class starving in the streets before him. You get the sense that the performative nature of Goldstein gets in the way of the real Goldstein or even the whole mission of this program. I still listen -- with considerable frustration. Jonathan Goldstein is 50 years old. And at that point, you should be at a place where you're actually growing as a performer and reaching out to people rather than retreading the past and gazing at your own navel. I cavil with love, I assure you.

With this many episodes, some of them are inevitably not as interesting. Things are evened out by the many wonderful, heart-warming or sometimes shocking stories covered. Ones that particularly stuck in my mind are #38 Justine, #25 Becky & Jo, #16 Rob (this one was out-of-this-world bizarre), #14 Isabel and of course, #1 Buzz.

Easy listening & interesting stories. Great for unwinding.

I binged every episode in less than 2 weeks.

Because I don't listen to any of the NPRs, I wasn't aware who Jonathan Goldstein was, but from the start I found the show to be funny and the stories well told. Later seasons have been more playful and maybe a bit more focused on Goldstein the character, but not to the detriment of making a good show.

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