I set out to write about podcasts and representation in terms of media criticism; to ask podcasters, Who do you record with? Who gets to hold the mic? Are you sharing the (Internet) airwaves with people of color, LGBTQ people, women, and other marginalized groups? I wanted to hear more about content and diversity. But when I talked to five podcasters, each smart and successful in her own way, I also learned a lot more about…

"That's why now, of all times, is so ripe for a Columbo Renaissance, because it's a wonderful example of the working man going after rich sons of bitches and making them pay for their crimes." The stout-hearted fellows at "Just One More Thing," A COLUMBO-THEMED PODCAST (were lovelier words ever written) invited me to join them in discussing "Étude in Black," an early Columbo episode starring John Cassavettes, and I could not help but oblige.

In December, the A.V. Club rounded up fifteen of their writers and collected ballots to determine the top ten podcasts of the year. They came up with a really great list—six of their picks either help me stay awake on my commute to work or motivate me to stay on the exercise bike a little longer. But as a few commenters noted, there was a shortage of women, both on the jury (with the…