Still Processing
# Still Processing

Still Processing is a New York Times culture podcast hosted by Jenna Wortham, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, and Wesley Morris, the paper's critic at large. The show debuted on September 8, 2016. Still Processing 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 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 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, 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. They have also visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), interviewing curator Joanne Hyppolite, among other places. Laura Jane Standley and Eric McQuade of The Atlantic 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) about anyone from Colin Kaepernick to Kerry James 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 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 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."

The Atlantic 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 likewise cited the post-election episode in naming Still Processing to its list of 15 notable podcasts of 2016. IndieWire named the "Journey to the 'Blacksonian'" episode, about Wortham and Morris's trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to its list of 2016 50 best podcast episodes.

### Awards

| Award | Date | Category | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| Webby Awards | 2017 | Arts & Culture | Won |
| Webby Awards | 2019 | Arts & Culture | Won |
| Webby Awards | 2019 | People's Voice Winner | Won |
| Shorty Awards | 2019 | Podcast | Nominated |
| iHeart Radio Podcast Awards | 2021 | Pop culture | Nominated |
| iHeart Radio Podcast Awards | 2022 | Pop culture | Nominated |

## Episodes

### Season 1

| No. | Title | Guests | Date |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | First Date | Tika Sumpter | September 8, 2016 |
| 2 | 'You Can't Code Your Way Out of Racism' | Shanti Crawford | September 15, 2016 |
| 3 | RuPaul: 'Identity Is a Hoax, People!' | Rupaul | September 22, 2016 |
| 4 | Maintaining Higher Ground | Katja Blichfield, Ben Sinclair, Nikole Hannah-Jones | September 29, 2016 |
| 5 | A Journey to the 'Blacksonian' | Joanne Hyppolite | October 6, 2016 |
| 6 | America, What You Doin' Gurl? | Susan Dominus | October 13, 2016 |
| 7 | Peak Black TV | | October 20, 2016 |
| 8 | Nudity Clause | Jake Silverstein | October 27, 2016 |
| 9 | Dancing in the Moonlight | A.O. Scott | November 3, 2016 |
| 10 | The Reckoning | Margo Jefferson | November 9, 2016 |
| 11 | How to Survive Thanksgiving | Sam Sifton | November 17, 2016 |
| 12 | The Brilliance of Kerry James Marshall | | November 24, 2016 |
| 13 | Obama's Last Cultural Statement | Alex Pappademas | December 1, 2016 |
| 14 | Beyoncé vs. Adele? No Contest | Mike Isaac | December 8, 2016 |
| 15 | Best of 2016 with Bill Simmons, Heben Nigatu, Tracy Clayton and Ezra Edelman | Bill Simmons, Heben Nigatu, Tracy Clayton, Ezra Edelman | December 15, 2016 |
| 16 | The Lives They Lived | Ilena Silverman | December 22, 2016 |
| 17 | The Kanye-thon | | December 29, 2016 |
| 18 | 'The Perfect Movie for Our Time' | | January 5, 2017 |
| 19 | Batman vs. Joker | Jim Rutenberg | January 12, 2017 |
| 20 | Show me the (Read) Receipts! | Juliet Litman | January 19, 2017 |
| 21 | Wesley and Jenna's Existential Fears | Eric Holthaus | January 26, 2017 |
| 22 | 'You Only Leave Home When Home Won't Let You Stay' | Rukmini Callimachi, Armida Lizarraga | February 2, 2017 |
| 23 | The Women of "Girls" | Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, Jemima Kirke | February 8, 2017 |
| 24 | Beyoncé to Baldwin and Back Again | Raoul Peck | February 16, 2017 |
| 25 | Oscars Preview with A.O. Scott | A.O. Scott | February 23, 2017 |
| 26 | Season Finale with Jordan Peele | Jordan Peele | March 2, 2017 |

### Season 2

| Title | Guests | Date |
| - | - | - |
| We Go To S-Town | | April 13, 2017 |
| We Listen to Kendrick Lamar & Talk to Valerie Jarrett | Valerie Jarrett | April 20, 2017 |
| We Relive the Oscars with Barry Jenkins | Barry Jenkins | April 27, 2017 |
| We Feud About "Feud" | | April 27, 2017 |
| We Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston | | May 11, 2017 |
| We Watch Trump TV with Emily Nussbaum | Emily Nussbaum | May 18, 2017 |
| We're Going Black(er) AKA Dear Woke People | | May 25, 2017 |
| We Love the Beach, We Hate the Beach | | June 1, 2017 |
| We Watch 'Wonder Woman' and Do a Taxonomy of the Summer Jam | | June 8, 2017 |
| We Said, He Said, She Said | | June 15, 2017 |
| We Celebrate Gay Pride—The Highs and the Lows | | June 22, 2017 |
| We Revive Tupac and Side-Eye Sofia Coppola | | June 29, 2017 |
| We Seek "Authentic" BBQ | | July 6, 2017 |
| We Get Bodied Talking Jay-Z and Beyoncé | | July 13, 2017 |
| We Pick Science Fiction for Mitch McConnell | | July 20, 2017 |
| We're Freaking Out About O.J. and Girls Trip | | May 25, 2017 |
| We Discuss: Who Owns Stories About Blackness? | | August 3, 2017 |
| We Grieve Charlottesville | | August 15, 2017 |
| We Care for Ourselves and Others in Trump's America | | August 24, 2017 |
| We Have a Chapelle Show | | August 31, 2017 |
| We Debate NPR's Greatest Albums by Women | | September 7, 2017 |
| We Bow Down to Rihanna and Venus | | September 14, 2017 |
| We Assess the Outrage over "Bodega" and Mother! | | September 21, 2017 |
