''Savage Lovecast'' is a sex advice podcast hosted by

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBTQ community activist. He writes Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husband, ...

and produced by Nancy Hartunian. The show began in 2006 as an extension of the

Savage Love Savage Love is a syndicated sex-advice column by Dan Savage. The column appears weekly in several dozen newspapers, mainly free newspapers in the US and Canada, but also newspapers in Europe and Asia. It started in 1991 with the first issue of t ...

column in '' The Stranger''.

Background

The show is hosted by

and produced by Nancy Hartunian. The podcast debuted in 2006 as an extension of the

column in '' The Stranger''. The show uses a

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...

model with

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

in free "micro" episodes and extra content behind a

paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content (media), content, with a purchase or a subscription business model, paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their website ...

. The free "micro" episodes are roughly 50 minutes long, while the paid "magnum" episodes are about 90 minutes in length.

Format

In each episode, Savage answers voicemail messages from listeners seeking advice. For instance, in the October 13, 2015 episode, Savage answers a voicemail about jelousy of a partner's longterm relationship with someone of the opposite sex and discusses the

Westermarck effect The Westermarck effect, also known as reverse sexual imprinting, is a psychological hypothesis that states that people tend not to be Sexual attraction, attracted to peers with whom they lived like siblings before the age of six. This hypothesi ...

. Sometimes rather than answer a voicemail, Savage will have a guest on the show. The show opens with a short and upbeat theme song, which is followed by Savage delivering a monologue about the news or a personal experience. While earlier in the show's run, the monologue was often serious and political in tone, in more recent years the monologue has grown less serious and focuses on lighter subjects.

Reception

According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the podcast had 200,000 weekly listeners in July 2014. According to ''

Slate Magazine ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former ''The New Republic, New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as ...

'', the podcast had 300,000 monthly listeners in September 2021. In ''Slate Magazine'', Bryan Lowder chose episode 109 as one of the best podcast episodes ever. ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' deemed the show one of the best podcasts of 2016. ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'' included the podcast on their list of the best podcasts of 2017. ''The Guardian'' considered the show one of the best podcasts of 2018. Peter Wells wrote in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' that "the Savage Lovecast is a podcasting institution" due to the show's longevity and reach. Lauren Passell wrote in ''

LifeHacker ''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on 31 January 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is owned by Ziff Davis. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including Microsoft Windows, M ...

'' that the podcast helped shape the sex and dating advice genre within the medium of podcasting.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite news , last=Raptopoulos , first=Lilah , date=July 2, 2014 , title=Listen to This: Savage Lovecast with Dan Savage , url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/02/listen-to-this-savage-lovecast-dan-savage , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004859/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/02/listen-to-this-savage-lovecast-dan-savage , archive-date=January 9, 2024 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , work=

, language=en-GB , issn=0261-3077 {{Cite news , last=Anderson , first=L. V. , date=September 23, 2021 , title=Dan Savage Revolutionized Sex. Then the Revolution Came for Him. , url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/09/dan-savage-advice-savage-love-criticism-interview.html , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004859/https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/09/dan-savage-advice-savage-love-criticism-interview.html , archive-date=January 9, 2024 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , work=

, language=en-US , issn=1091-2339 {{Cite web , last=Saunders , first=Charlotte , date=October 17, 2015 , title='Savage Lovecast' Podcast Review , url=https://aah-magazine.co.uk/2015/savage-lovecast-podcast-review/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004903/https://aah-magazine.co.uk/2015/savage-lovecast-podcast-review/ , archive-date=January 9, 2024 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , website=aAh! Magazine , publisher=

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

, language=en-GB {{Cite web , last1=Standley , first1=Laura Jane , last2=McQuade , first2=Eric , date=December 18, 2016 , title=The 50 Best Podcasts of 2016 , url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/the-50-best-podcasts-of-2016/510698/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221014142/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/the-50-best-podcasts-of-2016/510698/ , archive-date=February 21, 2021 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , website=

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{{Cite news , last=Verdier , first=Hannah , date=June 30, 2018 , title=The 50 best podcasts of 2018 , url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jun/30/the-50-best-podcasts-of-2018 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003203851/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jun/30/the-50-best-podcasts-of-2018 , archive-date=October 3, 2020 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , work=

, language=en-GB , issn=0261-3077 {{Cite magazine , last=Dockterman , first=Eliana , date=March 30, 2017 , title=The 50 Best Podcasts Right Now , url=https://time.com/4709592/best-podcasts-2017/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626181502/https://time.com/4709592/best-podcasts-2017/ , archive-date=June 26, 2020 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , magazine=

, language=en {{Cite web , last=Wells , first=Peter , date=June 20, 2018 , title=What to podcast this month , url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/what-to-podcast-this-month-20180618-h11iro.html , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004859/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/what-to-podcast-this-month-20180618-h11iro.html , archive-date=January 9, 2024 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , website=

, language=en {{Cite web , last=Passell , first=Lauren , date=January 20, 2023 , title=12 Podcasts That Changed Podcasting , url=https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2023/01/12-podcasts-that-changed-podcasting/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004859/https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2023/01/12-podcasts-that-changed-podcasting/ , archive-date=January 9, 2024 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , website=

Lifehacker Australia ''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on 31 January 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is owned by Ziff Davis. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including Microsoft Windows, Ma ...

, language=en-AU {{Cite news , last=Dibdin , first=Emma , date=March 29, 2022 , title=6 Advice Podcasts to Navigate the Weirdness of Daily Life , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/arts/podcasts-advice-etiquette.html , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329091037/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/arts/podcasts-advice-etiquette.html , archive-date=March 29, 2022 , access-date=January 9, 2024 , work=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, language=en-US , issn=0362-4331 {{cite web , last1=Strimpel , first1=Zoe , title=Still fabulous: Savage Love podcast reviewed , url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/still-fabulous-savage-love-podcast-reviewed/ , website=

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

, access-date=August 17, 2024 , language=en , date=January 31, 2023 , archive-date=August 17, 2024 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817143649/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/still-fabulous-savage-love-podcast-reviewed/ , url-status=live {{cite web , last1=Gallagher , first1=John J. , title='The Savage Lovecast' provides refreshing take on sex and relationships , url=https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2015/10/the-savage-lovecast-provides-refreshing-take-on-sex-and-relationships , website=

The Tufts Daily ''The Tufts Daily'', known on campus as ''the Daily'', is the student newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The paper covers news, arts and sports both on campus and in the greater Boston area and allows members of ...

, access-date=August 17, 2024 , language=en , date=October 12, 2015 2006 podcast debuts Audio podcasts Advice podcasts American podcasts Interview podcasts

Background

Format

Reception

See also

References