Everyone loves a comeback story. In this one, Heavyweight rises again. The podcast created and hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, BA 92, MA 99, helps people resolve festering conflicts, unravel long-buried biographical mysteries and answer the frequently eccentric, idiosyncratic questions that life leaves hanging.
“We’ve had so many conversations in the past year, and this is really the happiest scenario we could have hoped for,” Goldstein says.
During its eight-year run, which ended in 2023, Heavyweight built such a loyal following that when its comeback was announced, The New York Times ran an in-depth feature on its revival. The narrative podcast was originally produced by Gimlet Media, which was then acquired by Spotify, and finally cancelled due to major layoffs by the media giant.
Heavyweight is now being brought back to life thanks to Pushkin Industries, a move Goldstein sees as a good fit. “We’re happy because they have a commitment to the sort of long-form audio documentary stuff that we do,” he says.
That’s not to say there won’t be any shakeups. As early as this spring, Heavyweight will air shorter episodes that might serve as epilogues to previous seasons’ stories. Additionally, each season will feature up to 10 full-length episodes, up from eight in the past, the first of which should drop in late 2025.
‘There have to be real stakes behind it’
A consummate storyteller with a wry, introspective air, Goldstein honed his craft at Concordia, where he began writing his first novel, Lenny Bruce Is Dead, as part of his master’s thesis.
“Up to that point, my writing was not taking off, so I applied to a teaching program at Bishop’s University and the Concordia creative writing master’s program. I decided to do the master’s, which in retrospect made all the difference,” Goldstein says.
“I was carving out the space for myself to have one last try, to consider myself a writer. And I think that was probably for the better, because I don't know how great an elementary school teacher I would have made.”
Soon after completing his master’s, Goldstein was hired as a producer for This American Life, the Chicago Public Media radio show hosted by Ira Glass, before creating and hosting CBC Radio One’s WireTap, which ran from 2004 to 2015.
When it comes to Heavyweight, there’s no secret formula for what makes a story compelling, but Goldstein knows it when he hears it.
“I usually know I’ve got something when the person I’m talking to has a clear ask, a clear mission request — something they need to resolve,” he says. “There have to be real stakes behind it.”
Take episode #17 from 2018: Skye wanted to go back and confront some friends-turned-bullies who tormented her in a way she couldn’t make sense of in high school, but Goldstein felt the story still felt like it was missing something.
“I understood why she wanted to talk to these people again, but it was only when she said, ‘I really want to do this for my son’s sake, to prove to him that I’m not afraid, that he doesn’t have to be afraid in his life,’ that I really felt like it was going to work.” That additional layer made the story resonate more universally.
Back to business
Jonathan Goldstein’s Heavyweight podcast returns to airwaves and will be produced by Pushkin Industries.
Goldstein recording at an aviary outside of Tuscon, Arizona, for the last episode of Heavyweight’s eighth season.