Podcast pick of the week: 'Found' a winner

Looking for something new to listen to while you drive to work/go for a walk/wash the dishes? We're here for you. In our new weekly series, we're highlighting a podcast, audio personality or specific story worth hearing.

This week's pick: FOUND podcast 

Have you ever found a stranger's old receipt on the ground or stumbled upon someone else's personal note in a library book? Author, filmmaker and This American Life contributor Davy Rothbart lives for studying those lost mementos, and aims to track down where they came from. Rothbart's archived many misplaced objects in his FOUND magazine and, on July 13, he started talking about the lost and found items in a podcast from Killer Films Media and FOUND: The Musical (which is, in fact, an Off-Broadway show inspired by the magazine) in partnership with Wondery.

Why it’s ripe for listening:

Tuning in to Rothbart's FOUND show makes you care about litter and forgotten objects, and gives you a more positive opinion of strangers who probably have fascinating stories that you have yet to learn. In the first episode of FOUND, Rothbart goes on a mission to locate an aspiring Asian-American entertainer who, in a letter to a studio from the 90s, called himself the "Asian Oprah." On Rothbart's way to track down the wannabe talk-show host, FOUND becomes a conversation about dreams, diversity in Hollywood and what it means to be a role model. Actor BD Wong also comments. (Spoiler: Rothbart does find the "Asian Oprah," and he did not wind up in Hollywood.)

FOUND is available on iTunes and on the Wondery site.

Memorable line:

"I am hoping to stimulate your interest in creating the first mega Asian star in the United States," reads the beginning of the letter that inspired Episode 1. "The plan is simple. Produce me a talk show! I will do for the Asian community, what Oprah has done for African Americans."

See last week's podcast recommendation here.