"Andrea Silenzi plays both host and subject, delving into strangers’ romantic entanglements and processing her own with the same warm, wry curiosity."
— The New York Times
Why Oh Why is a podcast about dating and relationships. We’re currently on hiatus after airing from 2016-2017 on the Panoply network.
In each episode, host Andrea Silenzi speaks with friends, experts, and guys in bars about where love and sex meets technology. The show tells the stories about relationships by blurring the lines between memoir, documentary, and fiction.
"Andrea Silenzi, the host and creator of this bizarre podcast, is a genius of the cringe. Her show interrogates romance and human relationships in the digital age, but it does so in a manner that defies shape and form."
— Vulture
Photo by Adomako Aman
YOUR HOST
Andrea Silenzi is an accomplished radio producer known for her innovative and personal brand of storytelling. From going on Planet Money to get dating advice from an economist, to recording her IUD insertion, the first years of Why Oh Why were full of surprising moments and conversations.
Previously, Andrea was the founding producer of The Gist with Mike Pesca. In her time there, The Gist was highlighted as a Best New Podcast by iTunes, named a Webby honoree, and was twice featured on the popular public radio show This American Life. She holds the world record for most guests booked for an hour-long radio show, and that's 67.
Named a best podcast by
The New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, HuffPo, GQ, Esquire & Apple Podcasts.
PRESS AND REVIEWS...
IndieWire: The 50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2017
The Billfold: When You're On a First Date, Who Pays?
Washington Post: Will people start becoming single again in their mid-30s? Don't count on it.
Vice: Being Rejected Sucks, Here's How to Cope
Esquire: The Best Podcasts of 2017 (So Far)
"Andrea Silenzi's weekly deep-dive into the emotional realities of modern love is wry, inventive, and soulful, blending real stories with dashes of fiction to create something that feels truly unique."
The A.V. Club: Podmass
"Sometimes the most refreshing voices in podcasting are the ones that mirror our own. There’s a candid quality in non-professionals that reminds a listener why they might listen to podcasts in the first place: for a connection."
IndieWire: The 50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2017 So far
"The world of dating is a complex mess of emotion, mystery and sheer dumb luck. Despite all of those conflicting intense layers, Andrea Silenzi is still able to find new ways to approach an ever-shifting landscape."
Vulture: The Best Podcasts of 2017 (So Far)
"Andrea Silenzi’s Why Oh Why, which is delivering its best season so far. Check out “How Will I Know” to get a sense of the show."
The A.V. Club: Podmass
“Why Oh Why is peerless in its dogged endeavor to unpuzzle intimacy, and we’re all better for it.”
Apartment Therapy: 5 Podcasts to Binge On While You GSD This Weekend
"Andrea Silenzi interviews fascinating people of all different backgrounds about relationships and dating for this great Panoply show. Every episode has something interesting to share, but #8, How Will I Know, brought me to tears in my kitchen. Start there! I strongly suspect this podcast is especially cathartic if you've recently gone through a breakup, but regardless of your current relationship status, it's a super entertaining show."
The Daily Dot: The 13 podcasts you should be listening to right now
"The creativity and scope of her episodes never fail to surprise me, and through the lens of this show and our cheering for Andrea’s happiness, we’re all cheering a little bit for ourselves."
Paste Magazine: Love(lessness) and Dating in the Age of Podcasts with Why Oh Why's Andrea Silenzi
"The dating podcast Why Oh Why is a magical hodgepodge of fact and fiction, of interviews and of introspection, of dudes in bars and dudes in radio studios, of pre- and post-inaugural dating advice. I'll admit that in the aftermath of my own breakup, I couldn't listen to it. It reminded me of all the feelings I was trying to not feel, all the thoughts I was trying not to think, all the questions I was trying not to ask. Do I hate men? Can meddling help a date?"
New York Times: The Best New Podcasts of 2016
"In this auditory exploration of modern love, Andrea Silenzi plays both host and subject, delving into strangers’ romantic entanglements and processing her own with the same warm, wry curiosity. The show mimics dating’s emotional roller coaster, careening from the excruciating awkwardness of a real first date to the quiet heartache of Ms. Silenzi’s latest breakup."
Splitsider: This Week in Comedy Podcasts
Huffington Post: 15 Notable Podcasts That Came Out In 2016
The A.V. Club: Podmass
WAMU & NPR’s The Big Listen: 11 Favorite Podcast Episodes of 2016
New York Magazine: The Globalization of Local Radio
Vulture: 20 Great Podcasts Under 25 Minutes Long
Splitsider: The Year in Comedy Podcasts, Best Live Event
Bello Collective: 100 Outstanding Audio Stories of 2016
Splitsider: This Week in Comedy Podcasts
The A.V. Club: Podmass
Splitsider: This Week in Comedy Podcasts
PODCAST APPEARANCES...
Deep Night with Dale Seever: Andrea Silenzi
Slate's The Gist: Al Letson Became A Human Shield
Jordan, Jesse, Go!: My Balls Are Calling with Andrea Silenzi
Flash Forward: Love on the Brain
ADLANDIA: Missed Connections
Slate's Represent: #45 The First Black Bachelorette
Serendipity: Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me & Randy's Mema Died
The Longest Shortest Time: #119 Single Female, Seeking Baby Daddy
Glamour's Work Wives: Dating Sherpas (With Andrea Silenzi)
Third Coast International Audio Festival's Re:Sound: The "I Do" or "Do I?" Show
MTV's Lady Problems: Andrea Silenzi
Tablet Magazine's Unorthodox: X's and O's
Maximum Fun's Can I Pet Your Dog: "Andrea Silenzi and French Bulldogs"
Slate's Dear Prudence Podcast: "The 'Timing Is Everything' Edition"
NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour: "Here Are Some Of Our Favorite Podcast Episodes Of 2016"
Undone with Pat Walters: "Operation Match"
NPR's The Big Listen with Lauren Ober: "Episode 7: The Family That Podcasts Together"
Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn: "The New American Dream"
Happier with Gretchen Rubin: "Ep. 93: How to Survive a Break-Up"
Slate's The Gist with Mike Pesca: "Mike Debates His Former Producer About Dating"
Real Simple's Adulthood Made Easy with Sam Zabell: "Tackling Modern Dating with Why Oh Why Host Andrea Silenzi"