JCC Where's the Subscribe Button? A Podcast Discussion Thread!

Geek in the City
Studio: Aaron Duran
Category: Personal Journals

What It Is
Some folks get together to discuss just about everything you can be geeky about.

Technical Details
Geek in the City is a sixty to ninety minute weekly show where the hosts discuss things related to geek culture. The iTunes archive contains the last two years of shows, which sounds like a lot, but this show has been around since 2008. For almost the entire archive, hit up the official website.

What About It
I didn’t take to this show very much. It seems like the kind of show I’d like: large group of hosts, wide-ranging subject matter including movies and music and such. But it just fell a little flat for me. I will say that the biggest strength of the show is probably the wide range of topics. They discuss movies, television, music, games, conventions, even books sometimes and occasionally tech. I like the idea of a catch-all “geek culture” show that tries to cast a super-wide net. But I just found the energy level to be pretty low in the episodes I listened to and I feel like there are other places to get a lot of the information you get here. The show isn’t awful or anything, just kind of average. But it’s been around for a long time, so obviously it strikes a nerve of some kind with people. Guess I’m just not one of them.

2 stars.

Essential If
You like it, I guess.

Avoid Like the Plague If
The only thing you want in the city is summer.

Best Entry Point
Just try one of the newer ones, I guess.

 

here's another one off recommendation - the lastest episode of a spinoff podcast that recently launched. one of the substitute hosts from Novara FM (my favorite politics podcast), Ray Filar, has recently launched a feminism-focused podcast, Killjoy FM. the most recent episode is called "The Hijab is more European than the Tie: Islamophobia and Misogyny" and it is about the crusader myth of "saving" muslim women, contemporary anti-muslim policies in the UK and Europe, and issues of identity for muslim women living in/born in the UK. I especially enjoyed this last bit, a very honest and conflicted discussion of what it means to be muslim and british

 

Reply All podcast: #79 Boy in Photo

https://soundcloud.com/replyall/79-boy-in-photo

***

I found this semi interesting as the story takes place in Philly.
* FYI: podcast contains profanity *

 

Yeah, that was a really fascinating episode. I didn't really know what to expect going in, but I found it satisfying mostly because I identified with a lot of it. I went to look up the original thread on ILX and reading the recent posts reminds me a lot of the JC. It's a close-knit seeming community and they're throwing around over a decade of history and inside jokes centered around weird arcane miscellania. Made me think there are some things that have happened here that would have made equally interesting Reply All stories.

 

That Reply All was great, thanks for the recommendation

It did make me wonder which JC thread would be worth an investigation podcast. The Conn kidnapping thread was my immediate thought, but I don't think there would be much expansion beyond the thread itself.

So, I liked the episode enough to listen to the one before it, about internet scams. It made me glad I'll never have to call a lock smith, and left me disgusted at the abortion scam.

 

Glad you guys enjoyed it. This is the first time I listened to Reply All. They got a mention in a random episode of This American Life where one of the members "replied all" to an email about girl scout cookies and their push for sales and how he got included accidentally and what he learned from that experience..

 

Almost every episode is worth a listen.

 

the yacht rock guys (it's not just a hilarious web series, they actually created the concept of yacht rock as a cohesive genre) put out a Beyond Yacht Rock podcast where they create and count down arbitrary genres each episode. they also do special feature episodes where they do random **** like argue if the hagar or roth incarnation of van halen is better.

one of these features is particularly close to my heart because the episode is entirely focused around Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" and makes the argument that it is the best pop ballad of all time, something i have often been known to drunkenly claim to mixed response from my peers.

thanks, BYR, for vindicating me

 

Yeah, Reply All is one of my very favorite podcasts. The hosts are funny, the Yes Yes No segment is great, and they find really good stories about weird internet stuff and make them meaningful or extremely entertaining. I actually have been thinking about joining Gimlet for a while because I love both Reply All and Mystery Show so much, but they mysteriously axed Mystery Show, so I'm just going to take whatever I would have spent to join Gimlet and donate it to wherever Mystery Show lands. Speaking of Mystery Show and Starlee Kine...

Election Profit Makers is a podcast about two guys going on PredictIt.org and playing the markets on what's going to happen in this election cycle. Basically they bet on very specific events happening or not happening within a set period of time, examples like who will lead on a specific poll on a specific day, or whether a certain candidate will use a certain word in a speech. The show is produced by Starlee, and I think she makes appearances in later episodes. It's hilarious and weird and wonderful and kind of a good way to de-stress about how insane this election has been.

The Explainer Episode is a good place to start because it goes through how Predict It works and gives you a good feel for the two guys and their rapport. The show ends the day after the election, so I'm sad I'm jumping on this bandwagon so late, but it's totally been worth it.

 

Marc Maron interviewed Sarah Jessica Parker on yesterday's WTF, and will sit down with Ron Howard on Thursday. I recently heard an older episode with writer-director James L. Brooks that was interesting. I don't think it's behind the paywall yet, so you can still catch it. As it says in the blurb for the episode: James L. Brooks is responsible for something you love. Probably many things. Marc talks with the prolific writer-director-producer about all of it - The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Taxi, Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets, The Simpsons and more.

 

One for audio drama fans - of which I am not.

Secrets, Lies and audio tapes. Instead of the longer format, each drama is between one and six episodes (according to them). I've listened to two of the first three dramas, and there are currently five (not sure if number five is finished)

I listened to the first one, it had Jenna Elfman and her husband as a married couple. She wakes up in the middle of the night and tells him she no longer loves him, and it goes from there. It was okay, probably a 6/10 for me. As I said, I'm not a fan of audio dramas, as they always feel over-acted to me, and there was a touch of this, but I liked it well enough. It was a three-parter.

I skipped the second drama - about LBJ in the hour after JFK was shot - as the preview didn't appeal to me at all.

Drama #3 (episode 6) is called The Love Contract. This one I did really like. There's a little dystopia thrown in, along with cruel, emotion-less corporate life. At one point I did think OMG!, and I enjoyed it overall, so for that I'll say it's a decent episode to start with, plus the drama is only one episode, so very little personal time cost if you don't care for it.

 

Latest episode of The Dollop is great. It's a follow-up to their very first episode about Cliven Bundy; at catches up with Bundy and his, even stupider, son, Amon. It's a winner. The last couple were a little less funny, in my opinion, but this one is live and its a raucous, hilarious two hours.

And, boy, it feels like a long time since I did one of these:



Get-Fit Guy’s Quick & Dirty Tips to Slim Down & Shape Up
Studio: QuickAndDirtyTips.com
Category: Fitness & Nutrition

What It Is
Fitness trainer Ben Greenfield gives tips about staying healthy and fit.

Technical Details
There’s a new episode every week and I don’t recall ever seeing one over fifteen minutes. The iTunes archive has the most recent twenty-five eps; hit up the official website to get into the archives beyond that.

What About It
I really like the Quick & Dirty Tips model. Some expert in some field or other delivers weekly short bursts of info/education on their field. Besides this show, the Q&DT folks have shows about writing, math, parenting, personal finances, productivity and more. Some may find the whole “quick & dirty” thing to translate into “shallow & superficial,” and certainly this isn’t the place to go for an in-depth discussion or exploration of the issue at hand. One wouldn’t, for instance, use this show to build a fitness regimen from the ground up; but this show would be useful for someone into fitness who wants to find ways to change things up or maximize certain areas and such. I also like that each episode features a title that doubles as basically a description of the episode. The latest episode, for instance, is titled “5 Killer Muscle Gain & Fat Loss Workouts.” Obviously this lets the listener know immediately whether each episode will be something they should listen to or not. And the show’s topics range farther than you might expect for a fitness show. Recent episodes address the role of genetic testing in planning a fitness regimen, handling issues of fitness with children & energy boosting alternatives to coffee. The show has some flaws; the shows often feel pretty insubstantial. A ten minute episode boils down to not so much actual content once you subtract the introduction, sign-off & two ads. Anyway, I’m not a huge fitness guy, but even I can recognize that this show is pretty good quality, despite the necessary superficiality it addresses many topics with.

2 ½ stars.

Essential If
You’re already into fitness, but are interested in looking at things in new ways on a regular basis.

Avoid Like the Plague If
Your last burst of concentrated exercise was during the Carter administration.

Best Entry Point
Just go for one of the new ones.

 

Okay, couple of things to justify this back-to-back posting. GREAT episode of Slumber Party I listened to today is the one with Emily Gordon (wife of Kumail Nanjiani, not to reduce her to that, but simply to make a connection to another podcasting regular). Absolutely great. Full of great bits. Alie again makes the case that ghosts exist because we can text each other. And one of the great non sequiters of all time when Alie suspects that Emily once dated a guy with a Prince Albert because she "used to wear Doc Martens." Brilliant.

And also:


Giant Bombcast
Studio: Giant Bomb
Category: Video Games

What It Is
The staff of video game based website Giant Bomb discuss video games in a rambling conversation.

Technical Details
It’s a weekly show. Episodes can run upwards of two hours, so plenty of content. The iTunes archive goes back to 2012; for older episodes, there’s always the official site.

What About It
Giant Bomb is a pretty beloved podcast among a lot of gamers and I’ve really taken to some other gaming podcasts, so I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that it really measured up particularly well. It isn’t an awful podcast by any means; the folks at Giant Bomb know their stuff and they have interesting topics. But it just lacks real personality in my opinion, something that you tend to find in video game podcasts (4Player Podcast; CAGcast; Indoor Kids; Rooster Teeth). I mean, I can tell you about the people in those parenthetical podcasts, sometimes to the degree of knowing alternate hosts if the main hosts aren’t around. I listened to several episodes of Giant Bomb and none of the people on the show really came to life for me. It’s been a few days since I listened and I’m having trouble remembering them. Beloved podcast; maybe I’m missing something or maybe it’s not there to be missed. Either way, this one’s solid in a lot of ways, but lacks the spark that gets podcasts top marks from me.

2 ½ stars.

Essential If
You find the intense personalities of most video game podcasts overwhelming.

Avoid Like the Plague If
You’re still traumatized by that time you said “bomb” in an airport.

Best Entry Point
It’s a news show of a type, with discussion of new video games and related topics. So just hit the latest one.

 

solojones and other fans of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History will be pleased to know that his Kings of Kings series has another episode out.

Also, Marc Maron's WTF podcast has Casey Affleck on for its episode from last monday.

 

Episode III of King of Kings has unfortunately been up for a few months now. I'll bet solojones has heard it already. I have, though it's marathon (no pun intended) nearly five hour running time means it took a while to get through it.

Affleck and Kenneth Lonergan have both given interesting episodes on Fresh Air this month as well, if you've already seen Manchester by the Sea (I like to save interviews until I've seen the film, if it's a movie I'm planning on seeing soon).

 

Very well.

 

FIGHT ME IRL

Also I'm wondering what episodes you listened to where at the absolute minimum you came away from Dan Ryckert thinking to yourself "Nah, this guy doesn't really stand out."

 

First Zappa; now Giant Bomb. We fight on the strangest battlefields. Is it in your rotation?

 

GB basically is my rotation these days. Hell, the non-GB podcast I listen to regularly has two GB alums on it. I'm a big fan of all of their work, and the podcast is sort of the organizing focal point thereof.

 

Oh, wow, that's interesting. Well, I'd be thrilled to read a well-thought out rebuttal to my review.

 

I don't know if I necessarily have a rebuttal because I think what you're labeling a "lack of personality" is what I usually describe to folks as a feeling of authenticity and maturity. They don't talk down to the audience, they don't feel like they've "switched on" come recording time, and they've all got enough experience working in and around games press that the particular perspective they can bring to the table isn't really available anywhere else (Jeff Gerstmann in particular provides a level of insight that, in my experience, only Jeff Green can really go toe to toe with, and he's no longer a member of the press). They can be goofy (perhaps impenetrably goofy) at times but it's always in a way that feels like a logical extension of their interests.

So, I dunno, like I said ultimately it all feels real and respectful towards the audience's intelligence, while simultaneously being very personal, in a way I haven't really felt another games podcast or site replicate, and for whatever reason that's what I want.

Now, all of that said: it could also be because I have endured an absolutely harrowing 30+ hours of watching those guys play Mario Party, forging iron bonds of devotion comparable only to the ones shared with commanding officers following a battle, or something.

 

Really great episode of Fresh Air yesterday with Lin-Manuel Miranda. He does a live performance of a short rap he wrote when he was much younger and raps bits and pieces of everything from Queen Latifah to Stephen Sondheim. We get a fairly lengthy clip of him in a revival of Merrily We Roll Along. He talks about how mixtapes taught him more about scoring Broadway shows than college did. His comments about Mike Pence might surprise you. And at one point, he gives Terry the props she deserves; as she's unfurling one of her patented multi-part questions, he can be heard muttering, "Oh, that's a great question." Basically this episode is a great example of the reason I listen to Fresh Air.

 

Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
Studio: Aisha Tyler
Category: Comedy

What It Is
Comedian-writer-actress Aisha Tyler engages in lengthy, thought-provoking conversations with a variety of guests.

Technical Details
It’s typically a monthly show at this point. Episodes run a couple of hours though, so it’s not exactly a dearth of content. No new episode has dropped since December when Tyler shuttered it for the time being (since she’s on, you know, FOUR TV shows), but hopefully it’ll be back at some point. The iTunes archive has the ten most recent episodes, which, now that the show is monthly, that’s almost a year’s content. For more, check out the website, which has the full archive behind a paywall. (FYI: it’s worth it).

What About It
Tyler is a really compelling host; she’s always quick to fool around with some jokes, but she asks insightful questions and is one of the most empathetic interviewers I’ve ever encountered. This is probably why she’s able to get a lot of her guests to open up in a really compelling way. One of her recurring segments is called Self-Inflicted Wounds (which she eventually turned into a book) in which she asks the guest to tell a story about, well, about a self-inflicted wound, ie. a time when the guest did something stupid and suffered for it. It’s easy to tell stories about how everyone else did us wrong or about how we’ve gone through tough times because that’s the way life is; but Tyler is interested in those times that we have to look back at and sheepishly nod and raise a hand when someone asks whose fault it was. It’s a great idea for a segment and the stories range from cringe-inducingly hilarious to deeply painful to profoundly insightful.

3 stars.

Essential If
The Talk just isn’t meeting your Aisha Tyler jones.

Avoid Like the Plague If
There’s only one kind of “girl on guy” you’re interested in, damn it.

Best Entry Point
Well, as I noted earlier, all but the most recent ten are behind a paywall, but of those I’d recommend the episode with Viola Davis. This episode was recorded and released a few months prior to Davis’ record-breaking third Oscar nomination. Might be a good way to catch up with the lady before the Oscar ceremony.

 

I first got into this because Tyler is the voice of Lana Kane, and I'd been listening for a long time. My podcasting time has greatly reduced of late, so I've dropped off.

Aisha used to do a lot of them til the workload got too great, and some of the guests were great (Andre Royo, who played Bubbles in The Wire, for example) and some were just really, really thick (sup, LL Cool J). Rogue's right though; she is a fantastic host. In a sense she's like Chris Hardwick in terms of how she relaxes guests; but way less needy and she doesn't take herself seriously like Hardwick does.

 

I should have anticipated you being a listener, at least for a while, because of the Archer connection. That LL Cool J episode is one of the weakest for sure. She never quite got him to drop the facade. Or maybe he is just that thick. Anyway, she's just done a handful over 2016, like ten or so, and has put the show in shutdown for the foreseeable future, so you could probably catch up at this point.