I need help with my podcast addiction. I listen to lots of podcasts; in fact, I am at critical mass. I listen to so many that I am just on the verge of being unable to stay caught up. Obviously some need to go. Clearly I need to pick up Saturn Scene. Help cow me into getting rid of many of these so that I can go back to listening to records! Watching TV! Mowing the lawn!
Best Show Gems
Best Show
Bitslap
Bored-Again Christian
Bugle
CITR: Nardwuar
Comedy and Everything Else
Comedy Death-Ray
Comedy Films Nerds (this one's a goner; Graham Elwood, one of the hosts, tries so hard to "support" his guests and co-host that he launches this braying giggle at EVERYTHING anybody says; it's not all comedy gold, Graham, and your laugh could kill a squirrel from 100 feet, just like it kills the momentum of your show. He also does not take well to suggestions about how to make his show better; he's called out "critics" offering the mildest sort of "hey you might try this" comment, naming names, and firing what feels like totally earnest "fuck yous". If they're real, he's a horrible person. If they are fake, it's an overdone joke (just like his accents, and "kitten hands".) And then he giggles like an idiot.)
Coverville (about 1 song in 4 is really strong, but there's too many lazy country covers, reggae covers, and the acapella stuff? Get me a gun. But it's hard to quit because every once in a while he tosses off something fantastic. Big demerits for constantly berating his wife's responses to the show's frequent listener-produced trivia segments (Oh, Tina!!!!) And make no mistake, if this guy plays a song, any song, no matter how trivial, when he back announces it, it will be pronounced "very very cool". Even if it's Celine Dion covering Michael Bolton.)
Dave Emory
Doug Loves Movies (I like listening to Doug, and I think he's often very funny, if occasionally a little too dependent on the obvious joke, but I have learned from Comedy Central that I do not like to watch him; that goofy little grin is something I can't see when I am driving down the road, thank God. A face made for radio. It's a good thing I like listening to him, because like Jimmy Pardo, he seems to be on about 6 podcasts a week.)
Dusty Show
Film Vault (Guys affiliated with the Adam Corolla network make short lists of films by weekly categories. Tough call, because while the dominant of the two is a Carolla-like dick, he also knows his stuff, and while he falls over himself trying to get in what must be a mandatory weekly quota of "fuck yous", every once in a while there's an opinion that's pretty well informed. It's probably going, but I would feel like I was missing a good 2-3 minutes of insight per week from the 60-70 minute show.)
Fredericks
Glitter in the Garbage (I was really with this through about 4 episodes, but it's up to 14, and I haven't heard anything new in weeks. Drew Droege seems to have one setting: venal.)
How Did This Get Made (I am really fond of Paul Scheer, but he has a less severe case of Graham Elwood disease. The jokes need oxygen, Paul, and every once in a while, they don't really deserve a full-throttle laugh.)
How Was Your Week
Judge John Hodgman
KCRW Left Right and Center
KCRW The Treatment
The Math Factor
Michael Shelley
Night People
NPR On the Media
NPR: All Songs Considered
NPR: All Songs Considered Live Concerts
Pod F Tompkast
PRI: Sound of Young America
Proudly Resents (This comes across as a lazier version of How Did This Get Made. It's probably about to go.)
Relevant Podcast
Seven Second Delay
Shut Up Weirdo (Here you get to find out what The Best Show would be like if Tom gave the callers free reign. The same 7-8 callers are in each week twisting the week's topic to display their own personal obsession. Spike's on here almost weekly, and may be the best guest, and guess what he talks about? Soap operas, getting old, hating yoots. One woman's going to call and talk about her hearse and her obsession with nuns. Her twin sister's going to call and allude to a family problem that she can't go into the details about. The same 2 or 3 guys are going to call offering their unfettered love to Frangry, when it sounds more like they would like to have her chained in their basement. She will flirt with them to a point, then feign mock outrage before hanging up on them. There's almost a Kabuki feel to it, like someone's in the background checking off a list of 30-40 things that must get mentioned every week. Maybe there's a Frangry and Andy Bingo game going on in the background.)
Sklarbro Country
Slate Culture Gabfest
Smartest Man in the World
Superego
Tony Campolo
Too Much Information
Who Charted
WNYC Radiolab (I am a science/math nerd)
WTF
Talk me down off this ledge! It's more weekly ipod time than one man can bear! Sorry for the spammage, insomnia's a terrible thing.