The Podcast Thread
- Thread starter Eric Chan
- Start date
Well I've never gotten into any chat things, so I'm not even sure this counts, but there's an amazing radio show called Chances With Wolves. Just excellent music, that's all.
I'm late to the party on podcasts. My friends tease me endlessly about it.
I finally began following one--literally last week--called Hardcore History with Dan Carlin. I love it. I'm currently learning about the ancient series of events that led to Sparta defending Thermopylae, which is almost entirely dependent upon the culture of Persia at the time and how it sprung out of the fall of the Assyrians.
Fuck yeah, history!
I finally began following one--literally last week--called Hardcore History with Dan Carlin. I love it. I'm currently learning about the ancient series of events that led to Sparta defending Thermopylae, which is almost entirely dependent upon the culture of Persia at the time and how it sprung out of the fall of the Assyrians.
Fuck yeah, history!
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I sometimes listen to Limited Resources, works very well while doing the dishes.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Dom Harvey
Contributor
Dan Carlin is too overdramatic for my tastes but is a good place to start. Mike Duncan's History of Rome and Revolutions are more to my liking.
99% Invisible is a podcast about hidden aspects of design of everyday things, it's often really interesting and episodes are bite-size so it's easy to fit into your schedule on a short commute
This American Life is the go-to for human interest stories (and that style of 'journalism'); Radiolab is sometimes good if you don't mind the masturbatory soundboard use
Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People is relatively new; basic premise is that ordinary people call in to chat about their lives, which might sound boring but I liked the one episode I listened to
Welcome to Night Vale is an immersive psychological thriller, you have to start at the beginning and it's a big commitment but lots of people say it's worth it
The Joe Rogan Show and WTF with Marc Maron are the high-profile interview shows, inevitably they become more about the host than the guest which does no favours to either (especially those two)
Serial was the flavour of the month last year, Season 2 is unpopular but Season 1 is worth checking out to understand what all the fuss was about
If you're a political junkie, Whistlestop is cool
Post Show Recaps is good for a lot of mainstream nerdy TV
99% Invisible is a podcast about hidden aspects of design of everyday things, it's often really interesting and episodes are bite-size so it's easy to fit into your schedule on a short commute
This American Life is the go-to for human interest stories (and that style of 'journalism'); Radiolab is sometimes good if you don't mind the masturbatory soundboard use
Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People is relatively new; basic premise is that ordinary people call in to chat about their lives, which might sound boring but I liked the one episode I listened to
Welcome to Night Vale is an immersive psychological thriller, you have to start at the beginning and it's a big commitment but lots of people say it's worth it
The Joe Rogan Show and WTF with Marc Maron are the high-profile interview shows, inevitably they become more about the host than the guest which does no favours to either (especially those two)
Serial was the flavour of the month last year, Season 2 is unpopular but Season 1 is worth checking out to understand what all the fuss was about
If you're a political junkie, Whistlestop is cool
Post Show Recaps is good for a lot of mainstream nerdy TV
a) the Best Show really is. (bestshow.net, live on Tuesday nights)
b) nothing else compares or actually even comes close. If you have a favourite comedian, I will literally bet you money that the Best Show is their favourite show too.
c) podcasts which come close to coming close:
TAL is consistently good but in, like, a steel-cut oats way. Radiolab is less Ivy League and more 'engaging grad student friend'. The Stuff You Should Know podcast empire is huge and i like ther Stuff Mom Never Told You show - the eponymous one is good but even drier and duller than TAL at its most insipid. Best Show Gems is selected clips from the Best Show and maybe more beginner-friendly (Tom Scharpling has been making The Best Show for almost 20 years now). Hollywood Handbook is very business-of-media but literally always good. Invisibilia is like if 99% Invisible was a longer show and focused more on NPR/Radiolab style stories. Criminal, hosted by the incredible Phoebe Judge, is the best true crime (and crime-adjacent) podcast. The Dollop is two comedians going over relatively unknown stories from American history. It's a comedy podcast and emphatically not a history podcast (too many act-outs?) and the live episodes are usually the best ones. Hardcore History is good. Legacy Breakfast is the only Magic podcast I haven't decided is actively bad.
d) I listen to most of this stuff at 1.5-2x speed so I favour informative podcasts over joke ones. Here are some joke ones:
Left Handed Radio is sketch comedy with a tuning-the-radio frame narrative which lets them do long and short pieces alike.
Lou Reads The Internet For You and the F Plus are weird internet shit read out loud. WTF? is good if I care about the interviewee and way too long otherwise (what's up whatthefucksters). the Chris Gethard show is excellent.
b) nothing else compares or actually even comes close. If you have a favourite comedian, I will literally bet you money that the Best Show is their favourite show too.
c) podcasts which come close to coming close:
TAL is consistently good but in, like, a steel-cut oats way. Radiolab is less Ivy League and more 'engaging grad student friend'. The Stuff You Should Know podcast empire is huge and i like ther Stuff Mom Never Told You show - the eponymous one is good but even drier and duller than TAL at its most insipid. Best Show Gems is selected clips from the Best Show and maybe more beginner-friendly (Tom Scharpling has been making The Best Show for almost 20 years now). Hollywood Handbook is very business-of-media but literally always good. Invisibilia is like if 99% Invisible was a longer show and focused more on NPR/Radiolab style stories. Criminal, hosted by the incredible Phoebe Judge, is the best true crime (and crime-adjacent) podcast. The Dollop is two comedians going over relatively unknown stories from American history. It's a comedy podcast and emphatically not a history podcast (too many act-outs?) and the live episodes are usually the best ones. Hardcore History is good. Legacy Breakfast is the only Magic podcast I haven't decided is actively bad.
d) I listen to most of this stuff at 1.5-2x speed so I favour informative podcasts over joke ones. Here are some joke ones:
Left Handed Radio is sketch comedy with a tuning-the-radio frame narrative which lets them do long and short pieces alike.
Lou Reads The Internet For You and the F Plus are weird internet shit read out loud. WTF? is good if I care about the interviewee and way too long otherwise (what's up whatthefucksters). the Chris Gethard show is excellent.
I go 1.2 all the way to 2x, usually 1.2 or 1.5 but I've been doing TV shows at double speed for years. (just backlogs of shows, not anything currently airing, but it helped me blow through The West Wing and Babylon V among others.
heathen!
I've watched a few interviews conducted by Joe Rogan on youtube and while I like the chance to go in-depth with the guests, Joe takes things on his own tangents for way too long: "So I've been doing this no grain diet." "Where does, like, creativity come from?"
I don't even listen to Magic podcasts that much anymore, Limited Resources and Drive to Work began to feel too samey to me after a while. I actually like basketball way more than Magic so the majority of what I listen to is related to that and pop culture stuff. I like Bill Simmons' podcast for my sports and for random interviews with people (he's great at interviews), Channel 33 podcast feed which is just a bunch of different shows (pop culture, political, college sports, etc.), JJ Redick's NBA podcast, and I guess I have Serial Season 2 backlogged but the story is shitty so I haven't listened in over two months.
I don't really know many podcasts, but when taking long solo road trips I listen to select episodes of The Nerdist, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and Ask Me Another.
The West Wing dialogue at 2x must sound absurd.
I enjoy Drive To Work tremendously and I just started listening to Limited Resources. Other than that, I've had some trouble getting into long-running podcasts about topical issues because the jokes/references to previous podcasts are intimidating to me.
However, I did used to listen to a podcast about some comedians playing D&D, but I can't recall the name. It was good, but the episodes were crazy long.
However, I did used to listen to a podcast about some comedians playing D&D, but I can't recall the name. It was good, but the episodes were crazy long.
I got used to it, but yes. 1.7 is often better for fast shows because it preserves music's key more than 2 does.
You Are Not So Smart is not only the best podcast I know by a long margin, it is also pretty much the only one I know!
https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/
The podcast is hosted by the writer/journalist David McRaney, author of "You are not so smart" and "You are now less dumb", and they talk mostly about behavioural psychology and cognitive sciences. They are doing a series on cognitive biases that is super nice. Extremely recommended if you are also a game designer of sorts (and, I mean, we are designers at the very least during cube construction). I think I've been through all episodes last two months, now I'm relistening to them. Just don't start on the one about Bayesian logic or your head will asplode.
There is also Freakonomics Radio (http://freakonomics.com/archive/), hosted by Stephen Dubner, co-author of the book and blog also called Freakonomics. I only listened to a couple of episodes, so I can't say they are as good, but it is also entertaining if you are into behavioural economics and such.
https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/
The podcast is hosted by the writer/journalist David McRaney, author of "You are not so smart" and "You are now less dumb", and they talk mostly about behavioural psychology and cognitive sciences. They are doing a series on cognitive biases that is super nice. Extremely recommended if you are also a game designer of sorts (and, I mean, we are designers at the very least during cube construction). I think I've been through all episodes last two months, now I'm relistening to them. Just don't start on the one about Bayesian logic or your head will asplode.
There is also Freakonomics Radio (http://freakonomics.com/archive/), hosted by Stephen Dubner, co-author of the book and blog also called Freakonomics. I only listened to a couple of episodes, so I can't say they are as good, but it is also entertaining if you are into behavioural economics and such.
I mostly listen to comedy podcasts. These are the ones I probably listen to the most right now:
Comedy Bang Bang: The weird child of traditional radio interview shows and longform character-based improv. To start out, I'd look for guests you recognize from other things or the annual best-of episode that comes out at the end of the year.
How Did This Get Made: Three comedians plus a rotating guest discuss bad/weird/crazy movies. If you like MST3k or Rifftrax, there's a good chance you'll like this.
Judge John Hodgman: The guy from the early 2000 Mac computer commercials (and sometimes Daily Show correspondent) makes rulings on the mundane conflicts of everyday people. A hot dog is not a sandwich!
Doug Loves Movies: Doug Benson hosts a pseudo game-show with comedians and other celebrities as contestants in front of a live audience. You don't have to pay much attention to enjoy it, so it's a nice background podcast while you're cooking/cleaning/whatever.
The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project: A limited-run series of fake podcast pilot episodes, each based on a different Andy Daly (from Mad TV and Review among other things) character. The Travel Bug with August Lindt might be my favorite podcast episode of all time!
Doughboys: Two comedians review American chain restaurants.
Comedy Bang Bang: The weird child of traditional radio interview shows and longform character-based improv. To start out, I'd look for guests you recognize from other things or the annual best-of episode that comes out at the end of the year.
How Did This Get Made: Three comedians plus a rotating guest discuss bad/weird/crazy movies. If you like MST3k or Rifftrax, there's a good chance you'll like this.
Judge John Hodgman: The guy from the early 2000 Mac computer commercials (and sometimes Daily Show correspondent) makes rulings on the mundane conflicts of everyday people. A hot dog is not a sandwich!
Doug Loves Movies: Doug Benson hosts a pseudo game-show with comedians and other celebrities as contestants in front of a live audience. You don't have to pay much attention to enjoy it, so it's a nice background podcast while you're cooking/cleaning/whatever.
The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project: A limited-run series of fake podcast pilot episodes, each based on a different Andy Daly (from Mad TV and Review among other things) character. The Travel Bug with August Lindt might be my favorite podcast episode of all time!
Doughboys: Two comedians review American chain restaurants.
I listened to a couple of episodes of this and whilst it was pretty interesting, they had a lot of strange little 10 second musical interludes and sponsor reminders for what was quite a short programme. Is it cut down from an actual radio show?
I honestly don't know. I didn't mind any interludes, and I remember a few. I believe it should be, though, since they say it is produced by WNYC
I just burnt through all the episodes of Mike Rowe's: The Way I Heard It. They only go for 6 minutes, the first minute of each is an ad where he keeps giving away 'free money', but the actual content itself is good.
They are just short stories of famous figures you may not have heard, woven in such a way that you are curious as to whom the person is he is talking about at the end. Plus that sweet, sweet sultry voice keeps me hooked (and the only reason I think The Deadliest Catch was remotely watchable).
They are just short stories of famous figures you may not have heard, woven in such a way that you are curious as to whom the person is he is talking about at the end. Plus that sweet, sweet sultry voice keeps me hooked (and the only reason I think The Deadliest Catch was remotely watchable).