Podcasts

[Black Ship]

Anyone mentioned Cheapshow yet?

Yeah, another one for Athletico Mince. Also slowly marathoning RHLSTP on the bus too and from work.

Ear Biscuits presented by Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning fame

[lebowskibukowski]

Has anyone mentioned "Dear Joan and Jericha" yet?
Started listening to it this morning and very good so far. You can never have too much of Julia Davis in your life.

[thraxx]

Does anyone else here listen to The Sitdown?

It's ostensibly a podcast about the Mafia and gangsters, but it's chaired by Mike Recine who is a pretty hit and miss stand up, but one that I like a lot.  He's also in the orbit of Nick Mullen and co so the whole thing has a very Cum like tone, and that's a good thing.

Most of his guests are also comedians, but ones that grew up in the eye-talian parts of New York and have experience of life with the Cosa Nostra, or know/knew various hoods.  Or at least they say they do. 

Each podcast follows the same arc in where they focus on a real life gangster's story, with Mike getting increasingly annoyed as his guests (they all call identify themselves 'italian'), go off on tangents and it descends into a stereotypical eye-talian american group rant against the irish, jews, blacks and so on.  Sometimes the guests are anonymous as they refer to real life crimes and people, but I'm trying to work out if they are bullshitting or not and if the whole thing is a hoax.

Like I say, I like Mike Recine and have followed him for 10 years or so.  It seems to me that he has had to tone down his original amateur stand up schtick because it was pretty offensive and outrageous in the way that Mullen's is.  However, in his quest to get bookings and on TV he seems to have slowed and watered his stand up down to the point where he genuinely hates his material and himself, which is in itself quite endearing and amusing.

It's hit and miss, but it hits way more than it misses and I like it a lot.  What do you cunts reckon of it though?

[thraxx]

Has anyone mentioned "Dear Joan and Jericha" yet?
Started listening to it this morning and very good so far. You can never have too much of Julia Davis in your life.

Thanks for this tip - it's really good.

Julia Davis is my dream woman.

[Brian Freeze]

I listened to a 99% Invisible episode which discusses the origins and history of the laughter track which I thought might be of interest to someone on here. It's episode 305 : The Laff Box.

It was quite odd listening to Roman Mars talking about Kinder Scout more recently as it used to be on my doorstep, so to speak and not something I was expecting to crop up on his show.

[Brian Freeze]

I forgot to mention I enjoyed- Done Disappeared and A Very Fatal Murder so thankyou to whoever recommended those.

[Dog Botherer]

Does anyone else here listen to The Sitdown?

It's ostensibly a podcast about the Mafia and gangsters, but it's chaired by Mike Recine who is a pretty hit and miss stand up, but one that I like a lot.  He's also in the orbit of Nick Mullen and co so the whole thing has a very Cum like tone, and that's a good thing.

Most of his guests are also comedians, but ones that grew up in the eye-talian parts of New York and have experience of life with the Cosa Nostra, or know/knew various hoods.  Or at least they say they do. 

Each podcast follows the same arc in where they focus on a real life gangster's story, with Mike getting increasingly annoyed as his guests (they all call identify themselves 'italian'), go off on tangents and it descends into a stereotypical eye-talian american group rant against the irish, jews, blacks and so on.  Sometimes the guests are anonymous as they refer to real life crimes and people, but I'm trying to work out if they are bullshitting or not and if the whole thing is a hoax.

Like I say, I like Mike Recine and have followed him for 10 years or so.  It seems to me that he has had to tone down his original amateur stand up schtick because it was pretty offensive and outrageous in the way that Mullen's is.  However, in his quest to get bookings and on TV he seems to have slowed and watered his stand up down to the point where he genuinely hates his material and himself, which is in itself quite endearing and amusing.

It's hit and miss, but it hits way more than it misses and I like it a lot.  What do you cunts reckon of it though?

I listened to a couple when Felix Biederman and Matt Christman were on and thoroughly enjoyed them. Have quite a lot of other podcasts on the go right now but might very well circle back round to it.

[Carpool Dragon]

I've just started listening to Doughboys based on seeing it pop up on a load of recommended podcasts lists, and its great. I just moved to a new city where I don't know anyone and it rains every day, somehow listening to two guys I've never heard of reviewing fast food chains I'll never go to is brightening up my commute.

[Brian Freeze]

Does anyone listen to Risk?
The last story on the latest episode (Quality Time) absolutely floored me. Listened to it at work and had to go and fettle that thing over there while I got my shit together. There's been some eye opening and thought provoking stories on there over the years but Doctor Sam really told a beauty.

[studpuppet]

Things I've listened to since the last time I probably posted:

Casefile: has confirmed my resolution that I never want to visit Australia. Thanks to those above that point me in its direction.

Conversations: came to this because one of the presenters is Richard Fidler who used to be the 'straight man' guitarist in the Doug Anthony Allstars. These are mostly Australians talking about their lives or interests, interspersed with more international guests (eg, Chris Watson, David Attenborough's sound recordist and founding member of Cabaret Voltaire). My favourite so far is Bernie Shakeshaft, jackaroo and dingo trapper (how Australian is that?!) turned youth worker. He's a man who by all accounts doesn't sound like the sort of person who should be on radio, but his story is all the more compelling for it. There are years'-worth of episodes, so you'll never run out.

This podcast has almost made me overturn my resolution never to visit Australia. It has also taught me that Australians say, 'Look' a lot at the beginning of sentences...

Dr. Death: hear how scary our NHS will be if US companies ever get their hands on it.

Intrigue: The Ratline: Radio 4 podcast about a high-ranking Nazi and his few short years on the run after the end of the war, centring around the presenter's relationship with his son who kept all the correspondence between his parents from the time.

In other news (because I'm sure they've been mentioned above), Rule Of Three gets better with every episode, and Smershpod is onto Michael Caine films which makes it more palatable for non-James bond fans.

[Travis B]

Casefile: has confirmed my resolution that I never want to visit Australia. Thanks to those above that point me in its direction.

Another liking for Casefile here. My one problem with it is the difference in tone. The narrator tells the story in a very sombre voice fitting to the often harrowing nature of the content, but he will then break off and voice an advert in the 'daytime radio ad' style. I have no problem with adverts on podcasts but it can jar in this case.

[studpuppet]

Another liking for Casefile here. My one problem with it is the difference in tone. The narrator tells the story in a very sombre voice fitting to the often harrowing nature of the content, but he will then break off and voice an advert in the 'daytime radio ad' style. I have no problem with adverts on podcasts but it can jar in this case.

You could try They Walk Among Us, if you like your true crime sombreness with a more West Midlands edge to it.

[Travis B]

You could try They Walk Among Us, if you like your true crime sombreness with a more West Midlands edge to it.

Yes to that as well, a good podcast, a bit less grim than some of the Casefile ones.

[Keebleman]

I'm not sure if there is any discussion about the idea of a worst podcast, but if there is, here's a contender. 

https://philosophynow.org/podcasts/Introduction_to_Quantum_Mechanics

It was recorded in 2011 when Manjit Kumar had just published his book Quantum, and Kumar is interviewed by Grant Bartley of Philosophy Now magazine.  Of course, quantum mechanics is fearsomely complicated and Bartley is trained in philosophy rather than physics, but his colossal ignorance and hopeless interview technique are hilariously painful to listen to, and his estuary accent makes it worse.  The more he says, "Mmm...yeah...right," while Kumar is speaking, the more you know he hasn't a clue.  He sounds like the Griff Rhys Jones character in the Smith and Jones head-to-heads.

Oh, and there are songs too.

[Johnboy]

One I like is Dead Rock Stars- two music writers Mick Rock and Joel McIvor discuss a dead rock star each episode. Has featured Elvis, John Bonham, Marc Bolan, Phil Lynott, Sandy Denny, Bowie - it's irreverent yet respectful and poignant - good fun

also Album to Album - where two people discuss a different Bowie album each episode, not done chronologically, learned a few things I hadn't known.

[paruses]

One I like is Dead Rock Stars- two music writers Mick Rock and Joel McIvor discuss ...

I really hoped it was going to be "Joel Stars discuss..."

Last Seen - about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist in the 90s is OK. Interesting as a true crime thing that's not a  murder or a murder and a miscarriage of justice and it also made me think about the nature of stealing great works of art. I haven't finished it yet but it seems clear who did it so I am interested to find out why it's officially unsolved.

[Dog Botherer]

I'm not sure if there is any discussion about the idea of a worst podcast, but if there is, here's a contender. 

Somewhat relatedly, I've been thoroughly enjoying E1 (Episode One), a series of first episodes of ironically bad podcasts. A podcast born of and featuring many Weird Twitter alumni, it pokes fun at pop culture in all it's forms, referencing figures as diverse as Elon Musk, Sam Elliot, and Kendra Lust. The in-jokes come thick and fast, and as a result is rewarding to repeat listening.

In short, it's stupid and funny as fuck. If you enjoy the idea of an orc in bootcut jeans, give it a listen.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Can you suggest the best starter episode to me? I keep trying to get into it because I love Felix Biederman, but I've always got about 5 minutes in and found myself a bit bored.

[paruses]

Started listening to Death In Ice Valley the other day. It is a collab (as the kids may or may not still say) between the World Service and NRK (Norwegian broadcaster).

It covers the unsolved case if a woman's body found in 1970 near Bergen. My elevator pitch would be "Punt PI but with a Norwegian woman and a man who sounds like Jon Ronson - and not with Steve Punt".

Quite enjoyable, bit stagey, simple to listen to.

(3 stars, some funny bits)

[Epic Bisto]

The Rialto Report recently started a series of podcasts/article about the notorious Avon cinema chain, that was responsible for some of the darkest, mean-spirited and nastiest films ever ground out in the name of pornography. There's a lot of infamous and controversial characters that were interviewed but the most notorious was the director Phil Prince. They finally tracked him down and the podcast got put up yesterday.  I was blown away listening to it - what a fucking character: an Irish gangster with tons of stories about really heavy shit, murder and drugs. Seriously, even if you're not a grot aficionado (and I certainly wouldn't recommend his films because they're seriously nasty and grimy) it is essential listening. The man certainly led an eventful life.

[Dog Botherer]

Can you suggest the best starter episode to me? I keep trying to get into it because I love Felix Biederman, but I've always got about 5 minutes in and found myself a bit bored.

Pulling The Chair with Dunk and Keys, The Ramen Baka, and So I Wrote A Thing were my favourites from the early episodes. I only got into them because of Felix, and his first episode, Two Weeks Paid Leave, is fucking incredible, especially his open letter towards the end. I think the first episode to make me genuinely lose my shit though was The Throne Zone. The ending absolutely destroyed me.

Give some of those a try, it's certainly a bit of an acquired taste. The universe building is honestly incredible, and remarkably consistent for what is mostly just a couple of guys riffing stupid ideas off each other.

[Sin Agog]

Talking of Felix, I tried diving into that Chapo Trap House Christmas Play, and I've never been so perplexed in my life.  I fast-forwarded to the end with Nick Mullen's tiny penis salesman.  That I can understand.

[Dog Botherer]

Talking of Felix, I tried diving into that Chapo Trap House Christmas Play, and I've never been so perplexed in my life.  I fast-forwarded to the end with Nick Mullen's tiny penis salesman.  That I can understand.

I quite liked it, but then again I'm extremely online and know a ton of the useless mythos of the show. Needed more Felix and James Adomian though.

You're probably already a fan but if you're a Chapo listener then Street Fight Radio and Pod Damn America are also worth a listen.

[Sin Agog]

I'm a cliched soshulizst, but I usually only tune in for the interviews (like the Yanis and Curtis ones).  Maybe an in-jokey summary of the year's podcasting was always destined to be confusing for me.  Felix is the guy who mostly called in early on, right?  Seemed to be the most naturally funny guy of the lot.  Will give his other pods a go. Cheers, and merry podmas!

[Dog Botherer]

Yeah Felix is the stereotypical gamer. He's definitely the most naturally funny, although Matt can give him a run for his money when he gets going on a rant. Felix guests on a lot of pods, all are worth listening to if you enjoy him. He had a bit of a more solo run with the Scumbag Podcast but that seemed to come to a stop earlier this year.

[boki]

I've been really enjoying Podiots, the podcast of the Vidiots lads.  Although they came together whilst producing gaming content (firstly for WhatCulture, and latterly for Yogscast, although they're mostly no longer staff there), the podcast itself has more to do with how they bounce off of each other than any particular topic.

[fatguyranting]

'The Rialto Report recently started a series of podcasts/article about the notorious Avon cinema chain'

I love the work they do. Stunning research and commitment to documenting the far fringes of that porno chic era.

[Ferris]

I couldn't see a thread for this, but Adam Buxton's festive podcast with Joe Cornish was great. I really laughed at some of the music stuff towards the end.

[popcorn]

I couldn't see a thread for this, but Adam Buxton's festive podcast with Joe Cornish was great. I really laughed at some of the music stuff towards the end.

Here it is.

I had a dream last night that I went on Adam Buxton's podcast and helped take Rosie to the vet. At one point I was a horse.

[Enrico Palazzo]

I think someone on here may have recommended it but I have been thoroughly enjoying the Brian & Roger podcast. Harry Peacock and Dan Skinner are both pretty fantastic and it has a satisfyingly sinister edge to it.

https://www.podparadise.com/Podcast/1437785324

'Brian and Roger met at a support meeting for divorced men. Both are starting again. Both are finding it hard. One of them is nice.'