Podcast Review - Here's The Thing

Alec Baldwin is an actor. Never is this more evident than in the Here’s The Thing Podcast. His measured, dulcet tones elevate mere words into a performance. Some may find this a bit over-the-top, I find it delightful. Alec’s mosaic of guests includes quite famous actors, comedians and people in the news. Though the guests are genuinely larger-than-life figures, somehow Alec is able to make it all about him. It is both fascinating and astonishing and I never fail to laugh at his monumental, though likable, egotistical tangents.

 My favorite episode is when Alec hosted the grand diva of stage and screen, Kathleen Turner. Her iconic voice is never as gravelly as when she and Alec get into a verbal tussle, with Kathleen accusing him of being often full of himself. His indignation is comical and is even funnier when he calls her out for her nickname “La Turner”. Hearing the most vainglorious actors basically call each other douchebags is priceless. My only complaint is that this podcast only airs every other week. I could laugh at  this kind of pomposity every day.

My First Commercial!

Funny Or Die and Norelco present the Playoff Beard Follies

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/bc13cf6a06/the-playoff-beard-follies-mad-at-playoff-beards

Podcast Review - This Week With Larry Miller

 If you don’t know Larry Miler by name you would definitely recognize his face from countless movie roles and TV appearances. Perhaps you’ve seen his standup or maybe heard his funny bit, Hypothetical Road Trip, on the Adam Carolla Show podcast. What you might not know is that Larry Miller is an amazing storyteller. An extremely affable fellow, Larry takes his experiences from his well-lived youth and weaves captivating tales that you would expect to hear from a man who has sailed the high seas or was a former mob informant. Though his stories all seem to have an old-timey feel, even the current ones, they are surprisingly relevant and absurdly funny. My favorite episodes are about Larry’s somewhat wayward youth-- egging houses, drinking, and his first experience with a hooker. These are the kinds of stories I wish my grandfather had told me, if he hadn’t died from alcoholism and syphilis.

http://www.adamcarolla.com/LMBlog/category/podcast/

Podcast Review - Stack of Dimes

Imagine you’re on a bus and across from you are two guys. Not kids, mind you, but guys in their late 20’s to early 30’s. Both of them are wearing t-shirts, the first with a Star Wars character and an ironic saying, the other says something aggressive and profane. They are talking very loudly and say fuck a lot. You can’t help but overhear their conversation, even though you are listening to your iPod. This is how I felt listening to J.D. and Thunder, the hosts of Stack of Dimes, a self-important geek-cast covering the woes of the abjectly nerdy. Over the three episodes I reviewed the topics were wide and varied. They included: complaints about waiting in line at the ATM, complaints about people who are too stupid to use the advanced movie ticket machine, an argument about the various types of debit card machines at supermarkets, and complaints about the poor chicken nugget choices a server made while attending to one of the hosts lunch order. Sweet relief came in the form of audio dropping out towards the end of this podcast. I relished the silence.

http://www.stackofdimes.com/Stack-of-Dimes/Podcast/Podcast.html

Podcast Review - Stop Podcasting Yourself

Full Disclosure: this review may be ever so slightly skewed, as I fell asleep during the third episode I was reviewing. In fact, I eventually listened to 4 episodes because this podcast was so excruciatingly tepid I had trouble finding something to write about. The conversations, with hosts Graham Clark and Dave Shumka, sound like rejected outtakes from NPR. The one segment that is part of every show is called Get to Know Us, which is supposed to be about the guest, but sounds like it’s about the hosts. Each conversation meanders down a nondescript road to awkward laughs, punctuated by weird silences.

If you are looking for entertainment, keep walking. However, if you need a good little nap, I can personally recommend it.

http://stoppodcastingyourself.blogspot.com/

Podcast Review - Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! is a news-quiz from NPR and Chicago Public Radio. Much like an old-time radio show, but with a wildly enthusiastic live studio audience, WWDTM is a part game show, part left-wing comedy slam. Host Peter Sagal, NPR’s answer to Jon Stewart, corrals a revolving team of 3 mildly famous panelists who play games on behalf of call-in contestants. Each challenger vies to win the voice of judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell on their home answering machine (hello 1992!). The games include Bluff The Listener, The Listener Limerick Challenge, and Lightening Fill In The Blank. Each episode also includes an interview with a noteworthy guest, most recently Anne Bancroft and Molly Ringwald, who cannot escape without being challenged to play a game of their own called Not My Job.

Consistently sharp and amusing every week, this hugely popular podcast is a favorite of mine, but beware conservatives, WWDTM is so far left leaning it is almost horizontal. If you are a fan of Rachel Maddow, Chris Mathews or Steven Colbert subscribe now.

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5183214

Podcast Review - Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

An excess of adjectives came to mind while listening to this podcast, among them articulate, theatrical, vivid, and stagy.  Dan gives you the gruesome details of history in his own unique style. There are 3 different editions of the show in rotation: Narrative, Interview and Blitz. I found the narrative version the most engaging and the easiest to follow.

While describing Dan, his website cites his “trademark fast, staccato vocal delivery that has been compared to William Shatner after too many espressos”, but I found his long pauses exasperating and overwrought.  On the plus side, I did learn a great deal, about the Apaches, the Greeks, and slavery, so if you are REALLY into history, delivered in a melodramatic, emotional style, give this guy a listen.

http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh