Pod-Fascination: Topics

Pod-Fascination is a regular column in which I recommend podcasts and specific podcast episodes. Tweet your suggestions to me @robinhardwick.

Topics
As a fan of now-legendary comedy troupeThe State, I am always overjoyed to see members of the group still collaborating on projects more than two decades after the group formed. Members of The State are behind such pillars of comedy as Wet Hot American Summer, Reno 911!, Viva Variety, Childrens Hospital, and countless others. Any current successful comedy likely involves at least one alum of The State.

Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, reuniting after their brilliant-but canceled Comedy Central show Michael & Michael Have Issues, have started a weekly podcast called Topics. Aptly named, the two discuss philosophical and erudite topics such as "Does God Exist," "Power," "Utopia," etc. As expected from these two, the humor comes from farce and satire. Michael Ian Black maintains his persona as a condescending pompous jerk, while Showalter falls easily into the voice of reason. Michael Ian Black has maintained his asshole persona so well, that it is sometimes hard to tell if it really is a persona, especially after some recent Twitter feuds.

The conversations are inane, misguided, and quite frankly ignorant, which is the fun of it. This is not for the typical comedy podcast listener who likes broad characters and elaborate setups. Defenses of Hitler have come up in several episodes, for example. The thing that makes it more layered than other comedy podcast is that the podcast contains a lot of anti-humor, which is acknowledged by the hosts, which makes it even more anti-humor.

The podcast has also included in-between episodes that address listener emails, which only adds to the justification of the hosts' (or the hosts' personas') ignorance. Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black have used this formula in several projects for a while now, but why change when it works so well.

Pod-Facination: An Interview With Go Bayside!'s April Richardson

A few weeks ago, I talked about the Go Bayside! podcast, and in the passing weeks it's only gotten better and literally turned into my favorite thing to listen to all week. And luckily for us, host April Richardson is not even yet done with Season One, and has five more seasons ahead of her. Richardson, stand-up comedian and frequent guest on Chelsea Lately, was gracious enough to answer some questions about the everlasting cultural relevance of Saved By The Bell, the podcast, and meeting Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

What was your motivation for making your SBTB love into a podcast? Other than your love of it, why did you want to share your conversations with the masses?
Well, first and foremost, it's entirely selfish: I watch the show on my own all the time, so I thought it would be fun to have friends join me. Also, I've watched it and picked it apart since I was a kid, and there's just so much funny stuff. One of my favorite things to do in life is to just critically pick apart and apply logic to the most benign things, so I always got a kick out being like, "Imagine that happening at an actual school! Holy shit!" And the show is such a pop-culture touchstone for people my age, and is just in the ether for a certain segment of the population, so I knew there would at least be that built-in audience of thirtysomethings like me who saw the show every time they turned on a television after school.

You mention that you have an un-ironic love for SBTB. When you first watched the show, what about it appealed to you? Did you find it actually legitimately funny?
First of all, I think I legit thought Zack was hot. And yeah, there were lines here and there that genuinely made me laugh as a preteen/teen. But honestly, I think I was drawn to its ridiculousness. It was like a Looney Tunes version of what I thought high school would be. But I did truly love it, and never ever acted like I was "above" it or "too cool" for it or whatever; there was no shame. I would absolutely go to school and be like, "Did you guys see that episode yesterday?" and genuinely and excitedly talk about it with people.

Pod-Fascination: Go Bayside!

Go Bayside!
If you were a kid of the 1990s, it was hard not to watch Saved By The Bell. Not only was it a Saturday morning staple, but after it was syndicated I think it aired eight times a day. Why did we continue to watch this show even though the gags were trite at best and much of what happened literally defied the laws of physics?

Comedian and uber-fan April Richardson has no shame about her love for the show. On each episode of Go Bayside!, she and a guest watch the show and guffaw at its absolute implausibility and buffoonery. April gets to the important questions, such as:

1. Why is Mr. Belding the only adult that seems to be around, and why does he inappropriately get involved in the kids' lives?
2. Despite there being an entire school of kids, why does everything happen to just the main characters?
3. Why do school functions always take place in The Maxx, a privately owned restaurant?
4. Why does this show shit on nerds so much? Have they heard of bullying?
5. Why is Kelly merely portrayed as a trophy girlfriend of Slater and Zack?
6. What in the world are these kids wearing?
7. How do these kids have so much time in the hall between classes?
8. How does Screech single-handedly build a sentient, fully-functioning robot that lives in his room, and NASA hasn't recruited him?
9. How old is Slater really?
10. Why do dream sequences need a hazy pink border around the scene?

Sure, lesser people would just sit back and enjoy the show fondly and not care about the impossibilities, but April Richardson is doing important work. Her infectious laugh and sincere rage over the rampant child endangerment are hard not to love. Some guests have never seen the show, which makes for an even more befuddled reaction.

April is doing the show in chronological order and at the time of publication is on episode thirteen. There are eighty-six episodes of the show, not to mention the College Years and the TV movies, so she'll be in business for several years at this point. Which is good news to me, because yelling "WTF!" at a Saved By The Bell episode never gets old.

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Pod-Fascination: Tell Your Friends: An NPR Alternative

Pod-Fascination is a weekly column about podcasts you should be paying attention to.

Tell Your Friends!
Confession: I feel like a should be listening to NPR more than I should be. I want to have that water cooler conversation about This American Life or Fresh Air. But I'm not always into it. Don't get me wrong, I'm the type of person who would understand those shows, but they just are sometimes... boring. There, I said it! Phew, that feels better.

At the same time, there are a lot of comedy podcasts that I have burned out on, mostly because of how self-referential they have become; there's only so much I can listen to a comedian shoot the shit with his comedian friends about their latest audition or their feelings on dating. I mean, on the one hand, isn't calling a podcast "self-absorbed" a pointless venture? It's like calling an artisanal vegan bakery "obnoxious."

That's why I so immensely enjoy the Tell Your Friends podcast. It's like a funnier, more alternative version of NPR. Host and producer Liam McEneaney calls each episode an "issue," like an issue of a magazine, which is the best way to describe it. Each episode includes a variety of formats, including interviews, storytelling, written comedic monologues, and other free-flowing thoughts. Liam McEneany is a longtime staple of the New York comedy scene and therefore has a lot of connections, but seems to value having interesting and engaging guests with a particular story to tell rather than personal friends. Some highlights are comedian Christian Finnegan talking about his experience on an MTV game show and actor Stephen Toblowsky recalling his awful experience on the set of My Father The Hero (yes, the one with the pretend incest between Katherine Heigl and Gerard DePardieu, but I digress). But nothing gets too serious, courtesy of dirty one-liners from notorious twitter personality Stacey Nightmare.

McEneany has the perfect blend of skilled interviewing, intelligence, and self-deprecation. He has the coveted skill (by me) of easily connecting to the interview subject and getting them to share unique anecdotes, and sharing part of his own experiences without overtaking the interview. His opening monologues are often the highlights of the show, which range from pre-written essays to general thoughts on a subject. The Tell Your Friends podcast was created as a companion to his film Tell Your Friends, a concert film of the long-running comedy show in New York that he also produces, which I haven't watched, but certainly plan to very soon.



New episodes are released every Sunday, wherever podcasts are sold. I also highly recommend Liam Mceneany's Twitter feed.

Pod-Fascination: Will IFC's Maron Be Any Good?

Every time a comedian starts a podcast, a kitten is kicked. Or so it seems. With podcasts almost breaking through the mainstream bubble, it is not surprising that a television show about a podcast is coming in April. IFC has just finished ten episodes of Maron, based on the life, relationships, and podcast of the king of podcasters, Marc Maron.

Marc Maron isn't just any podcaster; WTF With Marc Maron consistently tops charts. In it, Marc Maron interviews fellow comedians, but goes deep. So deep that he often brings up tensions or backstory with the guest, and they work it out before your very ears. Furthermore, the first ten or fifteen minutes before the interview Maron does a monologue of his neurosis or panic attack of the week. He does the neurotic Jewish comedian well, but for a younger, hipper audience. He's like a hipster Larry David.

As far as shows based on podcasters, Maron seems like a logical choice. Maron has been a working comedian for over twenty-five years, and although he worked alongside the greats, he never really achieved widespread recognition. Only after he started interviewing other comedians has he achieved widespread acclaim and recognition. And deservedly so: he's had great conversations with Louis C.K., Steven Wright, Mel Brooks, Bob Odenkirk, Robin Williams, and all the hip alternative comedians the kids are into these days. One of the most touching and memorable episodes features guest Todd Glass, who after the suicide of a bullied gay teen, decided to come out after several decades and went on WTF to talk about it.

I'll certainly tune in to the TV show, but I'm not sure how the concept can sustain a whole series. I am sure producers will find a lot of situations for Maron to feel awkward in, but I also have a hard time believing the social follies and cringe-worthy moments of people who have clearly succeeded in the entertainment world (Louis C.K., I'm looking at you). Will this appeal to people outside of Maron's fan base? I guess we'll find out in April on IFC.

Pod-Fascination: The Complete Guide To Everything And The Video Podcast Network

Pod-Fascination is a weekly column about podcasts you should be paying attention to.

The Complete Guide To Everything
Well, truthfully, not everything, just the things that Tim Daniels and Tom Reynolds have experienced. But, lucky for the listeners, they usually have anecdotes to talk about many topics including moving, internships, Richard Marx concerts, dating, and technology. Both Tim and Tom not only have great chemistry with each other, they are skilled at telling stories about even the most mundane activities. I think the art of storytelling is what separates the good podcasts from the bad, and TCGTE is more than two friends talking about everything; it's a peek inside insightful conversations between friends, who know the value of getting a bit goofy at times.

Not only do the hosts cover a certain topic, there are occasional recurring segments, including my very favorite segment ever "That Asshole You Didn't Know Existed Until The New York Times Pointed Them Out To You," a discussion of the often frivolous and unnecessary profiles from the Times' Style section.

TCGTE is also unique among comedy podcasts because there are no guests on the show, it is always just the two hosts. I find this refreshing, because I've often skipped episodes of podcasts because of a guest I know I don't care for. With The Complete Guide To Everything, you always know you'll get a quality episode.

Video Podcast Network
In other podcast news, the Video Podcast Network (VPN) started streaming live video of podcasts recorded in front of an audience during the Sundance film festival. I thought this was just for the occasion of Sundance, but the Earwolf network started releasing in-studio videos of Comedy Bang Bang.

Obviously, this negates the very concept of a podcast, but it is interesting to see the dynamics and performances of the character actors. I'm curious to see how this pans out. I recommend watching (or at least listening) to this week's episode of CBB, featuring Jon Daly as the character Bill Cosby Bukowski who is a combination of, you guessed itm Bill Cosby and Charles Bukowski.

Pod-Fascination: It's That Episode

After listening to It's That Episode with Craig Rowin, I'm actually frustrated that I did not have the idea first. As someone who obsesses over retro television shows and the details, this is a dream. The premise is simple: host Craig Rowin invites a fellow comedian (this is a podcast after all; comedians to podcasts are like moths to a flame) to watch an episode of a television show of their choice. The episode may be chosen because it is their favorite, it's entertainingly bad, or anywhere in between.

And thus is the reason I love talking about pop culture: it represents the time it came from, it tells us a lot about the zeitgeist and most about why people identify with it. Craig does a great job of getting the guest to talk about their lives when they first saw the chosen episode and how it influenced them. When it is an obscure episode (the episode about Hey Dude was on my list of top podcast episodes of the year), it creates a sense of connection to the conversation because you hear details about a show you haven't heard in years. Shows watched include Magnum P.I., Fraggle Rock, Family Ties, Ren and Stimpy, and my personal favorite, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.

Damn, I wish I had thought of this idea!

Pod-Fascination: Weird Adults With Little Esther And Comedy Bang Bang

Each week, I recommend my favorite podcasts.

Weird Adults With Little Esther
The Feral Audio podcast network has grown exponentially in the last few months, adding podcasts from such well-established comedians as Chelsea Perretti, Steve Agee, and Brody Stevens. Unlike other podcast networks, the Feral Audio podcasts seem to allow each guest to take full creative control of their podcasts; the podcasts reflect an open conversation between the hosts and their guests and can lead anywhere, from music to life, to career, or bodily fluids.

One such podcast is Weird Adults With Little Esther (comedian Esther Povitsky). I relate to Esther as a fellow somewhat neurotic Jewish girl. Something you have probably picked up if you regularly read this column is the podcasts I enjoy the most are the ones where the guests are their most "real" and reveal insecurities and emotions. Esther certainly does not hold back from this, and can always find an obscure example from her life to help relate to her guest. Having only discovered Weird Adults recently, I've only listened to a handful of episodes, and I feel I know a lot about Esther's feelings about her family, dating, and her career. I am tempted to use the word quirky, but Zooey Deschanel has sort of co-opted that characteristic at the moment. Esther is not quirky in the obnoxious Zooey way, but in a "I want to hear her reaction to that" kind of way. Living as a woman trying to make it in comedy in LA, she has a lot of vulnerable feelings to share. She's someone who deserves success in the comedy world, and the fact that she continues to do it among all the bullshit is an inspiration to us creative types. I'll proudly admit I have a total friend crush on her.

Pod-Fascination: Professor Blastoff

Each week, I recommend podcasts worth your time.

Professor Blastoff
Professor Blastoff covers all topics related to science, philosophy, psychology, and the paranormal, with the conspicuous warning that none of the three hosts (Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan, and David Huntsberger) are experts. In fact, that is the basis of the podcast. If you are looking for some solid, factual information, this podcast will probably drive you crazy.

Even though they may not have the answers, it's the search to find them which is the most entertaining. Friendly teasing, personal anecdotes, and celebrity impersonations by Dunnigan have made for some of the funniest and touching moments during my busy podcast listening schedule.

You may know comedian Tig Notaro from her poignant stand-up special from earlier this year in which she openly talks about her recent cancer diagnosis. This, along with the death of her mother earlier than the year, is discussed on the podcast under the topic of health and recovery. Like going through any life crisis, humor can be a powerful way to deal with it, and it's fun to be in it with the three hosts who are obviously great friends and care about each other.

Pod-Fascination: The 12 Best Podcast Episodes Of 2012, Part Two

For the last few months, I've been recommending quality podcasts. In the spirit of the year's end, I'm highlighting the single episodes that I enjoyed the most. As I have mentioned before, I listen to primarily comedy podcasts, so there are obviously thousands of other episodes released this year. Leave your favorite episodes in the comments!

Here's Part One in case you missed it. 

6. It's That Episode 5: Adam Lustick/Hey Dude – Rainmen
It's That Episode seems like a podcast that was made specifically with me in mind. New York-based performer/writer Craig Rowin invites people to watch an episode of anything they want and discuss it. On episode #5 in February, Craig and guest Adam Lustick watch the old Nickelodeon staple Hey Dude and marvel at its low production values, insane racism, and their teenage crushes on Bradley and Melody. It's surprising that this show even existed, but hey, I blame the '90s; lots of crap made it to air. The best part of watching old episodes is that it leads to discussions about awkward childhoods, one of my favorite topics.

5. The Fogelnest Files Episode 11: J J J Is For Julie!
Pop culture kingpin Jake Fogelnest usually curates an eclectic assortment of weird retro YouTube clips, but in the episode with Julie Brown, he shows clips as a way to showcase her career. Those of you who who were the prime demographic for MTV in the '90s will remember Just Say Julie and the amazing Earth Girls Are Easy. Brown is a pioneer for women in comedy and hearing the "insider" news of working for MTV in the nineties is a pop culture connoisseur's dream.

4. Ronna And Bevery Episode 32 : Not Personal With Steve Agee
Stand-up comedian Steve Agee is always a delight, because he's able to be hilariously excited about a topic as well as self-deprecating and cynical. When working with characters like Ronna and Beverly, making it work means "playing along" with the characters, and he certainly does in this episode. Silliness ensues when he admits he's going commando on Ronna's expensive sofa in her home in Marbelhead, MA, and Beverly's confusion over booking a gay cruise is "classic" Beverly.