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I remember back in my college days, when I was an Resident Assistant (an unfortunate time for everyone involved), there was a group discussion about how words can hurt.  A speaker during group training brought up how the root of the word sarcasm was sarco, which meant something like "to rend flesh."  My response was to hold back a snort of disbelief at the smug morality of the speaker.

Stop being sarcastic?  Yeah, that'll work.

But you know what?  Maybe it's good to depart from caustic humor for a while.  There are times when you want to see people being cut down in a humorous, sporting way and there are times when you want to seek out a different sense of humor.  A sense of humor where you can get away from the harshness of life, and feel actual delight for some word play or clever set up.  Perhaps there's a place that welcomes this style of humor, where the wind blows through the orchards and the jokes are at no one's expense.

Won't you join me for the News from Lake Woebegon?

Whatta segue!      

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Download from iTunes Here!
Store!
Prairie Home Companion Site!
Twitter!

Content Rating:  As Clean as a mason jar ready for canning season, which had better be really, really clean so as to prevent any food-borne illnesses.


Average Episode Length:  Ten episodes gives me an average time of 13 minutes.


A selection from the ever-popular A Prairie Home Companion, the News from Lake Woebegon features slice-of-life tales from the fictional town of Lake Woebegon, MI where,

All the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

A listening experience this fine requires atmosphere.  Follow these simple steps to achieve the best possible setting to listen to the News from Lake Woebegon:

1. Procure an L.L. Bean winter catalog.  Close your eyes, open the catalog to a random page, and point to a spot on the page.  Open your eyes and order whatever your finger has landed on (free monogram optional).  If you have managed to select some sort of fishing vest, then you're on the right track!  Wait for it to ship to your home, then don the garment.  Make conversation with your pets about the weather.  
2. You're going to want a high level of Americana, so feel free to go to Hobby Lobby and grab a bunch of crap made in China that features the American flag.  Bake a few blueberry pies (home made crust! no cheats!) and allow them to cool on your windowsill.  Arrange the Americana accoutrements* around your chair, and gently mash the pies on either side of your head for full immersion.
3. Procure some lutefisk.  Vomit.  Profusely. 
4. Do your best impersonation of a Minnesota accent, which is frikken adorable:

Okay, I think we're in the proper head space for this.  

Like so many things that grown-ups try to interest you in, this was a huge disappointment.

Release Schedule:  Weekly, with the release on Monday (barring holiday weekends, according to their site).


Music:  Nah.

This is a podcast of storytelling.  Where host Garrison Keillor begins in his topics are far from where he ends, and the rambling path he travels is what has drawn listeners since...

-wait, seriously?  A Prairie Home Companion has been around since the 70s?  Well done!

I'm not exactly sure what to say about this podcast.  It revolves around the lives of imaginary people in an imaginary town.  There are hot dishes, ice fishing, high school graduations, funerals, and lives that start and end within the confines of this make-believe world.  Most of it is humorous, some of it is poignant, and all of it is pretty darn charming. 

Garrison Keillor is able to give you the world of Lake Woebegon in a brown paper-wrapped parcel, with a handwritten note wishing you a good day.  It feels like, hell, maybe like if Cracker Barrel restaurants weren't carefully calculated amalgams of tin advertising signs, and something real?  In some way he has managed to capture the spirit of the small town life everyone thinks of, but no one has actually lived.  


Unintentionally Good Part: I like how the audience cheers at the beginning of the segment.  It is fun to hear their excitement at the arrival of what they've been waiting for.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  I cannot bear to listen to more than 2 episodes in a 48 hour period.  As News from Lake Woebegon is a small part of a larger show, it is packed to the brim with its own charm.  This can quickly become saccharine and grating if it is listened to for long periods of time, so sprinkle in into your week and enjoy it as it should be. 


Unrelated rating:  One ham-salad sandwich out of a dozen deviled eggs. 

*I spelled that right on the first try.  HA!  Go me.

Let's sort something out real quick at the start of this entry, shall we?

Listen to this song:

If you're already halfway through an angry rebuttal, please feel free to peruse some of my other podcast reviews or enjoy a wholesome romp in a grassy meadow.  I'll see you next week.

If you've already hit replay a few times, then The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is right up your podcast alley.  Let us voyage into the world of science and awesome together in a rocket ship fueled by the scientific method!   FWOOOOOSH!

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
A blog!
Store/Support the SGU! 
Resources of SCIENCE!
Their Top 20 Logical Fallacies - because what's better than destroying your enemies by shredding their own arguments before them?  It is a guaranteed gateway to the lamentation of the women. 

According to the bottom of the main page, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe describes itself as thus:

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe is a weekly Science podcast talkshow discussing the latest news and topics from the world of the paranormal, fringe science, and controversial claims from a scientific point of view. 

Let's get one thing straight:  people say a lot of things, and some of these things are, if not outright wrong, than just wrong enough to lead people astray and possibly even cause harm.  This happens in every part of life that someone can observe and garner an opinion about, which is to say everything in life.  From time to time you might come to question what some of these people have to say.

You may be forced to think skeptically, shall we say?  Host Dr. Steven Novella (he's a real doctor!) is here to show you the way of the skeptic.  He's like a spirit-guide, except instead of dream journeys through the inner mind to reach enlightenment, he'll cut through the woo-woo and lay down the facts about what's going on in the greater universe.  It may involve charts.

Content Rating:  Clean like the inside of your momma's autoclave.

Average Episode Length:  A sample size of five episodes that I downloaded at random give me an AEL of 79.6 minutes.  That's a great deal for your podcast dollar!

Okay, we're gonna go from the Head Box to the Ghost Box.

Drinking Game:  Take a sip each time:

• Someone points out a logical fallacy
• Quantum Physics are used incorrectly to support something
• You're forced to think about how big the universe really is

Release Schedule:  Weekly with a new podcast released each Saturday.

Music:  The typical intro/outro, nothing much to speak of.

Unintentionally Good Part:  Is it lame if I appreciate how Skeptics' Guide to the Universe knows how to pace its discussions?  They make sure to explain whatever subject is at hand so that listeners can follow along, and take the time to let everyone have their say.  The pacing of this podcast is very pleasing. 

Sorry, usually I notice something quirky!  I'll try harder next time.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Ms. Frizzle is not real and this bums me out. 

Skeptics' Guide to the Universe reminds of all the science shows I watched as a kid, except without the need for the visually-captivating experiments.  The segments are interesting, the interviews are engaging, and it is fun to listen to people who are honestly passionate about viewing the world through a skeptical lens. 

And they had Bill Nye as a guest, so that in itself makes them rad. 


Unrelated rating: Eight Neil deGrasse Tysons out of Ten Carl Sagans.

Dear Readers,

Let's take a bold step away from podcasts for a moment.  I know,  I'm as scared as you are.

Hold me, reader!

Wash your hands first, though, hygiene is critical in inter-Internet-personal relationships.

Sometimes even I don't listen to podcasts!  Sometimes I do other things!  Especially when I'm a dumb ass and forget both sets of headphones at work.  That's when I'm forced to turn to other forms of entertainment.  Like all them moving pictures on the YouTubes!  There sure are a lot of them.  Allow me to show you one that I like in particular, won't you?

For your consideration, I offer the board game stylings of TableTop.


My major goal behind this site and all of my podcast reviews is to show other people things that I enjoy, in the hopes that they will enjoy them as well.  If I were a dry cleaner or a car lot, that would be the thing engraved on the elegant "Mission Statement" plaque hung up in the front lobby.  I want to promote the works of creative people who do cool things that are also awesome and fun.  Every once and a while I might step outside of podcasts to help give a signal boost to a thing I like.

And of course, I also make sure to promote things that everybody and their mother already know about.  Like TableTop.

Wil Wheaton, beloved nerd who is in pretty much every damn thing relating to geek pop culture, is your Tabletop host.  He provides a setting in which he can gather friends to play board games, card games, and anything that can be played on a tabletop (get it!?) together.  While Wheaton is a well practiced gamer, most of the guests on the show are what the youngins' refer to as "newbies".  The play session is recorded, and hilarity ensues.


Content Rating:  Clean!  Bad words are bleeped.  Might be some innuendo if that knots your delicate panties. 


This show provides a great way for those interested in board games beyond the worn copy of Monopoly in their closet to see how a board game is played, and whether or not they'd be interested in purchasing it for their own collection.  The rules of each game are explained so that viewers can pick up the basics and their are some nice post-production effects to help you see where and why players do what they do.

TableTop has a great feel to it as you watch.  Wheaton is delighted to introduce people to new games and his guests are raring for some friendly competition.  Most of the guests are celebrities of varying recognition and are prepared to be aesthetically pleasing to your senses.  

Unintentionally Good Part:  How the set pieces change in the background to thematically match whatever game is being played.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  I am not there playing games with Wil Wheaton.  Boo.

If you play table top games, if you enjoy delightful people playing board games while you watch, or if you never realized that there were board games beyond Snakes and Ladders and that Ouija board you hid under your bed from your parents, this show is for you.  I highly recommend it and think you should go check it out!

So get to it!

The Internet:  never have there been so many crystal clear springs set next to so many filth-ridden pools of the spit poured out of those nasty cups people who chew dip carry around with them in a pathetic attempt to disguise the fact that they're spitting in the produce section of the grocery store.  For every website that attempts to light the beacon of knowledge, humor, or beauty there are about 23 that are not only producing content that is insipid, wrong, or flat-out dangerous.

Luckily for us, a lot of those sites are also hilarious.  But who has the time or mental fortitude to pluck out the choice, laughable nuggets from amidst the sprawling sewers of the Webatrons?

These guys.  Get to know The F Plus.  Since 2009 (dawn of the Internet, I believe) these brave souls have willingly plunged into the dumbest, foulest Internet forums known to mankind to retrieve humorous posts and display them to you, the listener, via dramatic reading.  There will be voices, there will be laughter, and there will be things that once heard, cannot be unheard.   


Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Get the podcast on iTunes!
Get the podcast on last.fm!
 or FeedBurner!

Join me behind the jump, won't you?

 Beer, pop culture trivia, and those questionable bowls of Chex mix that you want to snack from, but you're not sure if the people you're sharing with washed their hands after going to the bathroom.  From what I've heard from my more socially outgoing associates, Pub Quiz Nights are a thing!  You answer questions about episodes of Friends and receive laurels and maybe free alcohol! 

And now you can experience all that Saturday night fun in the comfort of your headphones and without the need to call a cab.  It's Ask Me Another!

Relevant Links:
Ask Me Another Main Site
Ways to download it!
Apparently a list of Pub Quiz Team Names for your perusal!

Behind the scenes, everyone's touching things.
                                                  -Contestant

Content Rating:  Clean, but expect innuendos and such things.

Average Episode Length:  Since there's only one episode, exactly forty-eight minutes and forty-five seconds!

Drinking Game:  Seeing how this is fashioned after pub quiz shows, I'd better come up with something. 

1. Think of those asinine drinking games you used to play in college.
2. Contemplate how you now have a mortgage and student loans.
3. Just drink as you damn well please.

I'm a ton of fun at parties.  

The games in Ask Me Another are clever and quick, created by Puzzle Gurus John Chaneski, Art Chung  and actor/writer Will Hines.  Host Ophira Eisenberg sets a fast pace as the questions and answers are flung about for the audience's amusement.  There are plenty of chances for witty banter and bad puns, and the guest contestants are willing to give as good as they get.

Contestants compete in a series of single-round elimination games, where the winner goes on to the final "championship".  The games themselves are super-neat and can include singing the answer, wordplay, haiku and whatever else you can stitch together to make a puzzle. 

There was stuff that worked and stuff that didn’t, but hey, that’s what editing is for. And really, sometimes my favorite moments of these shows are the parts that go wrong. Mistakes are the best! That’s why I make a lot of them! It’s a live audience and actual human contestants, so there’s always plenty of room for strange things to happen.
                                                             -Jonathan Coulton writing about the podcast here

Release Schedule:  I have no idea!  There are 13 episodes for this first season, so they should all be released eventually!  Most likely a weekly release.   A new episode each week, with the release on Friday.

Music:  THEY HAVE JONATHAN COULTON.

So yes, there is music involved.  Coulton sings songs between the puzzles that provide clues to who the secret guest that appears at the end of the show will be.  And sometimes he just sings songs.

Unintentionally Good Part:  This podcast is like Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me but with a higher chance of hijinks.  The host, Puzzle Gurus and Jonathan Coulton can reliably provide the wit, while the puzzles and guest contestants keep things fresh.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Sometimes the contestants are smarter than I am and figure out the answer before I can. 

Hey!:  Since I started writing this review, there's a new episode on the NPR site!  Let's go listen together, shall we?

I'm going to share something special with you, dear reader.  This podcast I'm about to review is from a small artist, kind of indie, that hasn't quite made his name known.  I don't know if it's humility, or a bashfulness that comes from not knowing how to market himself, but I'd love to give him whatever signal boost I can to get his work out to more people.

Let us review Penn Jillette's Penn's Sunday School.

Penn Jillette is, according to Wikipedia, a " Magician, illusionist, writer, actor, and inventor", not that he's going to brag about it.  He has a simple, understated approach to his public appearances and doesn't like to make a big fuss.  So far his reach has only extended to Broadway shows, Off Broadway Shows, The Simpsons, Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, films and all the books he's written.

And now he has a podcast.  He already had a previous audio show called Penn Radio which ended in 2007, but we're here to talk about the shiny new audio show!

Penn: 

Relevant Links:
Main Site
Subscribe via iTunes and there are plenty of other options on the main site for you to choose from
Ustream.tv Channel, where you can watch LIVE!!!
Episode Archive


Content Rating: Explicit.

Average Episode Length:  A little glance at the episodes show me that they're about 90 minutes, give or take about 10 minutes either way. 

Here's the pitch Penn's Sunday School has to offer:

Drinking Game:  Take a drink each time-

• Penn talks about Debbie Gibson
• A magic trick is referenced
• Someone tells a story involving bodily harm
• Monkeys are mentioned
• Penn gives a "seamless" segue into mentioning his advertisers

Release Schedule:  Every Sunday.  You can watch the podcast live on a video feed via their UStream channel, if that is your kind of thing.

Music:  There is an opening and ending theme and that's all save for some silly intros for topics.

Unintentionally Good Part:  Monkey Tuesday.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  If you are of a skeptic mindset, and wish for others to consider your viewpoints, this would not be a good starting point.  Penn is a gentleman and is more than willing to allow/consider/discuss alternate viewpoints on pretty much whatever, but this podcast is not a delicate place, and if he gets abrasive, it might turn people away without hearing any of your points. 

Unrelated rating:  Three minutes of Penn's laugh out of four.

Humor!  Magic!  Celebrities and listener contributions!  It's a cavalcade of awesome, go listen!

As a citizen of the Internet, time has a funny way of passing for me.  Here is how I see the past:

Recent Past:  The creation of my favorite meme.

Pretty Decently Past:  Creation of the Internet.

Distant Past:  Long, dark, teatime of the soul, in which people used some kind of carrier pigeon service to get their text messages from one to another, surely.  There were bonfires and cave drawings of the mammoth hunt.  Most likely around 1987, also known as the Mustacheceous Era.

Apparently, or at least so I have heard, there was a time before this.  Like, waaaaay before.  Back when the Internet was still an untapped natural resource.  Since I am easily frightened by new ideas, even new ideas about very old things and people, I will turn to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History for knowledge. 

First of all, aren't the names wonderful?  You have all these wonderfully barbarian German sounding names, um, I especially like one that was just like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. 

Relevant Links:
Main Site - Super clear site, easy to navigate, and has everything you'd want right up front.
Forums
Blog
Download via iTunes!

You want history?  Oh, host Dan Carlin has got your history right here, buddy.  Dan Carlin's Hardcore History knows its way around the history section of every library within of 200 mile radius and isn't afraid to cover the living room in highlighted Xeroxes.  If Dan Carlin's Hardcore History were a guest at a party who approached you for smalltalk, you might first be annoyed, but after an hour you would be totally engrossed by the stories it has to tell.

History!  There is cool stuff in there!  And this podcast wants to share it with you.  Here are some of the topics approached:

• Thor's Angels (this is a cool episode)
• Ghosts of the Ostfront
• History Under the Influence
• Nazi Tidbits

Content Rating: Oh, goodness.  How about I give Hardcore History a Caution Advised.  There isn't any real vulgarity, but history is plenty-full of heinous things that can be disturbing. 

Average Episode Length:  Hoo!  Okay, let's see:  out of a sample size of... you know what?  They're BIG FREAKING EPISODES, OKAY?  There is one I can see on my list that tops out at about an hour, and then there is one that is FIVE HOURS LONG, YO.  I believe there are bathroom breaks involved? 

Music: I don't think so, no.  There's a little blip of an intro and that's as far as I've heard.

Release Schedule:  Occasional.  There are months between episodes and I mean, considering the length of each podcast as well as the amount of research that would have to go into each episode, this is understandable.

Unintentionally Good Thing: Holy moly, did I mention that these episodes are stonking huge?  Quantity and quality are always appreciated!  Hardcore History is like the bulk warehouse store of podcasts, wherein you can learn about history and buy 30 cubic meters of fish sticks at the same time. 

Unintentionally Bad Thing:  This is a podcast that requires the full attention of its listener.  I find it hard to do something as simple as wash the dishes while listening, because I'll get distracted by putting away my meat cleaver and then whammo, I've lost the thread of discussion.  This podcast is most likely wicked excellent for long car rides, but not so much if you are a cubical-dweller who likes to have something to listen to while pondering spreadsheets.

DIS-to-the-CLAIMER:  I don't have the slightest damn clue if anything that comes out of this podcast is true.  There may be bias, mistakes, whatever, and it ain't on me.  Doesn't that make you curious and want to listen?  C'mon!

Bonus Content:  Carlin has another podcast, called Common Sense.  From what I can tell it is political in nature.  I have not given it a listen myself, but perhaps you could be the next bold adventurer to go forth and give it a try!  Let me know if you like it, ok?