viddyviddy

Hey, so, this podcast review is-

SHUT UP. NO ONE CARES. NO ONE CARES BECAUSE IT IS ALMOST TIME FOR

Relevant Links:
Main Site! You can send them a voice mail!
RSS Feed!

Content Rating: Explicit, and tagged as such in iTunes.

Average Episode Length:  A quick glance tells me that the average length is about 50 minutes.

It is, as the kids say, 'off the chain'.

Dragon Con is the greatest 4 days of geekery you will be able to find east of the Mississippi, and The Unique Geek (UG) is here to give you the low-down on the hoedown. Any convention can be an overwhelming mass of people, events, and places and the UG is here to provide you with a helping guide to making the best of the 24 hour insanity that can be Dragon Con. They cover important topics ranging from the light hearted discussion of panels, to the super-super-incredibly-useful information about things like the disabilities services available at the convention.

Bonus Content: You can watch a Dragon Con staff member navigate a hotel bathroom in his wheelchair to show examples of accessibility. Interesting stuff, and an eye opener if you don't have to deal with it.

The hosts vary per their expertise on certain subjects, and features interviews with the President of Dragon Con, track directors, and people who get their hands dirty to make one of the nation's largest fan-run conventions function. Even if you're not going, it is a neat insight into how a horde of volunteers can entertain thousands of people for an annual weekend of nerdom.

Drinking Game:  Take a drink every time:

• The hosts mention a show you are a fan of
• You recognize a celebrity name
• The 501st are mentioned
• One of the hotel names is said

Release Schedule: Damn near every day. They take this '50 Days' thing seriously, folks.


Unintentionally Good Part: This podcast makes me think of Dragon Con, and I look forward to Dragon Con the same way little kids look forward to Christmas. I think I have it better, because although Santa is pretty rad, my holiday involves copious amount of alcohol and the guys from Myth Busters.

Unintentionally Bad Part: Some episodes have less-than-average mic quality. Not too bad, but I had to fuss with my volume a few times.

Unrelated rating: Four disturbing Leeloo costumes out of five.

Your body is a chunk of marble.

What do you want to chisel it into?

Relevant Links:
Twitter!
Facebook!
Become a Beast Site!

A Beast is an individual who achieves their physical apex through a balanced diet, focused exercise, and the desire to fulfill the opportunity they were given with their physical body.

Host David Damron wants you to reach the apex of your own physical form.  The kind of physical form where you think about walking in front of your open living room windows in your swim shorts, just to give your neighbors the opportunity to gaze at your perfect body.  Damron wants you to succeed in all your "I wish I could look like that dreams" without going to unhealthy extremes, or developing a negative view of your "current" body.  I'll be the first to admit that I resemble more of a Krispy Kreme doughnut than one of those dudes who perform terrifying pommel horse routines, but if I were to ever attempt to emerge, like a butterfly, from my deep-fried cocoon, I'd be okay with this guy as the motivational voice in my head.

The podcast's tone is encouraging, calm, and casual.  Become a Beast is there for beginners and those who are already on their journey to swole.  This podcast manages to find the right way to offer advice without becoming overwhelming or obnoxious.  Become a Beast isn't here to make fun of how few pushups you can do, it is there to clap you on the back for trying and offer a few tips on how to improve for the next attempt. 

Content Rating:  Clean, mean and 97% lean. 

Average Episode Length: 

Drinking Game:  Hm, should I really suggest a drinking game for a healthy lifestyles podcast?  Okay, um, let's see.  Oh!  Here we go, I have an idea:

1. Decide to have a smoothie.  Smoothies are delicious.
2. Pick one fruit you really like and one fruit you really dislike.
3. Make a list of the exercises you need to complete.  For every minute/rep/whatever of exercise you complete, you get x% of your favorite fruit in the smoothie.  For every minute/rep/whatever you skip, you have to put in an equal amount of the nasty tasting, but healthy, fruit you dislike.
4. Make and consume smoothie, literally tasting either your own victory or defeat.

Release Schedule: Looks like you get at least one new episode every week.


Unintentionally Good Part: When Damron is sweetly demure in an attempt to describe Body Glide, which a balm he suggests for marathon runners.  Cause, y'know, bits chafe.
 
Unintentionally Bad Part:  Much of the advice given is wholly anecdotal.  This is not a true negative per se, as none of the guests or the host pretend that they are doctors or act like their word is truth but I feel like I had to mention that in this podcast so nobody throws themselves into some exercise routine that hurts them. 

And I mean, he does an episode on how lifting free weights will help you in a zombie apocalypse. 

On the whole, Become a Beast has guests, stories, and lots of advice to be offered.  The episodes are relevant to what I'd say most people's interests are, including things like how to get back into a healthy routine after you've been sick.  Give it a listen and see if you get inspired to dust off that old gym membership that you've been paying for all these months and never using. 

Unrelated rating:  Two of those YouTube clips of people breaking their limbs lifting weights out of four. 

The human brain is a disgusting, glorious piece of machinery that mostly tells me to procure more Cheetos, Doritos, or other processed foods that end with the "ee-toes" sounds.  Once I have a few dozen bags (Funyuns are also allowed) stashed in the false bottom of my desk, my brain then tells me to write podcast reviews.

Brains are weird!  They wrinkle up when you learn a thing!  Your prefrontal cortex rewrites itself during puberty!  If something is wrong with your brain, like seizures, a doctor will crack your skull open and cleave your brain in twain to help you out!  AND WHAT I DESCRIBED IN THE LAST SENTENCE ACTUALLY WORKS.

Also, Phineas Gage. 

In summary:  brains are neat, brains are important to your day-to-day life, and we should strive to learn more about how they do the things they do.  With that in mind (pun!), we turn to the Enhanced Naked Neuroscience (ENN) podcast.

Relevant Links:
ENN RSS Feed!
Get it through Google!
Check out ALL of the Naked Scientist podcasts HERE.  There's so many and they're all FREE!
Naked Scientists Twitter!

Content Rating:  Clean.  Trigger-warning for zombies.

Average Episode Length:  A dubious average of the episodes I have downloaded in iTunes shows about 18 minutes on average.

Drinking Game:  Take a drink every time a specific part of the brain is named (dendrite, neural circuit, hypothalamus).  Alternate each drink with a glass of water because otherwise you will have an odd sense of guilt about what damage you're doing to the body part you're learning about.

Release Schedule:  Couldn't find any concrete release schedule, so let's go with "erratic".

Music:  A little intro, not bad, doesn't get it the way of anything. 

The ENN podcast is a series of interviews and articles relating to neuroscience.  Doctors and scientists in fields related to and surrounding neurology let you know about recent studies and what cool new things humans are discovering by prodding into lumps of grey matter.  If topics such as how scientists backwards-engineer neurons for testing, or studies on little amoebas and how they relate to human behavior, this podcast is your bag, baby.

Topics are discussed in such a way that they are accessible to the typical listener without being overly simplified.  This keeps the podcast interesting, and the topics themselves are flat out fascinating.  The interviews range greatly in topic, so if one interview doesn't interest you, another will be along shortly.

Unintentionally Good Part:  The delightful accents.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  When you start looking up neurological disorders on Wikipedia and the subsequent self-diagnosis that you have at least 3 of them. 

Unrelated rating:  Two out of eight mice that escaped along with the Rats of NIMH. 

This is Irregular.  Irregular is an irregularly produced podcast focusing on irregular conversations with irregular people.

I think we can all agree that mocking things is the best, right?  Nothing makes you feel better than cutting someone else down and the anonymity of the Internet makes is incredibly easy for people to post things that you can subsequently laugh at.  

Hm.  I probably should have watched more Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood when I was little.  Too late!

But what if, on the rare occasion that you have to catch your breath because you're laughing so hard at someone, you decided to let them have their say on the matter?  And what if you actually found them interesting and with their own, mostly valid opinion?  Then you'd have the Irregular Podcast.

Relevant Links:
The Irregular Podcast Website!
iTunes! Which only has the first episode available, so check out...
Download through Feedburner!  ..which also only has the first episode.

Just listen to it through the site, okay?

Content Rating:  Explicit.  SERIOUSLY.  The first episode is called "Kindleporn Authors" so you can take that a guidelines as to whether or not you'd be comfortable listening to this podcast.

"It's a Strategically Placed Hole."

Average Episode Length:  Arrrrrrround an hourrrrrrr long.

Drinking Game:  Go on to Amazon.com.  Buy one of the good books that I've listed for you on the side of this review, then go click around the Kindle selections.  First time you find a book title that makes you recoil from your computer monitor, go get a drink.

ALWAYS THE WEREWOLVES!

Release Schedule:  Please see the podcast title.

Music:  L'Aguardiente by Camper Van Beethoven.

The previously reviewed, and much-beloved-by-me podcast The F Plus has stepped out beyond their towering empire of delightfully bizarre and hilarious forums readings to hear what the people they've made fun of have to say.  Hosts Lemon and Boots Raingear step into new territory as they invite members of subcultures to step up to the mic and explain what they're all about.

[Spoiler:  the wackadoos in every subculture are in the extreme minority, which means that the large majority are just peeps that happen to like things like Underwater Boggle or Sheep Organization.]

The Irregular Podcast provides you with interviews from a handful of people that participate in weird things.  The tone of the interviews are... semi-earnest explorations of other people's interests.  The hosts are more than happy to joke around with their guests, and the guests are congenial and do their best to answer the questions put forth.  The dialogue is interesting and while you may not come out of each episode with a greater appreciation for your fellow man, you'll have gotten an episode's worth of entertainment.  

Unintentionally Good Part:  When the guests catch the hosts off guard.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  The little player that pops up from the site is frustrating to move back and forth along the timeline, which makes it hard to replay funny quotes for a podcast review.

Unrelated rating:  Four reposts out of five.

That's not a book cover, that's a t-shirt!

Simply put: cool physics and other sweet science.

Science!  Say it aloud, and with some gusto:  SCIENCE!  Science is real, and it's spectacular.  

It is also confusing when you try and learn about how scientific processes process.  Sure, I've made a Punnett square or two, put some Mentos in some Diet Coke to learn about nucleation, and when I'm bored I spend my time in Wikipedia looking up civilian radiation accidents because they're fascinating in a horrific way.  

So what do you do when you want to understand a scientific theory that is pretty deep?  The kind of thing that takes a Masters degree and a graphic calculator to get a grip on?  You could give up and go bake cookies, or you could watch the Minute Physics podcast.

Relevant Links:
iTunes download link!
Minute Physics YouTube Channel
Store!
Wikipedia Page
Twitter
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, which sponsors Minute Physics

Full disclosure:  this is a video podcast!  Quelle suprise, I know!  In fact, this is the first video podcast that I've ever reviewed!  I really like audio podcasts for the sheer fact that they don't need to be watched to get the full content.  That being said, I really enjoy watching episodes of Minute Physics and wanted to share it with you.

So I am.

So there.  Geez, mom.  

"Host" Henry Reich has a lot of markers, an understanding of quantum physics, and a desire to share his knowledge with the world.


Content Rating:  Clean for everyone who exists in the third dimension (that's you).

Average Episode Length:  The show is called Minute Physics, isn't it?  One or two minutes tops for most episodes.

Drinking Game:  And excerpt from Supermasterpiece.com:

Quantum Physics Drinking Game

Whenever the mere fact that you are observing a phenomenon causes a series of potentialities to resolve into one actuality, chug a beer.

That'll work just fine.


Release Schedule:  Looks like there is a new episode each week, although no new episodes in the iTunes list since December of 2012. 

Music:  Not in particular.

Unintentionally Good Part:  The little cat that shows up in the illustrations.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  This podcast is just a port of the YouTube episodes, so there's no real advantage to subscribing to it via a podcast subscription over a YouTube subscription.

Oh, also I have to watch the episodes a lot of times because of my tiny brain. 

Unrelated rating:  Five Higgs bosons out of five.

Go forth, watch and listen!  Let me know what you think of it in the comments!

Space:  the final frontier.  Uh, something about the Enterprise... prime directive... that one episode with tribbles...

Huh, I thought I knew more of the Star Trek intro.  Oh well!  Can I repair my geek cred if I admit I still know the DuckTales theme (a-whoo-ooh)?

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that the whole "boldly going where no man has gone before thing" is a fascinating aspect of science.  NASA is often at the fore of such exploratory projects, and over the years has, to put it mildly, done some rad stuff.

Send a satellite hurling through the void of space with a golden record affixed to it so that we might make contact with our future Alien Overlords?  DONE.

Strap humans on top of enormous fuel tanks with wings so that they might shake off the bonds of earth and go hop around on the moon?  DONE.

Pester Mars incessantly with rovers?  YOU BETCHA.

Turns out when they're not busy mocking gravity, NASA finds the time for podcasting.   They have several podcasts to offer, but I'll be focusing on the "omnibus" podcast, NASA - This Week @NASA.

Here's where I need that sound effect from old news reels that goes 'deet-deet-de-deet-de-dee-deet"

This week at NASA [swooshing space noise]...

Relevant Links:
Main podcast website
Download via iTunes
@NASA on Twitter
NASA facts!

Ooh, there's a podcast about the Hubble telescope?  Neat!

Content Rating:  So clean you could build scientific instruments in it.

Average Episode Length:  About nine and half minutes by the looks of the episodes I have downloaded.  It's like getting a postcard from spaaaaaaaace!

Drinking Game:  Get drunk quick version:  drink every time they mention something that is currently not on Earth.  For the slower version, only drink when said non-Earthbound object is controlled by a foreign country. 

Release Schedule:  Weekly, with a new episode every Friday.

You get to hear about what the Curiosity rover is up to, what's going on in NASA overall, what will be going on in NASA eventually, and you get to hear phrases like-

Using Dexter, a two armed Canadian robot on the station...

There's going to be a little nugget of information that you'll find interesting in every episode.

Music:  A little intro beep-boop, a little outro beep-boop music.  Not much to speak of here.

Unintentionally Good Part:  The short length is just right.  If a particular topic catches your interest, you can find another podcast that goes into more depth, but this overall summary of what's going on with NASA fits your ears just right.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  I am not an astronaut, and this saddens me.

Unrelated rating: Three Space Food Sticks out of three.

[HA!  Did you know that the crew of Gemini III snuck a corned beef sandwich on board?  They got reprimanded for it.]
 

You damn kids these days with your XBox360s and your smart phones and your technological cocoons from which you pretend to have a social life despite any actual interaction beyond a "Like!" or an amusing meme.  Back in my day, if you wanted to play a game, it had to exist in a physical manifestation!  Oh, those were dark days, back when we were forced to walk uphill, BOTH WAYS, just to have the chance to play a tattered game of Monopoly.  We lived for the days that the Game Wagon would roll into town just for the chance to find a Uno deck with most of the cards still in it.

And we liked it!  We loved it!

But now brighter days have returned for table top gaming.  Nerd Messiah, Wil Wheaton, has a YouTube show all about them called TableTop.  BoardGameGeek can point you in about a thousand directions that all lead to great games.  Thanks to this newfangled Internet, people with cool ideas can get their games funded through Kickstarter and send them straight to the people who want them.

All you have to do is know how to play.  That's where, go figure, the How To Play podcast steps in.

Relevant Links:
How To Play Main Site
Support the Show!
Episode Archives

How To Play podcast doesn't throw up any smoke and mirrors when it comes to its premise:  each podcast covers a game's rules and gives a thorough explanation on how to play.  Host Ryan Sturm takes it upon himself to explain a veritable plethora of games to his audience.  A teacher by trade, Sturm's language and method of introducing and explaining each piece of a game are clear, understandable and obviously thought out.  There is a good deal of effort put into How To Play and I think it pays off really well.

Content Rating:  Clean, and tagged so in iTunes.  It's a bit funny to imagine this show with explicit language though.  "JUST MOVE THE #&$*@ PIECE, IT'S NOT THAT HARD!"

Average Episode Length:  I don't want to give you the normal median time for How To Play.  It really depends on what kind of game Sturm is describing.  Simple games require less time, while more complicated games take more time.  You can probably judge the intricacy of a game just by checking the episode's time. 

Drinking Game:  Pick one of the following words, and drink each time it is used:

• Dice
• Card
• Hand
• Banker
• Board

  That should get you there pretty quickly.

How To Play is a podcast of great use to anybody who has ever tried to learn, or teach others how to play a game.  This is a great way to break down what can be daunting instructions (I'm looking at you, Fantasy Flight) and lists of errata into a functioning rule set.  If you have trouble explaining rules, How to Play can help you by either teaching you how to teach others, or you can just play the episodes for your friends while you set the game up.

On top of that, you also get to learn about strategies for how to win each game.  Uh, you don't have to let your friends listen to that part of the episode if you don't want to. 

Music:  A little guitar music that I believe is performed by the host.  Very nice!

Release Schedule:  Monthly, with more episodes if there are expansions to a game that are covered.


Unintentionally Good Part:  Honestly, I really like the guitar music.  It's calming.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  If you don't have, or are not interested in a particular game that is covered by an episode, you're not going to listen to it.  Shortens the library of possible episodes considerably for me, but this really isn't a fault of the podcast in the slightest.  I just need to buy more games!

Unrelated rating:  Three top hats out of three scottie dogs.

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.

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?

According to a reliable source, it is Spring time! 

According to another reliable source, this is the time of year where people go outside and do... things?  They do activities of some sort, which are apparently fun?  I'm not sure what you can do that's fun and doesn't require a power source to operate.  I mean, I guess people could have portable generators so they can set up their computers in the yard but that sounds like a hassle. 

I don't do outside.  Mankind struggled against all kinds of dangers to invent important technology that has advanced our species, and I intend to honor those brave souls who spent their lives in toil by staying inside and enjoying what they have given us.

For my purposes, the 5 greatest inventions are as follows:

1. Air conditioning
2. Internet
3. Mountain Dew Baja Blast
4. The Slanket
5. Penicillin 

However, even if I don't go outside where all the grass and the Big Sky Lamp live, I realize that other people do.  In the spirit of intrepid journalism, I would like to do a review for a podcast that involves something a person has to willingly go outside for:  gardening!

I put on extra sunscreen just to write this review of Garden How-To.

Relevant Links:
Main Site
Download from iTunes
Horticultural Magazine Twitter
A YouTube Channel!
Store

Content Rating:  Clean as a freshly washed hot house cucumber.  Not a lot of room to get frothed up when you're talking about plants, I suppose.

Host Kathy Cropp (her last name is Cropp and she talks about gardening, how awesome is that!) welcomes you into the wide world of gardening and invites you to pull up one of those little foam pads to protect your knees, pick up a trowel, and join her in the freshly shoveled dirt.  If you've even looked out at your backyard and seen potential for something more than a thing you occasionally mow, this is your podcast.

Don't have a yard?  EPISODE SEVEN, "LANDLESS GARDENING", GOT YOU COVERED.  The subjects move from decorative plants to vegetable garden tips and lots of other topics that can help a garden grow. 

Release Schedule:  The last released episode was in February, 2012, so I am going to say that the release schedule is erratic/sporadic. 


Episode Length:  About-ish 29 minutes.  Just right to water your plants and listen.

Music:  A little toodly-oodly bit at the start. 

Unintentionally Good Part:  The.  Host's.  Name.  Is.  Kathy.  Cropp.  That's good enough for me.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  The host has a lovely, mellow voice.  Unfortunately for me, I can tell that it is the kind of Smooth Jazz Radio voice that would put me to sleep if I tried to listen to it at work. 

This podcast features the expertise of the host as well as a wide variety of guests that can help bring their point of view and knowledge to whatever subject is at hand.  Topics are explained in simple language, so that the novice gardener can get a good start and the practiced gardener can learn new facts/techniques to add to their routine.  Plus, it is nice to picture all the descriptions of the pretty plants they talk about.  Terribly soothing, all in all. 

Go on and give Garden How-To a listen and try some of their helpful tips out in your own plot of land?  As for me, I'mma go throw on another Slanket and maybe watch HGTV.  That suits me just fine.

One of my favorite things about audio podcasts is their ability to allow me to multitask while enjoying them.  I can do chores, drive, work, shower (iPod outside the shower), and pretend that I'm actually writing and not looking at Tumblr all while listening to a podcast!  They're great that way!  It's a very peanut butter and jelly arrangement.

So, how could I be more excited than when my friend let me know about a podcast where you:
A) Listen to a podcast
B) Watch a movie at the same time?

Lads and lassies, may I bring to the fore of this discussion, Down in Front.  Intelligent movie commentary, fellas that make with the jokes, insightful discussions, how can you go wrong?

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
[This is the spot where other links would go to make your perusal of the podcast as easy as possible, but the Down in Front website is great and has everything I'd typically link to right on top of the front page.  Woo!]

Average Episode Length:  Long.  Like, for-realz long.  All of the episodes I've downloaded so far have been 2+ hours!  How do you like THAT for quantity?

Each episode of Down in Front concerns itself with a single movie.  The movie is discussed by a rotating cast of hosts the lend their expertise to the conversation.  As a listener, you can either listen to their discussion on its own OR sync the Down in Front  podcast with the movie, and enjoy the symbiotic relationship!

[Okay, it would be closer to a commensal relationship.  Happy, Ms. Science?]

This provides an amazing excuse for you to not only watch a movie you love, not only subject your friends and loved ones to watching it again for the thousandth time, but to watch a movie you love with your friends and loves ones (possibly bribed with the promise of never having to watch it again) and listening to other people who watched the movie talk about it!

If one would like, one may even pretend the hosts are talking directly to you.  Attempts can be made to join the conversation at varying rates of success. 

Content Rating:  Explicit!  Considering many of the movies they select are rated R, let that guide your expectations for profanity.  In what I've listened to the hosts are not crude, but much of what they're watching has "adult themes" so, hey, it might crop up. 

Music:  Nah, not really.  Just the lightest touch at the intro.

Release Schedule:  Weekly, with most episodes releasing on Monday.

Unintentionally Good Part:  They have an episode for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" which is one of the best movies ever made and yes I will fight you on this. 

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Some of the reviewers either dislike or are indifferent to Avatar:  the Last Airbender, which is one of the best shows ever made and yes I will fight you on this.  Their opinion differs from mine on this single, unimportant facet of life so that makes them wrong. 

At the very, very least, Down in Front will provide you with a bevy of opinions on movies that you have seen.  Perhaps you will agree with them.  PERHAPS YOU WON'T?!?!  Then you are free to find your favorite forum (or visit the Down in Front forum) and mash your little hands against your keyboard and share your opinion with THE WORLD.

Bonus Features:  Down in Front also features a "shorter" version of their podcast called The Intermission.  This podcast is more of the "potpourri" style where the hosts bring stories from their lives to the table.   Looks like the topics can vary wildly in The Intermission, so just think of it as your own, personal lottery of things you might want to listen to!

Skim over this list of words/terms:


If you cannot recognize a single item in this list, then you are excused from this review.  Go on and play at one of the nicer parts of the Internet. 

As for the rest of you social delinquents, it is time to read up on Haste:  The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast.

Before I get into this, I'll admit that I am a big fan of Obsidian Portal and would love if you became a big fan too, dear reader.  This website is a massively useful tool for anyone who plays tabletop RPGs.  With an easy to use interface, players and GMs can create/list/display/organize/edit/use any places/NPCs/PCs/Items/Documents that are used in their game.  A fantastic replacement for a stuffed, disorganized binder that can be lost/burninated/eaten, Obisdian Portal can hold an entire campaign ready to go on any computer or mobile Interweb device.

Beyond that, you can view other campaigns on Obsidian Portal to take inspiration from other people's games and see who's doing what in the RPG world.  It is free to sign-up, and while there is a paid membership that grants extra perks/functions, the basic account is still a great tool.  I've used it before in a previous campaign and it works for a document heavy game, or even a short, month-long exploration into a gaming system. 

Okay, that's my sale's pitch!  Who'd have guessed that when I find something I enjoy, I want to tell other people about it?  Let's move on!

Relevant Links:
Haste Main Page
Obsidian Portal Main Page
Twitter Page
Facebook


Average Episode Length: Twenty-one minutes.  EXACTLY.

Music:  Intro and outro, both credited to LukHash.  I am not entirely sure what a LukHash is, but there you go.

Content Rating:  Clean for everyone except Jack Chick. 

Haste:  The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast is you brief but beneficial dip into the world and whims of tabletop RPGs.  Hosts Jerry and Micah are ready and willing to relay all the most recent and relevant news that relates to this hobby.

Each podcast brings mention of any relevant news, such as anticipated rule book releases and corporate doings that affect current systems.  The hosts are knowledgeable and experienced on the whole, and it is clear that tabletop RPGs are their thing.  If any interesting items that relate to gaming have crossed their paths, they will be sure to let you know about them.  This is a good way to hear about rule systems or gaming aids that you might not run across on your own.

There are topics... which... are pretty self-explanatory.  The hosts will bring up a topic related to tabletop RPGs, and then discuss them.  ...ta-da!  The topics are varied and the hosts' thoughts are fun to hear.  At the very least, they'll give you something to disagree with at some forum somewhere. 

Haste:  The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast (I like typing the whole name out, ok?) also asks listeners to send in questions via their Twitter account. 

Finally, Haste:  The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast recommends a tip to better use your Obsidian Portal account.  What part of "The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast" are you not getting?

Drinking Game: Drinking Quest.  This is A Thing.


Unintentionally Good Part:  If you are a user of Obsidian Portal, which you should be, it is just the cherry on the cake to see that not only does this site support a huge community of nerds and their games, but works to add more useful content beyond the base purpose of their site.  Yay, effort!

Unintentionally Bad Part:  The short format and the fact that there are only two hosts leaves little in the way of lively debate.  Considering longer podcasts like Fear the Boot and The Podgecast, you may find this one a bit short for your style.

Books!  Books with mostly words, although some pictures are ok!

This comic © 2003-2011 David Malki !

Ain't literacy grand?  We here at Viddyviddy Corporations have been strong advocates of reading for entertainment and information alike ever since that one time in 3rd grade when our mom made us read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.  Combine that with the fact that one day that little kid would grow up to be a nerd with a penchant for escapism, and you get a life-long devotee of the fantasy and science fiction genres.

Now, I'm going to take just the most wildest of leaps and assume that one or two of you out there in Internet Land are of similar tastes and would rather fork over the cash for a new paperback book than any other current form of entertainment.  If I'm right about that, than maybe I'm right in thinking you should check out the Sword and Laser Podcast.

Relevant Links:
Main site!
Subscribe to the podcast for iTunes!

Store, featuring lots of books!
Discussion/Forum thing on Goodreads!

I have only listened to a handful of episodes so far, but Sword and Laser seems to have a pretty cool thing going.  From what I can cobble together from their FAQ the origins of Sword and Laser were as a book club, and the podcast was eventually added.  Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt are at the helm of this genre-fueled juggernaut and it looks like they've managed to develop and maintain a community that shares their love of fantasy and sci-fi literature. 

You can go to their Goodreads page right now and see what books are currently being discussed as well as all the other topics that crop up, including discussion about each episode of the podcast.  They welcome one and all to join their community, so go ahead and see if there's anything that catches your eye!  

Release Schedule:  Once a week-ish.  From the iTunes archives it looks like they have a weekly schedule that occasionally gets interluded with a few extra weeks between episodes.  Some of the episodes are recorded at conventions, while others are interviews, so there might be a little extra time when it comes to creating and producing those types of episodes.  Fortunately, there is a big backlog of episodes to catch up on when the release schedule starts to lag.  

Music:  Cute little intro.  And by little, I mean that when you combine it with the opening spiel for their sponsors it clocks in at over a minute long.  oonst-oonst-oonst-oonst

Average Episode Length:  A sample size of 5 randomly selected episodes gives me an average time of 47 minutes (and some spare change).

Hosts Veronica and Tom have great personalities (and I mean that in a good way not the "once you get past their faces they're fun!" way) and they can hold your attention for a host-only episode.  The interviews are well-paced and enjoyable as the hosts provide insightful, questions tailored to each guest.  Some episodes wander away from the topic of fantasy and sci-fi and into the realm of cool websites, television and general geekiness, and that's ok by me! 

Unintentionally Good Part:  The Goodreads thing is really cool!  I've never been able to get into forum discussions, but this looks like it is a bit more manageable and hey, you get to talk about books with other people who like books.

Unintentionally Bad Part: Spoilers.  If you're not participating in their book discussions or haven't already read the book, you may have to skip some episodes where a book's plot is laid open on the autopsy table.

Now go on and grab a mug of tea, your favorite comfy chair and a new sci-fi or fantasy book and get to reading!  Then subsequently get to listening! 

 

What would come to mind if I told you that I have discovered a podcast that will not only help you actuate your high-level functionality, but also ensure that you're "actioning your deliverables" for a future-proof pathfinder project?

All right, I'm about to try something new.

(I'm scared too.)

This...is a debut review.  Yes, I just thought that up and yes, I agree on how stupid it sounds.  But that's all I could come up with so it is sticking and you can just hush up.

Let's dive in to the entire 1 episode of Humor Authority that currently exists, shall we?

Explorations on the theory and practice of humor... it's ambitious, it might fall apart, might be a huge mess.

Relevant Links:
Humor Authority Main site!
Kris Straub's Twitter
Kris Straub's Main site, where you can find links to all the things he does.
Store

First off, Kris Straub is a gol'dang Internet maven (and yes, I had to look up "maven" to make sure I knew what it meant).  Author/Creator/Colorer-Inner of several webcomics, co-creator of those wacky Blamimations, co-host of Webcomics Weekly and innovator when it comes to giving me the willies.  Given time I'm sure he'll head his own brand of microwave dinners and energy drinks, but until then, he makes awesome things like Humor Authority.

 Humor Authority is a podcast that sets out to investigate what makes funny things work.  The plan thus far appears to be that Straub will bring on a guest for each episode and engage them in an open conversation on their opinion and experiences with trying to make people laugh.  The interview style is loose and conversational, leaving Straub and his guest to roam wild and free along the vast plains of what is funny.  


The first (and only) episode features Ethan Nicolle, illustrator of Axe Cop.  This web comic is... actually, it is pretty funny and I highly recommend it, if not on the basis of how the story is written alone (via the artist's 5 year old brother).

NICOLLE: I want to say this as humble as possible but I think that me and you have a good grasp on humor in comics.  I don't know if I can say that, I'll say it about you and you can say it about me if you want to.

STRAUB:  I was gonna start this show with like, "You and I, both crown princes of humor, of the visual art of humor...

Release Schedule:  I have no friggen' clue.  IT IS A MYSTERY.

Average Episode Length:  Considering that there is one episode, the average time is fifty-four minutes and seventeen seconds.

Music:  Something nice at the start that is followed by something nice at the end.

Unexpectedly Good Part:  Welp, with only a single episode to try and suss this out of... I'd say... from what I can tell it appears the Straub is not limiting himself to a single type or genre of humor.  So rather than just interviewing comic artists or comedians or humor writers, there will be a big spread of thoughts and opinions from all across the grid of making people laugh.


Unexpectedly Bad Part:  Buh... um, the chance the the interview-heavy style of the show will most likely translate into a sluggish release schedule?

SO!  Now's your chance to get in on something that's just started and could go big.  Give the first episode a a chance, and if you like it then subscribe or let Straub know that he has an audience for the Humor Authority.  You're listening to the cutting edge of innovation, son!  And that's something to be proud of.

Probably.

StarTalk Radio Show with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson... I think I recognize that name.  Where have I seen him before?

Maybe it was on one of his many interviews on The Daily Show and Colbert Report?

Perhaps I've seen him in a totally sweet science-based jam?

Oh, that Neil DeGrasse Tyson!

Now you and I get to know him via the magical world of podcasts with the StarTalk Radio Show.

Although I probably shouldn't use the world "magical" in regards to a podcast steeped in progressive scientific thinking... so, uh, join me, won't you, as we travel into the realm of audio-based digital media that is StarTalk.

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Want to know something about how the universe works?  Submit a question!

Twitter!
Archive!
StarTalk itself lacks a store, but feel free to check out some Neil DeGrasse Related items here.


You may have gathered that StarTalk is focused around the discussion of discoveries both recent and past, information regarding and just some cool facts about space.  StarTalk has featured throughout its many episodes meteorologists and astronomers to help explain what we can see from earth as well as astronauts and astrophysicists that can reveal all the interesting things that are busy existing in the greater universe.  

Tyson:  What's your most indelible memory from the entire Apollo era?
Roger Launius:No question, it's the moon landing.  It was very exciting but I got to tell you, as Neil set foot on the moon I was sitting on the hood of a car listening to the broadcast on the car radio, there was a girl beside me and let me tell you what was going on on the moon was not my first priority.

Content Rating:  As clean as the room they built the Hubble telescope lens in.  Which, from what I understand, was incredibly clean.  To be honest, there is a fair bit of innuendo-y jokes, but nothing that should make you blush.

Average Episode Length:  Kept tight around forty-seven to fifty minutes. 

I would be remiss in my review if I didn't include all the various guests that StarTalk boasts.  Neil Tyson DeGrasse manages to hook Jon Stewart, John Hodgman, Morgan Freeman (!), a bevvy of respectable NASA-related scientists, more astronauts than you can shake a stick at and when he's not talking to a guest he is chatting with his co-host Lynne Koplitz.  Koplitz provides an "everyman" voice for the podcast, making sure Tyson provides explanations for whatever topic he brings us and keeping him on his toes with witty banter.  It feels like Tyson does best when he has someone to talk with, rather than if he only had the listening audience to talk to, so Koplitz really helps make the show excellent. 

Tyson:  I love July!
Koplitz:  I love July, I love July in New York, it's a lot of fun.
Tyson: Why, what do you do?
Koplitz:  'Cause the men are so distracted by all the breasts that are out, it's just hilarious.  You can almost make taxi cabs wreck.
Tyson:So do you have notches on your bra for how many taxi cabs you've wrecked?
Koplitz:  I have notches on my bra for a lot of things but let's get on with the science, shall we?

Release Schedule:  StarTalk earns its status as a Radio Show by being broadcast live, every Sunday at 6pm Eastern. 

Music:  The opening song is ready to GET YOU PUMPED for astrophysics!

Drinking Game:  Take a drink everytime:
a) A Latin word is used.
b) Someone says an acronym.
c) An astronaut is interviewed.

Tyson:  What's your favorite element, by the way?
Jon Stewart:  I'm a huge carbon fan, I enjoy the molecular slut of the table of elements.

Unintentionally Good Part:  BILL NYE.  Most shows have a little introductory thing by Bill Nye!  Shut up, you know that's awesome.


Unintentionally Bad Part:   Well, this is one more nerd podcast so if you're not into DISCOVERING THE MAJESTY OF THE UNIVERSE, I guess you might not like it.  If things like AMAZING SCIENCE and FASCINATING INNOVATIONS don't catch your attention, then this podcast will not intrigue you.

Neil Tyson DeGrasse's love of discovery and science and math and all that kind of crap is palpable, and his enthusiasm is etched into this podcast.  His guests are erudite and often funny, it is just the right length for its content, and space is awesome.  So go give it a listen, won't you? 

Hey!  I've been working on figuring out this whole Web 2.0 thingy that seems to be going on, and I found something cool.  I made a little Amazon.com shop on the sidebar! 

Yeah, I know, shut up.  Uncle ViddyViddy wants himself a slice of that Internet pie he's always hearing about.

The part I want you to know about is that I was able to pick a selection of books written by people who also host podcasts!  If you really enjoy a podcast that's been reviewed on this site, give my store a look.  There's a good chance that the host(s) have a book or two to their name as well.

This site is a chance for me to try and show people things that I enjoy, in the hopes that they enjoy them as well.  I'll try to do the same with the little storefront I've got going on.  Give it a click, ignore it, never see it because you have Adblock installed, pretend to light it on fire, whatever.  I think it is nifty.

Also, I named it "Uncle ViddyViddy's Pit n' Git."  Technology is a wonderful thing, children.

Webcomics! Know 'em, love 'em, love to hate 'em, hate 'em, who cares? If you're a social invalid like myself you've got at least a dozen of them that you check each day and you may have even have deigned to buy a t-shirt or book.

But what if you're a social invalid that wants to make their own webcomic, possibly devoting and developing the skill, talent, dedication and understanding so that you can make a living as a professional cartoonist? You might want a little bit of a guiding light to help you figure out the long road ahead. You might want Webcomics Weekly.

Hosted by a quartet of some of the finest webcartoonists avaliable to host a podcast about webcomics, Webcomics Weekly consist of cartoonist on the web talking about webcomics to those who want to make webcomics and want to know more about webcomicry so that they can succeed with their own webcomics (webcomics).

Webcomics Weekly is a gol' dang font of information. The topics cover the creative and business end alike when it comes to making webcomics. Topics have included:

• Rulers
• How to ship merchandise
• Hand lettering vs. digital lettering
• Do's and Don'ts of conventions
• Feedback
  

There are four hosts, which provides the listener with different points of view and a variety of methods for everything they talk about.

Let's meet them, Tiger Beat style, shall we?

The Heartthrob: Kris Straub. He enjoys writing both Starslip and Chainsawsuit, long walks on the beach and listening to you talk about the drama that goes on during 5th period geometry.
The Bad Boy: Scott Kurtz. Will your sign match up with this fiesty gemini? Scott keeps himself lean and mean by letting you know exactly what's on his mind! Turn ons: understanding gutter size. Turn offs: girls that wear too much body glitter!!!!
The Cute One: Dave Kellett. Put your pencils down from this multiple-choice test on heart-breakers! Dave Kellett may have two Masters degrees but that doesn't keep him from wanting to learn all about you!
The Sweet One: Brad Guigar. Here's what Brad has to say about what makes him a fan favorite:

"Throughout life the way you approach something like that, the way you are able to receive something like is different. For example, if you're ten years old and your dad says something about your mother in a way that indicates that they're actually two married people and it's like "Ew, gross!" you don't want to see your dad kiss your mom or anything like that, it's gross when your ten. But then it's twenty years old and he makes a comment and it's like "Yeah, these are two married people, of course he's going to kiss mom... uh, I don't why I'm doing the whole 'kissing mom' thing... "

... thanks Brad!

Relevant Links:
Get the most recent episodes here.
Find the archives (episodes 1-39) here.
Check out each host's webcomic. I can verify the fact that, if you're me, you'll enjoy all of them.

Hey Look, Another Site:
Webcomics.com, a "tremendous resource of practical information for webcartoonists." This site is outside of my purview, but from what I can tell it features in-depth articles/tips/tricks from some of the leaders in webcomicry. It is subscription only, but if you're an actual webcartoonist go ahead and give it a look.

Content Rating: Majority Clean. Explicit episodes are tagged appropriately.

Average Episode Length: Most episodes will cost you about an hour of your time, give or take ten minutes. The longest episode is a mere five seconds shy of 140 minutes. The shortest episode clocks in at an adorable 31 minutes. Cootchie-coo, little episode!

Scott Kurtz: No, dolls and mannequins will come to life and kill you. That's a fact.
Kris Straub: Yeah, that's a given.
Brad Guigar: Mannequins too?
Scott Kurtz: Oh, yes.
Kris Straub: Why not? Why not, Brad? They're instinct with hellish life! They don't like that they've been made in our image but they can't move. They can't enjoy life! They just have to watch and they're miserable.
Scott Kurtz: And they're waiting for you to drop you guard.

Drinking Game: Take a drink each time syndication is mentioned. Drain your glass if it sets off a rant.

Release Schedule: Weekly-ish. Their track record is a bit spotty when it comes to maintaining the "weekly" part of the podcast. Lucky for you there is a huge backlog of episodes to keep you busy if they skip a week or two! Or three.

Music: Your choices in music vary from that one song every podcast uses with the two guitars that goes:

bink-bink-bink
deedle-eedle-deedle-lee
bink-bink
deedle-deedle-eedle-eedle

OR the one that goes:

woan-de-now
wonna-na-da-de-now
dooooow-de-wonna-won-wow
w0nna-wan-won
bwon-bwon-bwon-bwon

OR ONE OF THE OTHER SONGS THAT EVERY FRIGGEN PODCAST USES. COME ON, GUYS! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY JUST LICENSE SOMETHING ORIGINAL!

Unintentionally Good Part: Brad Guigar's laugh. It's like puppy dogs wrapped with rainbows.

Unintentionally Bad Part: To be fair, I can't peg down a "bad part" for this podcast. I listen to it for the personalities behind the mics. If you're an aspiring webcomic artist, I can't speak for whether or not the information and opinions offered are sound. This podcast serves a small audience; give it a try to see if it's worth your time.

As someone who has absolutely no investment in making a webcomic, I really enjoy this podcast for the personality of the hosts. Start at the beginning of their archive, give it a shot, maybe you'll enjoy it as well. Let me know in the comments!

"You're listening to Skeptoid. I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com"

Do you crave information? Information that may very well blow your mind????

Awesome. Let's take a moment to prepare ourselves, shall we?

First, go into the kitchen and get some tinfoil. If you don't have any than just print out the following picture five or six times and tape it together:



Still with me? Now, take the foil and form it into a hat. According to the eHow.com instructions (yes this is a real thing), "It is very important for the shiny side of the aluminum foil to be showing when the hat is complete to make sure it is effective against alien rays or mind control signals."

Relevant Links:
Main Site
Subscribe Here
Wikipedia Link
Donate Here - Donations for Skeptoid are nifty. There are micro payments starting at as little as $3.99 (US) a year to help fun the podcast, or your can donate as much or as little as you want. Not only do you support a podcast you enjoy and help to keep it ad-free, but you get a free DVD including the movie Here Be Dragons: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. The DVD is even autographed!

The Skeptoid podcast modus operandi is this: apply critical thinking to information presented to the public to decide whether or not a claim can be considered valid. This isn't just someone picking apart obvious crackpot theories or setting up pseudoscience straw men to shred so that he can reference the scientific method and prance off to his forums to be praised. Dunning does his best to separate the truth from the lies from the half-lies from the "yeah, no way" in each topic he discusses.

Content Rating: Clean. Depending on what particular conspiracy theory, poorly researched medical claims or misunderstood scientific process you hold to there is a possibility that any given episode could send you into a frothing rage. So...that makes the rating either Clean or Rage Inducing.

Dunning himself is not afraid of critique; he occasionally posts a podcast with a title along the lines of "Things I'm Wrong About", where he posts corrections for any erroneous facts he may have made in previous episodes.

The language used in Skeptoid makes the scientific (and depending on the subject, "scientific") ideas proposed avaliable to young adults and laymen alike without being insulting. This is not a podcast that exists just to belittle and berate those who practice things such as Aura Photography or The Secret. Brian Dunning simply lays a topic out and examines it with a critical eye, guiding the listener's mind to each flaw and erroneous fact like an Antiques Road Show host revealing to a Midwestern retiree that their beloved heirloom is, in fact, made out of particle board.

Average Episode Length: Twelve minutes-ish.

Release Schedule: Weekly, with a new episode released every Tuesday.

Music: There is music occasionally, in the form of background noise. Music also has a high level of occurrence when the host is being a bit of a smart ass highlighting or referencing a particularly far-fetched quote or belief.

"Belief that a report is customized for us tends to improve our perception of the report's accuracy. I notice this right away when I read Isabel Myers description for my own personality type, ISTJ, the Duty Fulfiller: "Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible." Basically it's a nice way to say "Dry, boring, and punctual," which hits my nail pretty squarely on the head.

Drinking Game: Go to the sites supporting the theories that Skeptoid debunks. Read the forums there and drink. Heavily.

Unintentionally Good Part: I was thoroughly delighted to find that the host sings a little song for his 200th episode. Surely, some confused as-of-yet-undiscovered alien civilization culture somewhere must consider it a masterpiece.

Unintentionally Bad Part: After writing this review the word skeptic has lost all meaning to me. Now it looks like I'm spelling it wrong.

Gold Star!: Each episode of the podcast is not only listed on the site, but has a full transcript! Most excellent for people who like skepticism, but may not be able to access podcasts due to technical or hearing difficulties.

Alternate Titles:
Two Guys Read Wikipedia
Factoids: the Gathering
LMGTFY

This podcast is...wait for it...two guys, explaining how a process, social activity, natural event or other subject...works. This should not surprise any of us as the podcast is an offshoot of How Stuff Works, a site where you can learn about...

wait for it...

how nearly anything works. Uncanny, right? It's like they did this on purpose!

Ever wanted to know how deja vu works? Curious if there are dead bodies on Mt. Everest? Pondering the ethical dilemma of exorcisms? Want the low-down on habeus corpus? If you want any information of dubious relevancy related to you via two guys yakking, than SYSK comes highly recommended.

For an example, let's take a look at the erudite discussion surrounding saunas.

Josh: Kind of that Roman, Dionysian, orgiastic vibe in going on in the saunas was one of the reasons they were eradicated by Europe because in the early 16th century Europe got a little...tense.
Chuck: Yeah, the Protestant Reformation just ruined everything.
Josh: They were kind of like, "You can't do that! You put a hat with a buckle on right now!"
Chuck: "Yeah, you can't do that either! Or that! Or that! Or that! Get out of that sauna!"
Josh: "Start crying! Right now!"

Relevant Links:
Main Site
Download Episodes through iTunes!
Blog Entries!
SYSK Twitter Feed
Wikipedia Entry
Podcast.com Site

Episode Length: A sample size of 20 episodes gives me an average length of 35 minutes. This is interesting because if you look at the entire library of episodes, the time increase is huge. Early episodes are far, far shorter at about 5 minutes each, where the most recent episode at the time of this review weighs in at a heft 44 minutes and 48 seconds. This type of variation could prove beneficial for listeners! Need a long episode? Need a quick, in-between errands episode? SYSK has got you covered.

Release Schedule: Bi-weekly. The perfect schedule for a voracious listener. Also the perfect schedule for a less-frequent listener, because it's not like the episodes expire or anything.

Music: That one song that everyone who uses GarageBand uses in their podcasts. That, and sound effects from either Wheel of Fortune or The Price is Right.

Content Rating: Clean. The hosts might sneak in a few potty-humor jokes every now and then, but typically OK for all audiences. You can easily tell if the content is for you based on episode titles.

Unintentionally Good Part: The "peanut-gallery" style discussion about each topic. The hosts are more than willing to lend their own personal opinions and stories about whatever topic they're talking about and do so frequently.

Unintentionally Bad Part: The scholarly research about each topic is...dubious, at best. This is not a podcast you want to cite on your research paper. I haven't been able to unearth their research methods for each topic but I'm assuming it revolves around the use of an Internet search engine and...that's pretty much it. But I might be wrong! They might employ several interns who jobs involve cross-referencing articles! I doubt it though.

Drinking Game: Drink each time the hosts address each other by name.

Unrelated Rating: Five out of five correct answers on a pop quiz. A+ and a smiley face.