viddyviddy

The kids wanted me to give them candy? Now you're just making stuff up.


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Host Brad Reed is a writer who writes and then talks to other writers who write and together they talk about writing. Inside Creative Writing has had topics like the Snowflake Method, "defamiliarization", when to use adverbs, and speaking with authors on how they captures moments that spark stories. Reed leads each episode well and engages the guests so that they willingly share their secrets to success and provide insight to the listening audience.

Inside Creative Writing is less straight up instructive than Writing Excuses, but there is still plenty to enjoy. The tone is friendly and conversational and it gives writers a chance to find a new POV on their craft (see what I did there? EH?). 

Content Rating:  Clean and grammatically sound. These folks really know where to put a preposition at.

Average Episode Length:  A sample of five episodes gives an average time of about 37 minutes. The episodes don't feel too short or too long, each topic gets a proper amount of time.

Drinking Game: Oh...well, gosh! I just can't think of any way to tie the craft of writing, and writers themselves, to drinking. Do writers even drink? Surely they perform their art stone-sober, to reflect the gravity of creating the written word. No, no, I don't think I can come up with any classical authors to which you might mimic their drinking patterns and/or choices in alcohol. Gosh.

Go get some tea, I suppose?

Release Schedule:  Weekly!  Yay!

Unintentionally Good Part:  All the picture of the host that I've seen have him wearing one of those newsboy caps, which I find to be a good fashion choice.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  If you are a writer, you will feel guilty that you're listening to this instead of writing.

Unrelated rating:  Five people pretending to write at Starbucks out of five.

BONUS CONTENT:  Seriously, there is a thing called NaNoWriMo and it starts tomorrow. Join up and prove you can write a novel! It's a good bit of fun and at the very least you can be a snot like me and read Tumblrs that mock people on the forums.

First off, allow me to play you the jam of my people:


Spoiler: Bill Nye is not featured as a guest or host on this podcast. There is, however, plenty of science and it is discussed by guys so I guess that's close enough. Right? Right.

This is Beta Sandwich Science Podcast.

Welcome to the Beta Sandwich Podcast, your source for news and trends in the Molecular Biosciences.  Join us as we wax poetic about all things sciencey (yes, that's a word).  We go in depth about diseases, viruses, medicine, pharmacology, biochemistry and pretty much anything else that moves, crawls, flies or has otherwise transformed this giant rock into a living ecosystem.  If you are a crazy scientist, or you just like crazy science, you've come to the right place :)

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Which is gross, but in a fascinating way.

Content Rating: Clean as the inside of a autoclave.

Average Episode Length: Around an hour.

Drinking Game: Any time the hosts say a word you don't understand, drink. Any time the hosts say a word that you smugly recognize, drink twice. Any time a university is mentioned by name, drink.

Release Schedule: Looks like it has a weekly release.

The hosts are friendly and easy to listen to despite their discussion matter which can sometimes get a little complicated. Scientific discoveries are explained to the listener in as-close-to-layman terms as one can expect from a crew of scientists and what they talk about really is cool to hear. There are all sorts of fascinating studies and experiments and findings going on in their respective fields and the Beta Sandwich Science Podcast is a wonderful way to hear about what's going on.

And in case you were wondering, a "beta sandwich" is a thing:

...

Okay, I just tried to find an explanation of what a beta sandwich is and I seriously couldn't find anything that I understood. Just trust me, it's a real term. The podcast explains it during an episode so you should go listen instead of me trying to stare down a picture of DNA on Wikipedia that I'll never comprehend.


Unintentionally Good Part: The section where they discuss how to handle grad school. It's funny and informative.

Unintentionally Bad Part: This podcast does not work for a "background" podcast where you can do chores or something as you listen. If you lose the thread of whatever they're discussing you often miss an important explanation and then can't follow the rest of the story. Not a bad thing, just one of my preferences.

Unrelated rating: Sixteen broken microscope slides out of seventeen.

If you're anything like me, then the next best thing to actually eating food is watching someone else deal with food and food-related objects. Food Network is one of the last channels I watch on an actual TV over actual cable television, and my favorite show has always been Good Eats. The show has a devoted Tivo folder, I loved his Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves and all that good stuff he's been on.

AND NOW HE'S AVAILABLE IN PODCAST FORM!

Wonders of wonders, miracles of miracles~

Sorry, I just really like Alton Brown. He taught me a lot about cooking, not that I actually apply any of it to my boxed lasagna, but I still felt good learning about it.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350F, then turn that thing off because you're going to listen to The Alton Browncast.   

TV Host and Foodist Alton Brown reviews recent food news, chats with celebrities about their culinary passions, takes calls from listeners, and basically does whatever he flippin’ wants for 45 minutes.

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Main Podcast Site, via Nerdist! This site also serves as an archive.
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Alton's Twitter!   He replies to tweets by writing out a response on a Post-It and taking a picture of it! Hee!

The Alton Browncast provides host Alton Brown (GO FIGURE, RIGHT?) a lovely little venue to talk about what really interests him in the food world. He will discuss recent food-related news, interview fellow creative chefs and food crafters, and answer cooking questions from his listening audience. It's a nicely balanced little podcast, shifting easily between topics as Alton delves into his knowledge and passion for all things food. If you like his personality on any of the plethora of shows he's been on you will find more of the same in this podcast.

I gotta tell you right now, buttermilk and Cap'n Crunch cereal? Those things don't go together.

Content Rating: Clean, and I really can't imagine this podcast ever being explicit.

Average Episode Length: Set your timer for just a smidgin over an hour. You'll want the toothpick to be clean, with only a few moist crumbs sticking to it when you test for doneness.


Release Schedule:  Once a week, with the release date most likely to be a Friday.


Unintentionally Good Part:  Listening to Bobby Flay's story about making "queso" at his wife's behest. Cute story.

Unintentionally Bad Part: Bad part, bad part, is there a bad part? Sorry, I'm an Alton Brown fan, so he gets a clean pass.  #@#$%!$ SLURPING DURING AN ICE CREAM TASTING SERIOUSLY THAT IS THE WORST NOISE IN MY EARS.   Aaaaaaargh okay, okay, I found a bad part! I give!

Auwgh! Hate that noise.

Unrelated rating: Two of those little yeast puppets from Good Eats out of three.

Games, game, video games. Who likes to talk about video games?

EVERYONE AND THEIR CAT.

Which is not a bad thing! I've reviewed and listened to (and still listen to) loads of podcasts that do nothing more than discuss video games, and you know what? Each one is a unique little beam of sunshine. Differing viewpoints, gotta love 'em.

I like to listen to a set of friends sitting around and recalling the arcades they haunted in their youth, I like it when people flip their lids over the next generation of consoles, I like hearing the funny bugs and the stories of how people have accidentally written-over hundreds of hours of game play.

So let us go once more into the breach, together, to discover and admire The Crate & Crowbar podcast.

That's a great question that you just didn't ask but I'm thinking in my head.

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First off, to make sure this is your bag, The Crate & Crowbar is a PC gaming podcast. Let it be known that they will not be touching on subjects that involve your precious console-related hijinks. Your hosts include Tom Francis (@pentadact), Graham Smith (@gonnas), Marsh Davies (@marshdavies), Tom Senior (@PCGLudo), Chris Thursten (@cthursten) and the cool part, the part that made me nod at my monitor in appreciation, is that they all have experience within the PC gaming realm. That's neat, right? That's what drew me to the podcast in the first place, and I was not disappointed with what I had downloaded.

Content Rating: Explicit because of swear words.

Average Episode Length: Each episode is dang near TWO HOURS. That's a tremendous podcast length!

Drinking Game: Pick a drink that catches your eye from Drunken Moogle, and then Google a stupid drinking game that relates to the game your drink is themed on.

The Crate & Crowbar podcast is your weekly, ramble into the wide world of PC gaming. And I don't mean ramble in the way of an unfocused monologue, but more like walking out of your front door and heading out in whatever direction pleases you that day. After about two hours, you'll return to your front porch, open the door, and feel satisfied with how you spent your time.

If Valve continues to be right about this and they keep working at this there will be some future where everything is free, but everyone is also rich, and no one understands why!

The focus of the hosts' discussion is both wide-and-industry-savvy as well as the narrow-what-I-played-last-night zoom. For instance, in one episode they go from discussing Steam and Valve, to the overall play style of DOTA 2, to one hosts experience and recollection of how and why he plays. It's fun to listen to and the hosts are engaging and charming.

Release Schedule: Weekly release on Friday.

Music: None that I've noticed.

Unintentionally Good Part: I'm a sucker for foreign accents.

Unintentionally Bad Part: With the pace of a longer podcast such as this, you might find that when a topic you're uninterested in crops up it will last a lot longer than you'd please.

Unrelated rating: Five out of five levels of Dagon.

All right, readers, I'm going to say a phrase, and it is going to let you know whether or not this podcast is for you. It's going to challenge some world-views, shake up some dialogues, that sort of thing, so be ready.

Are you appropriately clenched? Okay, here it is:

"Handcrafted food meta-discussion"

Were you struck blind? Wait, stupid question. But did that turn your lip up in a sneer or strike your fancy? I'm sure some of you have already moved on to watching cat videos, so I'll address those that remain. If you want to know more, then you'll want to check out The Food Craftsmen podcast.

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Remember: food is life, and life is great.

Discussions about the fat content of heritage pig breeds!

Learning the difference between Latin American and European styles of gourmet chocolates!

Did you know there is a big, annual competition in Ohio for sustainable food producers? I didn't have the slightest idea until I started listening to The Food Craftsman podcast.

At first, I was disappointed. I like to cook, and I was expecting a podcast that might offer me some cooking tips on how to improve my prosciutto-wrapped Hot Pockets. Instead I found a show featuring interviews with food producers that produce good foods in new and ethical ways. So I kept listening, and discovered that it is pretty cool to hear not only how people cook, but why they do it the way they do, and how they go about building and maintaining a successful business.

Host Ryan K. Parker guides the interviews expertly, and his earnest interest in each topic shows through in the discussion. Anything from store design to favorite recipes is up for discussion, and the conversations are natural and flowing.

Content Rating: Clean, although it would be really funny to hear an explicit version of this. #$!@$ SMALL BATCH CHEESE!

Ooh, wait! There is a single explicit episode! Dreams are coming true!

Average Episode Length: Approximately 25 minutes.

Drinking Game: Find yourself a locally brewed beer or two, then share it with friends. Make pretentious statements about the hops after each sip while listening to this podcast.

Release Schedule: Weekly, with no apparent set day of release.

Music: A very nice, smooth song for opening/ending. I like it a lot.

Unintentionally Good Part: The Food Craftsmen podcast is a great venue to hear about foods you didn't know about! With this whole Internet thing, you can find their site and order delicious foods to expaaaaaaaand your pallet.

What kind of wine pairs well with Lean Pockets?

Unintentionally Bad Part: It makes me really hungry to listen to this podcast.

Unrelated rating: Three Instagram photos of food out of three.

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.

Whether you have fitness goals, business goals, or personal dreams, this is your source for success!

I am eternally wary of people who wish to motivate me. My cynical nature forbids me to look at anyone who wants to tell me, however earnestly, to 'be the best me I can be' without my eyebrow raising up in reflexive skepticism. Maybe I don't want to achieve! Maybe it was my goal today to dip Fritos into a jar of cold queso! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!!!

But then again, it is nice to have someone tell you that you're free to be you (and me). Once in a while, I need to be reminded that, much like the kitten hanging from the branch, that I need to just hang in there, baby. There's a difference between trying to gird your loins against the iniquities of the world and hearing a voice that exists outside of your head agreeing with you. Sometimes, even when you know that all the weird body/wealth/swag related insecurities the world tries to press on you is bullshit, it is nice to hear someone else agree with you and let you know you're all right so long as you do your best.

That's nice. I like that kind of motivation. More talking about shaking off unreal expectations and maintaining good habits, less of the "bald eagle soaring majestically poster with a world like AMBITION" posters that are all over my workplace.

Trish Blackwell's Confidence on the Go wants a little bit of your time to help you realize the awesome within. 


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Content Rating: Clean, and marked as such in iTunes.

Average Episode Length:  A sample of five episodes show an average time of 34 minutes.

Drinking Game: There is something that feels sketchy about a drinking game tied to a motivational podcast. How about we say you set a goal for today, and tie the goal to a favorite snack. Once you complete the goal, you get the snack! Mmm, goal oriented cupcake...

The difference between you who is going to change and someone who is not is that you are going to make a decision to be open to change.

Host Trish Blackwell manages to walk the fine line of motivational catch phrases and earnest real-talk. I initially flinched each time that she used a phrase such as "accelerating my personal motivation" because saying things like "believe to achieve!" and "reach for the stars" is great and empowering, but that don't put money in the bank account or get a person off the couch and into the gym.

However! Blackwell is out to pin down the issues people are dealing with in their lives, and show how to move past them. Body image issues, tearing down the "facade of perfectionism" that hides real issues, all the stuff that you might acknowledge on the edge of your thoughts as negative influences, but can never really shake off. It's encouraging without being pandering, and I appreciate that.

Release Schedule:  Once a week, with no set day.

Unintentionally Good Part: Trish Blackwell believes in the power of reading, and that's awesome because books are awesome.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Trish Blackwell is a personal trainer and does want you to pay her for her training services. The podcast is wholly free, but expect a little sales pitch at the end of each episode. There's nothing wrong with her trying to sell her services, I just want you to be aware so you don't get all jaded about it.

Unrelated rating: Those last 2 minutes out of a 6 minute mile you're working towards (you can do it!).

 Is it safe to say that board games are in a sort of revival period? I mean, I know it's been going on since before I realized there were games beyond Sorry! and Scrabble, but there are still loads of rad games coming out each year. There are Kickstarters to fund and help make new board games, forums devoted to the discussion of board games, and even digital version of board games for people who only interact with others via a keyboard or game controller. I'm sure someone wiser than I knows the span of board game history but I'm too lazy to Google for their wisdom.

Anyways, I think it is safe to say that board games are rad and becoming more rad every day. There are a lot of different places to find information on board games you might want to play and one of those sources is the Shut Up & Sit Down podcast.

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We do this show as a service, this is a bit of fun, but there's also there is a point here that we are telling people which games we think are good and bad and it's not very helpful to go "This game's great but you can't buy it!"

In the realm on in-depth reviews, Shut Up & Sit Down provides its audience with appetizers of the board games they're describing. Each game gets a fair share of time, but they don't drill down into the minutiae of each rule set. Enjoyable games are discussed, as are the games that are disliked in a sort of equal manner.  There's no bashing or super-hyped-up praising, just some gents who enjoy board games talking about their experiences. It's interesting and a fun way to find new board games to play.

What else do you NEED? The hosts are pleasant to listen to, they let you know where you can get games, they make jokes for your amusement! Go listen!

Content Rating: I am almost 85% certain this podcast is clean. At the very least I have no evidence of them being saucy with the language.

Average Episode Length: About fifty minutes to an hour. The shortest episode is forty-two minutes and the longest episode runs an hour even.

I get distracted like a cat in a place where cats are excited.

Drinking Game: I highly recommend Red Dragon Inn.

You've got some weakness for hexes and other small pieces.

Release Schedule: I'm going to guess it's a once a month podcast.

Unintentionally Good Part: Shut Up & Sit Down features delightful accents, which makes any podcast 30% more enjoyable. They add that imaginary 'r' to the end of 'idea' that I love.

Unintentionally Bad Part: You will start spending money on board games that you want to play then have to convince the rest of your family, who have only ever played Monopoly, that these games will be fun. They will be frightened by the rules and you will know true sorrow.

Unrelated rating: Five out of Six of the game pieces your dog ate and you had to replace with bottle caps and coins.


(Did you know that if you do your normal shopping through my Amazon link, I get a little profit at no cost to you? It's true! Help me out and click through my Amazon Store!)

Reader, I have a confession to make before we get into this review.  I'm not particularly proud about this, but here at ViddyViddy I try to maintain the sense of dignity and transparent business practices that brought you to these podcast reviews in the first place, so here it is:

I gave up on listening to a good podcast.

Gave up!  I found a good, strong podcast and I tried to listen to it and then it made my brain cramp up and I felt like something in the internal workings of my brain snapped and now I can't write in cursive anymore.  Read the mission statement from their website while I go lie down in a dimly lit room.

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion.

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Content Rating:  Explicit.  Ye be warned.

Average Episode Length:  About an hour or two.  Looks like most episodes will give you about an hour and forty-five minutes of content. 

Drinking Game Song:

The sign is divided between the signifier and the signified, and the signified is actually a concept or an idea.  So the signifier signifies the signified but it's not signifying or referring to a real object in the world it's actually referring to an idea or a concept.  

That would be the point where I started smelling burnt toast.   

But I still want to share this podcast with you, because holy-moly a group of people are making an effort to make philosophy accessible!  That's amazing!  I love this podcast, and when I have the proper time I plan to actually sit and listen to it, pausing at times to let my brain cool down. 

Release Schedule:  Looks like there is a new episode twice a month. 


Unintentionally Good Part:  Dude, a group of people have put forth the effort to make philosophy accessible.  And they make intermittent jokes about what they're talking about!

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Takes my full attention to listen to this podcast.  I prefer to be able to listen to a podcast during my daily tasks, and ya just can't, ya just can't I tells ya!

Unrelated rating:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  writers love doing anything except writing.  Perhaps they'll organize the office and research new, carbon-neutral brands of coffee in preparation for writing!  As they sit down to open their word processing program they'll stumble upon Reddit for just a few minutes that stretch into hours.  Maybe they'll even pick up a book that is about writing, and read that instead of making their word count grow.

And I'm here to help those writers push away their unfinished novel for a few more days.  Allow me to present for your reading (non-writing) pleasure, the Nerdist Writer's Panel podcast.

Relevant Links:
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Nerdist page to listen to the podcast!
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"We have to go back to high school."
"I'd rather not."

Ben Blacker, your host and guide to the world of professional writing, invites you to listen in to his chats with creators as they discuss the greater world of writing.  There is a wide bevvy of writers to choose from with Writers Panel:  novelists, comic writers, television and movie script writers, and all manner of those who earn cash by putting words to page.  The variety brings a unique level of awesome to this podcast because just as a writer needs to read outside the genre they write in, listening to the methods of different kinds of writers can also be very helpful.   

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

Average Episode Length:  A glance askance shows about one hour and fifteen minutes.  Not bad at all!  It feels like the right length for the interviews.

Drinking Game:  Pick a book you had to read in high school and either base a drink off of that, or make one mentioned in the book.  Easy mode:  grab The Great Gatsby or The Sun Also Rises. 

Release Schedule:  An episode is released once a week, typically early in the week. 

Music: There is an opening song.  We'll get to it in a minute.   

Robert Kirkman!  John Scalzi!  Marlon Wayans!  There are dozens of people you will most likely recognize that have been interviewed on Nerdist Writer's Panel.  It is a practical cornucopia of interviews.  Blacker's interviewing method lets the writers wander in and around topics, so while you do get sage advice about writing you're also sure to hear some funny personal stories.  Nerdist Writer's Panel provides great bang for your podcasting buck, if you're willing to spend said buck listening to writers. 

And let's just assume that you are.  

Unintentionally Good Part:  I like when it is in front on an audience.  There is something charming about hearing the soft laughter of the crowd in the background.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  I dislike the opening song.  I appreciate the effort that goes into creating a song just for a podcast, but it's a race to fast forward past it each time the podcast starts up.  Sorry!  I hate poo-pooing creative efforts!  If it was meant to be an ironic presentation, then I missed the point.

Unrelated rating:  Two grammer errors and mispellings out of 3 to be at.

This is The Sporkful.  It's not for foodies, it's for eaters!

Do you know the correct position for cheese on a cheeseburger?  The details of buffet etiquette?  The hazards and benefits of being a vegetarian at a traditional Thanksgiving?  Have you ever heard the phrase "event eating" before? 

First of all, you put the cheese on the bottom bun, and condiments on top of the burger.  Let's not get silly about things around here.


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Content Rating:  Clean, so long as the idea of detailed food discussions doesn't overheat you.

I need time to drink before the turkey is ready!

Average Episode Length:  Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

See this is just complete anathema to what I believe in about stuffing.

Drinking Game:  Go to the liquor store and find a "genre" of alcohol you enjoy (beer, wine, whatever).  Close your eyes and pick one at random.  Take it home and plan a meal around aforementioned purchase and enjoy!

Host Dan Pashman is passionate about food.  Like, stand-too-close-to-you-at-a-party-and-corner-you-in-a-45-minute-discussion-of-chickpeas passionate.  The man loves food, is knowledgeable about food, and likes to talk to other people about all kinds of food.  Each episode offers interviews on the subjects that surround, involve, and partake of food.  Cooking tips, cultural discussions, arguments on how to "properly" make dishes, it's all there!  The conversations are light and friendly, there to open your mind to new food horizons and make you really hungry at the same time.

Release Schedule:  Every other week. 

We're about to challenge your assumptions about consumption and drop a sporkful of knowledge on you because we're obsessively-compulsive about eating more awesomely and if history has taught us anything its that the hosts of food shows need a lot of catchphrases.

Unintentionally Good Part:  They take phone calls!  The number is 908-9SPORK9.  Usually audience-contributions are iffy on quality at best, but this is a cool way to bring up interesting and unique food-related topics.  Lots of shop-talk on how to get good browning of grilled cheeses and things like that.   

Unintentionally Bad Part:  You cannot listen to too many episodes in a row, because you are forced to realize how incredible inane it is to discuss the minutiae of food.  I was almost driven insane listening to two grown-ass adults discussion "muffin ledges".  DID I JUST HEAR SOMEONE TALK ABOUT THE "TACTILE PLEASURE OF THE MUFFIN CUP"?  Yeesh.  

Unrelated rating: It will take you at least two packets of ketchup to dip this podcast into for total enjoyment.

Your body is a chunk of marble.

What do you want to chisel it into?

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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. 

Portmanteaus, a combination of at least two words, are fun!  Here are some examples:
 

• Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch
• Smoke + Fog = Smog
• Short + Pants = Skort
• Pregnant + Angry = The dumbest word, it made me mad to read it
• Obnoxious + Replacement for a Sense of Humor = Snark
• Gamers + Comedians = The Gamedians Podcast

 I like that last one!  It's got a ring to it.  Let's look into these Gamedians, shall we?

Relevant Links:
Gamedians Main Site!
iTunes Download!
Libsyn Download Site (for Android and Non-iTunes users)!
Gamedians YouTube Channel!

The long and short of the Gamedians podcast is that you download it and subsequently listen to comedians talk about video games for a while.  Hosts Andrew Dewitt, Dan Bialek and Asterios Kokkinos are here to delight and entertain you with their crippling video game addiction that they've turned into fodder for a podcast.  You like the Xbox?  Some Skyrim?  Maybe you want to throwback to Grim Fandago?  These are your guys.

I remember the first time it hit home that the things I thought were awesome were actually the lamest, loser-y things.

Unsurprisingly, many of their attempts to talk about video games end up in wild tangents.  The conversations on the whole are hilarious and often include the hosts getting riled up about whatever topic they land on. 

Content Rating:  Tagged as Explicit.  There is swearing and content that is not work safe, so headphones on!  They aren't so much offensive as they are just vulgar, if that makes sense.  For example, they'll use swear words but there's no inherent vitriol towards whatever party their swearing about. 

Average Episode Length:  You'll get about an hour of fresh-squeezed entertainment per episode.  The shortest episode runs at 34 minutes, while the longest episode tops out at an hour and forty!

When I go to my Ewok market I look for free-range, no antibiotic Stormtroopers that have been treated humanely. 

Drinking Game:  I am going to point you good people over to the Drunken Moogle, where they offer only the finest game themed adult beverages and accessories. 

Release Schedule:  Oh!  We have a bi-weekly release on Gamedians!  Doesn't look like they hold to any specific days to release, so subscribe or check back often to see when a new episode drops. 

Music: Eight bit music!  It's adorable and makes me smile when I recognize the song being covered.

I have eaten mayonnaise because I didn't want to go get food.

Unintentionally Good Part:  These guys have nerd history and their reminiscing is really fun to listen to on the podcast.  There are a lot of sweet memories of their nerdy parents tucked into the episodes that I enjoyed.

Bonus Unintentionally Good Part:  Asterios Kokkinos' name.  It's just rad.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Makes me want to spend money on video games, when I need to save it for important things. 

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!

As reader(s) of this review site know, I like to give goofy introductions to podcasts.  Well, consider this a break in the trend and observe this beautifully succinct description from Clarkesworld Podcast:

The Clarkesworld Podcast features all of our fiction in audio form. Each episode is hosted by Kate Baker and features an original story from our current issue. By visiting this page, you can sign up to have each episode sent to you via iTunes or email. Best of all, we offer this service completely free of charge.

Clarkesworld Magazine, purveyors of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories, has produced Clarkesworld Podcast which transposes those science fiction and fantasy stories into an audio format for your enjoyment.

Simple, elegant, and practically begging for you to give a little listen.  

Relevant Links:
Clarkesworld Magazine Main Site
Clarkesworld Podcast Main Site
Get a Clarkesworld Magazine Subscription in both digital and physical versions!
Donate or buy an Anthology!


Content Rating:  Caution suggested.  Writers are a wanton lot, and a prone to write about things that an earnest soul might not find suitable for their delicate senses.  Things like procreation.  Terrible, I know!

Average Episode Length:  An average taken from the last ten episodes shows a running time of approximately thirty minutes.  There are some episodes that last over an hour and some that run under twenty minutes.

Drinking Game:  Ooh, toughie.  Go figure, but there aren't a lot of book/short story related drinking games (other than my favorite, a novel little pastime called "drinking alone while reading").  However, the Internet has provided me with this delightful Dune-based drinking game.  If you're truly hardcore, you'll play through the full duration of the audiobook.

Release Schedule:  Per the Clarkesworld website, "A new episode is added to our site on the 1st, 14th and 21st of each month."

Unintentionally Good Part:  Sometimes when a line from a story is read aloud, and read aloud well, there is a spark in that and it can be a beautiful thing.  It will catch you off guard, as it has caught me. 

Unintentionally Bad Part:  This is a podcast that requires my full attention.  I cannot listen to it at work!  I could probably manage to fold socks as best, because I don't want to miss any details or dialogue. 

Unrelated rating:  Two of of three of the Laws of Robotics.

Please, allow Kate Baker the opportunity to read you a story.  Let her read you several stories.  There's not much more I can say beyond that to entice you. 

Here's the long and short of it:  Greg Proops is funny, he has a podcast, and he is funny on the podcast.  I am on the opinion that you should download this aforementioned podcast, listen to it, and enjoy the comedic stylings of the also aforementioned comedian Greg Proops.

...what, you want more information?  Fine.  Have it your way, like always!



Relevant Links:
Get the podcast through Libsyn!
Or perhaps you would prefer to get an App through iTunes!
Tumblr!
RSS!

Comedian Greg Proops is smarter than you.

Here's why you want to listen to The Smartest Man in the World:

1. Greg Proops addresses his audience as "kittens" and you know you want in on that.
2. If you are unable to have access to comedy clubs this podcast will give you a chance to listen to a standup comedian perform before a live audience.
3. The Smartest Man in the World has a hefty run time per episode.
4. Because The Smartest Man in the World is performed before a live audience, that hefty run time is lean and mean with no boring filler.
5. I have laughed aloud (or "laughed out loud" as the kids say it these days) and that's got to be a good sign right there I-tell-you-whut.
6.  The podcast is free!  That is always a reason to listen to a podcast.

Greg Proops!  He travels the world to make with the laughs!  Then he records his live performances and that, as far as I understand, is how The Smartest Man in the World came into being.  I first saw Greg Proops back in the days when I would record funny tidbits on television through the magic of my VCR.

[Kids, this was back in the day when we didn't have your fancy torrents and your precious Napsters.  If you wanted to watch an illegally copied episode of your precious animes you had to pray you knew someone with one of those special VCRs that could run two tapes at once!  Those were dark days, my friends.  You should crawl underneath your desk and kiss your CAT5 cable in gratitude right now.]


Content Rating:  Explicit and flagrant about it.  In my personal realm of what I will tolerate and what I will not in regards to vulgarity I find that the Proopcast don't bother none.  That being said, I would suggest a pair of headphones to use if you are going to be listening in mixed company or at work.

 The men in the crowd look at me and go "I wish I was a nasal, effeminate guy from San Francisco!" and the women look at me and think "I wish my boyfriend was a nasal, effeminate guy from San Francisco!"

Average Episode Length:  Ugh, effort.  The majority of episodes are well over an hour long while remaining under two hours in length.  Somewhere in between 60 minutes and 120 minutes lies the average episode length.  Close your eyes and take a guess!  Seventy-eight minutes?  Sure, sounds great.

Drinking Game:  Take a drink whenever:

• Greg refers to the audience as "kittens"
• A historical fact is mentioned
• A former president is discussed
• Who's Line is it Anyways is brought up

Release Schedule:  Weekly, with the release on Monday.

Music: There is just a pinch of music in The Smartest Man in the World aka Proopcast which is a snazzy little tune for the intro and outro.

If I had any sense of smell, or I could hear, or I could see I wouldn't have this job.  I would be a cheese taster in Provence, I really would, my name would be Jabert and I would be insufferable.  "This morbier hasn't aged enough, I can't believe you have the inconsideration and gall to put it on a cracker and give it to me.  Look at the veins on it, they're paltry!"

Unintentionally Good Part:  You can learn things while listening!  That whole The Smartest Man in the World title ain't just for show!  Greg often enjoys sharing historical facts with the audience.

"But ViddyViddy," you say, "He has a personal bias in the information he presents!"

"Yes," I will reply.  "That is a true fact."

Still, all the stories he brings up are interesting, and perhaps they will spur you on to learn more all on your own!

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Greg Proops is unabashedly to the left of American politics, and often brings up his viewpoints during The Smartest Man in the World.  This is not an inherently bad thing, and I would say this regardless of what part of the political spectrum a person lands on.  What makes this potentially bad is if you try to listen to this in, say, a six hour car ride with someone else where the other passenger disagrees with his viewpoints. 

Actually, that's okay too!  Nobody has to agree with everything they hear.  The potentially bad part comes along where the other person decides that you need to hear why they disagree and are inherently correct in their opinion and then you might try and drive off a cliff to get them to stop talking.  A man can only take so much.

Unrelated rating: Two fictional ocelots out of two. 

SCENARIO:  You find yourself in the Perfect Kitchen with every conceivable tool, recipe, and ingredient that you would ever need or want.  There is a magic pantry filled with every spice the natural world has to offer, lots of those weird molecular gastronomy devices, a collection of pans that would make Julia Child weep, and even those awesome little lychee candies from the Asian market by my house. With enough time and effort you could make ANYTHING YOU WANT with the added guarantee that it will turn out perfectly.

What do you do?

That's right!  You order take-out. WAY too much effort, amirite?

I love to cook, but I'm one of the first to admit that sometimes you just want someone else to cook the damn meal. Maybe you don't even want to get your own dishes dirty!

So you go out to eat. But then THAT takes effort!  Where do you go? How do you know it will be good?  What should you wear?  Who will shovel the food into your gaping maw?





It may be too late for some lost souls, but the LA Foodie podcast is here to light the path to deliciousness* **.

*Granted your path takes you through the state of California.
** Huh, deliciousness is a word recognized by Firefox?  I learned something new today.


Relevant Links:
Welcome page for those new to LA Foodie!
LA Foodie Main Site!
LA Foodie Podcast!
Store with Cute T-Shirts!
Twitter!
aaaaand their Pinterest board (??? that is the right term, yes?) because all the kids have them these days. 

Hosts Drew Hubbard, Ben Waters a hella (hecka? I'm trying to adopt the lingo for this review) lot of other contributors work their artisan baked buns off to bring you the whole of the LA Foodie online content, podcast included. It is their mission to endlessly taunt you with descriptions of food-type items until you are forced to go out and try them all.

We're looking for the best food in LA and usually finding it.

The tone of LA Foodie is casual with lots of humor, but they do remember to offer up plenty of informative reviews about what they've been eating.  I am not familiar with food reviews, so I don't know if there is any particular expected format to compare LA Foodies' reviews to, but here's what they will deliver:

1. They will tell you about a food.  If the food is not a national brand that can be found at any grocery store, they will give you the location where the food can be procured.  The place where the food will be procured will also be described so you can learn about their decor, seating, how they present their food experience and such.
2. Said food will be described.  If the serving method is interesting they will describe that along with texture, flavor, and enjoyment of the food in question.
3. Hosts will then go on to talk about the food for a while.  At the end of their discussion you will be able to tell whether or not the food is worth attempting to procure for yourself.

Trust me on this, all right?  It is interesting and you will be drooling by the end of each episode. 

Content Rating:  Explicit and tagged as so in iTunes.  Be forewarned that the humor often goes blue.  Nothing that has scorched my ears yet, just be aware that you might want to slap headphones on if you listen at work. 

"This was in my mouth, it's going in yours."

Average Episode Length:  The smallest "mini-episode" clock in at about 4 minutes, while their longest recording stands at one hour and ten minutes (with a few seconds tacked on).  Most of their episodes fall around 45-ish minutes.  Accurate, am I not?

"Just want to say I referred to my forty ounce as a palate cleanser, that's probably the only time in history that's happened."

Drinking Game:  Allow me to make my own contribution by showing you this article on the best bars in LA with drinking games!  For the "at-home" version, I suggest that you seek out some sort of local beer/wine/soda/caramel sauce to enjoy as you listen to the podcast.  Review whatever you are drinking, aloud, to your pets.

Release Schedule:  Twice a month!

LA Foodie even has segments!  Here are a few of my favorites:


Music:  It's good!  I can't think of the genre of music they use to break up their segments, but it is the kind that makes you hum "buh-duh-duh-daaaaaaa-la! La! La! La-dee-duh-daaaaaaah-aah!"

Unintentionally Good Part:  An entire podcast about food in which the hosts and guests will consume food for review during the podcast and there are NO EATING SOUNDS.  A+++++, will listen again.  I have been forced to turn off and unsubscribe from a podcast before due to the heinous act of purposefully chewing into a mic.   I find that incredibly disrespectful to the listening audience, so I am please to announce that LA Foodie hosts handle themselves well.  Manners, yo, they matter.

[Addendum:  Yes, I am completely insane about the sound of people chewing.  CLOSE.  YOUR.  MOUTH.  YOU.  SLATTERN.  Ugh, disgusting!  Okay, I'm over it for the moment.]

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Unless you live near LA and the surrounding area where LA Foodie reviews eateries, you are going to get hungry with no outlet to feed yourself with the delicious foods they are describing.  The part of the nation I live in is desperately lacking in adorable food trucks. 

Care to try a free sample?:  Discover LA Foodie as I did, through this delightful mini-episode.  It is a very good representative of the podcast as a whole. 

Unrelated rating:  1200% of your daily sodium intake.

Hello readers, won't you have a seat while you take a gander at this podcast review?  Here, it's your favorite chair, just right and comfy for this chilly winter weather that's starting to settle in.  That's right, just settle in and make sure that you're comfortable enough that you won't want to jump and bolt the minute I mention that this podcast revolves around...






Don't run!

DON'T RUN!

No seriously, I locked the door from the outside so you're just going to hurt yourself.  Take a deep breath and we'll try to find some good points about this.

Does it help if the poetry in question was written by Shakespeare?  Eh?  You like the version of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio, right?  That's a starting point!  What if I put up a funny video from the Reduced Shakespeare Company?



 How about if I tell you that since this is a podcast you don't have to read anything?  Okay, that seems to have taken away the fear in your eyes.  Let's take a look at The Shakespeare Sound.

Relevant Links:
The Ministry of Shakespeare Main Site!
RSS Feed!
Twitter!

Content Rating:  Seriously?  Clean.  It's people reciting Shakespeare, don't be such a baby.

Average Episode Length:  Three episodes selected at random give an average time of 24 minutes.

Drinking Game:  Ooh, for once Google returns a bevy of choices.  Here's what I got for you:

• The Contemporary Shakespeare Drinking Game
• Shakespeare's Sonnets Drinking Game
• My own suggestion?  Get a cask of malmsey and make a vague threat anytime someone asks you what's with the giant cask.  PROTIP:  do not actually drown anyone in the cask, ask that constitutes a party foul on your behalf.

Hosts Reggie Batusic and Dana Vagg want to make The Bard a part of your life.  These two people are earnest in their wish to bring Shakespeare to a new audience and to have it heard as the audience at the Globe Theater would have heard them.  I mean, seriously, they even wrote out their motivation for this project and I can't express how awesome that it.  I love their passion and you can hear it in The Shakespeare Sound.

We were inspired, so why not inspire?

THEY EVEN HAVE A MISSION.  I know I'm a font of sarcasm but I honestly love these two for what they're doing.  Vunderbar.

Reggie and Dana present a single snippet o' Shakespeare each episode.  Their process involves 3 separate readings of the piece.  There's the blank reading where they just say the words on the page, the exaggerated reading where sounds are brought out and played around with to discover how the piece should be read, and finally an interpreted reading that is much like how the piece would be performed on stage.


Release Schedule:  Monthly, but a warning for the possibility of spotty releases.  There's a good archive, it'll keep ya for a while. 

Music:  A little in the front, a little in the back.

Unintentionally Good Part:  When the post an "Old Word New" with the release of a podcast.  Nifty! 

Unintentionally Bad Part:  NOTHING.  Let these two delightful people read Shakespeare to you, dammit. 

Unrelated rating: Anger's my meat; I sup upon myself, And so shall starve with feeding. Volumnia in CORIOLANUS; 4: 

Sure!  Whatever you say, Shakespeare.