October 15 - 21, 2017
Before we get to the usual rundown, I wanted to take a brief moment to promote my inaugural podcast as a podcaster. It's called Tournament of Blank, and can be found on iTunes and most anywhere else podcasts are found. Each week two friends and I debate to decide the best thing from a given subset. Our first episode focused on toys, and the follow-up episode is a multi-episode exercise in taking stock of Disney villains from different eras. Leading up to the episode release on Monday, October 23rd, we've put out a challenge for listeners to get in on the fun. Fill out your own bracket to determine which villain is the fairest of them all. Then, follow along with the show as we roll out our picks in the coming weeks through our multi-part breakdown of each batch of baddies. The bracket closes at 11:59 PM Eastern time tonight, October 22nd. Now, on to the best podcasts from the past week!
THE LIST
1. American Suburb - "Chapter 1: The Tipping Point"
Everything old is new again. Or, perhaps more appropriately, things presented as phenomena are sometimes continuous and simply excerpted by the media as a newly discovered crisis. Such is the case with the identity folks associate with a specific piece of land. People have been pushed out of their homes for as long as society cares to collectively remember (and even longer... cough**cough**NATIVE AMERICANS**cough**cough**...). Call it gentrification, call it an imbalance of power - whatever the label, inequality surrounding physical space seems to be routine. But normalizing injustice doesn't make it right, and the brilliant new American Suburb from KQED attempts to shine a light on the human lives being affected in the microcosmic town of Antioch, California. In Chapter 1, a conflict arises over Section 8 housing and how its recipients are received in a new neighborhood. The crux of this series may prove to be something along the lines of how individuals can deal with narrative fear-mongering in the face of empirical evidence.
2. Startup - "New Money"
The idea that tech companies boom and bust has integrated itself inside our collective intuition. The slow decline of business as economic and industrial landscapes shift is not often as evident or well-represented in the media. What does a founder do when his or her startup starts to recede into irrelevance? Venture into digital currency, of course. That's what the entrepreneur behind once-dominant messaging app Kik decided to do, and this type of diversification might become more common as behemoths like Google and Facebook attempt to buy out any competitor's in their paths. Narratively tantalizing in the micro and philosophically contemplative in the macro, "New Money" returns on the investment of listener time.
3. Planet Money - "The Death Show"
This episode is yet another perfect encapsulation of a trick in the Planet Money oeuvre: a collection of short, gripping stories that could all seed full-length documentaries. Starting with a prominent Los Angeles cemetery and venturing all the way across the Pacific to the aging population of Japan, "The Death Show" focuses in on what it's like to deal with death in the modern world. Factual, humorous, and broadly appealing, the episode reveals emerging trends and quirky pastimes surrounding the one thing we'll all eventually have in common. Oh, and there's a discussion about a once commonplace funeral lottery system.
HONORABLE MENTION
Showcase from Radiotopia - "The Polybius Conspiracy #1 - The Player"
Embedded - "Trump Stories: Bannon"
Reply All - "The Skip Tracer, Part I & II"
Hang Up and Listen - "The How Many Altuves Edition"
Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Straight to Bradway (w/Rory O'Malley)"
More Perfect - "The Heist"
SOMETHING NEW
Part Glenn Beck, part Dave Ramsey, part Alex Jones, Dexter Guff is a consummate self-help businessman with a spritz of annoying bluster and a couple dozens cups of maniacal arrogance. And, much like those men, this is all 100% intentional. Where Guff diverges, however, is that he is not a real person. Comedian Peter Oldring crafted this send-up of the egotistic entrepreneur, and he pulls it off remarkably well. The criticism cuts so close to the seam of real-deal players in the self-promotion business that some of the advice almost starts to make sense. Thankfully a cast of revolving guests and off-microphone drama puncture the conjured reality to a degree that should prevent anyone from being fully duped by the gag.
Despite the budding narratives developed amongst the various personalities that enter Dexter's world, this show does not lend itself to binge-listening. In fact, it may not even be ideal as an every week addition to a listener's existing roster of shows. That's partially a testament to how succinctly Oldring nails the parody. For the uninitiated, these personalities are such blowhard's that even a few minutes are hard to stomach. Guff does, however, ironically ingratiate himself with listeners who would be forgiven for wanting to see this character fail. Setting aside the dubious merits of publically shaming real people, there is something satisfying about witnessing a fictional antagonist's fall from grace. Regardless of personal preference for vengeance and/or entrepreneur-helmed podcasts, Dexter Guff Is Smarter Than You holds value in moderate consumption. If nothing else, it is a great way to shake free from the grasps of a listening slump and imagine what other tropes might be ripe for satire via podcast.
Dexter Guff Is Smarter Than You (And You Can Be Too)
Recommended for: Anyone who hates and/or loves BS catchphrases like "thought-dogs"
Rating: Make It Work
THE LIST
1. American Suburb - "Chapter 1: The Tipping Point"
Everything old is new again. Or, perhaps more appropriately, things presented as phenomena are sometimes continuous and simply excerpted by the media as a newly discovered crisis. Such is the case with the identity folks associate with a specific piece of land. People have been pushed out of their homes for as long as society cares to collectively remember (and even longer... cough**cough**NATIVE AMERICANS**cough**cough**...). Call it gentrification, call it an imbalance of power - whatever the label, inequality surrounding physical space seems to be routine. But normalizing injustice doesn't make it right, and the brilliant new American Suburb from KQED attempts to shine a light on the human lives being affected in the microcosmic town of Antioch, California. In Chapter 1, a conflict arises over Section 8 housing and how its recipients are received in a new neighborhood. The crux of this series may prove to be something along the lines of how individuals can deal with narrative fear-mongering in the face of empirical evidence.
2. Startup - "New Money"
The idea that tech companies boom and bust has integrated itself inside our collective intuition. The slow decline of business as economic and industrial landscapes shift is not often as evident or well-represented in the media. What does a founder do when his or her startup starts to recede into irrelevance? Venture into digital currency, of course. That's what the entrepreneur behind once-dominant messaging app Kik decided to do, and this type of diversification might become more common as behemoths like Google and Facebook attempt to buy out any competitor's in their paths. Narratively tantalizing in the micro and philosophically contemplative in the macro, "New Money" returns on the investment of listener time.
3. Planet Money - "The Death Show"
This episode is yet another perfect encapsulation of a trick in the Planet Money oeuvre: a collection of short, gripping stories that could all seed full-length documentaries. Starting with a prominent Los Angeles cemetery and venturing all the way across the Pacific to the aging population of Japan, "The Death Show" focuses in on what it's like to deal with death in the modern world. Factual, humorous, and broadly appealing, the episode reveals emerging trends and quirky pastimes surrounding the one thing we'll all eventually have in common. Oh, and there's a discussion about a once commonplace funeral lottery system.
HONORABLE MENTION
Showcase from Radiotopia - "The Polybius Conspiracy #1 - The Player"
Embedded - "Trump Stories: Bannon"
Reply All - "The Skip Tracer, Part I & II"
Hang Up and Listen - "The How Many Altuves Edition"
Off-Book: The Improvised Musical - "Straight to Bradway (w/Rory O'Malley)"
More Perfect - "The Heist"
SOMETHING NEW
Part Glenn Beck, part Dave Ramsey, part Alex Jones, Dexter Guff is a consummate self-help businessman with a spritz of annoying bluster and a couple dozens cups of maniacal arrogance. And, much like those men, this is all 100% intentional. Where Guff diverges, however, is that he is not a real person. Comedian Peter Oldring crafted this send-up of the egotistic entrepreneur, and he pulls it off remarkably well. The criticism cuts so close to the seam of real-deal players in the self-promotion business that some of the advice almost starts to make sense. Thankfully a cast of revolving guests and off-microphone drama puncture the conjured reality to a degree that should prevent anyone from being fully duped by the gag.
Despite the budding narratives developed amongst the various personalities that enter Dexter's world, this show does not lend itself to binge-listening. In fact, it may not even be ideal as an every week addition to a listener's existing roster of shows. That's partially a testament to how succinctly Oldring nails the parody. For the uninitiated, these personalities are such blowhard's that even a few minutes are hard to stomach. Guff does, however, ironically ingratiate himself with listeners who would be forgiven for wanting to see this character fail. Setting aside the dubious merits of publically shaming real people, there is something satisfying about witnessing a fictional antagonist's fall from grace. Regardless of personal preference for vengeance and/or entrepreneur-helmed podcasts, Dexter Guff Is Smarter Than You holds value in moderate consumption. If nothing else, it is a great way to shake free from the grasps of a listening slump and imagine what other tropes might be ripe for satire via podcast.
Dexter Guff Is Smarter Than You (And You Can Be Too)
Recommended for: Anyone who hates and/or loves BS catchphrases like "thought-dogs"
Rating: Make It Work
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