Podcasts 2018

I’ve recently dumped a bunch of podcasts I used to listen to - some because they were daily radio shows I could never keep up with but for some reason felt obligated to keep trying, others because they were just doing the same thing over and over.

Here’s what survived.

The first three are Penny Arcade podcasts, so if you don’t like PA you may want to pass on them, though I’d also argue the Acquisitions Incorporated podcasts are more about Dungeons & Dragons than PA.

• Acquisitions Incorporated: The Series - the original and long-running “Penny Arcade and friends play Dungeons & Dragons” show. Recorded pretty much only at PAX these days, so only a few shows per year, these are definitely large scale performance pieces. With the excellent Chris Perkins as dungeon master, and frequently geek celebrity guests.
• Acquisitions Incorporated: The “C” Team - My favourite podcast right now (as in, I will jump to this in the queue when it comes out). Set in the world of the main Acquisitions Incorporated shows, this is an entirely separate group that plays Dungeons & Dragons weekly, with Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade acting as dungeon master. It’s weird and great. feed here
• Downloadable Content - the Penny Arcade guys do this podcast while making their comics. I backed the Kickstarter to have this podcast return, so…
• Dungeon Delve - This feed has had several different Dungeons & Dragons shows in the past, but for a while now it’s been all Dice Camera Action in podcast form, which works for me because I’m rarely sitting around able to watch shows from Twitch or YouTube. Great characters, and again Chris Perkins running the game.
• Gastropod - as they say, “Gastropod looks at food through the lens of science and history.” It’s well done, and funny, and I have learned something new in literally every episode.
• One from the Vaults - Stories from trans history over the past 150 years in North America and Europe. Super interesting.
• Song Exploder - a fascinating exploration of how songs are made, from all different kinds of musicians, including some who happen to be quite famous. Interesting if you are into music, or how songs come together, or general artistic process. The stories behind songs are frequently as interesting as the songs themselves.
• You Must Remember This - Excellent podcast about Hollywood’s first century.