Wil Williams Writes

This Week in Podcasts is a weekly roundup of mini-reviews of all of the podcasts I’ve listened to in a week. If you see any podcasts that you feel are missing from my list, there’s a good chance I haven’t listened to the show yet! You can see my current list of podcast subscriptions here. Feel free to give me recommendations–as well as any feedback or discussion!–in the comments below or on twitter.  You can see a list of every episode that has scored within the A range here.

Please note that there will not be a This Week in Podcasts or newsletter December 23rd or 30th for the holidays.

Highlights

Join the Party
“39. Labor Party IX”

This week, Join the Party‘s DM, Eric Silver, brought the arc to a sweet, somber, and intriguing close. Centered on a goodbye for one of the player characters, the episode acts a sweet, somewhat quiet lull after the tumultuous labors the party had to endure in previous episodes–though the episode doesn’t just allow softness. The ramifications of everything that’s happened in the arc weighs heavy in every aspect of the episode, from TR8-C and Inara’s tender conversation to Greg and Alonzo’s relationship to the state of the world they live in. Still, the episode never feels tonally off: instead, it’s a masterful balance of weight, levity, and world building, in iconic Join the Party fashion.

Pitfalls

Limetown
“The Bridge”

This season of Limetown feels like something that needs to be completed before it can be fully evaluated–but that doesn’t mean that “The Bridge” didn’t feel like a disappointment. In this episode, listeners are given quite a few answers: Who is Glass Joe? What does it mean that he “made them swim”? And who is the interviewer? While the first season of Limetown left the listener always feeling like they (like Lia) weren’t asking the right questions, these “twists” left the listener feeling like they’d already answered them all back on the first episode of the season. The distracting, overly hammy background acting didn’t help the flow or tone of the episode, either. Limetown still has two episodes to go in its second eason, but this episode–aside from the phenomenal performances by Kate Eastman as Charley, Jo D Jonz’s performance as Daniel, and Limetown‘s continually spot-on pacing–seemed to solidify that the show’s second season is a strange departure from its first.

This Week’s Ratings

Sunday, 12/9/18

• Conversation with People Who Hate Me, “Listener Call: Nick”: C+
• Pounded in the Butt by My Own Podcast, “Monday Pounds Me in the Butt, Read by Helen Zaltzman”: B
• The Hilarious World of Depression, “Naomi Ekperigin Brings In Her Baggage, Unpacks It”: B

Monday, 12/10/18

• Arden, “Bea and Brenda Did It”: B
• Nancy, “Bowen Yang Was Fooled By Grey’s Anatomy“: B
• I Never Say That, “47 Xena: Ephiny’s New Boobs”: B-
• HORSE, “Ep. 12: The St. Louis Ballsman”: B
• Twenty Thousand Hertz, “Boots ‘n Cats”: B-
• Song Salad, “Ep. 139 – The Garden of Loss”: B+
• Limetown, “The Bridge”: C-
• My Brother, My Brother and Me, “MBMBaM 437: A Silent Chug”: B
• Within the Wires, “Season 3, Reel 8: April 20, 1954”: B

Tuesday, 12/11/18

• Love and Luck, “Episode 61 – Invitations”: B+
• Serendipity City, “How Could This Possibly Fail?”: B
• Join the Party, “39. Labor Party IX”: A-
• Palimpsest, “episode 208: Knife”: B
• 99% Invisible, “332- The Accidental Room”: B

Wednesday, 12/12/18

• Shedunnit, “4. The Lady Vanishes”: B
• This Is Love, “Episode 11: Nothing Compares To You”: B-
• Join the Party, “Afterparty: Labor Party IX”: B
• Spirits, “107: Anansi”: B
• Wonderful!, “Ep. 63: Goin’ Potty Backwards”: C+
• No Bad Ideas, “Episode 7: Shadow Kung-Fu Wrestling . . . With Bulls”: B
• ZigZag, “An App for Information Overload?”: C

Thursday, 12/13/18

• The Truth, “BONUS: All Your Questions Answered”: B+
• The Adventure Zone, “Live Candlenights 2018 Spectacular”: B
• Pop Culture Happy Hour, “The Favourite and What’s Making Us Happy”: C+

Friday, 12/14/18

• The Amelia Project, “Klaus – Christmas Special”: B+
• Janus Descending, “Entry 8”: B
• How It’s Paid, “025 — Christmas Special! — $11 Million Christmas Tree”: B–

These weekly roundups are some of my favorite to write, but they’re also some of the most exhausting posts to write. Keeping up with all these podcasts is time consuming! These posts are brought to you with deep thanks to my Patreon supporters and people who have supported me via Ko-Fi. Becoming a supporter will get you access to my planning blog, customized podcast playlists, and the ability to request reviews for podcasts you love. Find out more here!