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.
This week, I reviewed the lovely, haunting audio drama Six Cold Feet and had a fantastic discussion with Wolf 359‘s Gabriel Urbina. I also managed to land front row seats at the June My Brother, My Brother and Me live show, and noticed something interesting about its description on the venue’s site.
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Highlights
What’s the Frequency
“6. Books Containing Words”
What’s the Frequency‘s latest episode is everything that makes the podcast as a whole so fascinating. Each scene is disparate from the last in every way–different characters, different ideas, different sound design–but the episode is still perfectly cohesive. No performance is wasted. There’s a progression of plot, a slow unraveling of what exactly is going on, without sacrificing the confusion and dread so prominent in the podcast’s tone. The editing and design work by Alexander Danner are especially gorgeous and gave me chills several times. What’s the Frequency continues to be one of the most wholly-conceived, strange, beautiful, uncomfortable, inventive pieces of media I’ve ever encountered, and “6. Books Containing Words” is a new best in their run.
Pitfalls
Hello from the Magic Tavern
“Season 2, Ep 50 – Reply All Wizards”
When will Hello from the Magic Tavern learn that guests who seemingly hate their premise, or think they are above the premise, are not fun guests to have on? When will Earwolf learn that this crossover marketing method is uncomfortable? I didn’t even finish the episode. It was just such an unpleasant listen. Maybe fans of Reply All appreciated this; I did not.
This Week’s Ratings
Sunday, 3/11/18
- Hello from the Magic Tavern, “Season 2, Ep 50 – Reply All Wizards”: D
- The Cryptid Keeper, “Episode 49- The Ogopogo”: C+
Monday, 3/12/18
- Potterless, “Ep. 37 – Order of the Phoenix Ch 37-38 w/ Julia Schifini”: B
- Han and Matt Know It All, “#62: Han and Matt Fire Their Assistant”: B-
- My Brother, My Brother and Me, “MBMBaM 397: Burnt Reynolds”: C+
- Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, “103. Brady Bunch Wedding / Ron Paul’s Baby Returns”: C+
Tuesday, 3/13/18
- Love and Luck, “Episode 28 – Mini Episode 1”: B
- Join the Party, “22. Bachelorette Party II”: B+
- What’s the Frequency?, “6. Books Containing Words”: A
- Pounded in the Butt by My Own Podcast, “Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt, Read by Cecil Baldwin”: C+
Wednesday, 3/14/18
- This Is Love, “Episode 5: A Private Life”: B+
- ars PARADOCIA, “31: Control”: B
- Join the Party, “Afterparty: Bachelorette Party II”: B
- Han and Matt Know It All, “Opinion Overflow #32: ‘How Do I Stop Procrastinating and Do My Taxes?'”: C+
- Spirits, “Episode 68: Hollywood Urban Legends (with James Oliva)”: B
- Tides, “The Village on the Sand Flats”: B
- Wonderful!, “Ep. 25: Pizza Time Dudes”: C
- Song Exploder, “Ludgwig Göransson – Black Panther”: B+
- Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services, “Case Four: Dreams”: B–
- Making Obama, “Obama 6: Yes We Can!”: B
Thursday, 3/15/17
- Wooden Overcoats, “Season 3 Episode 4: The Race for Piffling”: C
- The Amelia Project, “Luke Dougal”: B
- Pop Culture Happy Hour, “Talk Show Talk”: B
- Invisibilia, “The Other Real World”: C
Friday, 3/16/17
- Nothing of note
Saturday, 3/17/17
- 2298, “ENTRY TWELVE / ARTIFICIAL”: C
Wil Williams Writes 