Tired of Things

Harold Combs
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I’ve grown remarkably tired of some things recently.

Podcasts

I have a favorite podcast application: Overcast. For the past 12+ years, I’ve listened to podcasts galore. My family/friends have come to loathe subjects I begin with “I was listening to a podcast the other day and…”

Yeah, not anymore.

I’ve dropped several podcasts and been selective with many more, and there’s been a general theme.

The Improv Comic Problem

This all began when I started listening to the NSFW (NSFL?) podcast Why Won’t You Date Me? from Stitcher. I like @nicolebyer’s manic personality. I like things of the genre “dating horror stories” in that voyeuristic “Glad I don’t have to do that anymore” sort of way. Heck, I even like getting that coastal, entertainment-industry perspective, because God knows, that’s now how it is in Texas.

Then it just became…tiresome. That’s going to be a theme. So, “Unsubscribe” it was.

Next up was the ribald How Did This Get Made?, a podcast that sends-up (bad?) movies. I’ve subscribed to this podcast since 2016, and I’ve generally enjoyed it, but again, the manic “we’re doing a bit” thing just got tiresome. Unsubscribe.

What really showed me I was trending towards an unsub theme was Earwolf’s Blank Check with Griffin and David, a very topical exploration of (good and bad) movies where directors were given the proverbial “Blank Check” to make what they want. Griffin is a working actor (most recently on ‘The Tick’ from Amazon Prime), and David is a film critic. I really appreciated their industry insights, and Griffin’s zaniness and endless riffing was engaging. Again…until it wasn’t.

Alright, so we’re working-up to a theme, and Overcast kept getting more and more empty. A thought emerged:

I’m really tired of hearing people goof on other people’s stuff, particularly improv comics.

All three of the podcasts above feature improv comics riffing for 30 minutes to 2 hours on a topic. It’s basically the adult version of listening to stoned college students making themselves laugh at 3 o’clock in the morning and it’s not funny, or original. It’s just…useless. It’s a waste of time.

The “It’s American Life” Problem

Long ago, I was your “Basic Podcast Listener.” I listened to “It’s American Life,” “Radiolab,” all the NPR Podcast lineage coming out of WNYC New York, WBEZ Chicago, and WHYY in Philly. I’ve listened to NPR all my life, the erudite escape from Eastern Kentucky coming to me on WEKU 88.9/WEKH 90.9 with its classical music, All Things Considered, and Car Talk.

And yet….I just can’t stand to listen to that overproduced dreck anymore. Gimlet broke me. I was a Gimlet homer before Gimlet had a name. I listened to Startup and reveled in Alex Blumberg’s journey into making podcasting a Real Thing®. I listened to ReplyAll.

Then I just couldn’t take it anymore. It’s like I took Chantix and became impervious to the NPR Nicotine. It was all fey, immature, a certain brand of humanity I couldn’t take.

What’s Left?

So, What’s in Overcast now?

Bascially, a bunch of dead stuff. I’ll give you a rundown and quick review Now

  • Accidental Tech Podcast - Alive Weekly A rundown of tech stuff in the Apple world. These guys don’t do bits or try to be funny, but they’re genuinely engaging, and genuine. Recommended.
  • The Age of Napoleon - Alive bi-weekly. Simply a terrific exploration of the life of napoleon and events in the late 18th and early 19th century. HIGHLY recommended, if you like history
  • Ask Me Another Alive? weekly Quiz show featuring hipsters from Brooklyn. Nowhere near as good since Art Chung quit being puzzle master. New final-quiz format is awful and confusing. Probably will unsubscribe soon.
  • AWS Morning Brief Alive Weekly Corey Quinn makes AWS product announcements funny. No, really. If you work in AWS you NEED to be subscribed.
  • Bubble Dead Bubble was a send-up of hipsterism and millenials. It offended itself out of existence, I guess. Does have the single funniest Judy Greer rant on bar-trivia in existence.
  • Cocaine and Rhinestones Dead? David Allen Coe’s son tells it like it was. Simply terrific. Not sure how he hasn’t gotten sued out of existence, but appreciate it for what it is. Recommended.
  • Daily Tech News Show Alive Free daily rundown of tech news across the industry. Essential listening and my companion each day as I drive home.
  • Decoder Ring Theater Dead 15 Years worth of the best audio drama you’ve ever heard, including Black Jack Justice and The Red Panda. My kids have these all memorized by now. HIGHLY recommended. But yeah, Greg Taylor seems to have moved on.
  • History on Fire dead GREAT history deep dive, but they got bought-out and now their stuff is behind a paywall. Boo. Recommended.
  • My History Can Beat Up Your Politics Alive A podcast from 2006 forward with great snippets of history and politics. Recommended.
  • Once and Future Nerd dead Content isn’t coming out much anymore, but a neat story of 3 kids from NE Pennsylvania getting sucked into a parallel universe. Looks like they won’t ever get to finish it at the pace they’re on.
  • Pop Culture Happy Hour 2x weekly Alive Reviews of art, entertainment, and whatever is au courant. Recommended, but I don’t know how much longer it has.
  • Road to Now alive History podcast from a history professor and a professional musician. one of them is also a standup comedian. They’re both Southern. It works.
  • Upgrade. weekly Alive Jason Snell is like Merlyn Mann, but I don’t want him to spontaneously combust because I hate his personality. Myke Hurley’s english accent is great. Good rundown of recent events in streaming, movies, apple technology. Quite a bit of overlap with “ATP,” but usually worth it.
  • Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me Alive A weely news quiz. Peter Sagal is a treasure and very funny.
  • The Way I Heard It - Alive Mike Rowe doing Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story.” Folksy and endering, very much worth the listen if only for Rowe’s dulcet tones.
  • Wheel Bearings - weekly Alive the only automotive podcast I can stand to listen to, despite Sam Abuelsamid saying “Ya know” approximately 1000 times every 60 minutes. He’s from Michigan. I forgive him. After 100 episodes or so, you barely notice it, you know?
  • Wooden Overcoats mostly dead. Disposable audio comedy form England. Antigone Funn is my spirit animal, though.

So that’s, what? 10 or so podcasts, most of them at most weekly.

Commonalities:

  • They’re genuine.
  • They don’t try to be funny.
  • They follow my actual interests: History, Audio dramas, pop culture.