Rec. #815: Highlights of Side by Side by Susan Blackwell

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I rock out my dinger eight times a week in that show." (Will Swensen)
"You smell good."  "Thanks, it's lady deodorant." (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
"I hate everybody." (Andrea Martin)
--- with Will Swensen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Andrea Martin (2010)





"This is my personal heaven. Feeding goats with Jonathan Groff."
--- with Jonathan Groff (2011)

"If you can explain the rules of cricket to me before I get bored, you don't have to scrub my toilet."
[cut to Radcliffe scrubbing a toilet]

--- with Daniel Radcliffe (2011)
(Rec. #454)

"Are those Broadway.com-approved words?"

--- with Audra McDonald (2012)

"It was Rosh Hashanah ... I was making my one phone call, but everyone was at temple, so I couldn't get out of jail."

--- with the cast of Falsettos (2016)

Connections to previous Wreckage: See Rec. #328 for much more about Side by Side by Susan Blackwell (which has now been going for 10 years!).

Rec. #814: Assorted British Nonsense

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I mean, you might have another name, well done, but in my mind: 'Ferret.'"

--- "Does Claudia Winkleman label every person she meets as an animal?"
(Rec. #502)

"I've got an egg in my hand for the first time in my life."

--- "MasterChef at No10"
(Rec. #434)

"It's like a bunch of white people drowning in milk."

--- Richard Ayoade's "Travel Man: Spa Days"
(See also Rec. #396, Rec. #592, List #63)

"You've cut your hand on the toilet flush?"

--- "QI: Pre-Show Pandemonium"

"Go on - tell Jodie Foster that story!"

--- Greg Davies on The Graham Norton Show
(See also SSoW #5)

[dances like Kate Bush]
--- "Noel Fielding Does 'Wuthering Heights'"

(Rec. #447)

Rec. #813: Alexis and David videos

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy! 

"I didn't 'go missing', David -- the FBI knew where I was the entire time."

--- "Alexis Rose: International Woman of Mystery"

"Ew, David!"

--- "Alexis Says 'David'"
(Rec. #595)

"And it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, babe"

--- See Rec. #733 for the whole constellation of videos around David and Patrick and "Simply the Best"

"Dead silence. Is it a Yoko Ono song?"
--- "Dan Levy & Annie Murphy Play Jam or Not a Jam"
(Rec. #490)

Connections to previous Wreckage: For more Schitt's Creek, see , Rec. #680, List #59, List #63, and List #65.

Rec. #812: Amy Poehler Attempts an Impression of Natasha Lyonne

What: This video has given me so much joy recently. I have already watched these three minutes more than 20 times (a very restrained estimate).

The whole thing is eminently gif-able.

A few top moments:

Connection to previous Wreckage: Russian Doll is really, really good (Rec. #775).

How to get it: On YouTube. It's basically a commercial for Netflix and I don't even care.

List #92: A Bunch of Podcasts

This list was across several parts, so a wrap-up might be useful!

A reminder of the parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.



Part 1: Produced Nonfiction Segments (3)

Part 2: Narrative (5)

Part 3: High-Concept Chat (6)

Part 4: Stuff Going on in the World (4)

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 4

[In thanks to a friend.]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.

Previous Categories:
Produced Nonfiction Segments
Narrative
High-Concept Chat



Today's category: Stuff Going on in the World

[yeah, yeah, national holiday, but also we're on fire]
 

Front Row

The coverage: This is definitely the show in this category least likely to make you depressed and/or furious. It covers what's going on in arts, literature, film, media, and music.

The hosts: One host per episode, from a large stable of talent. Read all about the most frequent hosts ("presenters") here. I like them all except John Wilson.

The frequency: Every. Single. Weekday.

Learn more/get it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qsq5

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #425

Gaslit Nation

The coverage: "A deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs."

The hosts: Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, two experts on authoritarian states. They keep accurately predicting events here in the U.S., which is horrifying.

The frequency: Weekly

Learn more/get it: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/

It's Been a Minute

The coverage: Sam Sanders and his guests cover the week in news via three-word summaries, rounds of "who said that," and some deep dives.

The host: Sam Sanders, a fan favorite from NPR Politics

The frequency: Weekly Wrap episodes, plus additional topic-specific episodes throughout the week.

Learn more/get it: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510317/its-been-a-minute-with-sam-sanders

Standard Issue

The coverage: "The magazine for ears. By women. For women. About everything."

Also, British.

The hosts: Mickey Noonan, Hannah Dunleavy, Jen Offord. All of them clever and dryly hilarious.

The frequency: Multiple times a week

Learn more/get it: https://www.standardissuepodcast.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #584

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 3

[In thanks to a friend.]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.

Previous Categories:
Produced Nonfiction Segments
Narrative



Today's category: High-Concept Chat

Answer Me This

The concept: "A monthly comedy podcast by Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann in which they answer questions submitted by the general public."

The chat: Helen and Olly are old university friends and are joined by Martin the Sound Man (aka, Helen's husband).

Olly's a bit of a prick, but Helen (heard also on The Allusionist) is aces.

Learn more/get it: https://answermethispodcast.com/

Dr. Gameshow

The concept: "Jo Firestone and Manolo Moreno play original listener-created games with their comedian friends and callers from all over the world."

The chat: Listen to Jo slowly lose the will to live as her hosting is thwarted at every turn by her sidekick (Manolo, passive to a fault) and the listeners (who insist on voting for games that have never been played).

Jo Firestone is a comedy genius. The episode where Janeane Garofalo guested was one of the very few times I felt true joy last year.

Learn more/get it: https://www.maximumfun.org/shows/dr-gameshow

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #585, Rec. #719

Make Me Like It

The concept: "We're Kelly Hudson and Dan Klein. We don't like a lot of stuff. So we have our funniest friends come on our show and convince us to like the stuff they like."

The chat: Hudson and Klein know lots of West Coast comedy people, including writers for The Good Place, so those are the kinds of guests they have.

Megan Amram convinced them of the glories of The Cheesecake Factory. At a Cheesecake Factory.

Learn more/get it: https://headgum.com/make-me-like-it

Nobody Panic

The concept: "Your guidebook to being a fully functioning adult without screaming all the time."

The chat: Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin are British and very charming and right on the verge of breaking out. Listen so you can say you knew them when.

Learn more/get it: https://play.acast.com/s/nobodypanic

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #795

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The concept: "Freewheeling chat about the latest movies, television, books, comics, and music."

The chat: Linda Holmes hosts very skillfully, usually supported by her buddies Stephen Thompson (best thing about him is his partner Katie Presley) and Glen Weldon (best thing about him is his plan for surviving the apocalypse [don't]).

The "4th chair" is filled by various interesting and nice people.

Learn more/get it: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #571

The Poscast

The concept: "Sports, drafts and nonsense with Joe Posnanski and The Good Place's Michael Schur."

The chat: Do you know how little I care about sports? Very, very little. I do, however, like hearing Mike Schur rant about stuff and --- it turns out! --- I also really enjoy the episodes where they do random drafts, like 1980s movie crushes, office supplies, and sandwiches.

Learn more/get it: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nbc-sports/the-poscast

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 2

[In thanks to a friend]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.


Yesterday's category: Produced Nonfiction Segments


Today's category: Narrative

"The Body Genius" (on The Truth)

The story: A dark comic mystery about a Hollywood personal trainer.

How many episodes: 5

Learn more/get it: http://www.thetruthpodcast.com/story/2019/4/3/the-body-genius

The Bright Sessions

The story: A therapy practice for ... atypical clients.

How many episodes: Four seasons, roughly 10-20 episodes per season

Learn more/get it: http://www.thebrightsessions.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #587

Bubble

The story: A small band of monster killers operate in the gig economy of a corporate pseudo-topia.

How many episodes: 8

Learn more/get it: https://www.maximumfun.org/shows/bubble

Victoriocity

The story: A detective mystery comedy set in an alternate, steampunkish Victorian London.

How many episodes: Two seasons, 6/7 episodes per season

Learn more/get it: https://www.victoriocity.com/

Welcome to Night Vale

The story: Community updates for a small desert town. A contemporary surrealist classic for a reason.

How many episodes: 150 so far

Learn more/get it: http://www.welcometonightvale.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec #303

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 1

Thanks, friend. You know how much that meant to me. And, here, in gratitude -- a list!


The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.



Today's category: Produced Nonfiction Segments (à la This American Life)

The Allusionist

The concept: Helen Zaltzman investigates language.

Three recent episodes: "Polari," "Alter Ego," "The Future Is Now?"

Learn more/get it: https://www.theallusionist.org/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #773

Mystery Show

The concept: Starlee Kine investigates mysteries you can't solve yourself and can't solve online. (It's quite similar to Heavyweight. But it was first. And better.)

Three key episodes: "Video Store," "Belt Buckle," "Vanity Plate"

Learn more/get it: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/mystery-show

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #403

99% Invisible

The concept: Roman Mars investigates the unnoticed design and architecture that shape our lives.

Three recent episodes: "Life and Death in Singapore," "The Automat," "Depave Paradise"

Learn more/get it: https://99percentinvisible.org/