Which podcasts are we listening to?

[spinach]

stuff you should know

Stuff you should know always comes across to me as a couple of guys who know absolutely nothing about a subject doing a tiny amount of research and then trying to explain that subject. As a result, some of their explanations can be extremely dodgy.

I'll grant you that, but its more their ease of talking, their nimbility (is this a word) of speech, if you listen to their live podcasts you will hear their studio podcasts are pretty much done in one take, i.e. not much editing, a skill I'm very jealous of, the ability to speak at length off the cuff, whereas me even though I speak 4-5 languages somewhat and are intelligent I can barely string together a sentence of coherent english.
Their tangents about food or media are also great, I'm a similar age so a lot of the tangents 'I get' (though I grew up in NZ so a different culture)
Its basically like a comfort podcast to me, I know exactly what I'm gonna get (I've been listening to them over 10 years now), true I  may not learn anything new (though sometimes I do), usually I get a laugh or two per episode which alone makes it worthwhile.
Its similar to another podcast 'Omnibus' with ken jennings and john rodderick, where often they don't know what they are talking about (You're an ozzie, see their underarm incident where they explain the sport of cricket hilariously badly ;D ) but they are also given the gift of the gab

ps. Daniel I think you will like 'Stuff you should know' being an american of an older age and left leaning, animal friendly, it prolly resonates in your wheelhouse, give a few random episodes a listen, one from 10 years ago one from 7 years ago one from 4 years ago, one from now. Who knows maybe it also will grow on you

[gcason]

stuff you should know

Stuff you should know always comes across to me as a couple of guys who know absolutely nothing about a subject doing a tiny amount of research and then trying to explain that subject. As a result, some of their explanations can be extremely dodgy.

I agree they don't always hit the mark, but they almost always do. They strike me as couple of intelligent friends having an interesting discussion on a topic they have both researched. They are non-experts talking to a non-expert audience, so if you want a deep dive on a topic, this won't provide it. They are approaching 2000 episodes, so if you do like the podcast, you've got a HUGE backlog to enjoy.  :)

[arthwollipot]

stuff you should know

Stuff you should know always comes across to me as a couple of guys who know absolutely nothing about a subject doing a tiny amount of research and then trying to explain that subject. As a result, some of their explanations can be extremely dodgy.

I agree they don't always hit the mark, but they almost always do. They strike me as couple of intelligent friends having an interesting discussion on a topic they have both researched. They are non-experts talking to a non-expert audience, so if you want a deep dive on a topic, this won't provide it. They are approaching 2000 episodes, so if you do like the podcast, you've got a HUGE backlog to enjoy.  :)

Right, sometimes they are pretty well researched, sure. But even then they still sound like they have no clue how stuff works. They may know stuff, but I've found that they aren't very good at explaining stuff. Which is strange since as you say they've been at it for a long time.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. If you like the show, that's great and you should keep listening to it. It's not to my taste but that's just me.

[Harry Black]

I found them frustratingly credulous and trying to please both sides on alt med subjects.
I remember them saying something to the effect of "Well the research says this, but many people believe that and the only thing that annoys me is people who are too closed minded to see the other side"

That was the last episode I listened to about 9 years ago I think?

[BilLumberg]

I have been listening to Bedrock USA. It is about how local government has been affected by right wing activism over the last couple years. Focuses on Shasta county California and Sequim Washington. Very interesting and somewhat alarming.

https://www.bloomberg.com/bedrock-usa

Here is a rss feed;
https://www.omnycontent.com/d/playlist/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/cc95a88a-2479-4e13-8a9f-aeca015f0615/d81ef622-933e-4cda-8eaf-aeca015f9226/podcast.rss

[Friendly Angel]

Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter... just cancelled by CNN. One of the better news interview shows.

[arthwollipot]

I'm so far behind on podcasts. I've had to delete a whole bunch of Skeptoid episodes that were in my queue and cancel my subscription to the World's Greatest Con, which to be honest I wasn't that interested in this season because it's all about game shows. I've been keeping up with SGU, SWAK, No Such Thing As A Fish and Geologic.

I've also been going back through the original "Balance" arc of The Adventure Zone, from way back in 2015.  It's a show by the McElroy brothers - Griffin, Travis and Justin, who amongst other projects have My Brother My Brother And Me (which I don't subscribe to). Basically one day they decided to get together with their dad Clint and play a game of Dungeons and Dragons on that show. One of them had played once before, but otherwise they were all basically completely new to the game. The first episode was so wildly popular that they broke it off into its own podcast and kept going.

They're funny guys, and for the first forty episodes or so it was just a funny D&D show. But then something happens in the story (no spoilers) that just made my jaw drop at how brilliantly this campaign has been written. It jumps from strength to strength from then on as more and more of the deep background is revealed. It is funny, emotional, tragic and triumphant all at once and several times had me in tears - of both kinds - in my car.

Highly recommended. They went on to do other campaigns when that one finished, but I didn't enjoy those as much. You do not need to know D&D to appreciate it - after all, when they started, they didn't. But if you appreciate a good long-form story, told collaboratively and improvisationally by a group of very funny people, you might like it.

[arthwollipot]

The latest season of Brian Brushwood's podcast, World's Greatest Con, has begun and boy is it a good one.

https://shows.acast.com/worlds-greatest-con/episodes

The first season was interesting - it was a thorough examination of Project Mincemeat, a deception during WW2 in which the allies stashed false intelligence on a corpse for the Nazis to find. Season 2 was not interesting to me - it was about people who had conned TV game shows. While it was a decent examination of how and particularly why people try to run cons, I have what could be described as an anti-interest in TV game shows, so I skipped most of it.

But the third season, in my opinion, should be required listening for anybody who considers themself to be a skeptic. And that is not an exaggeration.

The third season is a detailed look into Project Alpha - a hoax perpetrated by Steve Shaw and Michael Edwards, aided and abetted by James Randi. We should all be at least passingly familiar with it. In the latest series, Shaw (now using the stage name Banachek) and Edwards tell their stories in their own words. It is thorough, and detailed, and does not pull punches. Brushwood is a fantastic storyteller and I predict that this will become the definitive history of Project Alpha.

Three episodes have so far dropped. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. Highly recommended.

[arthwollipot]

Also, I recommend Richard Wiseman's new podcast On Your Mind. It's Wiseman talking about all his Wisemany things. He's a funny and interesting guy and this show is very entertaining.

[Rai]

Is it me or Monstertalk has really declined in quality? I feel like they are scraping the bottom of the barrel with their subjects and aren't even presenting them in a particularly interesting way, and I end up zoning out very quickly, if not skipping altogether in disinterest.

[daniel1948]

The latest season of Brian Brushwood's podcast, World's Greatest Con, has begun and boy is it a good one.

Thanks. I've added it to my podcast app.

[xenu]

Is it me or Monstertalk has really declined in quality? I feel like they are scraping the bottom of the barrel with their subjects and aren't even presenting them in a particularly interesting way, and I end up zoning out very quickly, if not skipping altogether in disinterest.

I used to listen to them all the time back in the day but lost interest because there are only so many monsters out there that are interesting.

Plus wasn't 2 of the hosts dating each other and then there was an ugly break up yada yada yada?

[arthwollipot]

Plus wasn't 2 of the hosts dating each other and then there was an ugly break up yada yada yada?

A decade and a half ago, I think, yes.

[Harry Black]

Its been great to see how many people took lessons from the skeptical/atheist movement and actually moved on to use those lessons in their work while discarding the baggage of 'the movement'.
Some podcasts that have done so which I have found interesting in the last year or so:
Behind the Bastards
The host is somewhat insufferable so I only listen to episodes about subjects I am interested in but he really fucking nails them. Latest one is Wim Hoff, quack and lifestyle guru.

If Books Could Kill

Michael Hobbes and his podcast buddy take a different best seller or phenomena each episode and deconstruct its claims and their veracity.
Very funny. Highly enjoyable.

Maintenance Phase
Michael Hobbes again. He and Aubrey dissect and debunk diet woo. Probably the most skeptical (in terms of targets and process) podcast out there right now???

Smashing Security
Two cyber security experts break down the weekly news from a cyber security perspective.

Decoding the Gurus
Another brilliant skeptical podcast. Much more suited for centrist sensibilities and people who are fans of respectful debate and discourse. Each week they do a deep dive on a different prominent chud and analyse whether or not they are a secular guru grifter or not. Past subjects include Peterson, the Weinsteins and Chomsky.

Factually
Adam Ruins Everythings continuation podcast. Really interesting and informative. Most recent ep is about the history and culture of hot dogs.

[daniel1948]

The latest season of Brian Brushwood's podcast, World's Greatest Con, has begun and boy is it a good one.

Thanks. I've added it to my podcast app.

I've listened to a bunch of this now. I find his style way too theatrical. The history is interesting, but he stretches it out way too long, and his insertion of unrelated personal stories is annoying. And his overly-emotional presentation really rubs me the wrong way.

As for the title, "The Greatest Con" seems appropriate for the first story, how the Allies tricked the Germans in WWII. But when he presents a story of how somebody conned a TV show and he ends with his wild-eyed "THIS might possibly be ... the world's GREATEST con," it's just plain stupid.

He could have told these stories in about a quarter of the time, without the theatrical music and voice, and he'd have had a really great show.

Our Fake History and The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong are examples of history done right, IMO.