'Casting Call.09
Podcast recommendations from July 24 - July 28, 2023
I work a regular job in a warehouse where I rarely need to use my critical thinking skills (I do get to drive a forklift, though). So, I listen to around 40 hours worth of podcasts a week, and here’s what I recommend from this past week…
Comedy Bang! Bang! - #822 Honey, I Shrunk Her w/ Anna Konkle, Mitra Jouhari, and Christine Bullen
It’s not a condemnation of the host, Scott Aukerman, but more of an enlightening to the state of podcasts, improv and stand-up comedy, and the entertainment industry as a whole, but this episode is only the twelfth time1 that Comedy Bang! Bang! has had an all female guest panel in its fourteen year podcasting history.
I always beat myself up that I didn’t have more women on my podcast. My excuse being that if I wanted to put out episodes with any consistency, that I needed to take whatever I could get guest-wise. But then again, the road to hell, etc, etm.
Mitra is the assassin of this episode! Just an unhinged character that showcases her comedic chops and faster-than-light reaction time. Absurdist humor that’s not trying to be shocking and in-your-face, just funny. And Christine is back as her Myrtle McGee character, who I forgot about, but as soon as she came in with that voice, two words popped into my head: Husbands and buttermilk.
Homestate with Stephanie Beatriz
Overall, this is a good2 episode. Stephanie has a good chemistry with Nick and Mitch — possibly due to time spend on set with Mitch on the television project they worked on. A great energy, and of course I gotta support my Latine gente.
The into of this episode where they talk about the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes is the main reason why I recommend this episode. Of course, big huge rich movie starts don’t have anything to really worry about, but it’s the people doing the grunt work of the entertainment industry that stand to lose the most.
And if anyone that isn’t an actor complains that they get treated shitty on the job, and they aren’t striking — you should! All the people out there at the top of corporate structures love to hear people bitch about being inconvenienced by others striking. Because then they probably won’t try to unionize themselves, and the working class can continue to be divided amongst itself and won’t consolidate their power to achieve better working conditions for everybody.
Corporations are always going to do whatever they can to get their workers to do the most amount of work for as little pay possible.
800th Episode Extravaganza with Katrina Davis
This, along with The Dork Forest, is one of the first podcasts I started listening to when I got into podcasts. Before Apple had a dedicated Podcast App. Before iTunes had a podcast section. I copied RSS feeds and pasted them into a forgotten podcatcher. Then I’d download the MP3s, import them into iTunes, and listen to them over the weekend instead of socializing with my twenty-something peers. I didn’t even have an iPod back then!
But it’s cool to see this kind of longevity from two normal/non-famous guys that have grown and progressed through life. Children. Career advancements and setbacks. Struggling through hardships. Parasocial acquaintances I’m glad I’m keeping in touch with.
The episode itself delves into some heated bean talk, and they also put Australia on notice. Pretty fun, and I also think (strangely) that even though this is the 800th episode of this podcast, it would be a pretty good place to start if you’ve never listened before.
Via Reddit: #822. Anna Konkle, Mitra Jouhari, Christine Bullen
#683. Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Ego Nwodim, Madeline Walter
#607. Beth Stelling, Ego Nwodim, Betsy Sodaro
#509. Tig Notaro, Lauren Lapkus, Mary Holland, Erin Whitehead
#492. Jessica St. Clair, Lennon Parham
#369. Andrea Savage, Casey Wilson, Dannah Phirman, Danielle Schneider
#282. Jessica St. Clair, Lennon Parham
#246. Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael
#220. Lennon Parham, Jessica St. Clair
#214. Jen Kirkman, Pamela Murphy
#154. Lennon Parham, Jessica St. Clair
#141. Tig Notaro, Ronna & Beverly
Or, as Mike Mitchell would say: “Gud.”