Podcasting has been something that I had never considered deeply as a form on media consumption. In the past, I had listened to general radio and I never much enjoyed the commentary between songs. I always found myself irritated with advertisements and the commenters. Mainly because I felt they were wasting my time with garbage talk about celebrities and opinions on things that I didn’t value – this was mainly prevalent on the mainstream radio channels. But I never had XM radio or listened to any of the older radio channels. It wasn’t until my older brother started driving in about 2010 and he always had this show called “Opie + Anthony” was I introduced podcasts.

Opie + Anthony probably isn’t the best podcast to mention in this class but it is relevant in it that it was how I found out about podcasting. Why I define them as inappropriate for this class is because one of the main broadcasters on the show was frequently criticized for his racist comments and ignorant attitudes & tweets. He was eventually fired for making a comment that crossed the line.

But the show overall was a very important show for comedians. It was like “Sway in the Morning” or “The Breakfast Club” for hip hop + rap artists. It was an honor and a priviledge to be on Opie & Anthony and it make or break a comedians career depending on their performance there. So it frequently had all these great comedians: Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Louis CK, Patrice O’Neal, etc… And they would talk for two hours about whatever social/philosophical topic they had been thinking about. They would also frequently have writers, artists, models – the most random people call into the show and debate with the comedians. It was really a great show and there’s still many podcasts I have to go through because there is so much content.

This also introduced me to the Monday Morning Podcast by Bill Burr, one of my favorite comedians and podcasts. Every monday, Bill Burr similarly discusses/rants about relevant topics going on in the world. At times he introduces his wife into the mix and they argue and discuss. What I really like about Bill Burrs is he typically has an advice podcast where people write to him about issues with their love life. Bill Burr then reads the letter and shares his advice with the audience. He infuses his humor as that’s what he’s best at but he generally gives good advice.

Overall, I really like Podcasts as done by comedians. I haven’t much listened to any podcasts by non-comedians but I really enjoy the ones I’ve listened to so far. And I’m looking to adding podcasts to my work commute + shift if I have the flexibility.