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I was scrolling through this thread I have to say that I was really surprised this hadn't been mentioned. It just seems like something that would fit the Thumbs niche of loving the shit out of obscure old games. So I'm going to mention it now; it's the Squadron of Shame podcast, or SquadCast for short.

First a little history. The squadron was born way back during the 1UP Yours years after the failed attempt of the Yours crew to regularly and systematically play through old "shameworthy" games and talk about them at length. Some people on the 1UP forums thought the idea was too good to be wasted so they took up the mantle and decided to call themselves the "Squadron of Shame".

The cast is fucking excellent. They pick a game every now and then as a "mission" and play through it to talk about it on the cast. I've been listening since forever ago and even after all these years and it's still one of my favorite pods on the internet. They tend to have very high-brow and chin strokey conversations about games and they are loong as hell, sometimes maybe even too long, but it's still very much listenable.

http://www.squadronofshame.com/

http://www.1up.com/do/club?clubid=95936

eXtreme recommendation. :tup::tup::tup:

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My podcast migration was mostly through guest appearances and mentions. I had a hell of a commute so I built up a subscription list of stuff that wasn't all great.

(v) = video

(*) = I'd recommend to Thumbs

(x) = bad, this was just white noise

Early on I mostly just watched video podcasts (mostly Revision3):

  • Tiki Bar TV(v)
  • Diggnation(v)
  • Totally Rad Show(v,*)
  • Tekzilla(v)
  • This week in Tech

Then from Jeff Canata to the 1up network:

  • 1up Yours
  • CGW/GFW(*)
  • other 1up casts(x)

Then I started searching out more diverse podcasts as I was tired of "whatchabeenplaying" from so many angles:

  • SModcast(*) - Kevin Smiths podcast. This video should give you an idea of what to expect
  • You look nice today(*)
  • This American Life
  • Downloadable Content(*) - Penny Arcade's old podcast

The 1up sale to UGO went down and I did some house cleaning on the mediocre podcasts in my list. I still listen to Geekbox(x) and try to catch any of the GFW crew's work whenever it exists, but other than that there's nothing really worth listening to from the rest of the guys. Shawn Elliott and Robert Ashtley in particular are worth listening to whenever they make an appearance. However Out of the Game was torture for me, 'cause I can't stand N'Gai Croal.

I started looking for something to replace 1up Yours as a flagship vigi podcast:

  • Gamers with Jobs - mostly good, hit and miss though
  • Joystiq(*) - Good 3 man dynamic
  • Bombcast

Then I was referred to Idle Thumbs for it's final episode by Justin McElroy. By the time I finished listening to the back episodes I didn't have to wait long for the relaunch with "hot scoops".

And recently the circle seemed complete when Jeff Canata of TRS, Garnett Lee and Brian Lahe of shack news started Weekend Confirmed(*). Garnett finally has a foil as the other hosts seem to not be pushed around as everyone post-Shane has been.

I'm trying to rid myself of mindless gaming podcasts, but without them I wouldn't have found my way to some of my favourite podcasts. There's only so many times you can hear someone repeat the same news you read 3 days ago on reddit.

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You guys might also consider checking out THe Rumble Pak podcast too. Pretty funny guys, with some good game talk mixed in, and they just started a supplemental podcast that focuses specifically on interesting game related articles.

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I enjoy the Rock Paper Shotgun podcast, partially in spite of and partially because of its incredibly lo-fi nature. It's just two British guys talking into a microphone about PC games for an hour or so. I like it.

No kidding. It literally sounds like they used a bitcruncher on their voices.

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I've recently been listening to the Tested podcast "This is only a test". It's really good for a tech 'cast, they do the show live and release it later on in an edited form.

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"Life Well Wasted" has already been lauded here, but I'd like to add my "It's awesome" 2 cents in for it.

On non-VG related casts "12 Byzantine Rulers" and "Norman Centuries" (both by Lars Brownworth) are pretty enjoyable.

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It's not exactly a podcast, but I've been enjoying Matt Barton's Matt Chat.

He has a page on Armchairarcade.com

The first I noticed his talks was when one of my friends sent me a link to his chat with John Romero.

Matt puts up video chats to Youtube and then posts full chats on Armchair Arcade, like Romero chat was about 50 minutes in Youtube, but the actual chat was 2 hours long mp3 that can be downloaded from the webpage.

He has cut out his own questions and comments, so it's only the interviewed person that is basically talking.

Matt has something set up in iTunes, but at least I couldn't find any files from there.

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Savage Lovecast is still awesome. I also love the Collings and Herrin podcast, with film critic Andrew Collins and comedian Rich Herring. As It Occurs To Me by Rich Herring was a similarly brilliant short run of live audio sketch show/stand-up podcasts. And I enjoy Rum Doings with RPS' John Walker, although it takes a couple to acquire a taste for his co-caster.

I enjoy A Life Well Wasted, but I do wish he'd stop putting on that irritating voice.

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A couple of non-gaming podcasts:

-Planet Money: ~15-minute, twice a week, podcast about economy but in very easy terms. Really good stuff if you're interested about things like how is the economy in Haiti recovering after the quake, why is there so much bribing and red tape in India, what is Goldman Sachs being accused of, etc.

-The Moth: stories told without notes in a stage. Very reminiscent of This American Life, interesting stories from the people who lived them (all sorts of shit).

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A couple of non-gaming podcasts:

-Planet Money: ~15-minute, twice a week, podcast about economy but in very easy terms. Really good stuff if you're interested about things like how is the economy in Haiti recovering after the quake, why is there so much bribing and red tape in India, what is Goldman Sachs being accused of, etc.

-The Moth: stories told without notes in a stage. Very reminiscent of This American Life, interesting stories from the people who lived them (all sorts of shit).

Since you mention both of these, I have to mention Radio Lab, considering the fact that all three of these (your two and mine) are common contributors to TAL. For good reason.

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Here's one I think a lot of people will like. It's a story-telling podcast, similar to This American Life, called The Tobolowsky Files. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky tells moving stories from his life, talking about everything from trying to catch venomous snakes at the age of 5-6, to being hopped up on LSD and partying with Hollywood celebrities, to traveling to Paris with his impossible love, and staying at a brothel.

You may not recognize his name, but he's one of the "oh, THAT guy!"s. He's been Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, Bob in Heroes, Sandy in Glee, Sammy in Memento, and many more. He also tells quite a few stories about working as an actor, so if you're at all interested in the film industry, I would really recommend it.

Just about every episode will leave me thinking about and even re-evaluating my outlook on life. They just finished the first "season", with 24 episodes and an FAQ, so now is a good time to jump in and start listening before they start up again. ^^

Note: A few of them hang together, talking about his college girlfriend, so I would recommend starting at the beginning, or if you can't be bothered, start listening when the new season starts.

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Probably repeating a lot of somethings in this list, but maybe a couple uniques in my list:

Drunken Gamer Radio - Not a total fan of this, not sure about the hosts and how they talk, but otherwise a decent mix of new games and retro games, especially if you like drinking and are a gamer.

Gamer's with Jobs Conference Call - Mentioned hundreds of times, self-explanatory, the most-like Idle Thumbs.

Kotaku Talk Radio - Again, not sure about the hosts here, but "alright" for some of their interviews with bigger game devs.

A Life Well Wasted - Beautifully produced video game podcast awesomeness.

Podcast17 - A podcast on Half-Life news, modifications, community and more. This one is a little bit more obscure, but great if you are part (or want to be) of the HL community. They also talk about TF2, L4D, anything Valve really.

Modcast - Editors and community members of the ModDB site talking about mods for various games. Sometimes cool?

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Here's one I think a lot of people will like. It's a story-telling podcast, similar to This American Life, called The Tobolowsky Files. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky tells moving stories from his life, talking about everything from trying to catch venomous snakes at the age of 5-6, to being hopped up on LSD and partying with Hollywood celebrities, to traveling to Paris with his impossible love, and staying at a brothel.

You may not recognize his name, but he's one of the "oh, THAT guy!"s. He's been Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, Bob in Heroes, Sandy in Glee, Sammy in Memento, and many more. He also tells quite a few stories about working as an actor, so if you're at all interested in the film industry, I would really recommend it.

Just about every episode will leave me thinking about and even re-evaluating my outlook on life. They just finished the first "season", with 24 episodes and an FAQ, so now is a good time to jump in and start listening before they start up again. ^^

Note: A few of them hang together, talking about his college girlfriend, so I would recommend starting at the beginning, or if you can't be bothered, start listening when the new season starts.

Seconded. I really enjoyed it AND the added benefit is that the episodes are always short, about 30 - 40 minutes a pop. Most podcasts (gaming podcasts, at least) like hanging out at the dreadful 1.5 - 3 hour range, which is just ridiculous.

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I've been listening to the Tobolowsky files as well, excellent stuff! Thanks for the recommendation.

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I just started "Weekend Confirmed" the new shack cast. It's pretty good, I get the feel of the bombcast but more serious and generally more intellectual.

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I've always loved Garnett Lee's shows, and whilst Weekend Confirmed is no 1Up Yours (yet), it's a damned fine show.

Plus, last week they;

A: had John Davison :tup:

B: read out my question in 4 Minute Warning.

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I just started "Weekend Confirmed" the new shack cast. It's pretty good, I get the feel of the bombcast but more serious and generally more intellectual.
I am liking Weekend Confirmed a lot, in fact I'd say it's my current favorite. The only others I have been listening to recently on a regular basis are the Bombcast and Gamers with Jobs. I also enjoy Irrational Behavior whenever they release one. Going to go through this thread now and find some others to pick up though as I need more throughout my weeks.

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YEa Weekend confirmed is great, Garnett is a fantastic host as always, and Kanata provides the comic relief. "I'm gonna cut a birch" lmao instant classic.

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Weekend Confirmed is great, I've missed Garnett Lee as a host. And *Cannata has been a long time favourite of mine. His other show, The Totally Rad Show, is really recommended.

It's not, however, better than the Bombcast, like some people claim. (Patters)

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Weekend Confirmed is great, I've missed Garnett Lee as a host. And *Cannata has been a long time favourite of mine. His other show, The Totally Rad Show, is really recommended.

It's not, however, better than the Bombcast, like some people claim. (Patters)

Weekend confirmed has grown on me. Its no idlethumbs or shackcast (original), but its good enough to listen to in the car or at work, even though I sometimes completely disagree with the guys on it (my views on a lot of things are actually fairly close to Remo's on a lot of things)...but disagreements are good and its good to get different perspectives from mine.

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I have been listening to A Life Well Wasted (finally) and the Rock Paper Shotgun show and I am liking them both, especially ALWW. One of the best produced shows I've heard, though I'm sure people have already said that in this thread.

Oh also, Totally Rad Show. I had only seen one episode previously but I've watched / listened to a few more the past couple days and I'm liking it a lot too. Will definitely be adding it to my weekly schedule. I'd do the same to the two above if they released regularly.

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I think a life well wasted has been abandoned though, he did those few episodes and called it quits after it didn't catch on from the looks of it.

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I think a life well wasted has been abandoned though, he did those few episodes and called it quits after it didn't catch on from the looks of it.

There is a new one due soon. It was supposed to be out tomorrow but Robert has delayed it. It's one guy doing it, having to travel to places to do interviews, edit them along with spending time with his family and you know making ends meet.

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I think a life well wasted has been abandoned though, he did those few episodes and called it quits after it didn't catch on from the looks of it.

He announced the next one for June 1st, but now it's delayed because of technical difficulties. >_<

[edit]Beaten by Patters because I tend to click "reply" then forget that that tab is open.

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