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What exactly is Comedy Bang Bang? I've been tempted to listen to it but I've got another 100 episodes of mbmbam to go. I've actually begun taking down notes in an email draft of my favourite parts of mbmbam so I can go back and listen to them again. It's also handy for showing other people the podcast and converting them into faithful followers.

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The episodes vary a little, but it's hosted by Scott Aukerman who was a writer on Mr. Show, usually there's a guest as themselves, often comedians.  Then a "special" guest with a comedian/actor playing a character and it goes improv.  Often goes into really absurd/surreal humor.  Once in a while it's just straight interview, but rarely.  They also have a tv show on IFC, though that incarnation is a bizarre sketch comedy show with the veneer of a talk show, with the same host and often frequent guests on the podcast appear on the show.  Can be hit or miss, but definitely one of my favorites.  This week's episode with Kumail Nanjiani was pretty good, my favorite this year though was second live episode form SXSW.  I'd try one of those maybe if you're interested.

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Mbmbam is the best if you want a dirty laugh.

Absolutely loved the Dan Savage/Mbmbam crossover episode.

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Justin McElroy's new show Sawbones (which he co-hosts with his wife) is pretty good too: http://maximumfun.org/shows/sawbones

 

Also, since we're talking maxfun shows, Jordan Jesse Go! and Stop Podcasting Yourself are two other great shows (both are a similar format, which is basically just 90 minutes of funny chat with a guest comedy person)

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Despite not having any interest in ancient history, I'm really loving the History if Rome podcast. I Amy pick up that coffee break german one!

Love this podcast. The guy who does it has a really good flow, and he can be pretty funny sometimes in a low-key way.

 

I dunno if it's been recommended yet but Hardcore History is a great podcast.

 

And the BBC has documentary shorts that are like 20-25 minutes and are about world issues.

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I know that WTF with Mark Maron has been mentioned a couple of times. Mental Health Happy Hour is another podcast hosted by a comedian, Paul Gilmartin.

 

I guess it's pretty well know so it's not as if an undiscovered nugget has been unearthed and the content is usually pretty heavy but I've been finding it helpful to hear people talk through these kind of things.

 

Sometimes he speaks to other comics and actors, sometimes to readers (sorry, listeners).

 

e: Mental Illness Happy Hour is the correct title. Huh.

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Brendon Chung and Sanjay Madhav's latest episode of Extended Memory is super interesting. They interview Borut Pfiefer who worked on Skulls of the Shogun. They have some great insider views of what the goals of character A.I. can be and a great discussion about systems-interaction and illusion. The first two episodes are also enjoyable, but I found the third to be particularly enlightening.

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So I started listening to Welcome to Night Vale and ended up going through the whole archive in two days.

 

This is a really, really good podcast you guys.

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Was just coming here to post the same thing!

 

Immediately start listening to the wonderful, dark and municipally approved voice of Cecil of Night Vale Community Radio. Listen to him relay the towns latest news, events and stories about and from the lovely citizens of Night Vale (some more lovely, and perfect, than others). 

 

Listen and maybe, ,just maybe, the hooded figures will stay their hand.  

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I really love Welcome to Night Vale! I've also been listening to the new podcast by the UK PC Gamer staff (and former staff, including Gunpoint creator Tom Francis) called Crate and Crowbar, it's pretty great.

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Just gave Welcome to Night Vale a try, really digging it so far.  Saving the rest for a long flight I have coming up though

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I just started Welcome to Night Vale today and so far I'm loving it. I'm only episode 7 so things could change but I think it would be interesting if they maybe had at least one more host or some other voices in there. Although, it did play well into a particular part in one episode where 

the host was unsure if it was all real and he questioned his own sanity.

 

 

I've got a question that I've been pondering about WtNV though. Why is the music section called the weather? Is it supposed to tie in with the theme of the show and just be a bit of off-beat humour or have I missed something entirely? There was a really beautiful song called "Closer" by an artist I've forgotten the name of now but, yeah, it was good. Maybe someone should start a new separate Welcome to Night Vale thread? 

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The music being called the weather is just a complete non-sequitur, from what I understand.

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Tegan, I totally see what you mean about going through the archive in 2 days. I started listening today and I'm already on episode 11. The comedic timing of the podcast is genius. I love the way it goes from total darkness to silliness in the same sentence. I'm really looking forward to them messing with the actual recording a bit more, like certain effects such as slowing voices down, messing with the timing of the show etc. Does anyone else know about any other story driven podcasts? 

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If you like Nightvale, one of the creators used to write for the Something Awful front page and was consistently great. Here are his archives.

 

I have a soft spot for this article.

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Welcome to Nightvale is fuckin' rad. I mean, I knew I'd like it. Just kept putting off starting it. But man this is exactly my favorite kind of weird fiction, and I love the radio format for it.

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This American Life has already been mentioned, but I just thought I'd recommend two recent episodes that were personally affecting for me. My day job is working with refugees who come to the United States, helping them initially resettle here, find medical care and jobs, and overall become self-sufficient.

 

One of the groups we deal with are from Eritrea, a country plagued with issues ever since they gained independence and went to war with Ethiopia. Their people are forced to worship a specific subset of Christian and Islamic religions, else face execution or torture. All people there are subjected to mandatory military service upholding the oppressive regime that has suspended elections for years. This episode of This American Life talks about some Eritreans who were kidnapped and held for ransom from their impoverished families. The story doesn't deal with the refugee experience specifically, but it says a lot about the daily life of Eritreans and the hopelessness that plagues them -

 

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/502/this-call-may-be-recorded-to-save-your-life

 

This other episode is about one of the biggest populations we serve, Iraqis. In this story, TAL uncovers the life of an American who came back from Iraq and fought for the resettlement of Iraqis who helped the US Government in their operations (military, peacekeeping, construction, or anything else). It highlights the refugee process specifically unlike the other story, though the exact immigration laws for Iraqis are slightly different from other countries because there are multiple methods of application and processing to get here to the US -

 

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/499/taking-names

 

Anyways, I found both stories incredibly affecting and they build a small, but meaningful picture of some of the atrocities that are being committed worldwide. I don't really think refugees are given much attention, so it's nice to hear a story that makes you think about how some or even many of the Iraqis you see walking around are not only not the enemy, but in fact people who actively risked their lives to help US soldiers and civilians.

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I went to the GFW Radio reunion panel today at PAX.

 

Goddamnit I would Kickstart that like a motherfucker. NO HESITATION, if it would just happen. GODDAMNIT.

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Today's Retronauts has an amazing anecdote about Bob Mackey being suspected of trying to start a school shooting when he was a teenager.

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So I've continued listening to the Giant Bombcast and I think I've completely changed my mind from my initial impressions. It is a really good podcast and those guys have grown on me quite a bit. I started from the beginning of the run (April-ish 2008) and I've made it to September 2008 so far. It looks like it will take a very long time before I catch up to current episodes and I couldn't be happier. I'm definitely glad I stuck with this one.

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I finally signed up to Audible via /wizard a month ago, and grabbed this "Great Course" with my free credit - The Other Side of History - Daily Life in the Ancient World. I've been listening to it like a podcast, and it's been amazing; it has pretty incredible coverage of daily life throughout the growth of Western civilization.. I now feel like there's way more continuity in my knowledge of history than there used to be. Plus it's just an enjoyable listen - who wouldn't want to know what it was like to be an average Mycenaean? (Spoilers: It wasn't great.)

 

 

I think I'm going to try out some more courses and see whether others live up to the quality of that first one.

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Thanks to this thread I'm listening through the Welcome To Nightvale archives, which is pretty great. :tup:  Gives me the same type of Twilight Zone vibe as Earbud Theater, which is also rad and y'all  should check  it out.

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Excellent, I'm checking that out now. I finished up Nightvale about two weeks ago and damnit the biweekly schedule makes me sad. though I just saw that Earbud Theater's schedule is even worse. Ah well. Still checking it out!

 

EDIT: Dang where's the RSS feed? ):

 

EDIT EDIT: Dang I found one but it won't plug into iTunes podcast management like I want it to.

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