Other podcasts

[Brannigan]

Frequent CBB guest and Parks and rec writer/producer Harris Wittels died from a drug overdose apparently.

[thefncrow]

That really hit kinda hard last night.

I ended up re-listening to his last appearance on You Made It Weird, where he was very open and honest on how bad his addiction had gotten. It's somewhat difficult to listen to now, because it's got this gallows humor to it, these stories that are humorous in the context of how fucked up he was but he's sought treatment and is getting better, and that context is gone now.

At one point he says something like "I have to be really careful now that I went up to heroin, because it means a relapse could kill me", and I had to stop the podcast for a bit.

Just a tragic death.

[Merus]

He won't get to see how the last episode of Parks & Rec is received.

[Gormongous]

I think I'm winding down on listening to Isometric. For the fifth week running now, the episode's discussion was entirely about the gaming controversy de jour and whether it's legitimate. That might be okay as the structure for a podcast, if it's done well, but there's never any real disagreement among the four hosts, so it's mostly just an hour of people taking turns trying to restate each other's opinions about how people could be mad about Sonic the Hedgehog. There's still some game discussion in the brief "Whatcha playin" segment at the end, if you don't mind Brianna Wu's Type A personality running roughshod over the other hosts whenever she feels like it. I thought I didn't, but when the rest of the episode is so weak, it turns out I do.

 

I don't know. A couple weeks ago, when they'd all played Life Is Strange and talked about what resonances it had with each of them, that was nice. This week, they asked Georgia to psychoanalyze gamers as a culture for the third time in my memory, so I had to sit through ten minutes of preaching about entitlement and lack of empathy. No thanks, I don't need a gaming podcast to be well enough aware of that.

[JonCole]

I've started listening to handful of new podcasts recently, so I have two to recommend. Apologies if these have been mentioned here before or even if I found them through you, I honestly find it hard to keep track of where I heard of these things -

 

Inquiring Minds is a science podcast that doesn't take the somewhat tiring (to me) approach of making science super cool, but instead talking about it intelligently with experts. That's not to say that the topics at hand aren't interesting, just that they stand on their own instead of needing to be contextualized in a hip radio way. I started listening about a month ago and since then they had an interview with Andy Weir, author of The Martian, who talked about his writing of the book and how he integrated space science into it.

 

Do You Need a Ride? is a comedy podcast with Chris Fairbanks and Karen Kilgariff. They live in LA and the premise of the show is that they give other comedians rides to and from the airport. They always start recording on their way to the airport/friend's house so you get a funny element of Chris and Karen discussing the guest, observing dumb traffic stuff, and getting prepared to have another person in the car. I imagine it'd be kinda like if you got to see the 5-10 minutes prior to the Tonight Show behind the scenes before every episode. I really appreciate the driving aspect of it, because you get to hear other people be like "i don't see him at the curb, I guess we'll just have to drive around this loop a few times" or just generally bitching about people's bad driving. Not to mention it's not super long due to the finite limitation of the length of a car drive.

[Apple Cider]

Spawn on Me Podcast had a really amazing discussion about race (specifically anti-blackness) in the games industry with Evan Narcisse this week, you need to listen to it: 

http://thespawnpointblog.com/spawn-episode-50/ 

 

Long but really, really good. 

 

RE: Isometric and talking about controversies in the gaming sphere

This is one of the reasons we try to mix it up on Justice Points, mostly because people expect feminists to just break down outrage generating stuff and we get tired of that. So while we personally get mad about stuff, it's a lot better use of our time and our audience's attention span to promote or highlight critical conversations or work. Though I think some things are still worth jawing about, not everything is important enough, I think. 

[BusbyBerkeley]

Spawn on Me is great, but I just can't really handle the length of the thing. I don't think I've ever listened to a full episode.

[Apple Cider]

Ah yeah, I am left alone literally all day at work so I have all the time in the world to listen to very long podcast episodes. 

[BusbyBerkeley]

Dang, I wish I could do that. I'm limited to about the 40 minutes each way of my commute.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I used to have masses of time for podcasting, but now that I have a job that involves lots of word typing I've been listening to music instead so I have to catch up on podcasts... or start culling them again.

[Apple Cider]

you cull Justice Points and I will put you back on the shit list, Super Biased Man.

[SuperBiasedMan]

JP isn't in danger, I still need a podcast that's actually about games.

[undermind9]

i am in a constant state of cull & add for podcasts.  i generally get left alone for long swaths of time at work, but some weeks i'll only get through a few hours of content.

 

and happy to report I added the latest episode of Justice Points to my queue and really enjoyed it!  I thought points were articulate, intelligent, and great all around balance of content (game talk, feminist perspective, general culture, etc).  Bonus points because you speak clearly and slowly it translates to great double-speed listening (which is my preferred mode)

 

I look forward to more in the future, and if I ever clear my podcast backlog I'll certainly go through some of the back catalog as well

 

So thanks for the suggestion and plug 

[Gormongous]

RE: Isometric and talking about controversies in the gaming sphere

This is one of the reasons we try to mix it up on Justice Points, mostly because people expect feminists to just break down outrage generating stuff and we get tired of that. So while we personally get mad about stuff, it's a lot better use of our time and our audience's attention span to promote or highlight critical conversations or work. Though I think some things are still worth jawing about, not everything is important enough, I think. 

 

Yeah, I'm definitely not saying that people shouldn't cover gaming controversies on their gaming podcasts, but they need to be aware of the limitations of their chosen medium and of their place within it. For instance, this week's Isometric podcast discussed the Molyneux interview at RPS, but they were seemingly unaware that the controversy was almost two weeks old at that point and that plenty had already been written and said about it. I didn't agree with most of what the Thumbs said in their podcast, but at least it was timely and added something new to the conversation already ongoing in print. Isometric, on the other hand, only had Bri's perspective as anything different from the norm, and her stance that "people don't respect developers enough" is a drum that she beats every episode anyway, so their discussion really boiled down just to their same old saw about gamer entitlement, which they've played over a dozen other episodes, but this time with a comical amount of tisk-tisking Walker for being so "angry." It was literally a pointless conversation for which they had nothing to offer, but they had it anyway and made it last the full thirty minutes because... I don't know, they felt they had to do that as a gaming podcast?

 

That's the trend that's losing Isometric for me. If they have nothing to contribute to the conversation on a controversy besides their individual shock and disappointment, I'd rather they voice those things briefly, because they're legitimate reactions to something real, and then direct their listeners to an actual critical perspective, whether another podcast or an article. I don't listen to podcasts to hear other people just be sad about the state of gaming for hours on end. It's fine as an occasional thing, because gaming can be a depressing hobby a lot of the time, but if it's going to be a regular thing, absent of any teachable moments, I can get it on my own. I don't need to download a podcast for it. Maybe that's just me, though.

 

Also, the hosts at Isometric seem to be against doing prep work, which is a perfectly fine call, except when you're going to be doing deep dives into recent controversies every single episode, in which case you should probably know in advance who made what games and what the most popular opinion pieces are on a given topic.

[JonCole]

For the brief time that I participated in a podcast, the more that we talked about things that "we should talk about" the more boring it all got. Not every controversy deserves input from every person, particularly when it means that your one-hour podcast turns into a one-and-a-half-hour podcast for nobody's benefit.

[Patrick R]

For the brief time that I participated in a podcast, the more that we talked about things that "we should talk about" the more boring it all got. Not every controversy deserves input from every person, particularly when it means that your one-hour podcast turns into a one-and-a-half-hour podcast for nobody's benefit.

 

Agreed. It's definitely a nice thing about having a film podcast that's not tied to new releases. The world does not need another "hot take" on 50 Shades of Grey or the Oscar race.

[Merus]

So I've listened to enough Hardcore History to know that I intend to keep listening to Hardcore History. There is no way I'm going to listen to an episode all at once, but I can very easily listen to 30 minutes to an hour as I go and work through it over a week or two.

 

Interestingly, it gave me a new perspective on Bioshock Infinite. One of the criticisms of the game is how it presents its alternate history, with Columbia interfering in the Boxer Rebellion, in a reductionist and racist way - but the time period where this happened is where jingoism overtook the American character, with the idea that America could be an imperial power that really cared about hose it subjugated. It's odd that they don't show the Phillipines-American War anywhere, which in reality was the second war America got into and killed America's appetite for being an 'enlightened' conqueror. Columbia would have interfered in that war, and then floated onto the Boxer Rebellion, and brought freedom and self-determination to the poor people unable to truly handle democracy properly for themselves. The idea that they were 'guarding themselves against the foreign hordes' isn't a particularly accurate way to depict American racism, to my mind.

[Apple Cider]

snip

 

That's also the other thing about controversies - the timespan for them is incredibly short. It's one of the reasons I like that I keep our editing turn around short (record on Saturdays, release on Tuesdays) but still, a lot of times, it's hard to record once a week and get it out and still cover things timely to a week! One of the rigors of having less free time to record and edit, unfortunately

 

Sorry, I keep turning this into Podcasting Theory 101. 

 

Also thank you, Undermind9! I actually edit in 1.40x speed because I hate the way my voice sounds (because I have a naturally low voice) so I like hearing us sound like chipmunks.

 

Merus - Hardcore History sounds like its right up my alley, thanks for the suggestion.

[tberton]

So I've listened to enough Hardcore History to know that I intend to keep listening to Hardcore History. There is no way I'm going to listen to an episode all at once, but I can very easily listen to 30 minutes to an hour as I go and work through it over a week or two.

 

Interestingly, it gave me a new perspective on Bioshock Infinite. One of the criticisms of the game is how it presents its alternate history, with Columbia interfering in the Boxer Rebellion, in a reductionist and racist way - but the time period where this happened is where jingoism overtook the American character, with the idea that America could be an imperial power that really cared about hose it subjugated. It's odd that they don't show the Phillipines-American War anywhere, which in reality was the second war America got into and killed America's appetite for being an 'enlightened' conqueror. Columbia would have interfered in that war, and then floated onto the Boxer Rebellion, and brought freedom and self-determination to the poor people unable to truly handle democracy properly for themselves. The idea that they were 'guarding themselves against the foreign hordes' isn't a particularly accurate way to depict American racism, to my mind.

 

Caveat: I have not listened to Hardcore History, nor have I played Bioshock Infinite. However, the early 20th century had a lot of anti-immigration rhetoric moving around the US and Canada. Anti-Asian sentiment is a notable case, showing up in such legislation as the Chinese Exclusion Act in the States. "Protecting ourselves from the foreign hordes" is definitely a big aspect of racism around this period, and it's not necessarily contradicted by expansive imperialism.

 

Also, the Philipine-American War is not the second war the US fought. Even if we don't count the Revolution or the Indian Wars (which you probably should), there's the War of 1812, the Mexican-America War and the Spanish-American War. The US has fought a lot of wars.

[Gormongous]

That's also the other thing about controversies - the timespan for them is incredibly short. It's one of the reasons I like that I keep our editing turn around short (record on Saturdays, release on Tuesdays) but still, a lot of times, it's hard to record once a week and get it out and still cover things timely to a week! One of the rigors of having less free time to record and edit, unfortunately

 

Sorry, I keep turning this into Podcasting Theory 101.

 

Don't worry about it! I'm slouching towards an anime podcast myself, sometime in the far-off future, so every bit of craft to which I get exposed will probably help in the end.

 

Caveat: I have not listened to Hardcore History, nor have I played Bioshock Infinite. However, the early 20th century had a lot of anti-immigration rhetoric moving around the US and Canada. Anti-Asian sentiment is a notable case, showing up in such legislation as the Chinese Exclusion Act in the States. "Protecting ourselves from the foreign hordes" is definitely a big aspect of racism around this period, and it's not necessarily contradicted by expansive imperialism.

 

Also, the Philipine-American War is not the second war the US fought. Even if we don't count the Revolution or the Indian Wars (which you probably should), there's the War of 1812, the Mexican-America War and the Spanish-American War. The US has fought a lot of wars.

 

I just read Blood & Thunder, the dual biography of Kit Carson and the Navajo, and the Mexican-American War is possibly the most outlandish thing in it. It was basically a war manufactured on the orders of James K. Polk, fought and partway won before it was even declared, and responsible for increasing the territory of the United States by more than a third. It was even under consideration to annex the whole of Mexico to the United States, but racist concerns over the influx of Hispanic citizens mercifully put that to bed. I'm surprised and not surprised that Americans aren't educated about such a predatory act of aggression by their own country.

[Bjorn]

So I've listened to enough Hardcore History to know that I intend to keep listening to Hardcore History. There is no way I'm going to listen to an episode all at once, but I can very easily listen to 30 minutes to an hour as I go and work through it over a week or two.

 

Interestingly, it gave me a new perspective on Bioshock Infinite. One of the criticisms of the game is how it presents its alternate history, with Columbia interfering in the Boxer Rebellion, in a reductionist and racist way - but the time period where this happened is where jingoism overtook the American character, with the idea that America could be an imperial power that really cared about hose it subjugated. It's odd that they don't show the Phillipines-American War anywhere, which in reality was the second war America got into and killed America's appetite for being an 'enlightened' conqueror. Columbia would have interfered in that war, and then floated onto the Boxer Rebellion, and brought freedom and self-determination to the poor people unable to truly handle democracy properly for themselves. The idea that they were 'guarding themselves against the foreign hordes' isn't a particularly accurate way to depict American racism, to my mind.

 

My understanding of the Philippine-American war is that there wouldn't have been much to interfere with.  It was America's first quagmire, an ugly and shameful thing, without purpose other than causing misery and death, that dragged on for years and was spread across an archipelago with guerrilla fighting and concentration camps galore.  There's no entry point for the fictional Columbia to enter.  Whereas Columbia's interference in the Boxer Rebellion was clean and simple in contrast since it involved only lifting the siege of a single location. 

[Merus]

Caveat: I have not listened to Hardcore History, nor have I played Bioshock Infinite. However, the early 20th century had a lot of anti-immigration rhetoric moving around the US and Canada. Anti-Asian sentiment is a notable case, showing up in such legislation as the Chinese Exclusion Act in the States. "Protecting ourselves from the foreign hordes" is definitely a big aspect of racism around this period, and it's not necessarily contradicted by expansive imperialism.

 

Also, the Philipine-American War is not the second war the US fought. Even if we don't count the Revolution or the Indian Wars (which you probably should), there's the War of 1812, the Mexican-America War and the Spanish-American War. The US has fought a lot of wars.

 

The podcast also covers the Spanish-American war, which the host credits for giving America an appetite for foreign conquest, and brings up the Revolution.

 

I did a little more reading and remembered that the podcast I listened to is focused specifically on America's rise as a world power, and acknowledged the prevalent anti-immigration racism while glossing over it - it'd have been better had I mentioned it, but my point was largely that I disagree that the anti-immigration and racism of the period doesn't conflict with expansive imperialism, largely because during the period they did come into conflict. I can't imagine Columbia wouldn't have been divided on whether the opinions of the 'foreign hordes' are relevant, and yet the politics of the city are focused mostly on Fink vs Comstock and on Daisy Cutter's rebellion.

[Apple Cider]

Don't worry about it! I'm slouching towards an anime podcast myself, sometime in the far-off future, so every bit of craft to which I get exposed will probably help in the end.

 

If you ever want tips, let me know, I can DM you a writeup or something!

[SuperBiasedMan]

I was about to ask how you find a podcast Co host and then realised how that made me sound like a sad little 10 year old boy.

[Professor Video Games]

I started listening to Hardcore History and I really like it, but every time he reads a passage or quote, I can only hear the narrator for Wizard People, Dear Reader. This is both great and terrible.