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As for GfW Radio, while I loved it, I think I do kind of think of it as being a bit more bro-ey. It may just be that my memory of it is as it having a very cynical outlook on the whole, but there was stuff that was kind of trolling or otherwise a bit mean-spirited. I found it funny, and it was often pretty thoughtful, but as I remember it they (especially Shawn Elliott) were often having fun at others' expense. Is that more bro? Is this whole breakdown kind of ridiculous?

 

It is totally ridiculous, which of course means it perfectly appropriate.

 

In the way I would apply the term, none of these people or podcasts even approaches what a "bro" is. They're all tremendous video game nerds. It's not an impossible crossover, but you'd have to work really hard to squeeze in both, especially in the industry. Out of all of these people I don't even know if anyone besides Alex Navarro knows the rules to more than one sport. I think that's a top bro requirement.

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Oh yeah I throw the word bro around like it means nothing.

 

Because it does mean nothing.

 

Early GB just had a lot of focus on the mainstream video game bullshit that I had no interest in then (although ironically maybe have more interest in now, since I've invested in a non-Nintendo console for the first time in years - but then again consoles are much more about experimentation and whatnot than ever before, so, what was I talking about again???).

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In the way I would apply the term, none of these people or podcasts even approaches what a "bro" is. They're all tremendous video game nerds. It's not an impossible crossover, but you'd have to work really hard to squeeze in both, especially in the industry. Out of all of these people I don't even know if anyone besides Alex Navarro knows the rules to more than one sport. I think that's a top bro requirement.

 

I don't think that the term "bro" is confined to a specific constellation of interests. For me, a bro is a dude who prioritizes their own fun and comfort over the wants and needs of anyone around them. In that way, Shawn Elliott unequivocally fits my definition of a bro, sometimes being downright malicious in his search for a laugh, and the early Giant Bomb segments with energy drinks also fit, but to a lesser degree. There's definitely a phenomenon where a group of late-twenties and early-thirties male gamers get together and erect a sort of reality bubble with their talk, which rapidly pushes any conversation towards "bro" territory.

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I've always thought of "Bro" as flauntingly misogynistic, and inherently against feminine qualities in men, save for good hygiene. I've never heard any of the listed podcasts as bro-y, but would say that 1UP Yours was the closest at times. That being said, I had beers with Garnett Lee last month and he was an awesome, super modest guy. Not bro-y at all.

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I think there were definitely times when both those podcasts entered that territory and it was when the hosts were most self-consciously playing a character. This was more prevalent on 1UP Yours, but showed up on GFW as well, usually with Shawn. But the moments when they were just honestly being themselves were usually pretty good. 

 

Man, 1UP had a pretty great stable of podcasts back in the day.

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I think there were definitely times when both those podcasts entered that territory and it was when the hosts were most self-consciously playing a character. This was more prevalent on 1UP Yours, but showed up on GFW as well, usually with Shawn. But the moments when they were just honestly being themselves were usually pretty good. 

 

Man, 1UP had a pretty great stable of podcasts back in the day.

 

I don't know if anything has made me laugh harder than Luke Smith on Legendary Thread talking about his Blood Elf heralds.

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Similar to others I tried some GB and just didn't enjoy it. It felt broy to me. But that doesn't mean it was full of jocks or rife with misogyny.

It's more that it was dudes sitting around, talking typical immature dude stuff and not really thinking critically about their thoughts or experiences. GB is just the personalities stating how they feel and joking around with each other. The Thumbs can be casual and off the cuff with dumb jokes and still have real considered opinions so that they don't have the same alienating normative views.

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Similar to others I tried some GB and just didn't enjoy it. It felt broy to me. But that doesn't mean it was full of jocks or rife with misogyny.

It's more that it was dudes sitting around, talking typical immature dude stuff and not really thinking critically about their thoughts or experiences. GB is just the personalities stating how they feel and joking around with each other. The Thumbs can be casual and off the cuff with dumb jokes and still have real considered opinions so that they don't have the same alienating normative views.

This is my opinion exactly.

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Similar to others I tried some GB and just didn't enjoy it. It felt broy to me. But that doesn't mean it was full of jocks or rife with misogyny.

It's more that it was dudes sitting around, talking typical immature dude stuff and not really thinking critically about their thoughts or experiences. GB is just the personalities stating how they feel and joking around with each other. The Thumbs can be casual and off the cuff with dumb jokes and still have real considered opinions so that they don't have the same alienating normative views.

I feel like GB is actually quite similar to Thumbs in how they're jokey, go off topic, but have insightful talks. The main difference is that IT tries to make sure there's some in every episode, while GB is more "Let's see what happens!". Jeff has had some incredibly insightful thoughts on the industry, which I'm always in awe of how much he knows/retains.

When it comes down to it though, we're lucky to have and have had so many really good podcasts about our medium of choice.

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I feel like GB is actually quite similar to Thumbs in how they're jokey, go off topic, but have insightful talks. The main difference is that IT tries to make sure there's some in every episode, while GB is more "Let's see what happens!". Jeff has had some incredibly insightful thoughts on the industry, which I'm always in awe of how much he knows/retains.

When it comes down to it though, we're lucky to have and have had so many really good podcasts about our medium of choice.

 

Yeah, I definitely think that's true. The level of discourse on the bombcast is much more reflective of how game journalists tend to approach games, whereas you can definitely tell that the Thumbs are game designers and think about the medium in a fundamentally different way. But when someone (usually Jeff) actually engages with some facet of weirdness in this industry, his perspective is absolutely fascinating! I just wish it happened more often.

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I would listen to 100% more bombcasts if they were about 60% shorter.

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The length is definitely the biggest hurdle for sure. I don't understand why they're so long.

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I tend to treat them more like radio nowadays, dip in and out over the course of the podcast, especially when I'm working. The Bombcast replaced Weekend Confirmed for me, I like it but miss the production Garnett Lee did on Weekend Confirmed. That was still quite long at 2 hours though.

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Well, they got stuck into a very rigid structure for the Bombcast, where they will always have a bit of chit-chat, a round table with everyone talking about what they've played (that always go off-topic), then news, then almost an hour of e-mails. Anything to change that or hurry things up just wouldn't work. 

 

Exactly as Ewan, I listen to it at work and stop paying attention altogether when it's not being interesting. 

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Funny, the length of the podcast is a big selling point for me. I'd be overjoyed for 6 hours of Bomb and Beast cast a week. Tremendously helpful for getting through work and commutes.

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I basically turn it off when they get to news and emails. It does annoy me a bit on the rare occasions where they fuck with the order and those two aren't grouped together so they aren't so easily skipped.

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I mainly listen to podcasts on the way to/from work.  It's about a half hour each way for me so on average in a week I'll get through one episode of Idle Thumbs, one Bombcast, and maybe half of something else.  With the addition of the Beastcast, something's going to have to change out of my rotation and it's probably going to be the Bombcast.

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I'm enjoying the E3 podcasts. I forgot that Jeff is knowledgeable and interesting when he's not just complaining about video games.

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I normally run out of weekly podcasts by Thursday (3 video game podcasts, one philosophy, 2 science and 1 critical thinking), having to jump into back catalogues of other podcasts (History of Rome at the moment) for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, my phone has now reached the point that it will not play sound at all, so I'm going to have a huge amount of stuff to listen to when I finally get a new phone.

 

I generally listen on my commute and while I'm at work. Also if I'm cooking alone or doing chores alone I'll listen to. So beastcast sounds great. More games!

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Listening to the E3 live shows, makes me think that Jeff hosting a late night style show with game industry people would be pretty rad. He's pretty good at getting interesting and silly conversations out of people in a notoriously tight lipped and PR controlled industry. Maybe I'm wrong though and it'd lose the magic if it was done every week.

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I would listen to 100% more bombcasts if they were about 60% shorter.

 

I tend to treat them more like radio nowadays, dip in and out over the course of the podcast, especially when I'm working. The Bombcast replaced Weekend Confirmed for me, I like it but miss the production Garnett Lee did on Weekend Confirmed. That was still quite long at 2 hours though.

I wish they were longer...

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I tend to treat them more like radio nowadays, dip in and out over the course of the podcast, especially when I'm working. The Bombcast replaced Weekend Confirmed for me, I like it but miss the production Garnett Lee did on Weekend Confirmed. That was still quite long at 2 hours though.

 

Just going to dip in and say it was Dave Mabee (Del Rio) who produced all the Weekend Confirmeds - Garnett was the host. Source: was on an episode! :P

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I too listen at work and since I am in a noisy office more is better for me.  I think based on all the other stuff they put out that most of their fans want as much Giant Bomb as they can get and would love an even longer Bombcast. 

 

I think the Thumbs have  tried not to become the bombcast.  There was a lot more extended fucking around that made it "On Air" in the early days when they were still figuring what they wanted the show to be.  I would be curious to know how long a normal recording session now is vs. how long an episode is.  

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I like to listen to the Bombcast while I'm drawing or doing chores, so I like it loooong. I wish Idle Thumbs were longer, actually.

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My main problem with long is I listen to like a thousand podcasts. I prefer variety over listening to the same people for hours on end. Giant Bomb gets in the way of me adding another podcast to my rotation.

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