My life is becoming more interesting lately. I’m allowing myself to branch out into various directions in terms of what I spend my time doing.
I’m hardly breaking new ground here, but I’ve gotten into podcasts. I know, a billion people listen to them and it seems like a billion people are making them these days, and while that sentence makes it seem like a bad thing, that is a great thing. That means that there are endless avenues of entertainment, exploration, and excitement.
I’ve subscribed to a few podcasts, among them are The Friendship Onion with former hobbits Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, Gates McFadden InvestiGates, and Did You Get My Text? with Patton Oswalt and Meredith Salenger.
At the moment I’ve only listened to one of those. I am still dipping my toes into podcast listening. That is, I have listened to podcasts in the past, but only sporadically. I am still trying to order my time so that I have a regular podcast listening habit, and the one podcast I am currently enjoying was easy to jump into. I don’t like doing something else while I am listening, mostly because I find my attention wandering and then I am like “what did they just say?” and I realize that I missed twenty minutes of the discussion. And if I am going to listen, I want to do it intentionally.
Enough preamble. Did You Get My Text? with Patton Oswalt and Meredith Salenger is hilarious, touching, and puts warmth into my heart. While Patton and Meredith are married, and live together, they often don’t get a chance to talk face to face, and instead end up texting each other profusely throughout the day. They decided to be intentional about talking together and make a podcast at the same time. The idea of the show is them discussing their texts, but they often wander afield and end up discussing almost anything.
Did I mention it’s hilarious? Yeah, Patton is a famous comedian, but the podcast isn’t him doing stand-up comedy. It is just he and his wife being genuinely funny. They are also sweet to each other, and you can feel the relationship they have being carried on the audio waves. It feels like you have stepped into their living room and are just listening to them talk. But not in a creepy way: they’ve invited you in. You are sipping your beverage of choice, and don’t really have anything to add to the conversation. It’s great.
Their podcast is a little Not Safe For Work. Patton tends to swear, not in a mean, angry way, just in a by-the-way way. If you’ve seen any of his specials (I think there are few on Netflix?) you know what I mean. Meredith swears too, though not as often. Also, their podcast is apparently sponsored by a male enhancement drug, and the way they read and present the ad copy always makes me giggle. I’m twelve and they make the awkwardness of it funny. But just be aware, sometimes the podcast gets adult.
I am looking forward to jumping into the other podcasts I mentioned a bit ago, I just haven’t made the decision to switch them on. I think my evenings are a great time to listen, because I am usually hanging out with my wife in her craft room, both of us with headphones, and it is relaxed and quiet. I want to maybe work out a schedule. You know, Mondays with Patton and Meredith, Tuesdays with the hobbits Billy and Dom, and Thursday is Star Trek time with Gates McFadden. (Wednesday might become Book Club night. More on that in another post!) Weekends are always busy and I end up doing other stuff, so they won’t really jive with the vibe I need to listen.
I’ve also thought a lot about starting my own podcast. My sister and I discussed doing one together, but nothing has yet come of it. We kind of need to be in the same physical space to make it work, and need the right equipment, and it feels like an expense and a hassle right now, but the idea remains evergreen in my mind. I tried on my own, but only got so far as recording two and half episodes before I quit. I also wasn’t in as good of a mental space as I am right now, so that might be part of it, too. If you would like to hear me do a podcast, drop me a note and let me know.
I find my favorite podcasts on Apple Podcasts via the iOS app, but really most major podcasts are available anywhere podcasts are hosted. I’ve also got Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard in my queue, need to finish Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project, and have yet to check out but am really interested in Off Camera with Sam Jones. Let me know what podcasts you enjoy, and if they strike my fancy, I’ll give them a follow and a listen. Podcasts. They are the 21st century’s idea of radio. And I’m about to tune into another episode of Did You Get My Text?
a simple man 