Five Out of the Ordinary Podcasts
by Christopher
I’m sure at least some of you out there listen to podcasts – long drives, exercising, train rides or, perhaps, like me, while you’re trying to fall asleep.
You might be familiar with the big, successful shows, but how about a few recommendations of more diverse, less well known podcasts to possibly pique your interest?
God Awful Movies
“If you love The Muppet Show, but you’ve only ever seen it through the crack under your door at the asylum where you’ve been kept for the last forty years because you massacred your family […], you will love this movie.”
Another comedic podcast where (usually) three atheists review and discuss horrible Christian themed movies, as well as decidedly dodgy documentaries with anti-vaxx leanings, conspiracy theories and more. With frequent guests and frequently hilariously awful movies,
This podcast always has a lot of laughs while exposing the dangers of these pieces of sh… media.
Recommended starting point:
Episode 293, Bells of Innocence with Dan and Jordan from the “Knowledge Fight” podcast is a personal favourite.
Lions Led By Donkeys
“It gets worse.“
A weekly military history podcast which covers some downright hilarious and some incredibly horrifying history with educational details and hilarious bits in equal measure. The hosts are military veterans themselves, with occasional guests, and I’ve always found it well worth listening to, even on the more harrowing subjects. A four part series on the Cambodian Genocide had a rule for the guest to ask for a cute “Animal Fact” whenever the details got too much to take, as an example of the kind of balance they try to take.
Recommended starting point:
Episode 169, The Nazi Rocket Plane That Melted Its Pilots
If Books Could Kill
“All I know is that it’s the perfect book for women that want to start a family, and also help Mark Zuckerberg do some genocide”
Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri host, reviewing and discussing non-fiction books which were successful on release, but perhaps haven’t aged so well. If you’ve seen a book in an airport gift store, possibly with a massive discount on the price tag, they’ll probably cover it. It’s funny, it’s interesting, it encourages critical thinking, and is definitely worth some time.
Recommended starting point:
Going Infinite: Michael Lewis takes on Sam Bankman-Fried.
Doughboys
“I often have fun. I do frequently have fun. I’ve had fun several times this week.”
Doughboys is a funny and fun podcast which reviews fast food chains (primarily in the US), hosted by comedians Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell and usually with a guest or two. They have a fun dynamic, busting each others’ balls and aggravating each other while entertaining the audience. It hasn’t gotten old for me yet, and I’ve been listening to it for years.
Recommended starting point:
Episode 100, Nugget Power Hour with Nicole Byer and Jon Gabrus.
System Mastery
“I’m kind of offended that it exists, honestly. This game.. is real bad.”
Hosted by Jef Aldritch and Jon Taylor, this is a podcast which reviews role playing game systems (and supplements) from older to newer, indie to mainstream and more. Without disappearing too far into the weeds, the episodes are usually fairly short, they cover the bases of a system’s setting, its rules and character creation, and give useful insights into the writing process, being authors themselves. Definitely a light hearted tone, but also informative and useful if you’re curious about tabletop role playing games, or a dedicated fan.
Recommended starting point:
Episode 4, Prime Directive