This Week in Podcasts: 2/4/18 – 2/11/18

This Week in Podcasts is a weekly roundup of mini-reviews of all of the podcasts I’ve listened to in a week. If you see any podcasts that you feel are missing from my list, there’s a good chance I haven’t listened to the show yet! You can see my current list of podcast subscriptions here. Feel free to give me recommendations–as well as any feedback or discussion!–in the comments below or on twitter. 

This week, The Bright Sessions announced that it will be ending at the conclusion of this season. It seems as though 2017/2018 will be the end of an audio drama era, with Wolf 359 having ended and ars PARADOXICA to conclude soon as well. I also reviewed Still Human, a contemplative space opera; The Amelia Project, a beautifully produced comedy about a company that fakes its clients’ deaths; and 2298, a suspenseful dystopian science fiction.

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Highlights

Hello from the Magic Tavern
“Season 2, Ep 46 – Lightbringers of Hogsface”

As I expand my library of podcasts, I find myself falling out with some early favorites. After a bit of a dry spell from Hello from the Magic Tavern, I made time to listen this week, and I was immediately reminded of what makes this show so hilarious. This episode was a bit of a disaster: everything happened at once, and the improvisation was even more over-the-top than usual. This, of course, made it absolutely hilarious. I laughed out loud and immediately started going back through the episodes I’d missed. While “Lightbringers of Hogsface” was definitely a standout amongst the other episodes, it was the perfect reminder of why this show is always such a fun listen.

 

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Pitfalls

A Very Fatal Murder

I wanted so much to like A Very Fatal Murder–a Serial parody by satire new source The Onion–but overall, the show felt like all potential, no product. The setup seemed like it would be a medium-accurate American Vandal with the absurdism of Clickhole thrown in, but it wound up being a tired rumination on voyeuristic journalism while actually criticizing voyeuristic journalism. Instead, in a “twist” that’s been used by just about every other Serial parody, the true villain was the listener. This podcast was so strangely timed, the jokes were minimal and predictable, and all in all it felt like another podcast about hating podcasts. Who needed this to be made?

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This Week’s Ratings

Sunday, 2/4/18

• The Hilarious World of Depression, “Hannah Hart Gets Drunk, Tries to Make Grilled Cheese, Gets Famous, Tries to Enjoy It”: B

Monday, 2/5/18

• A Very Fatal Murder, D+
• Hello from the Magic Tavern, “Season 2, Ep 46 – Lightbringers of Hogsface”: B+
• The Cryptid Keeper, “Episode 45- The Grootslang”: B-
• The Splendid Table, “Landing (and Cooking) the Perfect Fish”: C+

Tuesday, 2/6/18

• Hannah and Matt Know It All, “Hannah and Matt Podcast with PodcastPodcast”: B (full podcast review coming Monday)
• My Brother, My Brother and Me, “MBMBaM 392: Big Game Tony Sunday”: B
• Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, “98. Chemo Chameleon”: B-
• Note to Self, “Meet an Online Emotional Escort”: C+
• Terrible, Thanks for Asking, “25: The Broken Places”: C+

Wednesday, 2/7/18

• Love and Luck, “Episode 23 – Opening Night”: B
• Join the Party, “Punchbowl: Vickie Lee (DnDoggos)”: B
• 99% Invisible, “294- Border Wall”: C+
• What’s the Frequency, “5. Ambernition”: B
• Myths and Legends, “99-William Tell: One Shot”: C
• Code Switch, “It’s Not Just About the Blood”: B-

Thursday, 2/8/17

• The Splendid Table, “650: The Art of the Sandwich”: B-

Friday, 2/2/17

• The Allusionist, “72. Hey”: B
• The Adventure Zone, “Amnesty – Episode 5”: B

Saturday, 2/3/17

• 2298, “ENTRY SEVEN / FORMATIVE YEARS”: B-