Introducing Pods and Ends

At the suggestion of some of my “fans” (I'm quoting myself there) this is my new weekly segment on one of my joys in life: podcasts. I'll be rounding up what’s new on my playlist and suggesting episodes to check out.

I'll be tagging Pods and Ends to the bottom of my columns in the future. For the first instalment, however, I’m just going to shout out some of the regulars on my playlist. Radiolab: I don’t have enough space here to say all the good things I would like to about Radiolab. To me, it is the cream of the crop of podcasting and you could dive into almost any episode, with topics ranging from science to sociology to crime and history, and you will find yourself immersed and engaged in a topic you may have never known about.

This is the gold standard of podcasting. Host Jad Abumrad has a spin-off show as well featuring stories on the U.S. Supreme Court which is worth the time to check out entitled More Perfect. Tell ‘em Steve-Dave: I must start by noting this may not be for everyone (explicit language, opinions, sometimes-raunchy), but it’s been years since I missed an episode, which are out almost every week. The podcast features long-time friends of director Kevin Smith and Comic Book Men stars Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan and Impractical Joker Brian “Q” Quinn. The three, alongside a cast of colourful reallife recurring characters, record out of comic book store Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey, and eschew any real format to explore everything from news to the legitimacy of a skull Q purchased dubbed the “Prussian Kissing Devil.” The Dollop: Comedians Dave Anthony (shoe wearer, college graduate, picture taker) tells a story of American history each week to Gareth “not Gary” Reynolds, who has no idea what the topic is going to be about. It’s hard to find a quicker wit than Reynolds, who quips and reacts as Anthony tells factual, yet often unbelievable historical accounts you have likely never heard of. Their live episodes are my personal favourites, but the simple format keeps it funny and it is actual educational somehow. Small Beans: Small Beans is a banner under which podcasts with multiple topics live. It’s a newer project by some of the recently, and unfortunately, laid-off staff of Cracked.com. It includes shows ranging from news of the week (Extree! Extree!), film analysis (Frame Rate), video game commentary (1Upsmanship) and an exploration of addiction (Tales from the Pit). Some of my former Cracked favourites, Michael Swaim and Abe Epperson bring in some of their old coworkers and seem to be enjoying their new lives as “creative free agents.” Worth a listen if you like pop culture analysis. WTF with Marc Maron An exploration of addiction recovery and interviews ranging from Obama to Darren Aronofsky, actor Maron (you may recognize him from the Netflix series GLOW) has a non-traditional interview style and you never really know what rabbit holes guests are going to go down. Good source for straight-up interviews and you may learn a thing or two. Someone Knows Something Host David Ridgen investigates cold cases, specifically those involving missing people, in this CBC podcast. The first season has Ridgen looking for a missing young boy in rural Ontario. However, not to bash the first season, but I would highly recommend jumping straight into the second season for the fascinating search for Sheryl Sheppard, who went missing in 1998 under suspicious circumstances. A well-done and gripping tale from beginning to end.

Dale Boyd is a reporter at The Herald who usually takes off his earphones off just long enough to write news stories.