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All of My 2021 Podcast Appearances in One Place
Hours of my weird voice and ill-considered opinions for the holiday travel season
This time of year, the last thing anybody needs is to be alone with their horrible thoughts. Fortunately for you, I've spent the last year guesting on like 25 podcast episodes, almost all of them discussing evergreen topics that are just as relevant today as when we recorded them. Every one is linked below for you to listen to on your holiday travels. Also, please buy my newest book, Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, for every single reader you know at Christmas. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Bookshop and in every possible format.
Why Modern Blockbusters Bore: A Four-Part Miniseries
Modern blockbusters are plagued with specific storytelling flaws that can mostly be traced back to how they're made. Co-hosted with former Cracked editor David Bell on the Gamefully Unemployed network, this four-part series breaks down exactly what we hate and why:
Part 1: Characters That Make You Feel Nothing
SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3idGi2Z
Apple: https://apple.co/37cZAzu
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3C1exTu
Part 2: Sloppy Story Structure (Driven by Franchise Needs)
SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3fGVR1y
Apple: https://apple.co/3xqhxFr
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3Ak6qiV
Part 3: Lack of Careful Worldbuilding
SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3CLhHLk
Apple: https://apple.co/2UgOaHU
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2W0dUJo
Part 4: Production That Is Often a Writerless Assembly Line
SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3glWCO0
Apple: https://apple.co/3kcKqjR
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2XBS7Z2
Behind the Bastards: A Three-Part Miniseries
The Dulles brothers were two of the most influential politicians in modern American history and, I would argue, two of the most consequential people in the history of the world. One invented the modern CIA, one was Secretary of State during a pivotal part of the cold war, the pair basically set the tone for all that came after. I'm on this with former Cracked editor Robert Evans, who is now way more famous for other stuff, like this show:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
The Dogg Zzone with Robert Brockway and Seanbaby
This is the podcast of 1-900-HOTDOG, the outstanding comedy collective started by former Cracked luminaries Seanbaby and Robert Brockway. I'm on every month or so, my episodes are linked below but you can subscribe to their show here.
Oct 16, 2020: Movies About Subcultures That Don't Even Exist
This was more than a year ago, but whatever. This was my first appearance on the Dogg Zzone and we examined a genre of film you probably didn't even know existed: Movies about a subculture that doesn't actually exist in the real world, like the celebrity bouncers of Road House:
January 19, 2021: Are We All Doomed to Become Parodies of Our Former Selves?
This landmark appearance marks the beginning of this show's obsession with comedian-turned-conservative crank Dennis Miller, and my personal obsession with the idea that entertainers become bitter, hollow shells in old age:
March 17, 2021: Satanic Ritual Abuse Was Weirdly Hilarious
We talk about the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s, which was not at all funny (multiple people wrongly went to prison, or had their lives ruined) but at the same time was also very, very funny:
June 16, 2021: Corporate Comedy Censorship
We talk about how easy it is for celebrities to get critical articles and videos pulled from the internet. I didn't even mention the time PETA got a Cracked video taken down with a legal threat, because I wasn't on the video team and thus didn't know the details:
July 28, 2021: Moon Ball Cop
We talk about Charles Fitzgerald, a supposed stuntman and definite liar who became a celebrity back in an era when apparently no claims could ever be verified:
September 8, 2021: The Real Actual Ninja, Frank Dux
Speaking of which, in this one we talk about a man who has made a career out of claiming to be a real-life ninja who worked for secret American intelligence agencies, and whose life was also the basis of the movie Bloodsport:
October 6, 2021: Out of Death
Did you know that an elderly Bruce Willis has dedicated himself to cranking out 5-6 horrible direct-to-streaming movies a year? Movies in which he is allegedly the star, but is only on set for two days, so the rest of his scenes are shot with a body double? We examined one of them, inexplicably titled Out of Death, and Sean wrote and sang a custom theme song for the occasion:
October 27, 2021: Bordello of Blood
In this Halloween episode, we talk about the legendary mess that was the making of Bordello of Blood, a 1996 comedy horror movie starring Dennis Miller and Corey Feldman. The shoot was such a nightmare that they made a whole documentary about it:
November 17, 2021: Streaming Show Recommendations
Turning positive for once, we talk about some amazing shows that are buried in your streaming service menus, and I get to rave about the joyous marvel that is 30 Coins on HBO Max:
If you like that show, and noticed that it never has ads, please check out their Patreon - a few bucks unlocks bonus episodes of every podcast and their vast ocean of daily comedy articles, which are the real meat of the site.
Secretly Incredibly Fascinating, with Alex Schmidt
Former Cracked podcast host Alex Schmidt has created his own show that each week tackles a seemingly-mundane subject and pulls it apart to discover why it's secretly incredibly fascinating (thus the name). I'm on every other month or so, I'm linking to Apple below but it's on literally every podcast platform as far as I know:
December 28, 2020: Random Numbers
Have you ever wondered how computers, which only do what we tell them to do, create "Random" numbers for stuff like video gambling? The answer is fucking insane:
March 8, 2021: Toothpaste
In which we find out that tooth brushing technology has barely improved in the last thousand years:
May 10, 2021: Air Conditioning
We talk about how an invention meant to keep a paper factory dry utterly transformed the American lifestyle and landscape:
July 5, 2021: Sewers, with former Cracked EiC Jack O'Brien:
I only ever get to talk to Jack when we're on a podcast together! This was a fun one.
September 27, 2021: Halloween Stores, and the LGBTQ Influence on the Modern Holiday
We dig into my favorite holiday to try to understand why it's growing in popularity faster than any other:
December 7, 2021: TV Dinners
Today, nobody eats or poops without some kind of media playing in the background. This is a relatively new invention and you can partially thank one company’s decision to market their frozen meals as “TV Dinners.”
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
If you want bonus versions of each of those episodes, pay a few bucks on Patreon and help keep it going in general. If you hate that so much of the internet is garbage outrage-bait, chip in to keep the good stuff alive!
We Just Watched...
This is the movie review podcast from former Cracked editors Tom Reimann and David Bell, who also co-hosted the Blockbusters miniseries I linked earlier. We did a couple of episodes this year diving into streaming movies you may have missed, one of which you were probably better off missing.
Those Who Wish Me Dead
We got a very good discussion out of this bafflingly bad Angelina Jolie thriller, because it gave us lots to talk about re: how easy it is to get story structure and character development wrong. Side note: One of the protagonists died at the end of this movie and I didn't even notice:
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
The Empty Man
We wanted to talk about this direct-to-streaming Lovecraftian thriller mainly because of what happened behind the scenes, which is arguably more interesting, especially if you're into the studio politics that determine which movies get made:
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
One Upsmanship, a Video Gaming Podcast
I joined Cracked video legends Michael Swaim and Adam Ganser on their podcast to talk about a couple of the first games of the PS5 era, and get into some of my eccentric gaming pet peeves.
Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart
Here we get into how the console's impressive particle effects turns battle scenes into a swirling mass of distracting junk:
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts
Or Soundcloud:
Resident Evil: Village
Some interesting stuff here about the uncanny valley effect of high-end graphics, when the scenery looks photorealistic but is full of invisible walls that remind you you're playing a game:
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts
Or Soundcloud:
Cracked Movie Club: Riders of Justice
I make my first return to Cracked in a long while to appear on their new movie podcast, talking about one of my favorite movies ever: A Mads Mikkelsen movie from Denmark about a man whose quest for vengeance goes wrong in a series of horrifying and oddly heartwarming ways. It’s a Christmas Movie!
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts
Even More News:
This is the podcast for Some More News, the massively popular YouTube show of former Cracked video stars Cody Johnston and Katy Stoll. This one is from August and is discussing the headlines of the day, so maybe it's a bit dated now but if you like hearing me talk about news and politics stuff, it's still a good one:
Thanks! Buy every one of my books, links and descriptions here!