Saying Goodbye - Brought to You By...

This is one of those podcasts I was truly sad see come to an end. It's started out called Household Name with a tagline of "Brands you know, stories you don't". The entire idea was a deep look into one aspect of a brand that was a household name - Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniels, Whoopie Cushion, etc. The show was produced by Business Insider and the original host was Dan Bobkoff. When Dan left Business Insider in 2019, Charlie Herman became the new host and the show got a new name, though you can see the branding didn't change.

Brought to your by... Logo

Household Name Logo

The content didn't seem to change much either, for which I was grateful, and episodes continued to be produced throughout 2020, for a total of 62 in the show's run. This means if you haven't listened to it yet, you've got plenty of listening to enjoy.

Brought to you by... (aka BTYB) was a business show at the core, something that isn't always a win for me. Some business podcasts are really boring if you aren't actually into finance or a specific industry. But the cool thing about this was that the vast majority of these brands were either ones you actively used, had used, or were familiar with. I've never used an electric scooter, but the episode about the Scooter Wars was relevant because they are everywhere. Pan Am was before my time but learning about their involvement in the Vietnam War was eye opening. 

They also did listener stories about their interactions with various brands. Listener stories have a way of irking me (mostly because I'm somewhat sensitive to certain tones and that seems to resonate more over headphones of any kind) but I found they kept them short, relevant, and generally funny. They also had people who would call in and ask product questions, then a producer or researcher would come on to answer those questions after they found answers. You get the sense that they all enjoyed learning these new aspects about brands and we all know authenticity is a key component to podcasts.

I highly recommend this in both forms. Episode 1 posted on July 25, 2018 with an episode about TGIF being the Tindr of the 60s. The podcast can be found here or wherever you get podcasts. Farewell, BTYB, you're missed.

Current State of (my) Podcast World

For reasons I won't expound on, I temporarily lost access to my phone and had to use a substitute until the global chip shortage allowed me a new one (new phone acquired, order is restored). However, in doing so, I spent a month with little storage or processing space and a phone that could not run some apps, including my Google Podcast app. I love the Podcast app, I like the layout and interface, but for a month, I had to access podcasts on my phone via the web. This showed me exactly how many podcasts I am subscribed to and it's...a lot. 

Most of them are single season investigative reporting or limited series sort of things, which are nearly always my favorite. But they're cluttering my space and trimming dead wood is my current focus, so I want to unsubscribe from them if they are no longer publishing to that feed. As long as I stay on one podcast from each studio, I'll still get the new show updates that I currently get a dozen times over from podcasts that have been done for a few years. 

Before I remove them, though, my sense of completion and desire to get things I loved more visible means I need to review them here. So I'll be doing that and adding the label "complete" to indicate the run is done and unlikely to update (i.e. some of the investigations are ongoing or in courts so those I will keep while they keep updating as developments unfold). 

Also, a note on this - Parcast has decided to move all their shows exclusively to Spotify. As I don't use Spotify, I am no longer listening to anything they put out except International Infamy by Ashley Flowers (of audiochuck) because it's still updating. It's a limited series as well, so hopefully it finishes out on Google. Parcast was always hit or miss since they get very sensational about true crime in a way that can be uncomfortable, but a few of their shows were enjoyable (Cults and Medical Murders were my favorites). I really hope this does not start a trend of moving to exclusive platforms but given Spotify has decided to get aggressive about beating Apple Podcasts, I have to assume this is something we're going to see. 

The other side of this is that Crime Junkie has decided to make an app for their show. It's incredibly well done and I unsubscribed from them on Google Podcasts after confirming it won't hurt any of their metrics. I'd love to see an audiochuck app since I follow all of their shows, but the CJP app is really good if you listen.

2020 Retrospective

It would be easy to focus on the things that didn't go as planned this year (i.e. most of it). We've all had our lives turned over. But I'm going to try to focus on the positive for my retrospective. Start as you mean to go on and my focus this entire year and into the next has been a focus on the positive.

Lady Vivienne

Indy doing yoga

My family grew this year. My 3rd nephew, Dawson, was born in August, healthy and strong. My sister continues to do well despite the disruption of COVID as a teacher and her husband being an essential worker (if your power is on, thank a lineman). I have a new kitten and she has brought us much joy. Indy continues to truck along, an old boy now. at 13 He's as healthy as a geriatric dog can be and still has the energy to get his nightly walk. My girlfriend and I have grown closer during quaruntine and gotten through it together. 

I hit my 2 years at Humana this month. Since January, I've been in a great role as a process consultant. My team is fantastic, people I really enjoy working with. The role was designed as work from home, so I didn't have to change modes when the Humana workforce was moved home. It's been an honor to work for a company that has taken the health of both their employees and the members so seriously. Watching their efforts to offset secondary effects of the pandemic - food insecurity, isolation, extra costs - has been incredible. And the fact that Humana is doing well means I can afford to support others is less stable situations, which has been a habit I hope to maintain going forward.

After 19 years and countless hours worked, I left the org after the behavior of their Board showed that they were taking actions to avoid being held accountable. I am always willing to help a group grow and do better, but when the leadership shows itself to be unwilling to change and to be taking active efforts to punish those pushing for change, I will not give them my time and energy. It was an easy choice, in the end, and I haven't regretted a day of it. Along with this came several people showing their true colors. Removing their toxicity from my life has been a joy and I am grateful to them for making it so easy.

This has freed up my energies for other, purposeful hobbies and we've been choosing carefully. It's been toes in thus far, given the pandemic means most groups are limited in their ability, but I'm happy with the choices we've been making. I expect to see this grow as gatherings resume in 2021.

At the very beginning of the year, I found a yoga studio I love. While my ability to practice in studio has been limited by the pandemic, I've been able to support them as they develop an online presence. Even better, I've made a close friendship with the owner, who happens to also be a fantastic person. A very unexpected but very welcome surprise for the year.

Jennifer's brother moving to Phoenix has brought family and the prsence of a toddler, which has been a wonderful experience for us. Having her around and getting to be aunts is so much fun. One of the most important relationships in my life is with my aunt and I'm glad we're getting to develop something similar with her. Her parents are lovely people and having this family unit locally has been a true joy.

Also, the Dodgers won the World Series. Just needed to make sure that was recorded.

We have been exceedingly lucky this year and I am grateful for it. 

Why I Support...Swindled

 

There is very little that makes me as angry at white collar crime. Partly because it so often takes advantage of people in precarious situations and partly because it's so rarely prosecuted. But hearing about it is key, especially since the lack of prosecution often allows this brand of criminal to return to public life without any consequences. Enter Swindled.

Swindled in an independent podcast produced by an anonymous host called A Concerned Citizen (ACC). He speaks in an even and almost monotonous voice, which took me a little time to adjust to. I've grown to truly appreciate it because it lands some of his sarcasm incredibly well and because the topics are so infuriating that outrage on his part would be overdone. Each episode covers 2 swines - an intro and then a connected main story. ACC is unafraid of backlash and, in true Millineal fashion, posts the complaint emails and DMs he gets to his IG feed (which I also follow). This is also seen in his choice of targets - he's gone after Dole and the banana republics, Mother Theresa, the Space Program, con artists, politicans, and public servants. The first episode I listened to was about the Dalkon Shield, which Crime Junkies also did as a crossover. I have never been so enraged by a podcast and I was hooked.

From a design perspective, the music is excellent (music is produced by Deformr (aka Trever Howard) and each episode gets some killer artwork, much of which becomes available as various types of merch. ACC clearly cares a lot about his work and I appreciate how much research and sheer time is involved since he's a mostly single-man enterprise.

I am a Patron on Patreon for Swindled and I've been eyeballing merch though I haven't gotten any yet. Mostly, I needed access to extra episodes (I have a problem). As large podcast networks start popping up and consume independent entities, supporting independent or small podcast entities it critical in determining what kind of programming will be available in this media as it continues to grow. As ACC likes to say, it sucks to live in late stage capitalism and try to create something, but rent must be paid.

Money truly is the root of all evil.

Why I Support...NPR's Up First

We all know the world is on fire and there are very few outlets any of us have right now where that isn't on display. That's not necessarily a bad thing - we should be aware of and invested in the lives and experiences of others, especially when it's outside our usual functioning. Empathy for the struggles that others face should be our goal. But the overwhelming nature of how many things are currently awful does not make it easy to digest what else is happening in the world or actual newsworthy items among the chaos.

Up First is an NPR podcast, so my support for it is part of my donations to the local NPR station (mine is KJZZ in Arizona). I've always supported NPR, wherever I lived, starting with WAMU in DC. It both acclimates me to the local culture, which is crucial when you move often, and keeps me nationally and internationally informed and aware. I listen to a lot of NPR podcasts I'll eventually go through, but this one is first.

Up First is a brief morning podcast Monday - Saturday. The hosts are familiar to anyone who listens to NPR -  Rachel Martin, Noel King, David Greene and Steve Inskeep during the week, Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Scott Simon on the weekend. It's short - about 15 minutes - and covers 3 major stories. It's not the full Morning Edition but it is a really brief overview of major stories of the day.

The true value I have found in this is that getting this brief update on news that is valuable helps innoculate my mind from doom scrolling through various feeds, numbingly seeing but not really absorbing anything. It has done wonders for my mental health. I enjoyed it before all of this started as a quick update, but now it is a tool against the mental stress of the current world. 

Why I Support...Crime Junkies

True crime is a genre that is everywhere. Between Netflix, podcasts, and miniseries, it's having a moment. The problem I run into is that I get pretty gross feelings about true crime as entertainment. It's someone's life you're gawking at and, by the nature of the genre, not one they usually have any say in how it's portrayed. So I have some benchmarks for consumption of true crime that basically come down to if it feels like advocacy vs shock factor or pure entertainmnet.

Crime Junkie is a podcast produced by friends Ashley and Brit. They talk through one case every Monday. The cases are often designed around advocacy - they have contributed money to the DNA Doe project as well as family member's advocacting for changes in laws or attention being paid to their case. They try to focus on underreported demographics, such as people of color, whose disappearances don't get as much attention as white victims. And this is why I support them - I am a Patron on Patreon, as well as a purchaser of their merch (the Season of Justice muscle shirt is my favorite yoga shirt). They are self-produced and if you listen through their backlog, you can hear the way they've grown. 

Ashley and Brit are a super relatable friendship that has spanned most of their lives. They are also big supporters of dogs (Ashley's dog, Charlie, signs off every episode and their company, audiochuck, is named for him). Once a month they do a Pruppet of the Month to showcase a listener's dog and use it to raise awareness for dogs available for adoption in various areas. The pictures on their website of the Pruppets are too cute. Also, go back in the history and listen to Brit force Ashley to give up doing Pruppet of the Month because she couldn't get through them without crying. Brit runs them and now Ashley's sniffles are just in the background. 

Their friendship is what makes it an enjoyable listen to me, their heart for victims and advocacy work does good for my soul. I've donated to their causes, signed petitions, and supported the podcast and merch store. 

Take a listen. Check out the information on their website. Maybe make a If I Go Missing file. If you like true crime, this one might be for you - especially if you get the icky feeling using someone's worst day as entertainment.

Be weird. Be Rude. Stay Alive.

A Little Realignment

It's been not quite a year since my last post. Things have been busy and I have had little bandwidth for unnecessary and added stress. But I like blogging about the podcasts I'm listening to, so I decided to reformat.

I will be going over individual podcasts, which will be categorized as:

Why I Support... for podcasts I financially support on Patreon or through merchandise purchases

Why I Listen... for podcasts I listen to but do not support

I will tag them with various categories, including by podcast studio if they have one, and keep a running list in the sidebar of the blog.

So that's the plan. Hopefully I can update regularly until they are all up and then it's just a matter of keeping current. The goal, to provide information on podcasts for those seeking something to listen, remains the same. Let's see how this works.