Podcasting and Radio News

Serial Killers

Listening to a podcast has never been my interest, so finding one was kind of hard for me. I just finished season 12 of Criminal Minds and decided to search some podcast about criminals or crime stories. I did start listening to Serial, but didn’t want to write about it because every knows about it.

I stumbled upon a podcast, Serial Killers, which is a narrative about the killer and who he or she was and why did the killer do the things he or she did. It takes you into a journey to really get to know the killer and its psychological mental state.

This podcast is intended for people who are interested in crime/criminals. The hosts are scripted and from what I have listened to it’s a male and a female talking to each other in a story format and also finish each other’s sentences. The type of advertising they do is during their commercials, and it’s about their sponsors, Casper, hunt a killer, blue apron and The Sinner. I think you can start with any episode because each episode is dedicated to one serial killer, so it depends on which one you are interested on.

The Adventure Zone

The Adventure Zone is a live-play Dungeons and Dragons podcast hosted by Griffin, Travis, Justin, and Clint McElroy. Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop game that involves dice and a lot of roleplaying improvisation, so the podcast is exactly that. Travis, Justin, and their father, Clint, roleplay as their characters: Magnus, Taako, and Merle, while the youngest son, Griffin, is their DM (Dungeon Master) and guides them through the world with his words and plays every NPC (Non-Playable Character) that they come across.

It’s a podcast that originated from another series that the brothers do, so it was initially intended for fans of that podcast. However, it grew and attracted people from the “nerdier” side of the spectrum, as well as young adults that are interested in this form of interactive storytelling. It is all unscripted except for a basic plot that their DM, Griffin, has outlined and features music scored by the aforementioned.

There is advertising in the podcast, usually sponsorship from companies like Blue Apron. Other times, it is sponsored wholly by their network, Maximum Fun. They have a yearly drive to encourage listeners to donate and also sell shoutouts (“Jumbotron”) that are read by Griffin in the podcast during their ad breaks.The ads are usually in the middle of the episode.

The Adventure Zone is a pretty popular podcast with more than 130,000 subscribers and 80.7k followers on their Twitter account. It definitely made positive waves with their portrayal of sexually diverse characters. It can also be argued that their podcast made Dungeons and Dragons popular again among younger generations. A graphic novel based on the adventures of their characters is set to be released next year.

They recently finished their first season, the Balance Storyline, which has 69 episodes split into 8 arcs. A good place to start is episode 2 or at the second arc: Moonlighting. It is serial in nature, so for the best experience, starting at Episode 1.5 is fine, as long as you’re alright with vague discussions about the rules of Dungeons and Dragons.

Millennial

Megan Tan is the host and creator of Millennial. It was first launched in 2015, and since then it has been picked up by Radiotopia and profiled by The Guardian. Her podcast is recommended by The Guardian, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, and A.V Club.

On her podcast, Tan discusses her postgraduate life and how she rises above her inner struggle- finding what makes her happy. In each episode, she narrates the process in making her project to a full-time job. The podcast is intended to guide millennials as they learn how to take their own path of happiness and success. As Tan details her route to success, her message to her audience is to live their life without fear and commit to their dream.

While Millennial began to receive recognition, she landed a job at Public Radio, but kept Millennial “as a place of joy and fulfillment.” Yet, Millennial grew more and got a bigger audience with more sponsors. Her website allows anyone to Donate and/or become a sponsor. Audience is able to subscribe through iTunes, PRX, SoundCloud, Stitcher, tunein, and Spotify.

Over the years, Millennial has expanded and gotten more attention. It has a little over 4 stars with mixed waves. Some of the audience claims Millennial is “embarrassing” or “disappointing,” while others believe it is “perfectly raw.” This isn’t a podcast one can start listening to on any episode. To grasp the whole experience, and truly understand the message, the best episode to start with would be the first episode.

Drink Champs

Drink Champs is a podcast that’s created/ hosted by a hip-hop artist N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, this
podcast was created for popular hip-hop based podcast episodes with other hip-hop/musicians within the hip-hop culture and that is the main focus. It isn’t about hip-hop itself, it’s about the artist in hip-hop. During each episode N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN gets the guest co-host to drink alcohol throughout the episode to confirm old rumors/untold stories.

This podcast is intended for an audience that enjoys hip-hop music and hip-hop culture. Drink Champs’ follows the host interview format and isn’t very scripted, which makes it extremely popular. This podcast has made big waves positively in such a short amount of time that it was signed to CBS. I would recommend listening to episode 23, if you’re a Snoop Dogg and or a Nas fan. The reason being is that Snoop Dogg tells the story on how Nas almost got injured while trying to approach Snoop Dogg and his friends from Long Beach, California.

Collider Movie Talk

Collider Movie Talk is a daily video and podcast. This blog is intended for cinephiles. As stated in the beginning of each show
it’s essentially ” Movie talk for movie fans”.

During each show the host and guests often talk about and debate about the biggest movies and movie news of the week. Each show is hosted by Collider Video Senior Producer, Dennis Tzeng and is often joined with a group of commentators that are some of the leading voices in the online film world. Collider has expanded itself in recent years and developed new shows that are intended for certain audiences. For example Collider Jedi Council, focuses on everything in the world of the Star Wars Cinematic Universe. Collider Heroes focuses on ongoing news in the world of superhero film and television. Collider Nightmare reports on news in the genre of horror and thriller in both film and television. At the same time Collider has even launched a TV Talk show for those interested in news for television shows. So you can essentially start off with any of these shows depending on what you are interested in.

The show itself is unscripted and provides genuine and authentic reactions and thoughts from each speaker. For their weekend Mail Bag show, the Collider crew take in and answer questions received via email from viewers/listeners. Providing more interaction and engaging experience for their followers. Each speaker has a unique and distinct personality trait that listeners can relate to

Generally there are no advertisements. The podcast can often be found on Stitcher, and Itunes. At the same time the main shows can be located on Youtube.  The reviews for the shows have been widely positive. With a following of nearly thirty-three thousand followers on Twitter.

 

I Don’t Get It

How many times do you find yourself saying, “I just don’t get it?”. I can relate to that statement more than I would like to admit. As my search for a podcast began, I stumbled upon the podcast I Don’t Get It. It was not the first time I heard about that title as I have seen it circulating around Instagram from accounts relating to what is known as “bachelor nation”. Appropriately enough, the hosts of the show are Ashley Iaconetti (former Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise contestant) , her sister Lauren, and Naz Perez (Bachelor producer).

Ashley began her career as a popular figure from the reality TV show, The Bachelor, due to her constant cry face, as well as her obsessive relationship with one of the Bachelor in Paradise contestants. This podcast is full of humor and unfiltered conversation between the three women, covering topics from relationships, pop culture, and general life problems. It’s intended audience are people who find themselves in the same boat as the hosts of not understanding a certain topic that they get educated on. I would say it’s mostly intended for women who are in their early 20’s, who have previously watched at least one show from the Bachelor franchise.

When it comes to format, its a combination of conversation between the hosts, as well as having featured guests on some of the episodes. Some of the guests that come on the show are actually former Bachelor sor contestants that were on the show. The podcast itself is ranked #106 on the iTunes chart, making it a somewhat popular podcast from the thousands of podcasts out there. Giving the first episode a try would be the best way to start one’s interest in the podcast. From the first episode you understand the vibe that the show will have, and learn the personality of the hosts. It gives you a taste of what is to come and if you should stick around for the ride.

Athletico Mince

Athletico Mince is a comedy podcast where two comedians, Bob Mortimer and Andy Dawson discuss a host of topics, though primarily concern themselves with football (soccer). Both Mortimer and Dawson hail from the north-east of England, an area typically known to be oppressively dour and their comedy matches it.

It is an unscripted back and forth between the two men – essentially a double act that has earned itself a cult following due to the success of Mortimer and Dawson’s careers. However, it’s quite limited as far as audience-outreach goes. The style of humour – particularly Mortimer’s – borders on absurdist and only true fans of his would actively seek out this podcast. Football addicts may find it appealing for its ‘two blokes in a pub’ aspect, but it’s apparent that the co-hosts aren’t hoping to make waves with it. What’s more, there’s no advertising and it has very few ratings on iTunes, audioBoom and Stitcher (where it airs).

However, for those who listen, the reviews have been largely positive and the podcast boasts nearly twenty-six thousand followers on Twitter. Both Mortimer and Dawson themselves suggest that new listeners start with Episode 8 “Mickey Drink Retrieves the Keys” because that’s when they “hit their stride”. Although, to those discovering Bob Mortimer and Andy Dawson for the very first time, perhaps they never really do.