I thought I might write a few reviews of the radio shows and podcasts that I love. The internet has given me access to a staggeringly large and varied array of audio content – so I’m forever spoilt for choice.
One of the shows that I will listen to without fail every week is NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. Unlike other NPR shows (such as the nationally syndicated ‘Fresh Air’ and “All Things Considered”) this is not a podcast of show; rather it is only available as a podcast.
As a side note, it demonstrates what is great about NPR. NPR produces great shows that are only available as podcasts (such as Alt Latino and All Songs Considered), which are offshoots of the various NPR blogs. It’s an advantage of NPR's funding model, which is a mixture of federal funding, “underwriting spots”, contributions from member stations and listener donations during pledge drives. They fully embrace the benefits of not having to make scheduled weekly broadcasts for a general audience. The podcast format allows the production of great specialist shows with a dedicated fan base, in the same way that specialised blogs have advantages over traditional print media.
Pop Culture Happy Hour is presented by Linda Holmes (warm and smiling) with her three co-presenters Steven Thompson (funny and mildly unintellectual), Trey Grahams (reflective and gay) and Glenn Weldon (chirpy and flamboyantly gay) - plus the producer Mike Katzif makes an appearance from time to time.
They are all writers for NPR’s website and I think that the fact they work as colleagues outside of the show makes them completely comfortable in each others company, giving the discussions a rather playful tone.
The initial idea of the show was for it to be like people having a discussion over cocktails (hence the two martinis on the show's site). It sounds like 4 friends in someone's living room - laughing/joking/bitching about films, TV and music. It’s an arts discussion show that lets the presenters show off their personality.
It's a show about popular culture, so it’s on TV, Film, comic books, blogs and podcasts. Actually I have not watched 90% of shows being talked about, but it doesn’t matter because what makes the show great is the structured banter, which is capable of evolving into diatribes on pet hates and other fun loving silliness. There are standard segments, such as the “What’s making you happy this week”, though they will usually devote half the show to a particular pop culture theme (e.g. Guilty Pleasures).
Anyway, can’t recommend it enough – here's the archive:
I’ve embedded an mp3 of their recent 2012 resolutions podcast, which is a pretty good illustration of their joyfully playful interactions:
In fact, you can hear how comfortable the presenters are with each other from the very beginning. This is the first podcast:
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