Podcasts That Helped Me Through 2020

In terms of podcasts, 2020 meant that Movies vs. Matrimony and Spoiled Rotten were part of the That Shelf network of podcasts, and I was officially welcomed into the That Shelf family! It didn’t stop there though. I also joined Chonilla Network’s Uncolonized Podcast!

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All of that and I still needed to listen to other people talk for 80 minutes or so at a time! Fair warning. I reverted to rewatching things in a time where the future was uncertain, so a lot of this list is people revisiting things I already know I like. With that out of the way, let’s get into the podcasts that helped me out during this rough year!

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Podcast:
The 500 Greatest Films Podcast

Hosted By:
Hector Navarro & Keller Knoblock

Format:
Hector & Keller, two roommates, go through the 500 greatest films as dictated by some British magazine, I genuinely can’t remember the name of and they have removed from the show description [editor’s note - I caved and re-listened to an old episode - the magazine is Empire]. The good thing is that each episode they get their guests to add a movie they think should be on the list and decide whether or not the movie they just watched actually deserves to be on the list. It’s great for revisiting films and seeing if they hold up to today’s standards as it pertains to how women and people of colour are treated. For obvious reasons, new episodes with guests haven’t been dropping so right now they’re doing quarantine bonuses and going through movie franchises like the Fast and Furious.

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Podcast:
Blank Check

Hosted By:
Griffin Newman, David Sims, and Ben Hosley

Format:
Griffin, an actor, David, a film critic for the Atlantic, and Ben, a really fun guy, Take a director and go through their whole filmography (unless it’s Spielberg because that’s way too long) pointing out when that director got a blank check to do whatever they want and how successful those swings were. There are bits a plenty to enjoy and if you don’t mind that sometimes they’d rather make fun of DJ Khaled than talk about a movie, it’s really fun to get insight into some great directors and notice patterns. Also I’ll miss producer Ang Ferraguto! Fun fact, the podcast started off as an extended bit where David and Griffin pretended they didn’t know anything about Star Wars and watched the Prequels minutes at a time and reviewed the films.

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Podcast:
Bodega Boys

Hosted By:
Desus Nice & THE KID MERO

Format:
Desus and Mero go in and out of bits so quickly while you enjoy laughing all episode long. Come for the Trump and Ben Carson impressions, stay for the “tension” between Mero and his mother-in-law and the amazing AKAs that can take up to 20 minutes. There is no true format I’m aware of, you’re just listening to two friends make jokes about current events and amazing throwbacks to back in the day each week. They do like to make fun of one of my favourite Detroit rappers though. Having said that, it does not deter me from enjoying each episode.

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Podcast:
CoyCast

Hosted By:
Coy Jandreau & Jake Lloyd Bacon

Format:
Coy caught my attention, because like me, he gets amped about CBMs and usually has interesting Fan Casts like me. He’s enthusiastic and overall positive so it’s easy to get into his work, but it wasn’t until he made it clear how anti-Trump he is that I really leaned into his podcast. It’s really just about tracking comic book movie and TV news but it’s great to hear he is willing to curse out proud boys and other fans who may be upset about slight uptick in people of colour and women getting more prominent roles. I didn’t need the addition of Jake (especially once I confirmed we weren’t talking about young Anakin) but I’m glad Coy has someone to bounce off of.

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Podcast:
Dead Eyes

Hosted By:
Connor Ratliff

Format:
Connor was fired by Tom Hanks for having “dead eyes.” This podcast breaks down this life changing event in This American Life- like fashion with some very fun high profile guest stars who weave in and out of the story. This is not a joke, it’s very real, and pretty interesting to hear from an actor what it can be like to have the production “go in a different direction.” Just listen to the first episode and tell me you don’t want to hear the second episode immediately.

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Podcast:
Hot Takes with Billy Business

Hosted By:
Billy Patterson

Format:
Billy invites his other film pundit friends and his wife on to see if they can have a civil conversation while sharing their “hot takes” on popular films. I often find Billy is pretty obtuse with his takes, especially when it comes to Hocus Pocus and Star Wars. It can come off as pretty whiny but it’s usually balanced by the guest. It’s also nice to not hear people yell at each other but still discuss why they feel a certain way about a popular work. Also, why does he constantly work with people who swear if he has such a strict no swearing policy. it is maddening listening to this podcast to have every 7th word edited out.

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Podcast:
insecuritea

Hosted By:
Crissle West & Francheska

Format:
Crissle and Fran break down episodes of the amazing Insecure. I was already a Crissle fan but it was great to hear her chemistry with her friend Fran and get to be introduced to another podcaster who isn’t a straight white man! This show is so good I listened to it in its entirety after finishing the latest season of Insecure. I didn’t care that I had information they didn’t while they recorded. The entertainment level is too high to be caught up on things like that.

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Podcast:
Minor Adventures with Topher Grace

Hosted By:
Topher Grace & Sim Sarna

Format:
As someone who likes Topher so much, he wants to cast him in a Batman movie, there should be no question as to why I wanted to listen to this podcast. I wanted juicy 70s Show gos! And you’ll get that. However, the point of the show is that Topher and Sim invite friends and potential new friends on to take part in something they’ve never done before. This can be inventing a language, doing voice over for a commercial, or fundraising over the phone. It’s very interesting but I’m pretty sure the pandemic has halted production.

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Podcast:
Newcomers

Hosted By:
Nicole Byer & Lauren Lapkus

Format:
Nicole and Lauren, two women I would happily add to the list of amazing comedic leads if I was still making lists year-round, take a franchise (so far Star Wars and Lord of the Rings) they have never seen before and watch all the movies, and tv they can based on that franchise. It’s funny to listen to them try to fight enjoying elements and make some good points about why they never were into it before. It can get annoying hear them mispronounce things but then you just give into how much fun it is to listen to them and their guest for the week.

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Podcast:
Office Ladies

Hosted By:
Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey

Format:
Pam and Angela (number 5 and 7 on the best Office characters list) give you insight into what went into writing and shooting each episode of The Office. I genuinely didn’t believe they were best friends, but the more you hear about the behind the scenes of the show, the more it’s clear to see they really went through some stuff together and it’s fun when they let them selves riff like real friends. The guests can be really great for rounding out the story of how a specific episode was made or how on set politics worked.

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Podcast:
Reboot It

Hosted By:
Ed Greer, Billy Patterson, Ron Swallow, and Bill Castonzo

Format:
Technically they made the move to YouTube. And It’s Billy so there is unneeded censoring (said the guy with no sponsorship for any of his three podcasts) but it is fun to listen to these four men try to break down what is important about a movie like The Matrix and see if they can come up with something new that retains the spirit of the original. It’s even better when they can’t and turn on each other… like The Matrix and Twilight.

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Podcast:
The Mad Titan Podcast

Hosted By:
Jay Washington

Format:
Jay goes over the news from DC and Marvel as often as it makes sense. It’s great to hear another black person speak on what Ben and I speak on until that one episode where he doubted Ray Fisher’s motivation when calling out Joss for that movie called Justice League. His whole take on Justice League baffles me, but at least it’s the voice of someone who looks like me and that is something to be celebrated. It is a rare show where I wouldn’t mind if it were just him instead of some of the guests he brings on who clearly are not as invested.

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Podcast:
The Read

Hosted By:
Kid Fury & Crissle West

Format:
In the effort to not feel gas-lit, Fury and Crissle’s podcast is a must. Pop culture is viewed through a political and racial lens and it has to be the only show on this list where I actually look forward to the listener mail. It’s not homework at all, Kid Fury and Crissle have such great chemistry that it’s easy to listen to them go for over two hours as they cover hot tops, listener mail, and they read people who are getting out of line with their racism, homophobia, or similar issue. You can also find Kid Fury on the second season of Dear White People, so that’s fun!

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Podcast:
Threedom

Hosted By:
Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus, and Paul F. Tompkins

Format:
If Desus and Mero are too black for you then you’ll probably enjoy Threedom. It’s the same idea but with white improvisational hosts. I can’t hate too hard, they have had very funny moments plus they do an improv game at the end of each episode. If Jake, Paul and I ever had a podcast, I assume it’d be like this.

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Podcast:
Zack to the Future

Hosted By:
Mark-Paul Gosselaar & Dashiell Driscoll

Format:
This year taught me I love Saved by the Bell. I can’t think of any redeeming qualities other than the fact that I watched it as a kid. So having THE ZACK MORRIS go through each episode, including college years and movies, was a no brainer. If Mark-Paul and Dashiell could work on their chemistry so I don’t have to stress about them hurting each other’s feelings that would be swell, but otherwise it’s great listening to them unpack what went into making this show with Slater, Jessie, and Kelly showing up so far. As well as the twins and that bully from Valley who pranked Zack. So yeah they’re going deep. Here’s hoping for a Lark appearance!

-YG