pokey_valentine

I don't think the video is at all detrimental on i4h, but it really changes the experience. I had different favorite scenes and highlights after listening than I did after watching. Video served the football scene really well, because the facial expressions and body language added another layer. Audio served the porno mag scene, because it relied more on audience imagination/suspension of disbelief.

Hilarious episode! Well done.

Incredibly fun episode! The music chart theme was amazing.

I started to say that Andy Daly and Jason Mantzoukas are the Roosevelt and Lincoln of the Mount Rushmore of CBB guests (PFT and Adomian being the Washington and Jefferson), but then I realized that no monument to CBB guests would be complete without Wompler, and then I realized that it's dumb to try to equate CBB guests with faces on Mount Rushmore, then I realized that CBB has had more great guests than USA has had great presidents, and then I started thinking about tyranny and oppression and the futility of even trying to make a difference in this world, and now I'm spiraling deeper into existential crisis. Congrats on 200 episodes!

I was hired by The Competish to infiltrate the forums and foment dissension among the Earwolf faithful, but, other than that, my motives are pure as the driven snow.

Cool. I wasn't trying to pick on you, just taking issue with the argument that podcasts are different because they're free. As for just not listening, I get the point, but, for me, indifference is the response I give to something I don't like. When I do like and care about something, I'll get excited about it both positively and negatively. On the other hand, I love the idea of Cursesandcran concocting a way to get on Cased Closed by complaining about Case Closed.

Fantastic episode.

True, but here's a list of other things that are free: Every show and movie on broadcast television. Many shows on cable television, thanks to online streaming. Every show on terrestrial radio. Every song on the radio. Every song on ad-supported streaming sites like Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, etc. Full album streams on NPR, Pitchfork, record label sites, etc. Self-released music on sites like Bandcamp, SoundCloud, DatPiff, etc. Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Millions of other websites. Thousands of competing podcasts. Every book, magazine, newspaper, DVD, or CD available in your local library. None of these things are exempt from criticism simply because they're free.

I usually like Case Closed, but in the most recent segment, when Matt Besser accused the guy of "censorship," it really left a bad taste. Besser knows that the guy didn't and doesn't have any power to censor him. Criticism is not censorship! I point that out to say that there is definitely a power disparity that makes things dicey. For starters, this is Matt's show, so he already has home field advantage. For another thing, Matt is a legendary professional comedy improviser! For another, he's surrounded by three guests, also improvisers, usually UCB up-and-comers or regulars, themselves. They are almost always going to support Matt in the debate. Yes, the other guy gets to speak and respond, and Matt and his guests are respectful of that, but, then, the guy fades back into obscurity, and his perspective gets served up in a scene, usually a very funny scene. Someone suggested that keeping it at Star Trek levels is safer, but maybe the opposite is true. The gun control segment was very well done, I thought, in part because Matt and his guests were really careful due to the weight of the topic. The "too soon" segment didn't seem to walk that fine line as well. Case Closed has the highest risk and highest reward of any recurring segment. I wouldn't want Matt to end it, all together.

Thanks for wondering, Dan! I'm personally handling it by partaking in an ancient ritual involving sackcloth and ash. I'd appreciate your prayers, because if this doesn't work, it's on to ice cream and Nora Ephron movies, and, from there, all that's left is heroin. Honestly, though, I am glad they had a good time. I thought they seemed to like Steve-O, and that's great! As for me, I have a deeper appreciation for why I love Whooch, and I'm looking forward to the next episode.

I think you're amazing, too, Shariq! You seem to have interpreted some absolutist tone in my previous post which I neither intended, nor do I see in review. With that said, I regret that any ambiguity on my part may have given room for interpretation that I think that racism does not exist in pick up basketball. That is not at all what I meant. I do believe that race is at work, like you say, everywhere in American life, including pick up basketball. I was forthright with my ignorance of pick up basketball and incredulous that it involves perfect strangers selecting each other without so much as seeing each other walk. I'll take your word for it, but, honestly, even hypothetically stripped of all racial prejudice, it sounds horrible! I was not apologizing for or denying racism, as you have accused, and I don't get the impression that Nocando was, either. I think he was equally incredulous that people are playing basketball with strangers whom they've never seen walk, as you have described. I agree that racism is involved. I also agree that, as Nocando said, there has to be more going on than just that. Even you are saying that skin is one factor of the superficial means by which teams are selected. So, unless you're going to tell me that a team captain won't consider height, weight, physique, and other things (the way the person is dressed? the look of confidence/anxiety in a person's face?), then you must agree that there is "more than just race." In the same way, more than race factors into one's life-opportunities. It does factor in heavily, and in a profoundly, painfully unjust way. But there are other factors, obviously, and you know that to be true. Poverty and privilege are also unjust, also heavy factors that limit or increase opportunities. What about the original topic, Shariq? There's a reason I didn't comment on the pick up basketball episode (I don't know or care anything about pick up basketball). Is there a reason you've chosen to ignore this episode, but to hijack this thread to discuss the other episode? Do you think that it's racist for white people to use the word "brother"? Do you think, as Andrew suggested, that white people should only call other white people "brother"? Doesn't it follow that if we call men "brother," we might think of them as brothers, and hopefully begin to treat them like brothers? Or is preferable to refer to a man as a "dog"? Do you think that Nocando's resistance to labeling this episode's caller a racist is something that can be classified as an apology for racism? Or have you simply dismissed Nocando as a racism apologist whose opinions are invalid?

I get what you're saying, but a person doesn't have to be mean-spirited to be rude. I don't think Steve-O came across as mean-spirited, and I'm not trying to judge his character as a person, but I think his behavior was rude. I think you're right that it put Howard and Kulap in a bind, and, for what it's worth, they seemed to like him. Also, I want to clarify that I didn't mean that Earwolf or the hosts should ask the guests to listen to the show before coming on. I'm talking more about basic curiosity and preparation on behalf of the guest. Speaking for myself, I would want to know what I was getting myself into!

That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but the way he went about it was rude. He constantly talked over Howard and Kulap, and never seemed to connect with them, even though they had a lot in common. Worse than that, he never seemed interested in connecting with them. Is that a good excuse? This is a 45-60 minute show that he could listen to literally anywhere. I'm sure he's a busy man, but is it so unreasonable to expect guests to listen to the show once or twice? Even supposing that he didn't have a reasonable chance to do that, isn't it likely that they explained the format before hitting record? Why not? It seemed obvious to me that he wants to tell his story, promote veganism, and share his opinions. It's not as if podcast appearances are beneath Steve-O. I doubt Mel Brooks listens to a ton of podcasts, but he was the most recent guest on WTF.

This would've been a fine episode of WTF or You Made It Weird. But the thing that makes Who Charted great is the dynamic between the hosts and guests. The Jessica St. Clair episode is a perfect example: We got to know Jessica better, which was great, but what made it fun was her chemistry with Kulap and the way she interacted with Howard. The fact that Steve-O had several shared interests and qualities with both Howard and Kulap only amounted to missed opportunities. It felt like he came in with the intention of telling his story. It's worth telling, I'm sure, but this isn't the podcast for that; it doesn't serve the story well, and it doesn't respect what the podcast does.

Were Howard & Kulap unavailable for this episode?

What Nocando actually said was, "Maybe the guy looks more athletic, you know, maybe you saw him run before. You have to have more than just race." That statement indicates to me that Nocando, like myself and I'm sure others who don't play basketball (with strangers, or otherwise), can't really imagine that the team captains are picking teams without any prior knowledge of the players' abilities, or at least seeing them shoot, dribble, run, warm up, or whatever. And it seems like pretty insufficient evidence to judge that Nocando "apologizes for everything." Besides, Andrew was definitely trying to force this one into the racist category when what the caller was doing was using the word "brother" (a name indicating equality and harmony, used in many diverse cultural and religious contexts), using it sincerely and without malice, and treating a black man the way he treats white men.

I think a lot of the white guests have been terrified of coming across as racist (and a couple of them have said some cringeworthy things), and some guests seem a little intimidated by Andrew's approach.

Andrew tries hard to declare racism, or at least wackness, on a white man calling a black man brother, then confesses that one of the words he likes to call people is "dog." Homeboy Sandman's HuffPo piece came to mind. Dogs are subservient, brothers are equal. "Are we trying to make everything racist?" - Nocando, summing it up.

I appreciate Nocando's take on things, even when I disagree. In this case, I agree with him that it's about money, risk, and class. I think there's a decent argument (RIP, Howard Zinn) that American racism is, itself, a construct propped up to serve the financial interests of the wealthy.

Hashtag cool!

Great episode. Pamela Murphy has become one of my favorite Earwolf guests.

When you die and become one with existence itself, James Adomian is a guest on every episode of Comedy Bang Bang.

…that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. Welcome to Comedy Bang Bang.

Great episode! I could've listened to another hour of it.