My current favorite podcast is Knowledge Fight. But, nobody should listen to it—not only because it has a 976 episodes (that’s 74 days and 20 hours of content) but also because it’s probably not the healthiest choice.
The podcast series has been used by lawyers researching Alex Jones in relation to his various Sandy Hook lawsuits. Friesen has been called upon as an expert in Alex Jones and his shows by plaintiffs’ lead counsel in Texas, Mark Bankston, because of the podcast series.
Our podcast is nearly impossible to sell to you. We primarily talk a bunch about how Alex Jones is an idiot and intentionally misleads his listeners for fun and profit, but that’s not the whole story. We also branch off into the nature of conservative propaganda and the art of the con, breaking down scam artists from the worlds of politics, religion, and of course, outer space. It sounds more complicated than it is; really it’s just a show about one friend researching things and telling another friend about the depressing and hilarious things he learned.
If people wonder what it’s like to have people on the edge constantly diving into your world to drag you down with them, listen to what happened to a family after the father helped consecrate a gay bishop.
Another great one is Talking Derry Girls, unsurprisingly inspired by the Netflix series Derry Girls (which is great btw.).
The hosts are three women from Derry who are slightly older than the main characters of the show. They provide a lot of background on life in Northern Ireland. Besides being interesting in general that made me appreciate the show even more because it made small details more meaniingful.
Revolutions, by Mike Duncan. I think it was @the_borderer who put them on my radar at the other site. Really love it. Tried to start at the end, at Chapter 10, the Russian revolution, where I discovered that to really wrap your head around the Russian revolution you need to go back to the Paris Commune of 1870, which in turn means you need to know a bit about the myriad revolutions in central Europe around 1848, which really only make sense in the context of the various French revolutions between 1789 and 1830, which influenced and were influenced by the Haitian revolution and the South American revolutions, … you get the idea. Point is, don’t do what I did. Start at chapter 1 instead, and learn about the English Civil war.
The Saucer Life is a podcast which explores the history and lore of flying saucers (or UFOs, if you like) through the lens of individual stories of encounters, sightings, concepts or events. “Stories” is the key word: we’re not interested in either proving or debunking anything. Rather, we’re treating flying saucers as folklore.
Enough snark and fun stories.
He also had another podcast that was good too.
A podcast where two historians investigate legends from the Great Lakes region.
One of them is in Kill James Bond. Another cohosts is Abigail “Philosophy Tube” Thorn you know her from Star Wars The Acolyte and House of the Dragon.
The World’s First and Only
Anti-Bond Bond Podcast!
Kill James Bond is a comedy film review/ pop culture commentary podcast about the eponymous English spy, James Bond.
November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon watch a different Bond movie every fortnight in an attempt to give 007 the socialist, feminist comeuppance he so richly deserves.
I’ve been enjoying The Rest is Entertainment (apple, spotify, youtube), hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde. It’s a gossipy conversation between two people who are heavily tied to the entertainment industry, at least in the UK. They’re very prolific, producing two 45 minute long episodes a week. On Tuesdays, they discuss several topical subjects in-depth, and on Thursdays, they answer questions submitted by the listeners.
It’s nice conversation to listen to on my bike rides.
Weird Little Guys is a weekly show about the worst people you’ve never heard of, taking you beyond the headlines to get to know the race warriors and aspiring terrorists trying to unravel the fabric of our society. Weaving together the origin stories of modern American white supremacist groups and the crimes that land their members in court, independent journalist Molly Conger exposes the monsters for what they really are - some weird guy. Whether they’re conspiring to build bombs or serving swastika shaped cookies at a dinner party, the weird little guys trying to destroy America are a little less scary with their masks off.
In June of 2020, US Army Private Ethan Melzer was arrested for leaking information about his unit’s deployment to Turkey with the intention of causing a mass casualty incident. The plot was hatched in a Telegram chat room for a group calling itself Rapewaffen, an Atomwaffen splinter cell that was committed to the beliefs of a neonazi satanic cult called the Order of Nine Angles. This episode follows the rise of satanism within Atomwaffen and the chaos that influence caused.
In 2022, Ethan Melzer pleaded guilty to plotting to help al Qaeda ambush and kill his entire unit while on a sensitive mission in Turkey. But Melzer’s co-conspirators turned out to be a Canadian teenager and a government informant, not members of al Qaeda. And the satanic cult that drew him down this nazi rabbit hole turned out to have been run by a man on the FBI payroll.
The Gargle
From the makers of The Bugle, this is a weekly show that skips the news pages and takes a sideways glance at the nonsense contained within the culture, celebrity, tech, science and advice sections of the news.
Alice Fraser is joined every show by two great comics from across the globe, bringing 30 minutes of smart satire alongside juvenile nonsense!
You Heard It Here First
Chris McCausland asks a panel of comedians to live in an audio only world, deciphering brainteaser sound cues for points and pride whilst trying not to muck about too much along the way.
I loved the first series and second seems good so far.
