This time I had a fresh idea for how to find a new podcast, wanting to avoid the iTunes podcast chart, since it is already so centralized and homogenous that it seems nearly as much a self-fulfilling prophecy of popularity as television or film. Having been on a spree of excellent subreddit choices, I decided to look for a podcast subreddit.
411 on Subreddits: Reddit is a voting-based social news aggregator. "Sub"-reddit pages allow anyone to begin posting links or text on any specific topic, as dictated by the sub-reddit's name. Some of my recent favorites include Homebrewing, Arduino, Starcraft, and Comedy. There is a subreddit for virtually every interest.
To no real surprise, there sure was a Podcast subreddit, and I was in luck, because on the front page there was a podcast I'd never heard of, with an exclusive interview with Rainn Wilson on his new movie, "Hero."
The interview itself was amply interesting, but I couldn't get enough of the interviewers. Most of the young-person podcasts I've heard so far are sloppy and unprofessional, if not obnoxiously awkward, but this one had a really enthusiastically geeky rapport, between two Seattle friends who start each episode by opening and evaluating a new microbrew, and going on to discuss all their latest forays in the subcultures of movies, tv, video games, board games, and even web memes and subreddits.
Their discussion was incredibly sharp and poignant, and I could relate to both hosts as if they were intelligent friends. One even has the voice and cadence of an off-the-cuff David Sedaris.
So, without further ado, I've got to share my latest Podcast find, Personal Arrogants. I hope you enjoy.
