#it made the official podcast very hard to listen to

[sevenines]

huh new rebecca sugar interview. will listen for anything new maybe

[hugheses]

love your scholarship 🥸

do you know anything about their school/college days - ie if they liked school/had favourite subjects/took particular classes? if Quinn and Luke declared majors at mich?

also if they’ve ever said what they read? think I read that Jack says he likes to read (sports books maybe?) in his spare time and one in of Ellen’s interviews she talks about reading (to them?) and somewhere else about how she was super involved in their academics

The teacher in me is fascinated!

quinn was enrolled in the school of kinesiology and majoring in sports management.

in 2021 he said

If you weren’t a hockey player, what else might you be doing? — Veronica X. I don’t know, I love golf. I’d probably be golfing a lot. I’d be in school somewhere … I’d be a senior right now so I’d probably be getting my degree in the next couple of weeks. Maybe business or sport management? That’s what I was looking at at Michigan for two years.

luke's intended major was also sports management. he was taking a business management class and fumbled his part on a group project when he signed with the devils. he took a greek sports history class and talked about how he doesn't love school but he likes history here (worth listening to imo) and he also enjoyed history of college athletics. luke actually took an online college class before officially starting at umich

"I'm taking an online chemistry class to get it off my plate. I wake-up and do two hours of that and then I go and work out with [trainer] Brian Gallivan and then I skate and then just chill by the pool and hang out. It's been nice."

here's a snippet from quinn about books

Hughes has become an avid reader to expand his knowledge and make better use of downtime. He recently completed “The Boys in the Boat” historical epic that was made into a movie directed by George Clooney. “I buried it, it’s done,” Hughes proudly stated Tuesday after practice. “I finished it three weeks ago. Great book. Page turner. I’m reading ‘Moneyball’ now.” “Boys in the Boat” is a riveting and true account of how the Depression-era University of Washington junior varsity rowing team stunned the world by overcoming immense odds to capture gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Joe Rantz was a driving force for the eight-man crew. A strong rower with an unshakeable disposition sounds a lot like the driven Hughes. “I thought Joe was just a hard worker who did his job and was a quiet guy,” said Hughes. “He appreciated everything that came his way. He pretty much raised himself from the age of 10 and was a very outdoors person.”

he apparently is "reading a book almost weekly to try to improve his brain" and he also was spotted reading Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive

jack likes reading sports books as said here, specifically Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success and Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty. The Mamba Mentality: How I Play was on his reading list in high school. he also talks about books here

Craig: The other thing that (Williams) said was reading. He said you’re asking for book recs. We’re looking for book recs. We’re big readers. Jack: Yeah, you guys got any? I dunno. (I’m tired of) everything on my phone, social media, things like that — and I never went to college, so you gotta get smarter somehow. Craig: Are you a fiction guy? Are you a self-improvement guy? What do you find yourself gravitating towards? Jack: I read a lot of sports books. “Eleven Rings,” by Phil Jackson. Also, “Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey. Those are my favorite ones I’ve read recently. It’s important. We’ve got a lot of down time on the road, so it’s good stuff.

as for ellen, she said this in the cammi & aj podcast

So for me, you do things that you enjoy or you- you teach them things that you feel like you can teach them, Right. So it's kind of a slight on me that I wasn't more worldly and wanting to take them to museums. Or maybe like I felt like I had do those things because like, ‘Oh my God, what am I teaching them?’ But you tend to do the things that you - you're trying to find activities. Jimmy was off coaching a lot, I had three young boys that were really close in age. So what do I know? What can I do to pass time and keep them active? It was kicking a soccer ball. It was throwing a ball, it was doing rollerblading, it was passing the puck, it was taking them skating. So for me, those were mommy and me activities, right? And then every once in a while I'd be like, you know, I'd be like, ‘uh, we got to do Kumon, we gotta do like - we gotta read.’ You know, academics was really important to me because I felt like I was so driven the other way that like, I didn’t want to miss out on the other. So for us, it was never this grandiose plan, and I'm sure you guys were the same way. It was more like, ‘be the best at whatever it is you're doing, work your hardest at whatever it is you're doing.’ Working the hardest didn't mean scoring the most goals. It was playing the right way, whatever it is, being a great teammate and working really, really hard and we always felt like the other would come.

other potentially interesting notes, jack was an honor roll student in 8th grade, and quinn agreed he was the best at school when they were younger, so it's funny he's the one who didn't end up going to college. ellen's brother is actually the president of denison university and they have some pretty academic cousins also.

[thefringespod]

Once again doing some late #AudioDramaSunday posting! Staring off with a congratulations to @eelerschoice for reaching 10,000 downloads!!! They also released a q+a this week which was delightful, if you're not listening to the eels now is the time to starts

@camlannpod came into my home and ripped my heart straight out of my chest this week! Once again in awe of everything about this show and once again shouting out Paul Warren who has done an incredible job as Gwaine

@tellnotalespod 5.5 also hurt me :) I worry about Riley every second of the day Leanne please let them be okay

Early access for @souloperatorpod has me screaming and ready for violence. I will be screaming about that call for violence tomorrow. Tot is making a great show but I'm gonna go to war against a fictional character

@woebegonepod has made me worry about Mikey Walters once again and I should be used to it at this point but somehow I never am. Just like how I'm never prepared for the midseason finale to come but somehow we're here and gods it's a great time to be a woe.begone fan

Listened to the entirety of the @grottopod again with the podcast bookclub and gods I'm still obsessed with this show it punches me so hard every time listen to The Grotto do it do it PLEASE

The Magnus Protocol has officially introduced Mr Bonzo to the canon and I'm still terrified of him. That's it that's the whole paragraph.

Here on the Fringes we have released our season finale! We'll be opening up a call for questions for a q+a this week so keep your eyes peeled for that! Also the entire show is written now and I'm still emotional about it

And over on @forgedbondspod we just announced a new cast member! The incredible @/athansmusic is gonna be joining us as Poseidon because clearly I didn't write enough gods

And that's all for this week! Week ahead is looking at me starting @audistorium which I'm very very excited about!

[bunny--manders]

Some photos of Appalachia for @kjzx to set the mood as you listen to the podcast!

This is what the mountains look like. The range is so old that they've actually eroded a bit over time, so they look softer and more rounded than the dramatic ranges out west like the Rockies, Cascades, Olympics, etc.

Child coal miners in Gary, West Virginia in 1908. The coal mining industry could be incredibly inhumane to its workers, and some of the most brutal suppression of labor movements in American history happened when workers tried to fight for better conditions. The podcast goes into real life mining disasters.

One of the most famous modern mining disasters--this coal mine caught on fire and couldn't be put out, and a whole town had to be abandoned because of it. The mine might continue burning for centuries.

I can't recall if the podcast mentions kudzu--it's an incredibly invasive plant that has been destroying Appalachian forests. Just driving by an infested forest is eerie because the vines will completely engulf trees and buildings.

A "holler" is a distinctive type of settlement in mountain hollows. They have their own unique culture and accent which people outside the area often stigmatize as uneducated. People living in these areas are often cut off from the best jobs, education, infrastructure, and healthcare and their state governments have done very little to help them for centuries.

I'm very interested in historical stories about bootlegging, and you'll hear a lot about people hiding stills for distilling liquor in the mountains so that they could make alcohol during Prohibition or during times of high taxes on liquor. It's very hard to police a whole lot of small, isolated towns in the mountains where the locals know the forest much better than federal agents coming in from out of town. My home state's official anthem, Rocky Top, actually has a verse implying that federal agents were murdered in the mountains while they were searching for an illegal moonshine still.

An example of music from the area. It's influenced by a combination of British immigrants, other European immigrants, and traditional African and African-American music.

A photo from the Appalachian Trail, a trail built in the 1920s that runs over 2,000 miles through the mountains. I'm biased because I love the forests where I live now so much, but I still think the Appalachians are some of the most beautiful parts of the country.

A storyteller talking about the very long history of Appalachian folk stories and repeating a story passed on through the oral tradition. Some of the stories still told in Appalachia are hundreds of years old and come from a blend of European and African folklore. I really love the way the podcast captures that beautiful style and cadence. It very much fits into the long history of ghost stories set in the mountains. I'm intrigued that you picked up on similarities to Russian storytelling traditions. I bet there are a lot of similarities with the way working-class families living in remote mountainous areas pass stories from generation to generation.

That's just a little taste of Appalachian history and culture! Basically: It's one of the most beautiful parts of America, but also one of the most badly treated by companies that exploited its people and natural resources and state governments that didn't do much to help people living in the area. I grew up in a city near but not in Appalachia, one that made a lot of money selling its culture to tourists but ultimately didn't give as much back as it should to the people living there. Parts of Appalachian culture have definitely become folksy novelties.

(BTW, if you've ever heard of Dolly Parton, she's probably the most famous modern celebrity from Appalachia and she's done a TON of work helping the communities she came from, which is part of why people love her so much!)

[annabelle--cane]

you've listened to a lot of podcatsts right? do you have any recomendations? (ive already listened to tpp, tma, wtnv, w359 and malevolent)

sure thing, so a few of my faves you might like include

I am in eskew: the horror podcast that has genuinely scared me the most. protagonist david ward is trapped in fucked up nightmare city eskew and tries making audio logs about his experiences to help cope, while, unbeknownst to him, and investigator on the outside tries to track him down. if you're looking for something with kinda similar vibes to tma statements, this also has an incredibly sad british man monologuing about The Horrors. one season; two voices; completed.

the silt verses: horror drama/fantasy, made by the same people as eskew. takes place in a fantasy world where sacrifice-hungry gods are the main tool of social and political control, follows two acolytes of an outlawed river god as they try to make a pilgrimage without annoying each other to the point of murder. if you really liked the entities-as-cults aspect of tma, this may be for you. two seasons done, one more on the way; multi cast.

red valley: sci fi with some mystery and horror flavors. warren godby has a new job in accounts at some big company and is told to track down info relating to a seed vault in scotland that they want to shut down, but when he starts turning up stuff about human cryonic trials he begins to get the idea that it's not seeds they're keeping in that vault. very good character writing and short enough that you can inhale it in a few days. content warnings are on the official website as opposed to the episode descriptions and I'd highly recommend paying attention to them. two seasons done, one more on the way; multi cast.

mirrors: sci fi, horror, mystery. in three different cities in three different centuries, three women start seeing the same ghost. they've never even heard of each other, but you can't help but notice patterns and parallels as you listen to their individual audio logs. slightly weird connection, but if you liked the movie arrival then this could be for you. three seasons; complete; multi cast but each voice is fairly isolated.

the strange case of starship iris: sci fi, dystopia. biologist violet liu is the only survivor after the ship of the research mission she was on explodes, and after she's taken in my the crew of a passing vessel and starts investigating, it starts looking more and more like the explosion wasn't an accident. it's hard to explain in words, but this is one of the most grounded and tangible feeling pieces of dystopian fiction I've ever come across, it has a very good grasp of how people would actually react to living in a situation like this. if you were really into the found family space pirate vibes of s3 of the penumbra, this may be up your alley. two seasons, another on the way; multi cast.

[littleeggrock]

me when a parasite in the water starts sending me to an alternate nightmare universe where children are hunted and made into slaves and killed and used as sponges and eaten etc when I go to sleep and this very untrustworthy man starts doing tests on me

Jokes aside the new little nightmares podcast audio story thing is insanely good, it's on the Bandai Namco europe channel under the name the sound of nightmares go give it a listen.

I don't believe that Noon, the girl featured in it is at all related to six, mono, or rk, nor are any of the monsters featured in her nightmares the same as any we have seen before. The descriptions just don't match up, and no matter how much I'd like to make a connection it doesn't make sense with the information we have been given.

I am going to be very upset if this confirms the dream theory, that this is all just dreams of a child. At least there seems to be Something going on behind the scenes, maybe these nightmares are a precursor of what is to come, that the world will slowly deteriorate and become corrupt like uow we are used to in the series

Its killing me that we don't have official art for noon or Otto, I want to know what they look like. Ugh the way they describe the scenes is so incredibly good, the sound design is even better, when i close my eyes it feels like im really right there with them and thats a hard thing to do

[thedinanshiral]

Exciting times

As we enter the last leg of this race, please beware of the SPOILERPOCALYPSE.

The reason i'm not here much lately is precisely because of spoilers. I think marketing has done more than they should have, i don't need to see more of the game, i just want to play it. Now just checking my socials puts me at risk of getting major spoilers i'm trying so hard to avoid at all costs.

Yesterday the embargo on the preview event was lifted and all the people who was fortunate to be invited have been sharing their reviews, impresions and recorded gameplay. Unfortunately for those of us who wish to experience the game ourselves instead of having the first Act spoiled, not everyone uses spoiler warnings, hashtags or keywords one can mute or block while this lasts. Personally i'm mostly on twitter and there i muted +130 words for 30 days only to have a spoiler about Rook's origins in one of the factions still slip through.

I've been checking on YouTube carefully like it's a minefield -because it really is- for some of these content creators' videos, for the most part just to listen and what i've gathered so far is they were allowed about 7 hours of play, including the character creator and 5 selected missions from Act I, but there's a couple of late Act I missions they weren't allowed to record or talk much about, and they weren't allowed to show some menus, namely the accesibility menu as it seems there's official marketing coming up centered on that.

The big and main positive i can take from these recent developments is that there's a new consensus: Dragon Age The Veilguard looks good. Long gone are the days of first trailer bad impressions and Fortnite accusations, now that some people finally got to experience the game themselves the reviews are mostly positive, excited, and i've seen some content creators change their minds about the game entirely. Bioware took notes all these years and are ready to deliver an unexpectedly very polished game as a result. People at the event were told the game has 3 Acts and i've heard this from several people, if the rest of the game keeps up the rhythm from what they saw of Act I, then Bioware is back. GOTY contender. IMO BW was never "gone", they were just slowly cooking this upcoming full meal

Sure, combat may not be for everyone, a more linear experience may not be for everyone. But personal preferences aside all seems to indicate The Veilguard will deliver as promised.

Spoilers are unavoidable sometimes so i've actualy looked for some, namely the Character Creator, the different factions origin stories, the different surnames. I had to go out of my way to see these things tho, intentionally spoiling myself these details because I have as of now 12 different Rooks planned and i needed to know if the stories i made for them would conflict or not with what the game will offer. Only one origin has a detail that might restrict things a bit.

There's apparently also a scene from a mission i'm not sure they were allowed to show, i skipped through a video about it without really looking and just now saw something from it on my dashboard but i scrolled down as fast as i could because it's something i really want to see in game first. It's such a big thing, it shouldn't have been showned or leaked at all. All i'll say is it's about Solas, and something many of us wanted to see for a long time.

All this said, while we wait for October 31st to come quick we still have the podcast Vows&Vengeance each Thursday. I might write on it soon. This podcast is safe from spoilers, it's set pre-Veilguard and introduces the companions one per episode, and the original characters are apparently a V&V exclusive and won't show in game. I think this podcast series is currently the only safe marketing material available until release. Meanwhile the IGN coverage continues, full of minor spoilers sprinkled all over so i'm also avoiding all of it.

We're now 41 days away from an event we've been waiting for 10 years! The waiting has never been harder.

[juune-moon]

Previously on: Braving the Elements

In the latest episode of the official Avatar-verse podcast, hosted by Janet Varney (va for Korra), we heard from Elsa Garagarza and Angela Song Mueller, both of whom worked on the show. Bryan Konietzko was also present and this exchange happened when asked about ships:

JV: Ships! Any ships that you like, that you lean into, in the course of Avatar?

ASM: Elsa? Do you have a-? [laughing]

EG: You know what? I was very shallow so I always liked the zutara ship [laughing] because they were both tall and handsome, so I always shipped them together, but that was so shallow. But no, my favorite ship will always be k@t@@ng, so [he] ended up being quite a handsome man.

ASM: Yeah!

JV: That’s very true.

EG: I just go with the classics.

ASM: Yeah, I—Zutara for me. I don’t know, there’s something about the 12 year old or 11 year old falling in love I felt was a little like…mmmm, you know? Seeing my kids around that age right now too, it’s just a little like, I’m not ready for them falling in love [laughs].

JV: I hear ya, it’s been a large topic, I mean for being quote-unquote shallow, it’s been a real topic of conversation on Braving the Elements because a lot of people feel that way, a lot of people feel like— A@ng really feels— of course he goes through something as well, but it’s true, it can be hard for us to overcome his first moment of seeing Katara and us kind of going: Aww! Versus…

ASM: Yeah

JV: …you know, the energy between Katara and Zuko, but uh—

BK: Bad boy doesn’t always win y’all!

[laughing]

JV: He’s not that bad!

BK: I’m filling the roll of Dante right now—

ASM: I love this

[more laughing]

JV: He’s not that bad. [doing her best impression of Dante Basco] Bad boy doesn’t always win.

BL: He hired an assassin to kill Aang!

ASM: I mean…

BK: Is she just supposed to look over that on their date? You know?

JV [as Dante]: This guy…

BK: Like, “remember that time you hired an assassin?”

JV [still as Dante]: Listen, his—he had a dad that was not cool, umm. [Bryan laughing] His dad was very bad, he had to overcome that.

Regular JV: I mean listen, I could do that forever, I’m not gonna put you all, or Dante through my impression of him forever.

[all giggling]

End of topic.

I just found some things interesting. First of all, I was squirming in my seat knowing that Bryan was there, just waiting for his response! And he did what I expected which was to completely disregard Zuko’s entire arc lol!

Zuko≠bad boy!!! #zukoisaturtleduck

And zutara as ‘shallow’? But @@ng grows up to be handsome! That’s not shallow?? That argument never made any sense to me since it’s the other way around!

I do commend Janet, ever the diplomatic avatar, still fighting that zutara fight! Incidentally, she has stated on the show that she also ships zutara (and I just love her). It’s always interesting to me to hear from the people who worked on the show, especially around br¥k£.

Thoughts? Does anyone else listen to this podcast? Will I be able to sleep tonight? Find out next time on: struggling through life!

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Here we go again

Pairing | Husband!Steve Rogers x Husband!Bucky Barnes

Word count | 1.5K

Summary | Steve has finally returned after a three-week mission, and they are enjoying a lovely day at home together. They enjoy every second of grocery shopping, dinner, and watching TV. This all changes when Bucky goes to take a shower, and Steve needs to save him from one of the worst things he's ever experienced.

Prompt(s) | N3: Free space | @stuckybingo

Warning(s) | This is your official trigger warning. Do not proceed if any of these topics upset you. Multiple mentions of a spider, established relationship ( Husbands ), light angst, Bucky feels a little insecure due to his past, Steve is the best husband ever.

A/n | Welcome to my first fic for Stucky Bingo Round 5, and I decided to start right in the middle with the free space! I hope you all enjoy where I went with this 🖤

Likes, comments and reblogs will be very much appreciated 💚

Divider is made by @firefly-graphics | Header & 18+ banner are made by yours truly

Main Masterlist | Stucky Masterlist | Bingo Masterlist

''Do you have a suggestion for dinner tonight?'' Bucky asks as he and Steve walk through the rows of vegetables in the grocery store. He's holding his husband's hand with his flesh hand, his metal one pushing the shopping cart ahead of them.

Tonight is the first night in a while where they are both home simultaneously, and Bucky has offered to cook dinner. Steve returned from a three-week-long mission yesterday, so he slept most of the day after coming home.

Now they have to go and do their weekly grocery shop, with two super soldiers with big appetites that always amount to a lot of food and an even longer receipt after paying for it all.

Steve pretends like he has to think long and hard about his decision, but in reality, he already knows what he wants. ''How about your amazing seafood pasta? You know I'm always a sucker for that,'' he offers, and Bucky nods and gives Steve a soft kiss on his cheek.

''Alright, but only because you've had a long mission. And because I love you,'' Bucky says, and he lets go of the cart and turns to Steve to capture his lips in a short but sweet kiss.

They load up their cart with all the food they'll need for the coming week, and when it's time to get to the register, the two of them get a weird look from the cashier at the amount of food they have.

''Sorry,'' Bucky mumbles as he stands at the other end of the register, ready to load all the stuff into the bags they brought, and Steve empties the cart. When that's done, and the groceries are paid for, Steve grabs Bucky's hand again and gently squeezes it.

Once they arrive at the car, Steve can see that Bucky is lost in his mind again, pulling him back to reality. ''Hey, what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?'' he asks as Bucky looks up at him.

''Sorry, it's just- She looked so judgemental, and you know I'm not doing well with that,'' Bucky says, and Steve nods. Bucky has received enough stares due to his past as the Winter Soldier.

''C'mon, let's go home, where it's safe. There's nothing to be worried about now. I'm with you, and nothing can happen as long as I'm by your side,'' Steve reassures him, and Bucky nods.

Steve kisses the other man's forehead and guides him to the car, letting Bucky sit in the passenger's seat before loading the groceries into the car and returning the cart.

''Alright, let's go home,'' he says; he looks at his husband, who gives him a weak smile in return. As soon as the car started, Steve reached over to Bucky, who placed his Vibranium hand in Steve's before putting it on his thigh.

''I love you,'' Steve tells Bucky sincerely.

''I love you too, punk,'' Bucky says in response, earning a deep laugh from his husband.

The groceries are all inside and put away, so Bucky prepares to start dinner and puts on his favorite podcast to listen to while cooking. Steve is busy working in the office to round up some more paperwork from the mission, but he couldn't leave without a couple of kisses first.

''Bucky- kiss- I really- kiss- need to go- kiss- to work- more kisses- now,'' Steve said, but Bucky didn't want to let him go just yet. ''Maybe later, now you're mine,'' he tried, but his husband didn't have the time.

''After I'm done, you can have all the kisses you want, but now I have to work. I don't want to make Fury... well... furious,'' he said with a chuckle, and with one last soft kiss, he went to the office.

While Bucky's podcast was babbling away, he prepared the seafood and the creamy sauce for the pasta because that needed the most time to be ready; the fettuccine was done in about 10 minutes.

Thirty minutes later, Steve walks back into the kitchen and wraps his arms around his husband's waist, pulling him close for a hug. ''Smells amazing as always, Pumpkin,'' Steve says, making Bucky chuckle at the nickname.

''Glad to hear it, Pookie,'' he joked, and Steve pinched Bucky's sides softly to tease him.

''It's a good thing you're cute; otherwise, you would not have survived it,'' Steve said with a straight face, but it didn't take long before a big smile appeared on his face.

Steve prepared the table by putting down their placemats, bowls, cutlery, and glasses. He even lit a lovely candle to add to the atmosphere, and not long after dinner, the two men sat down to eat together.

The conversation during dinner is light and precisely what they needed after being apart for so long. The footsie under the table wasn't too bad, either.

When the food was gone, they cleaned dishes together, and now they are both lying on the couch. Steve is lying with their back on the couch, and Bucky is lying on top of him as he plays with his husband's hair.

''Hmm, it feels good to be back home again,'' Steve whispers while the two of them watch a documentary on the TV.

''It's even better to have you back again; the last few weeks were not as fun without you,'' Bucky sighs, almost falling asleep as he listens to Steve's heartbeat, which always calms him down.

The two of them stay like that for nearly two hours, and then Bucky gets up to shower. ''Why don't you maybe sketch a little? I always enjoy what you come up with,'' Bucky suggests, and Steve nods.

''Yeah, sounds good. Now take your shower, you smell!'' Steve jokes, and Bucky sprints to the bathroom. Once there, he puts on some of his favorite jazz music from the 30s and 40s to relax.

However, there's not enough time for him to relax because, by the time he is in his boxer briefs, he spots a spider that crawls over the floor and into the shower.

Bucky lets out a very high-pitched shriek, and his heart rate jumps to abnormal levels out of pure fear. He continues to scream bloody murder every time it moves, and within no time, Steve is there, too, thinking Bucky got very hurt.

As soon as he arrives, Bucky jumps into Steve's arms and buries his face into his husband's neck, shaking like a straw.

''Sshh, it's okay. What happened? Are you hurt?'' Steve asks, and Bucky points to the shower, not lifting his head from the safety of Steve's neck.

The first thing that shoots through Steve's head? Here we go again. He walks over to the shower, and Bucky holds him even tighter at the thought of being close to the spider.

''Ah, I see what's going on. I will put you on the bed and rescue the spider, okay? I'll release it outside so it can't bother you again,'' Steve says, but his words do nothing to soothe the super soldier.

''Can I stay like this for a little longer? Am comfy now,'' he sighs, and Steve chuckles.

''Just a few minutes, but after that, I will have to take away the spider because it's looking at me like it wants to eat me,'' Steve jokes, and Bucky's head shoots up.

''Could you not joke about that?!'' he asks, slightly panicked at his words.

''Sorry,'' Steve said, capturing Bucky's lips in a deep kiss, trying to take his mind off the matter, and it worked. Bucky gets so lost in how his lips slot together with Steve's that he doesn't notice Steve walking to the bed and sitting down with him on his lap.

''Love you, thank you for saving me from that horrible monster,'' Bucky said, and he let Steve put him down on the bed, and he crawled under the covers to feel a little safer.

Steve rescues the spider and releases it outside, just like he promised Bucky he would do. When he returns, he finds him still lying under the covers, only his eyes and hands poking out above the comforter.

''He's gone, so you're all safe now,'' Steve says as he sits on the bed.

''Can you just check if there aren't any more of them?'' Bucky asks with pleading eyes, and Steve chuckles but agrees regardless.

''Of course, I'll be right back,''.

''Nope, that was the only one! Get your amazing butt in the shower already,'' Steve says, and Bucky does, but not before turning back to his husband.

''Can you please take a shower with me? You know, in case it comes back?'' Bucky says with the biggest doe eyes Steve has ever seen, but he can never say no to his husband.

''Of course. I love you,'' he says as he gets up and strips out of his clothes, closely followed by Bucky.

''I love you too,'' he says as he immediately turns on the shower and pulls Steve in for a deep kiss. After all, he never said they would be getting clean in the shower.

[kelyon]

Did you play the Last of Us game? if so what do you you think of the television show adaptation?

As I said in my TMI Tuesday post, The Last of Us is a topic I feel Very Normal about. To celebrate the incoming premier of the HBO show, @wayamy27narf and I spent the last week re-playing the game on hard mode. We watched the premier the second it came out, then listened to the official podcast on the same night. Then since we were both off the following day, we watched the first episode again, just to see if we missed anything.

So yeah, I kinda like the show. Every good thing that other people say about it is true. I'm kind of in a weird place where I care less about them giving us exactly what's in the game, and more about... every other possible scrap of TLOU content. I'm here for the expansions from cannon (super looking forward to the episode about Bill and Frank). I'm here for aspects of the game world getting clarified. I'm here for little niggling issues I've had with the game getting dealt with.

(This is why I'm on board with the tendrils as a means of infection. Getting infected via a bite is fine for a zombie movie, but if they're saying it's transmitted through blood/saliva contact, how can anyone shoot an infected and not worry about getting any blood in their mouth or eyes or something? There may be a real explanation for all that, but for me the idea that an infected has to actually do something to a person makes it more believable. Also it gives a reason why some people are infected by zombies and some people just killed.)

Anyway, yeah I'm hungry for more. I'm glad Neil Druckman is staying in this world. My biggest questions about TLOU come as a result of the stories being so isolated and linear--if something doesn't happen to Joel or Ellie or Abbey, we don't see it happen. I can't wait to see more expansions, more stories from this universe.

Also, for the record, the game "easter eggs" that I freaked out over weren't the shot-for-shot, line-for-line references. (Though I'm so happy they kept the twelve year old girl saying she sells hardcore drugs.) What made me shout and point at the screen were the references to the literal gameplay. Joel using a pipe wrench as a weapon, a rag and an alcohol bottle being used to patch up Tess' wounds, a pair of scissors on a table, the flashlight scenes. The second somebody uses a brick or a bottle to stun an enemy, I'm probably going to cry.

This is the most hyped I've been about anything in a very long time.

[dwtsfun]

Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Wrap-Up: Let's Talk

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing okay. Now that I am officially on winter break, I feel like I have the energy to write this post. I know it's a bit late, but the season sucked and I needed to think about why I hated it so much. I also am glad that I waited because I listened to Cheryl's most recent podcast episode with Melissa Rycroft and a lightbulb went off. I'm gonna break this up into sections. So let's start.

The Judges

First and foremost, I think the show is going to struggle to see a high level of dancing without Len being there and with the current panel of judges. I don't think the current 3 can inspire the pros to push themselves and their celebs past what they thought they were capable of. No matter how hard CAI tried (because she is trying to pick up that role as she realizes that it is needed), weeks 5 and 6 were kind of the ceiling for everyone except for Charity. What Len was so good at doing was change up his scoring throughout the season to match the level they should be at and lead have his co-judges follow suit. I didn't always agree with him, but I cannot deny that the man forced the couples to give us out of this world dances by the final third of the season. CAI tried but she is not the person for that job. She's not consistent enough and she wasn't able to have Derek and Bruno follow her lead. While she was trying to shift into gears 2 and 3, Derek and Bruno pretty much stayed in gear 1 up until week 8/9. As a result, Xochitl, Alyson, Ariana and even Jason's dances had a sameness about them. The only person that I saw shift into different gears was Charity because all of the judges were very consistent about her feedback and were constantly pushing her to get better (and not just randomly scoring her down like they would do for Jason).

So with that said, I think the guest judges all (except Michael) were much better at judging this season than the main judges. I am not sure why that is. But it was clear that Niecy, Billy, Paula and Mandy all did their homework before they came in. I think they were better because they only came in once and were coming in with the frame of mind of "oh it's week such and such, we probably should be at this point with these dances by now" and they would judge accordingly. So we got some constructive feedback from all of them that I felt was vital for each of the couples to take with them and use to really push themselves to that next level. The problem? When the main judges aren't saying it, how likely are some of these pros to incorporate that feedback into their dances. We say Rylee do it as Billy was the only one that stated that Harry wasn't moving much. Artem did it, but it's because EVERYONE was saying the same thing about Charity. So he could not ignore as much as he wanted to. But the others? Idk. I'm gonna talk more about judging in a later point, but I think a lot of the problems of this season, for me, started with them. If they had made praise harder to receive, I think the quality of the dances would have been so much better.

The Pros and the Partnerships

As many of you know, I was not happy with most of the pairings this season. Many were mismatched. There were some pros that didn't need to be on the season at all. It was very frustrating to watch. And I was trying to figure out why there were so many issues this season with the pros teaching their partners this season as so many problems were either never addressed or never hidden. And it wasn't until the podcast with Cheryl that it dawned on me. I don't think a lot of our current pros are good teachers. Melissa was talking about how Tony figured out how she learned and was able to adapt to that. I think that was the case for the vast majority of the pros in the past. At least the successful ones. Melissa also talked about how she struggled on tour with Artem because he never truly figured out how she learned. Now Artem is a little different, because he's been a pro for almost 15 years (SCD and DWTS). But outside of Koko, Daniella, Emma (though this was not a great season for her), Val and Peta (and Sasha at one point though he's literally been shitting the bed the past few years), the current pros just haven't impressed me with their teaching abilities. Britt and Brandon have legitimate potential but neither one has really been able to truly show it in a season. Britt was getting there with Adrian. Brandon has had four seasons that were cut short and we weren't able to truly see what was to come from his partners. That's it. And that showed this season and is also why so many of the partnerships just did not work out. Tyson had legitimate potential and Jenna, once again, wasted it. Same with Mira. Ariana and Charity should've been killing the competition and probably could have been some of the best dancers we've ever seen. Instead, they were kinda just there. Alyson could've been a way more competent dancer by the end if Sasha just tried even a little more. In my humble opinion, even Xochitl would've been better and had better choreo if Val had seen more competition from people outside of Jason and Daniella. Idk, we just need the pros to be better teachers. I don't think I can sit through another season of celebs having the same major problems in their dancing all season long. It just can't happen. Not when we've seen the likes of Kelly Monaco, Kelly Osbourne, Rob Kardashian, Joanna Krupa and more become legitimately good dancers, the celebs on this season should've been way better. The only true no hoper we had (not including Matt) was Jamie Lynn.

Job Shifts

Remember how I said that I was gonna come back to the judges' table? Yep, well I'm back. We need either a job shift or an addition to the judges' table. If the show wants to stick with three judges, Julianne and Derek need to swap jobs. Julianne is a better judge. Derek is probably a better host. You know all the stuff I was talking about that CAI was struggling with trying to do at the judges' table? Yeah, Julianne can do that and has done it. And she does it quite well. I think Derek would be a lot better at just talking to celebs. If the show is fine with a four person table (the ideal situation), then add Julianne, keep Derek there as well and bring on another cohost for Alfonso to work with. S/o to @forevertrueblue for that idea, as I think it's perfect. I think Kym, Leah Remini, Drew Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Melissa Rycroft or Maria Menounos could take over that cohost job. Probably more could, but I would need to really think about some of them some more.

Silly Things

The last thing I'll post about is some of the silly things. A 3 hour and 5 person finale was foolish. Don't do that again. Having the show go into December for the first time ever was not a great idea. If we're gonna do 11 weeks, make sure that we start earlier so the show can be done at least before November ends. This also means that they need to have a much clearer plan of the show before week 1. And finally, the judges have been getting extremely lazy. There should be no reason that I can point out several blatant mistakes in a perfect scoring dance.

So that's my season ending wrap/what went wrong post for season 32 of DWTS. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to bring them up. I want to talk about this because I am still trying to figure out why exactly this season was just not it. I'll be posting a few more times over the next two weeks, so make sure to look out for those. And I will talk to you all soon. So glad to be able to put the lid on season 32 lol.

[ambelle]

Just had a random thought about DC Titans and Dickkory. *bear w/me, it's kind of long, sorry.*

I listen to your podcast & remember something being mentioned about how some DK fans may be a little confused about the genre of the show, and I think that could be accurate.

I grew up reading and watching a fair amount of anime and manga. As you may know, specific labels are used to describe different genres. The two I mainly engaged in were either Shounen or Shoujo (pretty common and popular genres).

shounen

• a genre of Japanese comics and animated films aimed primarily at a young male audience, typically characterized by action-filled plots.

shoujo

• a genre of Japanese comics and animated films aimed primarily at a young female audience, typically characterized by a focus on personal and romantic relationships.

Now if I had to make an anime/manga comparison for DC Titans I'd definitely say it falls more in the Shounen category, as the main focus is the "action filled plot" as opposed to "romantic relationships". The Shounen media I consumed as a kid usually did have some primary "ship(s)" or romantic elements included, but it was hardly ever the main focus of the plot.

If I happened to like or ship a pairing in a shounen anime or manga, I learned quickly to expect the (romantic) interactions between whatever 2 characters to be sparse and few & far in between. However, it was never too difficult to tell who might eventually be "endgame" bc authors/writers more often then not made it a point to imply throughout the series that those characters hv feelings for eachother & will likely end up together in the end.

Even if they didn't hv a whole bunch of overtly romantic time together in the series, this was usually enough to satisfy me, bc it's just not the type of genre where that happens or is a priority.

I say all this to say, that's exactly how I feel about DK in Titans. Like I get why some ppl might feel cheated or unsatisfied but if you pay attention to how the structure of the show has always been, expecting all this "shoujo"-esque, romantic drama was just not realistic. Do I agree that DK could've had better & more development in seasons 2 & 3? Sure. But tbh I've rewatched the seasons, and the scenes they do share together were always important & impactful. It wasn't a reach to assume they would end up together. In typical Shounen fashion, it doesn't officially happen until the very end 🤷🏾‍♀️ but as long as it happens, me personally, I'm happy.

Oh, I love this comparison and wholeheartedly agree!

When I watched the pilot I knew right off the bat this show was selling me action first and foremost. I even feel like they go out of their way to create as many fight scenes as possible and when they can't fill the time building up to that the plot gets a little wonky.

In my opinion, I credit Prathi's addition to the writing staff as to why things were so much clearer romantic-wise in s3 & 4. Had she been around in season 2 I know DK wouldn't have gotten together but I do think they would have been more obviously romantic.

I also feel like Hank and Dawn's awful writing is proof they didn't know what to do with couples when they were together long-term. They actively dodged really writing Dickbabs as a couple for more than 2 episodes. It's hard not to notice.

So do I wish there were more shoujo elements in the first 2 seasons? Yes absolutely. Do I also love all that season 4 is so much about Dickkory that Dick doesn't even have another storyline lol? Yes.

Both can be true.

It just wasn't a romance show which is why they were all undercooked (Jayrose, DonnaGarth, Dickbabs, etc) or terrible to witness (cough cough Hank &Dawn) except for, ironically, Dickkory. Cause they got together at the very end but it's not quite out of nowhere. They've been a thread 1-3 and a complete focus this entire season.

In hindsight, I'm realizing a ton of Dickkory's biggest romantic moments came in the middle of some kind of dramatic fight. From the Trigon dream to Kory showing up to fistfight Deathstroke to him dying and dreaming about their daughter LOL.

[thefringespod]

Welcome wanderers to another #AudioDramaSunday! We're going to start off with the @tellnotalespod April Fools episode because I laughed so hard it was so chaotic. It was just a silly good time! Leanne and Asher did incredible work playing each other's characters. Also on the Tell No Tales front I am CONCERNED about the ACTUAL episode 7 because uhhhh what was Frank doing? I am also shaking Leo once again I love them but LEO TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS

@souloperatorpod episode 7 was excellent as always. Tessa Whitlock has 2 hands and I am going to convince myself that this won't end poorly. The end of the episode makes me ConcernedTM but. But nothing actually I'm scared of episode 8

@woebegonepod 152 has brought back my beloved Tex and he is doing suspicious things and im love him anyway. I don't know what he's up to and I don't know what Stinky is up to and honestly I don't know what Dylan is up to but gods I love Woe.Begone

I finally did as I said I was going to and listened to @audistorium and gods yall it's so fucking good!!! They also just launched a patreon so if you want to support the show (and I highly recommend it if you can) visit their patreon

The @grottopod season finale hurt me so fucking bad. The entire cast did an incredible job and it hurt me SO BAD. Athan has also released the album for the entire first season and it's absolutely phenomenal (and um. I might be on it?) Check it out on bandcamp! (It will be streaming at some point I just don't use Spotify or anything like that so idk)

The lovely folks behind Fawx & Stallion (@224bbaker ) have started their crowdfunding for s2! Fawx & Stallion is one of my favorite shows from last year, it's fun and funny and delightful. If you can support them, please check out their indiegogo campaign!

Pod Jam has officially kicked off and some of my delightful friends are working on @working-tidal-pod! They just announced their cast yesterday and it's amazing. I can't wait to see what they do!

Here on the Fringes, I finished my recordings for season 3 which still doesn't feel real. I've also started brainstorming some ideas for further patreon content! If you've enjoyed the show and want to support us, you can do so at patreon.com/PineTreePods

And over on @forgedbondspod I've been working on the second half of the show! The writing is 3/4ths of the way through, just working on the last arc of the show now. I can't wait to share what we've been working on with yall!

In personal news, I've made the difficult decision to leave my job as it was causing a lot of stress and exacerbating my mental health issues. Gonna take a bit of a break from Day Jobs to work on finishing out Forged Bonds and then will be getting back into the swing of things. In the meantime, this should mean even more time for podcasts (both my own and other peoples) which should help me reset before heading back into a Day Job. My to listen list is very long and I'm excited to chip away at it some!

[rexaleph]

Doing poorly so i'll finally be breaking my silence on the bachelor with nick viall from 2017.

So id never seen the bachelor before, but in 2017 people on the internet were laughing at this weird woman contestant with her adult nanny and cucumber snacks + she also was really hot, 100% my type at the time + turns out griffin mcelroy and his wife had a podcast abt the bachelor franchise and were following the season episode by episode, so i decided to check it out.

The bachelor that year was a 36 y o man called nick whose job was being on the bachelor. He had previously been on 2 seasons of the bachelorette where he got p far but was not chosen, and then he went on bachelor in paradise, which i dont super understand what it is but he failed to find a gf there as well, and basically that is what his life had been for multiple years at that point. He was p attractive, however any time he tried to do serious relationship talk to the contestants he was supposed to pick his wife from it was like listening to a 14 y o boy say lines he'd heard on tv. Like he'd be thoughtlessly rude to a woman, she'd try and bring it up and he'd mumble canned lines like you call me on my shit, that's what i love about you while looking at his hands. Incredible manbaby, what a prize.

So coming back to the weird girl contestant. Her name was corinne, she was 23 (none of the women were over 31 to nick's 36) and lived with her parents allegedly helping out with their mystery business. They employed someone she called her adult nanny, who made her cucumber snacks and cheesy pasta. On the show she came off as childish, silly and very sexually aggressive, she took off her bikini top and made nick hold her tits in a photoshoot, sprayed whipped cream on herself and made him lick it off i wanna say the very first night, told the camera that while her heart is gold, her vagine is platinum. And nick loved that shit!! She'd rudely monopolize him and barge in when he was with someone else and he'd just follow her like a puppy. And the other women would get upset and he'd lamely apologize but it was clear that corinne was whom that idiot man wanted and deserved. The show was making her out to be a reality tv villain, and the crazy thing is that even the normal smart people i knew who watched the show kept getting mad at her for the antics. Like how dare she make him lick cream out of her cleavage on the meat market show? How dare she take her top off on the show with the dedicated sex episode where i think you have the officially sanctioned chance to test drive 3 partners in a special fuck room? Bizarre.

There were 2 other leading contestants, a teacher and an attorney, both 30+, established beautiful people. and like okay, i get that they can't be like, ah, i do not in fact want to marry a professional dating show contastant babyman. They had to do the show. But why do you, as a feminist critical reality tv enjoyer, want a woman you like be saddled with someone like nick? I guess you wanna see the good guy win, but winning here does mean accepting nick viall's marriage proposal. Nick choosing corinne would have been a victimless crime, they were completely on the same level, she might have outgrown him eventually, but really who cares, they're reality tv people. I was rooting so hard for those two beautiful idiots to make it, true stupid lust against reality tv convention where the good guy had to win. But ofc nick was weak, he did not follow his heart and ended up choosing the teacher who i wanna say spoke 3 languages, was a pillar of her community and throughout the show kept trying to talk to him like a grownup. Which like tbf she can't have been doing that great if she's going on the bachelor, but still miles and miles beyond anything nick had any right to hope for. She accepted his proposal and they broke up a couple months later.

Right after that season the bachelor franchise went fully down the toilet iirc, there was like grotesque overt racism with the bachelorette and i think sexual assault on set, so it stopped being a semi-respectable guilty pleasure. I certainly never watched anything other than that one season. But i still come back to thinking abt corinne and how bought in the people who treated it as a guilty pleasure and considered themselves above it were into the weird horny-prudish adolescent logic of the show.

[emiraxtemel]

𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐋

Emira Temel is a Bradford Springs native who has just returned after being “let go” (see: very much fired) from her job at a prominent newspaper in New York. She is the older sister of Yasemin and is fiercely protective of her. When she’s not freelancing, she’s producing true crime podcast episodes, going for a swim to let off some steam or walking her Bernese Mountain Dog, Atlas.  She’s intrepid but rash, tenacious (she'd say) and stubborn (most everyone else would say), a bit mercurial but empathetic and passionate when it counts. She’s been back in town since summer 2022 and is still getting her bearings. It’s been a while since she’s been in Bradford Springs but loves being near her family again.

CHARACTER BASICS.

full name: Emira Temel 

gender & pronouns: Ciswoman & she/her

age & date of birth: 31, Dec 25, 1991

where do they live: Downtown 

time living in bradford springs: Whole life minus a few years 

occupation: journalist & podcaster 

positive traits: detailed, empathetic, intrepid, proactive, protective, tenacious 

negative traits: acerbic, impatient, mercurial, rash, stubborn 

face claim: Beste Kökdemir

sister to @yaseminxtemel​

inspo: pinterest ​// character parallels // apartment

BACKGROUND. FULL BIO HERE.

(tw: autism diagnosis, bullying)

Oldest daughter of the Temel family, she grew up a precocious and daring child with a lot of love and even more will.

When Yasemin was born, Emira became her self-appointed protector and guardian, putting anyone who bullied her little sister in their place (often getting in trouble for it).

She may have subliminally resented all the attention Yasemin got growing up because she was determined to strike out on her own for a bit, to see who she was apart from her family and her sister specifically.

Emira went to college in New York City, pursuing degrees in journalism and polisci before getting a job at a prominent news organization.

She was there for several years before getting let go in winter 2022 due to crossing a line while pursuing a lead (apparently, it’s not okay to threaten public officials)

Returning back to Bradford Springs in Spring 2022, she’s been here since and is freelancing/working on her true crime podcast (murders, mystery and mac ‘n’ cheese) while enjoying a reset in close proximity to her family. 

EXTRAS.

Has her BA in journalism from NYU and her MA in Political Science from Boston University (online).

The only sport she actually stuck with growing up was swimming and finds that she can think through stories or mental blocks when she’s in the water.

Grew up speaking English, Turkish, French (school, semi-fluent) and Cantonese (school, can listen and read, speaking is hard)

Is a bit of a geography nerd

Is currently crashing with Yasemin until she can sort out a place of her own

Has a Bernese Mountain dog named Atlas. She brings him to the hospital sometimes to cheer up patients, especially kids

Can’t keep a plant alive for the life of her, even succulents – she doesn’t know why!

Very much a don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness mentality.

Think Karen Page (DareDevil), Matt Lisko (Home Before Dark), Oh In-kyung (Little Women) vibes in terms of her persistence as a journalist!

Doesn’t like to talk about how she was let go but will defend her actions leading up to it until she’s blue in the face

Has a myriad of tattoos all over.

Definitely cuts her own bangs, especially when stressed, so results vary 

CONNECTIONS.

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS (0/?): People she grew up with and who’ve always known her to be stubborn but good-natured

BOSTON FRIENDS (0/?): Friends she made living in the city, though they don’t necessarily have had to live there long-term. Possibly people who know she was fired to add some spice.

BEST FRIENDS (0/2): Besides her sister, the people who know her best and who she’d go to bat for no matter what

SWIM TEAM FRIENDS (0/?): Self-explanatory – friends from the crew in high school, maybe they meet at the local pool even now

ENEMIES! (0/?): Emira has a big personality that isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea. So maybe people who she upset growing up, possibly someone whose parents she wrote about in HS for the newspaper, possibly someone who just didn’t vibe.

FAVORITE BARTENDER (0/1): Every good journalist has a source and maybe this is someone who Emira talks to on a frequent basis, just to get the town tea 

[ear-worthy]

WhiskyCast: A Podcast That Goes Down Smooth

"You don't know what you don't know." That phrase has gained in popularity after uttered by then U.S. Secretary Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the W. Bush Administration. 

It also pertains to me due to a recent situation. I was on a cruise and my package included a free tasting of the best bourbon whiskeys at the lounge. Now, I know nothing about whiskey at all. Any light beer or a Pinot Noir red wine is my entire regiment of drinking alcohol. 

The invitation said 7:00 PM. My partner Linda advised that we go right at seven, since "hardly anyone would show up to such an event."

Because of my fastidiousness about being early or on time, I talked her into arriving at 6:50.  The lounge was packed. Clearly, we had underestimated the interest with bourbon whiskey. When the bartender, a Serbian man named Goran, talked about the history of whiskey and bourbon specifically, I, along with everyone else, was fascinated.

When I returned from the cruise, I wondered if there was a podcast about whiskey, which is a dumb question, because there is a podcast for almost every activity or interest. 

 That's when I discovered the WhiskyCast podcast.

 To my delight and surprise, WhiskeyCast is one of the oldest podcasts in the industry. It's a podcast that began in 2005 and is still delighting its listeners today. WhiskeyCast has released over 1,000 episodes!

The podcast's subtitle is Cask Strength Conversation since 2005. Now, I don't even know what that means, but after listening to several episodes of WhiskyCast, I want to know more.

Let's define what whiskey is.

 Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whiskey is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak.

People are passionate about whiskey. They're like wine drinkers, only less obnoxious. 

Here's what retired psychologist and whiskey drinker Gary Beaufait says:"I'm into bourbon because it's a type of whiskey that's an American invention with certain criteria needed to be met to be an official, legitimate Bourbon."

Beaufait continues: "The process produces a smooth, palatable, and drinkable liquor of varying proofs - ranging from 80 upwards to 120+, but typically 90s. For me, the proofs in the high 80s and 90s are just right if the product is blended nicely. The different types and brands can be rather nuanced, so people have preferences. The most sought after are very hard to find, and a secondary market exists w rather high dollar amount-hundreds to thousands for a prized bottle."

Listening to WhiskyCast is like hearing a well-oiled machine hum along with seamless efficiency. Each week, veteran journalist Mark Gillespie brings listeners the latest whiskey news, in-depth interviews, tasting notes, and much more. Each podcast features brand-new content, and unless there’s a special occasion, and they do “best of” shows.

Gillespie is a terrific host. His voice is as smooth as some of the whiskeys they taste, and his delivery is effortless and pure. Gillespie is the winner of the International Wine & Spirits Competition’s 2023 Spirits Communicator Trophy, which seems to be quite an honor in the field. From the episodes I've listened to, the host deserves such an accolade. In his 18th year as host, Gillespie sounds as if he has the verve of his first episode. The podcast has a standard and successful formula. Each episode begins with whiskey news, and I underestimated how much such news there is. For example, the news covered the dominance of Jameson in the global and U.S. markets. Reportedly, Jameson accounts for 70 percent of U.S. whiskey sales and 40 percent of whiskey sales around the world. 

In another episode, the news included a story about Jack Daniel’s being ordered to stop work on one of its new barrel houses after a neighbor sued over whiskey fungus problems, while Kentucky distillers are hoping a bill pending in the state legislature could mean the end of the “barrel tax.” 

After the news, there is a main story like the one called "Choosing passion" on the March 5th episode. The episode details how Melissa Rift’s career path is anything but traditional for a whiskey maker. She started out as a family therapist before discovering her passion for Bourbon, and it’s led her to become the new master taster for Old Forester.  

On the December 4th episode, during the What You're Tasting segment of the show, host Mark Gillespie reviewed a Waterford, a peated Irish single malt, which is apparently a relative rarity, that had notes of peat smoke, heather, honey and a nice maltiness.

In the news segment of the show, Gillespie reported that American whiskey is still subject to tariffs into EU nations because of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.

 The main segment of the show dealt with luxury single-malt whiskeys as an alternative investment. In the interview with Duncan McFadzean, listeners learn that whiskey sales have increased by 11 percent in the last year, yet the investment value of luxury whiskey has dropped by seven percent, largely due to what McFadzean calls "flipping," which is the practice of buying whiskey and selling it for a profit on the secondary markets.

Other segments include a report on upcoming whiskey events. In the December 4th episode, listeners hear about whiskey tasting in Vermont and in London.

On the February 27th episode, the main story was about whiskey clubs. Unbeknownst to the whiskey obtuse such as myself, there are literally hundreds of whiskey clubs around the world, with more being formed all the time. On the episode, listeners hear from some club founders on how they started their clubs, along with advice for those thinking about forming a whiskey club. 

In that same episode, WhiskyCast announced the launch of the new WhiskyCast Community mobile app, which is a smart monetization, brand loyalty, and brand extension move.

If you are a whiskey drinker and haven't heard of this podcast, I highly suggest listening to at least one episode. There, you'll find like-minded people who enjoy the social aspects of whiskey, its unique color and taste, and the artistic skill needed to make whiskey.

Check out WhiskyCast. I'll end by toasting you, dear listeners, with a glass of Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

Raise your glass and listen to this podcast.  

(NOTE: Photo by Terrick Noahs)