Like many people, I got sucked into the world of podcasts by Serial. Now I’m subscribed to nine active podcasts. Of these, two of my favorites are round-table discussions on culture.
NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour and the Slate Culture Gabfest are very similar to each other — to the point where they sometimes cover the same subject matter. The Culture Gabfest is the older of the two podcasts, and it has more of a highbrow flavor (after all, its name lacks the word “pop”). Hosts Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens cover three topics and end the podcast with endorsements of music, books, television shows… even products.
While I enjoy the thoughtful discussion on recent movies, essays, and subjects such as pilgrimages to writers’ houses, part of the fun is the interplay between the hosts. Metcalf and Turner often seem to be at odds with one another, although their verbal sparring is generally friendly. An exception to this occurred during a recent discussion on the unmasking of Elena Ferrante, which became so heated that Stevens suggested her co-hosts send each other wine as an apology gift. When Turner was absent from the podcast the following week, I was concerned. Then Metcalf missed the next week’s live show, although there was an explanation given for his absence: He was ill. I admit I was relieved when the team was back together three weeks after the Ferrante episode. Stevens plays the role of the conciliatory team member — she even appears between her two cohosts in all of the pictures on the show’s homepage. She’s also known for her amusing endorsements, including freshly grated nutmeg and Bob Ross’ “Beauty is Everywhere.”
I’m tickled by the fact that the Culture Gabfest begins with the warning: “The following podcast contains explicit language.” After that, you might expect a lot of f-bombs, but unless you think of the $50 words that Metcalf uses as explicit (according to Wikipedia, he pursued a Ph.D. in English at Yale), you’ll rarely hear any expletives on the podcast.
Pop Culture Happy Hour usually has more hosts and fewer segments. Most of the time three of the seats are filled by Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon; the fourth chair, once occupied by Trey Graham, rotates between different people from the NPR staff, including Kat Chow, Ari Shapiro, Gene Demby, and Audie Cornish. Episodes usually include two segments followed by “What’s Making Us Happy This Week,” this show’s version of endorsements. Like Gabfest, this podcast covers recent movies and television shows, as well as general topics, but the overall tone is a bit lighter than Slate’s and, thanks to the rotating fourth chair, the voices can be a little more diverse. Conflict between the hosts seems less barbed than in Gabfest, and the conversation feels less academic.
I already have long lists of books to read and things to watch — far more than I can consume before I die. I really don’t need to add more to my lists, but I still rejoice in the discoveries I’ve made thanks to these shows. While it’s been hard to miss the buzz around Stranger Things, the reason I asked my husband to watch it with me was because a contributor on PCHH spoke about how the show was influenced by Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and John Carpenter. I picked up The Cuckoo’s Calling because of a special edition interview with J.K. Rowling on PCHH, and, when Culture Gabfest guest Laura Miller described Don’t Breathe as a reversal of Wait Until Dark, I decided I need to see the two movies back-to-back. The podcasts have also done me the service of letting me know when not to bother with something: both covered The BFG, and since neither show gave it glowing reviews, I decided to skip it, beautiful as the previews were.
Pressed to pick my favorite from these two podcasts, I’d have a terrible time. Thanks to the participants, both shows have a lot of personality. The Culture Gabfest is your really smart aunt who is not above watching the new TV show that everyone is talking about. You find your aunt a little intimidating, even though you admire her and enjoy spending time together. She can chat with you about all sorts of things while dropping in references to Wittgenstein and using words like “epistemological.” You learned a little about Wittgenstein in college, and you understand what “epistemological” means, but these are things you yourself do not use in conversation. Pop Culture Happy Hour is your cousin who talks with you about Steven Universe. Like you, he’s educated enough to understand most of the words and many of the references in your aunt’s conversation, but he speaks in a more down-to-earth manner. The two of you also share geeky interests that, despite your aunt’s well-roundedness, are really not her thing. You feel more at home with you cousin, but you find conversations with your aunt a little meatier.
Fortunately, I don’t have to choose between them.
The Slate Culture Gabfest comes out on Wednesdays, and Pop Culture Happy Hour is released on Fridays. Go forth and listen, and then let me know what you think.