Podcasts in Review

October 5, 2017 at 12:01 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: chuck wendig

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Beltway Banthas: Episode 40 covers Abrams directing Episode IX, they get into some current affairs with the similarities between Roger Stone and Palpatine, they talk Russia, and for their main discussion, they speak with Star Wars author Chuck Wendig. That discussion leads to politics, Star Wars, the Aftermath trilogy, a few spoilers, his ideas for Mon Mothma and her decisions, and how The Force Awakens has shown some things that are currently going on in the world. Afterwards the interview they talk a little about The Night Of and Kubo and the Two Strings. For those who have read the Aftermath trilogy, this one is definitely worth a listen. I really enjoyed the interview with Wendig.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 52 minutes, Rating: Good

Blast Points: Episode 93 starts with news as they talk about The Last Jedi wrapping, Ron Howard tweets, runtime for The Last Jedi, and new Forces of Destiny trailer. For their main discussion, they talk about the weird relationship between MTV and Star Wars. There’s plenty of audio clips as they cover the progression as MTV covered the prequels, and they cap things off with the Master P interviews.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 56 minutes, Rating: Good

Bright Tree Radio: Thought Bombs with Mike Moriarty is hosted by Sophie and Phil and features special guest Mike Moriarty (Home One Hangout) as they drop some thought bombs on him. They talk about whether Qui Gon was the best example of a Jedi, whether Anakin was a good example of a Jedi before his fall, does Star Wars need an enemy like the Yuuzhan Vong, does Snoke fill that role, and whether we will we see Chiss. Nice episode with a lot of fun discussion. Note this was my first time checking them out and I was impressed. Good hosts, good audio quality and an interesting guest.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 50 minutes, Rating: Good

Coffee With Kenobi: Episode 88 starts with the Leia: Princess of Alderaan book study segment which covers the first chapter of the book. Afterwards Dan is joined by Jeff McGee and Garr Van Orden as they talk about the new Star Wars Rebels poster, their thoughts on the show, the characters, and season four. Then they talk about how they consume their Star Wars, which is an interesting topic. They get into news, post production being wrapped for The Last Jedi, color changing spoons, Ron Howard tweets, and they have a discussion on Qui-Gon.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes, Rating: Good

Comic Book Noob: Inhumans covers the primary members of the Inhumans, what they are, and the Inhuman community. They talk about Black Bolt, Medusa, Maximus, Karnak, Crystal and Lock Jaw, going over the powers and personalities. Good primer for those watching the TV show or interesting in checking out the comics.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 34 minutes, Rating: Good

Comics With Kenobi: Episode 35 starts with their new logo, some news, and then they review Darth Vader #5, as they talk about the bleeding of his lightsaber crystal and the last temptation of Vader. They also review Rogue One #6, Doctor Aphra #12, Captain Phasma #1 & #2, Star Wars #36, Star Wars Annual #3, Poe Dameron #19, Mace Windu #2 and A Star Wars Comic #9. Tons of Star Wars comic discussion. I don’t believe there is any other Star Wars podcast out there with this much coverage.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 2 hours 55 minutes, Rating: Good

DorkLair: Episode 9 starts with Bill talking about the LEGO Millennium Falcon which he bought and is starting to build. They go through their five favorite Star Wars S.H. Figuarts figures so far, and then they review The Last Jedi First Order Stormtrooper.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 41 minutes, Rating: Good

Essential Bombad Radio: Episode 25 covers the video game voice actors strike ending, the card game House Monsters, DC’s animation plan, and some SNES video game news.

Podcast Network: Bombad Radio, Runtime: 30 minutes, Rating: Good

Fly Casual: Episode 155 has Toby filling in for Corey again as they cover reviews and rumors. They start with reviews for Star Wars #36, Doctor Aphra #12, Star Wars Annual #3, Captain Phasma #2, Poe Dameron #19, and Star Wars Adventures #2. Afterwards they talk The Last Jedi cameos, Rian Johnson turning down Episode IX and they speculate on why J.J. agreed to do it. They talk about Billie Lourd auditioning for Rey, rumored planets in the Han Solo movie, Canto Bight and Crait rumors and tie-ins, and when the trailer will drop. Some good laughs in this one, and there are some F-bombs, so fair warning.

Podcast Network: Betterkind Media, Runtime: 1 hour 29 minutes, Rating: Fun

Full of Sith: Episode CCXXXVI features the Salt Lake Comic Con audio for the Luke and Leia panel which featured Bryan, Kai (Black Girl Nerds Podcast), Mel (Black Girl Nerds Podcast), Matt Martin (Lucasfilm Story Group), and Vanessa Marhsall (Hera in Star Wars Rebels). They talk about the characters of Luke and Leia, their strengths, what makes them resonate with fans, and they tackle audience questions like who was the better kisser and will they reunite in The Last Jedi. Interesting panel.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 1 minute, Rating: Good

Home One Hangout: Episode 33 covers news starting with the return of Star Wars Rebels, air dates and episode titles. The hosts, Matt, Mike and Ryan, share their thoughts on Abrams directing Episode IX. They talk about the new Fantasy Flight Games game and how it worked. They cover BB-8 in Galaxy of Heroes, Star Wars Battlefront II, acquisitions, The Last Jedi being done, From A Certain Point of View coming out and more. After hearing Mike on Bright Tree Radio, I made my way over to his podcast to check it out. Good hosts, good audio quality, and good discussion. Worth a listen.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 58 minutes, Rating: Good

Hyperspace PodBlast: Episode 32 tackles the all important question – can there be too much Star Wars? Too much time, too much money, quality vs quantity, journey vs destination, they touch on a bunch of good points. Plus they talk about what we need more of.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 30 minutes, Rating: Good

Retrozap: HASCON 2017 Transformers Brand Interview is a special one off episode that Joe recorded at HASCON. In this episode he interviews Marketing Directory Ben Montano and Design Manager John Warden about Transformers.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 9 minutes, Rating: Good

Rock Out Loud: Wonderful Wonderful Listening Party starts with some listener feedback, then they do a listening party for The Killers album Wonderful Wonderful. They go through the album track-by-track with audio clips of each and share their thoughts. If you’re a fan of The Killers, be sure to check this one out. If you’re not a fan, which I have to admit that’s where I fall, it still isn’t too bad of a episode.

Podcast Network: Geek Out Loud, Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes, Rating: Good

Rogue Squadron Podcast: Episode 117 starts with a lot of drink discussion as each of the four hosts talk about what they’re drinking and rate it. There’s some movie discussion of It, they talk about Tevorrow being fired and Abrams taking over, Kylo and the dark side, the awakening, Star Wars being sci-fi or space fantasy, Daniel Logan and Star Wars Battlefront. Now I tried listening to this podcast back in January and I forgot about it. It was still on my iTunes feed, and I ended up trying it again. This time I made it through an entire episode, but that didn’t help. I’d rather not get too negative, but there’s a lot of flaws with this podcast, and it’s definitely not for me. But, could it be for you? Well, that depends on how much cussing you like in your podcast. They cuss a lot. It’s not to punctuate or bring emphasis to anything their saying, it’s just part of their regular vocabulary. They also say “balls deep” a lot, and there’s some crude remarks about Rey and Mara Jade which might offend people. They derail themselves often from the topics they bring up, and it’s not a podcast that focuses entirely on Star Wars. So take all of that into consideration.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes, Rating: Avoid

San Diego Sabers Radio Podcast: Episode 37 features discussion on Trevorrow being fired, thoughts on Snoke, Mark Hamill trolling fans, and some other Star Wars movie discussion. This was my first time tuning into this podcast, and it was pretty good. There are four hosts, all guys and members of the San Diego Sabers lightsaber group. They’ve got excellent audio quality and they keep things entertaining. Worth checking out.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 31 minutes, Rating: Good

Skyhoppers Book Club: Episode V is hosted by Ash and Ben as they talk about the novel A New Dawn. And they do get into spoilers, so fair warning. They bounce around between the book and various tangents, they draw connections and relate to how the story works now with both the show Star Wars Rebels and the Kanan comic series, and they talk about the characters, Vidian, Kanan, Hera and some of the more minor characters. They don’t go too much into the plot, so you can still listen and not have the book spoiled too much. Note this is just a spin off of The Skyhoppers Podcast dedicated to book discussion, so if you’ve listened to the main show, this will sound the same.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 3 minutes, Rating: Good

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 185 celebrates their fourth year of podcasting with their Disney cruise. They share listener feedback on fond memories of the show, then they talk about their cruise, complete with guests and audio recorded during the cruise and after. They talk about expectations, things they like, and they even talk with one of the hostesses.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes, Rating: Good

Skytalkers: Revenge of the Sith continues their machete series watch as Caitlin and Charlotte break it down. However, things start off with some pre-show stuff as they talk about the new Star Wars Escape Pods Network, and they talk a little about Hayden Christensen movies. In part one, they talk about the relationships with the characters and the emphasis on friendship throughout the movie. They touch on their favorite shots and whether they bought into Anakin’s turn. In part two, they focus on the characters. From Palpatine and his scheming to Padme and her broken heart. In part three, they wrap up with everything else, the revenge arc, best song on the soundtrack, and which deleted scene they would restore. Fun discussion of the movie.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Escape Pods Network, Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1182 covers the Empire magazine interview with Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill, plus a Knights of Ren theory.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 12 minutes, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1183 reviews a poll on who fans thought was watching over Rey before the events of The Force Awakens. The book BB-8 On the Run indicates that Lor San Tekka’s group wasn’t that far from her home. Allen also touches on the runtime for The Last Jedi.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 11 minutes, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1188 discusses how Star Wars Rebels Season 4 will be darker and who might die via listener poll results.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 10 minutes, Rating: Good

Talk Star Wars: Episode 89 is hosted by Marc and Rob as they talk about the move to Patreon, the new version of the TSW Kessel Run daily podcast, and then they get to listener questions. They cover Jedi ideals based off the Yoda short story in From A Certain Point of View, different possibilities with Vader facing Palpatine and Palpatine facing Luke, thoughts on Kylo, prophecy and downfall, a new weapon for stormtroopers, Snoke and Palpatine connections, Luke and a crimson blade, and some speculation on what Luke’s life would have been like if Padme lived. They also talk about The Last Jedi being finished, when the trailer will drop, Ron Howard’s latest images, Warwick possibly playing a droid, and Emilia Clarke finishing for the Han Solo movie.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes, Rating: Good

Talk Star Wars Daily: Episode 10.4.2017 is solo hosted by Marc in the studio (so great sound quality) and covers the map of Ahch-To which was shown in The Force Awakens. From screen grabs, fans have been able to identify planets from the aurebesh writing and locations to match up where Ahch-To is with the existing canon maps of the galaxy. Turns out, it’s in the Inner Rim and Morriband may be one of the planets that Luke followed to get there. Very cool stuff. Marc digs into that, and Pablo’s comments on the discovery. Marc also touches on Ian McDiarmid’s latest comments on playing Palpatine and the characters absence in Star Wars Rebels Season 4, some quick thoughts on Forces of Destiny, and an idea for a traveling book. Talk Star Wars Daily is the new iteration of the old TSW Kessel Run daily podcast for Talk Star Wars VIPs. I have to say, I really like the new format and the studio quality sound is great.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 19 minutes, Rating: Good

TechnoRetro Dads: High Fives for Bugs Bunny’s Howl-oween Special starts with a little Halloween movie discussion, some Halloween jokes, then they get into the news. From an alternate release of the original Superman movie, to Tron Funko Pops, a Battlestar Galactica reboot, and a True Lies TV show. They talk cereal, the creation of the high five, the video game Ghosts and Goblins, the Bugs Bunny Halloween special and listener feedback.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 18 minutes, Rating: Good

The 602 Club: Episode 148 is hosted by Matt and John as they talk about the Phasma novel by Delilah S. Dawson. They start with a non-spoiler discussion covering her disappointing role in The Force Awakens, her survival of the fittest mentality, the chameleon aspect of Phasma, traits of a sociopath, and whether this is the end of an era of redemption. About 30 minutes in, they start to discuss spoilers. They talk about Cardinal and the First Order, the similarity between communism and the First Order, Jakku, the brainwashing aspect, the dangers of group think and more. It’s a pretty high level discussion that avoids getting into the specifics of the plot, so you could listen to it without getting too much spoiled. Both Matt and John enjoyed the book and gave it a four out of five.

Podcast Network: Trek.FM, Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes, Rating: Good

The ForceCast: Episode 9.29.2017 includes a conversation with Rogue One actor Diego Luna as they ask him whether he’s been able to touch Jabba yet. They also talk about Rogue One, green screen, visual effects, his latest movie Flatliners, and the earthquake in Mexico. It’s a brief conversation, but pretty cool to hear Diego on a Star Wars podcast. Afterwards the hosts do a dramatic reading from The Force Doth Awaken, they get into listener feedback, share their thoughts on books, talk Star Wars Rebels, and then they talk with Peter Townley who used to host The Star Wars Show with Andi Gutierrez. They talk a little basketball, where he grew up, his first time seeing Star Wars, his schooling, and they go through his favorite Star Wars stuff. It’s a nice conversation. Note that this is the latest iteration of The ForceCast which features hosts Ryan and Daniel who used to do Podcast 66. The audio quality is fine, but as someone who used to listen to the old ForceCast back when Jimmy and Jason did it, it’s hard to get onboard as this is not the same show. It’s The ForceCast in name only. I probably won’t be listening to this one on a regular basis, but it is one to look out for when it comes to guests as it seems they’re pulling some big names.

Podcast Network: ForceCast.Net, Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes, Rating: Good

The Geek Supreme: Sarah Connor vs. Wonder Woman starts with the Regina/Jeff Star Trek feud, then they talk a little more Star Trek since episode two is out now for the new show. They talk Inhumans, comments on Sarah Connor being better than Wonder Woman, Blade Runner, Atari, Danny Elfman on Justice League, and guessing Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 55 minutes, Rating: Fun

The Jedi Archives Podcast: Episode 10 is part of their Star Wars: The Clone Wars watch through. In this episode they discuss “The Bounty Hunters”, “The Zillo Beast”, and “The Zillo Beast Strikes Back.” They touch on the Blu-ray content, and they zero in on the ties to cinema. So for “The Bounty Hunters”, they talk about Seven Samurai, and for the Zillo beast episodes, they talk about Godzilla. There’s tons of great observations and discussion as they get into themes of doomsdays weapons and nuclear energy, the balance of the Force, acting on beliefs and traditions, and western vs eastern philosophy. This was my first time checking out the podcast and I really enjoyed it. The two hosts, Meghan and Mark, work really well together and do a good job of keeping the discussion going and bringing up interesting topics. They have good sound quality, and if you’re a fan of the TCW, this episode is definitely worth checking out. I’ll certainly be listening to more episodes. Also, I love how they ended the episode with the music to The Magnificent Seven.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 46 minutes, Rating: Good

The Resistance Broadcast: Episode 85 covers release dates for The Last Jedi trailer, Star Wars Battlefront II, the Star Wars Rebels poster, whether Snoke needs to be in the trailer, and what they want to be in it. They also talk about Ron Howard tweets, the behind the scenes theater promotion for The Last Jedi, the Rogue One ILM video, a recent Domhnall Gleeson interview, and thoughts on what the twist in The Last Jedi will be.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 57 minutes, Rating: Good

The Skyhoppers Podcast: Episode LX starts with Ash talking about how she helped a mom at Target buying Star Wars toys for her daughter. They talk about gay characters in Star Wars, the cost of comics, IDW’s Star Wars Adventures, the Captain Phasma comic series, the Poe Dameron series, J.J. Abrams and Star Wars directors. And there are plenty of tangents along the way.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 16 minutes, Rating: Good

TSW After Dark Side: Episode 47 includes milk shakes, hilarity, terrible jokes that will make you laugh, iMac woes, a dead duck joke and more. This is their “after dark” episode so there’s swearing, F-bombs, and it’s a bit of this and that jumping around the place. Think of it as a bonus episode. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to one of the TSW After Dark Side episodes and I like how they’ve shortened it up to hit on the more relevant bits and funny moments. You do have to be a Patreon VIP member of Talk Star Wars in order to listen, though.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 20 minutes, Rating: Hilarious

TSW Round Table: Episode 9 features guests Ash (The Skyhoppers Podcast), Tim (The Nerd Room) and Carlos Candido as they talk about Force Friday, collecting, Star Wars Rebels and the direction of Episode IX.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes, Rating: Good

Twin Suns Transmissions: Episode 103 is hosted by Eric and Jessie as they talk about what they’re up to, the Star Wars Destiny card game, release dates and episode titles for Star Wars Rebels Season 4, Abrams directing Episode IX, which leads to some movies and directors discussion. They talk about upcoming episodes of Forces of Destiny, and they talk a little about Force Friday. This was my first time listening to this podcast and it was okay. The audio is okay, but there’s a little bit of a hot mic issue for Jessie’s input. The hosts do a good job of keeping the discussion going, but there’s a little something missing in terms of keeping things entertaining. Might be worth a listen to see if it works for you.

Podcast Network: Twin Suns Outpost, Runtime: 57 minutes, Rating: Okay

Wookiee Radio: Episode 37 is hosted by Mike, Ken and Derrick as they talk about the cover for the Canto Bight novel and some of the details revealed for each of the four stories. They talk about the LEGO Millennium Falcon and go over a lot of the details. Afterwards they get into the most expensive Star Wars collectibles, Darth Jar Jar, and Billie Lourd trying out for Rey. This was my first time listening to this podcast, and I loved the intro music. It made me laugh. I’m not sure if this podcast will make it into regular rotation on my playlist, but I’ll try out a couple more episodes.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network, Runtime: 58 minutes, Rating: Okay