So I was driving into work this morning, listening to podcasts and came up with another topic I needed to write about…as you can see from the title of this entry, I want to share some info about podcasts. I know not everyone listens to podcasts, so I’m here to help explain what they are, where to find them, how to subscribe to them, how to listen to them & which ones I deem a good listen. So let’s get started, shall we?
I. What is a podcast?
A podcast is like talk radio, except for it’s not actually on the “air waves” anywhere. The person(s) recording will sit down to record on their own and upload the recordings to the internet for distribution to various places to be downloaded by listeners like iTunes, Google Podcasts & other like distribution sites. If they’ve built up a decent listener base, they can take their podcast to various advertisers to line up deals with them in order to make money off of their show. A lot of podcasters tend to record more for the love of getting their voice out there to be heard more so than actually making income from the shows recorded.
II. How do you listen to or find Podcasts?
I use an app on my Android phone called Podcast Addict. It’s available for free in the Google Play Store and for a one-time small fee, you can have the ad banner removed from the app. Inside the app, you can choose to search for podcasts by using whatever information you have: host names, podcast name, etc. Podcast Addict keeps your podcasts organized and will either automatically download new episodes for you or you can do it manually. It has a playlist feature so you can choose which episodes you want to listen to and in which order across all your subscribed podcasts. It’s a great little app that doesn’t take a lot of time to learn how to use. I’ve been using it for probably close to a decade now. It will also manage podcasts you’ve subscribed to that require login credentials. It’s a great app and I highly recommend spending the extra few bucks to remove the ad banner!
III. My Favorite Podcasts (In No Particular Order)
Trek Cast, TNG – The galaxy’s most unpredictable Star Trek podcast! Chad Waldo, Dan Lombardo & Daniel Reyes do a great job keeping every trekkie up to date with everything Trek-related, and to be honest…mainstream Sci-fi-related since they also give a synopsis and reviews on the various Star Trek & Star Wars series currently streaming on Paramount+ and Disney+, respectively. They also give a synopsis & reviews on The Orville from Seth Macfarlane on Hulu. Their banter often spills out into all sorts of tangents which are really some of the most fun parts of the show at times. Recently, they’ve been recording live on YouTube while also having a live audience watching them on Discord that will ask questions or add their own comments during the feedback section of the show. It’s quite a fun listen!
83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff – Former Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling that challenged Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation through the 90s joins Conrad Thompson for a look at the business side of the business of professional wrestling. For 83 consecutive weeks from September 1996 to April 1998, Eric Bischoff’s WCW beat the WWF in the ratings war on Monday Nights as WCW Monday Nitro edged out WWF’s Monday Night Raw. Conrad and Eric share stories from that time while also touching on other periods throughout Eric’s career.
Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru – Former prowrestling manager, commentator, booker and promoter, Jim Cornette along with his co-host, Brian Last comment on the weekly offerings from WWE and AEW while also answering listener questions and giving their own takes on various news stories often pertaining to professional wrestling. Other recent additions to the show also include trivia questions having to do with prowrestling’s past. One of my favorite is the name the year & territory where Brian brings up old match cards and Jim has to guess when and where it happened. Corny’s usually quite accurate! Listeners also have sent in countless song parodies having to do with the show that Brian also plays on-air.
The Delta Flyers – “Tom Paris & Harry Kim”…Robert Duncan McNeill & Garrett Wang, respectively from Star Trek: Voyager have fun re-watching the entire Voyager series. All 7 seasons of episodes, in fact! Episode by episode, they give their synopsis and share their memories of filming each episode while also summarizing each episode in poem. Garrett forms haikus while Robbie comes up with limericks each week…except for the one season where they swapped duties. Always a fun listen, and they’ll even welcome a special guest to the show on occasion.
What Happened When with Tony Schiavone – Longtime prowrestling commentator, Tony Schiavone joins Conrad Thompson to reminisce about his time as commentator, sharing stories from the road while a lot of the time, doing a watch along, where they provide their own commentary while instructing listeners where to find the show they’re going to be watching and telling them when to hit the play button so you can be synced up with them. A lot of silliness goes on between Conrad & Tony that I can’t even explain it all. I’ll just say this: “Tony reads rap.”
Let’s Talk Cobra Kai – From Just Curious Media, Jason Connell & Sal Rodriguez recap and go IN DEPTH into each episode of the Netflix Series, Cobra Kai along with the old Karate Kid movies. These two guys are from the San Fernando Valley, where the original Karate Kid movies were filmed and took place. Cobra Kai tells the story of the next generation of the LaRusso and Lawrence families and their friends. It’s a terrific series and these guys do a terrific job recapping the series and picking apart all the details. They really don’t miss a thing!
ShuttlePod – “Charles ‘Trip’ Tucker, III & Malcolm Reed” Connor Trinneer & Dominik Keating, respectively from Star Trek: Enterprise interview a number of personalities who were associated with Enterprise for the four seasons it aired. From actors to writers to producers to even the hosts themselves, they give us their own backstories from before they were cast to Enterprise along with some great stories from their time working on the show.
My World with Jeff Jarrett – WWE Hall of Famer & current Senior Vice President of Live Events for WWE, Jeff Jarrett along with co-host, Conrad Thompson share memories and get real “granular” on a variety of topics stemming from his career in the prowrestling business. From being an in-ring talent for WWE, WCW & TNA to starting TNA/Impact Wrestling and being an owner, backstage promoter and producer to also an on-screen talent, Jeff Jarrett has done it all in the world of professional wrestling.
Music of the Mat – From the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network, Andrew Rich explores the music associated with various personalities or professional wrestling shows. Often with varying weekly co-hosts, Andrew dives into the history of either a personality from the world of prowrestling and presents each and every entrance theme they have used throughout their career and explains why it did or didn’t work for their character at that time.
Oh…You Didn’t Know? – “Road Dogg” Brian James and co-host, Ryan Katz share stories from the career of the “Road Dogg” Jesse James of the New Aged Outlaws and D-Generation X as well as his time playing Double J’s Roadie. James’ memory can often be spotty due to…as he puts it, “chair shots and bong resin”. They’re always a fun listen and Ryan is pretty good at redirecting James from time to time as he breaks out on tangents.
Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard – From Producer & Talent Relations to Booking & being an on-screen talent, Bruce Prichard has done it all in the prowrestling business and he shares his stories from his decades-long career from working alongside Vince McMahon. Co-host, Conrad Thompson does his best to reign Bruce in and keep him on topic from time to time while they center each episode around either a specific talent or a show and the news surrounding it.
Foley Is Pod – Finally, my most recent addition to my listening rotation…WWE Hall of Famer and Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley recounts various matches and stunts from his career with co-host, Conrad Thompson. Mick Foley is one of the most genuinely nice people from the world of professional wrestling & he shares some amazing stories from his time in the business and after his retirement from in-ring competition when he plays Santa Claus for various children through work with a number of charities.
Well, there ya have it…I could probably list one or two more that I’m just starting to try out now, but I think that’s a good group to start with. I know I’ve found quite a bit of enjoyment over the years listening to all of these shows. If you have any questions, I’m always open to sharing experience and knowledge on the subject.
Thanks for reading!
Marcs Two Cents 
Leave a Reply