Join author and occasional misanthrope Juliette Miranda for bourbon-soaked personal stories and celebrity interviews. From misadventures working in the music industry, dating disasters and an incautious life with “her guy,” Juliette knocks back 30 minutes of relatable, revealing, and comically real stories. She occasionally invites top comedians, actors, and musicians to join her and share their own stories about life and more. Every episode is paired with a short bourbon review, because all good stories should come with a side of booze.
Four Stars
Pros:
Excellent audio quality
Highly engaging stories
Great storytelling style
Variety of tone
Funny but also can be very emotional
You really get to know the recurring “characters”
Cons:
Bourbon reviews feel disjointed from main content*
Celebrity interviews don’t fit with regular episode style*
Vulgarity/ Debauchery
Some stories can get quite graphic
*Segments are no longer part of current episode format.
Howdy there Oddballs! I’m gonna try my best this week to try and keep things to just a couple topics. Whether that actually happens is anyone’s guess. On that note, we recently had a major trip to the dentist for one of our little monsters, and the outcome is going to get expensive. Also, I’ve got my more in depth review of “The Box Of Oddities.” And in my new “What’s Adam Listening to/ Watching” segement, my wife and I just finished binging the Netflix series, “Bridgerton.”
Kat & Jethro Gilligan Toth bring their irreverent brand of humor and unique chemistry to an exploration of the strange, the bizarre and the unexpected.
In the last episode I started to talk about all of the things that I’ve been up to during the hiatus, before getting thumb deep into a bloody mess. This time the plan is to give you the rest of the update that I meant to give last time. And oh boy! Do I have a lot of stuff to share with you! I’m not gonna cover everything right now. We all know that would take hours and I’m completely capable of doing it. Instead, I’ll hit some high points, and if you want to hear more about something, you can just let me know. And finally, an update on how the featured podcast segment is changing, and my first rebooted podcast review feature is going to, my very first audio drama love, “Welcome to Night Vale.”
So I’ve started writing formal podcast reviews here. (The first of which will likely be posted just after this.) And in writing this first review, I realized that I’ve never written a real review for something before. I’ve technically reviewed over 50 podcasts over the years verbally, but I’ve never really written any of it down as a coherent blog post with positives and negatives and stuff.
As I was writing I did what, in writing for a podcast is great, but in blogging is troublesome, I wrote the way I talk. And as anyone who’s ever listened to the podcast can attest, I meander.
I know I need to get more practice writing in general. I haven’t done much of it at all since high school. And I need to set aside real time to write both the review blogs, and prep for episodes. After all, I promised to be more prepared. I really think I need to start writing blogs and turn those stories into the episodes. The problem is that I can never bring myself to write what I’m thinking before I talk. I just am able to think out loud better than I can write my thoughts. I realize that I’m writing my thoughts right now, but trust me this bit is tough.
I guess I just have to go back to what I just said. I need to get better at writing. I just have to pick up my laptop and start writing during the day. The problem is, I am really uncomfortable using a laptop or working anywhere besides my office. I can sit down at my desk for hours and just chug away and focus only on the task at hand, but put my laptop in front of me and my whole vibe changes. I just can’t focus when I’m using that thing and I don’t know why.
Maybe I need to, like the writing, just do it more. I’m sure if I spend more time using my laptop to write, and maybe do some editing work, it’ll feel less weird to me. And then maybe I’ll get better at writing. And then maybe I’ll get better at writing reviews…
Wow that’s a lot of maybes that I need to do.
Whatever. For now I’m gonna just try to write my reviews in a way that is maybe a little more coherent but is definitely me. All I can do is work on it and hope I get better at it. In the mean time, forgive me if my podcast reviews sound, well, like I wrote them.
WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local “weather,” news, announcements from the Sheriff’s Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.
Pros:
In the early seasons, the story arc that flows through between episodes really adds depth to the world
Excellent writing and character development over the years.
Cecil’s voice and narrative style draws you in and makes you trust him, until you learn that he may have a little bit of bias.
The complexity of the story after 8 years of building is amazing. So many things have changed in this world since the first season that it’s hardly even the same world anymore. *wink*
The little running gags and dark humor will have you questioning what you just heard while also laughing your head off at the absurdity.
It’s got a taste of Lovecraft inspiration, but not directly .
The original musical score by “Disparition” sets the tone perfectly.
Cons:
You really can’t just jump in at any time. You’ve gotta go all the way back to the start.
The “weather” segments are very “hit or miss.”
There are way too many ads at the start of each episode. (I know it’s shitty to complain about this, but after a while it gets really annoying to listen to.)
The later seasons start dragging out and become difficult to follow.
The main storyline in later seasons is less cohesive. It is obvious in the storytelling when the writers stopped focusing on this show.
