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B.Y.O.B. AND HEADPHONES
In case you’re interested in podcasters talking shop, we’ve started putting up the full-length interviews we conducted for our podcasting documentary on Radio 4. My thoughts on talking to Maron, Savage, Mars etc al (and my brother) are here.
Long-term AMT listeners will already be familiar with my thoughts upon My So-Called Life, but I aired them at greater length on Little Atoms. You’re very welcome.
Then, in the May edition of the Sound Women podcast, I reflect upon My Brilliant Career coughspluttercough, and also learn about prison radio, headed notepaper campaigns, and how YouTube stars are made (talking about hair, apparently):
Further audiotainment:
I’ve spent much of this week doing a large and very fiddly drawing with a tiny dip pen last used by my grandfather at school. My eyes were busy, but my ears were not, so it was an optimal time redress how lately I’ve been slacking on This American Life-listening duties – so many other shows are influenced by This American Life, it made me take the actual This American Life for granted. But blasting through several episodes, including this week’s Call for Help, brought me right back in. I’ll never leave you again, This American Life!
I chased this with an episode of TLDR featuring Alex Tew, who in 2005 created the Million Dollar Homepage whilst sitting around waiting to go to university. Nowadays the site is a bit of a joke for being a relic of a past internet age, and for being more than 20% dead links – but to me, it’s incredible that it is still nearly 80% undead, and still hauling in money. While I was waiting to go to university, I learnt Italian, which earnt me zero dollars and I’ve since forgotten nearly 100% of it. You win this round, Alex Tew!
Drawing with a dip pen takes a REALLY long time, so I also blasted through two series of Radio 4’s The Ideas That Make Us, which is the kind of radio show that makes you feel cleverer as you listen (like In Our Time) whilst being very fun (unlike In Our Time). (Sorry, In Our Time. Melvyn Bragg, please don’t enact revenge on Bettany Hughes for my offence.)
Recently Woman’s Hour ran a belter of a fashion special, featuring such legends as Celia Birtwell, and Grayson and Philippa Perry; there was the serious business of sustainable clothing and the Rana Plaza disaster, and the less serious business of stripes and how they used to be the pattern of the devil. The more you know, eh?
Lastly, if you’re interested in how writing for TV goes:
Greg Jenner, historical consultant for Horrible Histories, discusses writing historical documentaries and dramas.
Brent Forrester, who has worked on such shows as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Mr Show and the American version of The Office, talks about the sweaty business of comedy writing.
Housekeeping:
• Catch up on AMT289 and the episodes preceding it.
• AMT episodes 1-170 and the special AMT albums are all available for a piddling little price at answermethisstore.com, and if you buy any of them you’re bankrolling the podcast, so thank you very much indeed.
• Olly’s on LBC every weekday 1am-4am. If you’re an insomniac, a night worker, or in a time zone where those hours are compatible with waking life, tune in.
• On Saturday evenings I’m on BBC 5 Live’s Saturday Edition, available subsequently as the podcast Let’s Talk About Tech.
• I also host the monthly Sound Women podcast.
• Martin the Sound Man makes numerous other podcasts, including Brain Train, The Global Lab and The Sound of the Ladies.
To keep your ears ever busy until AMT290 next Thursday, here are some other podcasts we like.
Answer Me This! Podcast 