Recommend me long, soothing backlogs
July 7, 2020 10:23 AM Subscribe
I need what will likely be a podcast or youtube channel, that fits my criteria and mood, AND has a long backlog that I can just absolutely drown myself in. Please help soothe me! My many snowflakes are inside.
I am picky AND neurodivergent, so sorry if this is long.
I've used up all the accessible, friendly, goofy, whimsical, silly, pun-liberal, chill, good-times media I'm familiar with.
No scripted-fiction, or competition shows please. Great British Bake Off clones have lost their appeal to me, and there usually aren't enough episodes to suit my compulsive binging, same with scripted shows. Also, sometimes scripted shows make me uncomfortable depending on their production value, mood & execution, so I'll just leave that out of the running.
I've watched all of the public access years of the Chris Gethard Show while making my wedding dress, for example. Hours upon hours a day, and it was perfect. I need something like that. Friendly people, hanging out and having fun, getting weird.
I have no opposition to stoner culture stuff, if that's where the mellow things are hiding. I can be interested in just about any topic. Also, I need fewer men filling up my time, please.
Examples that have filled the void:
McElroy content
Chris Gethard show
Dr. Gameshow
Flophouse
Fanbyte podcasts
Waypoint and Polygon video content (RIP)
Taskmaster
Only Connect (sometimes)
Various mellow twitch streamers
TTRPG podcasts/shows (Friends at the Table is good but often too emotional for the vibe I'm hunting for, and I'm going to start Critical Role but my wife wants to watch it with me so it will slow my consumption rate)
Oh No, Ross And Carrie (except the interviews AHHHHHH so tense)
Every Little Thing
Hey Riddle Riddle and the patreon extras are my favorite things on earth
Judge John Hodgman (listen, I drained the Maxfun well dry, I'm pretty sure)
PushingUpRoses
Please, no:
Guest-centered shows. I don't care about interviews, I never know who anyone is. I like to get comfortable with hosts.
DEEPLY MASCULINE ENERGY
TOO MUCH SHOUTING
Informational podcasts by amateurs
QI
Pop Culture Happy Hour (don't know why, but don't like it)
Stand-ups primarily talking about stand-up
True crime
antagonism as like, raison d'etre
pretension
anti-sincerity, apathy or irony as the main flavor
things that are hard to access both in content and literally finding it
Just funny, chill, sincere, and basically endless. Please?
I am picky AND neurodivergent, so sorry if this is long.
I've used up all the accessible, friendly, goofy, whimsical, silly, pun-liberal, chill, good-times media I'm familiar with.
No scripted-fiction, or competition shows please. Great British Bake Off clones have lost their appeal to me, and there usually aren't enough episodes to suit my compulsive binging, same with scripted shows. Also, sometimes scripted shows make me uncomfortable depending on their production value, mood & execution, so I'll just leave that out of the running.
I've watched all of the public access years of the Chris Gethard Show while making my wedding dress, for example. Hours upon hours a day, and it was perfect. I need something like that. Friendly people, hanging out and having fun, getting weird.
I have no opposition to stoner culture stuff, if that's where the mellow things are hiding. I can be interested in just about any topic. Also, I need fewer men filling up my time, please.
Examples that have filled the void:
McElroy content
Chris Gethard show
Dr. Gameshow
Flophouse
Fanbyte podcasts
Waypoint and Polygon video content (RIP)
Taskmaster
Only Connect (sometimes)
Various mellow twitch streamers
TTRPG podcasts/shows (Friends at the Table is good but often too emotional for the vibe I'm hunting for, and I'm going to start Critical Role but my wife wants to watch it with me so it will slow my consumption rate)
Oh No, Ross And Carrie (except the interviews AHHHHHH so tense)
Every Little Thing
Hey Riddle Riddle and the patreon extras are my favorite things on earth
Judge John Hodgman (listen, I drained the Maxfun well dry, I'm pretty sure)
PushingUpRoses
Please, no:
Guest-centered shows. I don't care about interviews, I never know who anyone is. I like to get comfortable with hosts.
DEEPLY MASCULINE ENERGY
TOO MUCH SHOUTING
Informational podcasts by amateurs
QI
Pop Culture Happy Hour (don't know why, but don't like it)
Stand-ups primarily talking about stand-up
True crime
antagonism as like, raison d'etre
pretension
anti-sincerity, apathy or irony as the main flavor
things that are hard to access both in content and literally finding it
Just funny, chill, sincere, and basically endless. Please?
I don't know if either of these skew too masculine for you (and they both do have guests frequently), but they both have HUGE back catalogues and overlap with a lot of your already enjoyed content in terms of sensibility or guests: How Did This Get Made? and Blank Check. The former is a "bad" movie podcast but I don't think the main point is antagonistic; it's quite light and often takes funny tangents. The latter is heaped with sincerity and definitely host-driven, if you can get on their wavelength. And both just have...hours and hours and hours of content.
posted by cpatterson at 10:34 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by cpatterson at 10:34 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
A British show that scratches a similar emotional itch to me as Bake Off is Repair Shop, which is also on Netflix. Gentle people fixing old things well scratches an itch for me.
Answer Me This is a podcast with an enormous back catalog that may be too loud and ironized for you but if you like the hosts will last months.
posted by q*ben at 10:42 AM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Answer Me This is a podcast with an enormous back catalog that may be too loud and ironized for you but if you like the hosts will last months.
posted by q*ben at 10:42 AM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
The Well There's Your Problem podcast (slidecast?) might work, though it might fall afoul of your "informational podcasts by amateurs" thing. Basically, a core group of engineers (with occasional guests) talk about engineering disasters & system failures and how capitalism ruins everything. The tone is relatively light-hearted for the subject, with a fair bit of gallows humor. About 50-odd hours of content so far; the first few videos were posted to a different channel before the podcast got its own channel.
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:43 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:43 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Tom Scott on YouTube has a huge backlog of short videos on trivia, geography, and technology. He is the epitome of sincere and genuinely enthusiastic and definitely enjoys a good pun or two.
The other YouTube channel I’ve been obsessed with lately is Kara and Nate, a travel channel focused on unusual accommodations, train travel, food, hiking and natural wonders, and what it’s like to live on the road full-time. They might be a little higher-energy than what you’re looking for but the energy is all (at the risk of repeating myself) genuine excitement and enthusiasm. Their channel is definitely meeting my own need for relaxation and calm.
posted by capricorn at 10:49 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
The other YouTube channel I’ve been obsessed with lately is Kara and Nate, a travel channel focused on unusual accommodations, train travel, food, hiking and natural wonders, and what it’s like to live on the road full-time. They might be a little higher-energy than what you’re looking for but the energy is all (at the risk of repeating myself) genuine excitement and enthusiasm. Their channel is definitely meeting my own need for relaxation and calm.
posted by capricorn at 10:49 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
No endless backlog and guest objects, not people, but I think you may enjoy Everything is Alive.
posted by Duffington at 10:50 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Duffington at 10:50 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
You are looking for The Best Show with Tom Scharpling. There are yeeeeeears to choose from, and you can start anywhere. Jon Wurster (drummer for the Mountain Goats, Superchunk, etc.) is usually on there playing one of several fictional callers from the made-up Philadelphia suburb of Newbridge. It’s pretty mindless/ridiculous, and the music is good.
So yeah, it’s got men, but NICE men! Also other guests... including John Hodgeman.
posted by St. Hubbins at 10:59 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
So yeah, it’s got men, but NICE men! Also other guests... including John Hodgeman.
posted by St. Hubbins at 10:59 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
I like a lot of the same stuff you like and I'm a massive fan of the Answer Me This podcast. It's just silly questions answered by affable British hosts (one of whom is a really hilarious woman, Helen Zaltzmann).
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:02 AM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:02 AM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
And if you specifically like The Adventure Zone, then you might like Dungeons and Daddies - of all the other DnD podcasts I've tried, I think it comes closest to capturing that same energy. The players are three men and one woman, but it's very sweet and chill and there are lots of good female characters in it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:06 AM on July 7, 2020
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:06 AM on July 7, 2020
This is maybe way out of left field, but how about Office Ladies? This is a podcast about the show The Office by Jenna Fischer (played Pam) and Angela Kinsey (played Angela). They are best friends in real life and are very sweet middle-aged women with a charming, earnest rapport. They give an insider's view of the show that is process-oriented (e.g., how do actors get miked for sound and how does that work with different kinds of costuming) versus critical appraisal of the show and its themes which is what every other podcast about everything does. If you liked The Office that might help, but I honestly don't think you have to to enjoy this podcast.
posted by jeoc at 11:12 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jeoc at 11:12 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
It might not be entertaining/good timesy enough for you, but it's chill and has literally hundreds of episodes to dive into (has been running for 10 years) - the Ramblings podcast with Clare Balding. She goes on walks through the British countryside and chats to the people she walks with. Which I suppose makes it an interview, but they're not well-known people, just regular people talking about their lives or something specific that they're interested in, or the place they're walking through. It's sweet and sincere and female-led. That's the BBC page I've linked to but I think it's probably available on regular podcast services.
posted by penguin pie at 12:04 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by penguin pie at 12:04 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
I was also going to suggest Blank Check! It has a lot of Chris Gethard Show related people involved as guests (including Chris) and just hours of fun chat about movies. Yes hosted by two men, but lots of women as guests. I also love Podcast the Ride, which has a similar hangout vibe and is nominally about theme parks and Dough Boys, which is about chain restaurants. For women, I have enjoyed JV Club, which is sort of interview-y, but mostly conversational, nominally about the guest’s teenage years.
posted by wsquared at 12:52 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by wsquared at 12:52 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maybe Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap? It's a podcast of a (now) husband and wife trying cheap food from the store and giving it a rating. Episodes run long, there are 300+ in the backlog, there are occasional guests who come to try the food as well. The hosts have fun and get plenty weird, there's absolutely nothing scripted, and it ends up feeling a lot like you're hanging out in the kitchen with them.
posted by VeritableSaintOfBrevity at 1:48 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by VeritableSaintOfBrevity at 1:48 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Futility Closet and Good Job, Brain do this for me--there are hundreds of episodes and the hosts have a pleasant mix of sincerity and goofiness (GJB is much goofier) and zero conflict. FC is about historical oddities, some of which would count as true crime, but it doesn't have that sort of ghoulish air that I strongly dislike about most true crime. Plus, most of the things took place over 100 years ago and have largely lost their creepiness.
GJB is a pub trivia team who do each episode on a theme--they each present a little section which might be some interesting facts or a quiz or a story about something. They all interact really well together and it feels super friendly and fun.
FC is still being updated but GJB is not. Both are 50/50 male/female with a low machoness quotient.
posted by exceptinsects at 3:54 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
GJB is a pub trivia team who do each episode on a theme--they each present a little section which might be some interesting facts or a quiz or a story about something. They all interact really well together and it feels super friendly and fun.
FC is still being updated but GJB is not. Both are 50/50 male/female with a low machoness quotient.
posted by exceptinsects at 3:54 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
There are 250+ episodes of Retail Nightmares. Two charming Canadian women, there is a guest but the show is not about the guest, it's about three people talking and frequently making each other crack up. Many of the guests are also women.
They share retail nightmares (they and many of their guests work/have worked in retail, but sometimes share retail nightmares from the customer side), talk about things/people/animals that delighted them that week, etc. I believe that one of the "co-ghosts" is a comedienne who also works in a cafe, and the other is in a band? To be honest I frequently can't tell them apart, their voices are quite similar. It fulfills the 'soothing' function for me very well and sometimes is laugh out loud funny to boot.
posted by acanthous at 4:09 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
They share retail nightmares (they and many of their guests work/have worked in retail, but sometimes share retail nightmares from the customer side), talk about things/people/animals that delighted them that week, etc. I believe that one of the "co-ghosts" is a comedienne who also works in a cafe, and the other is in a band? To be honest I frequently can't tell them apart, their voices are quite similar. It fulfills the 'soothing' function for me very well and sometimes is laugh out loud funny to boot.
posted by acanthous at 4:09 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
My Dad Wrote a Porno is extremely diverting and hilarious with a longish back catalog. Three friends - reading the very bad rip-off of Fifty Shades of Grey written by the father of one of the hosts. It's like MST3K with bad writing, impossible sex scenes, and good friends.
On a completely different note, there is The Tobolowsky Files, which is just character actor Stephen Tobolowsky telling stories about his life growing up in Texas, trying to become a professional actor, working on various movies/plays/tv shows, relationships, life, death, and everything. No production, just one person telling stories. He hasn't done a new season in several years, but I do think some new episodes are in the works.
posted by brookeb at 4:19 PM on July 7, 2020
On a completely different note, there is The Tobolowsky Files, which is just character actor Stephen Tobolowsky telling stories about his life growing up in Texas, trying to become a professional actor, working on various movies/plays/tv shows, relationships, life, death, and everything. No production, just one person telling stories. He hasn't done a new season in several years, but I do think some new episodes are in the works.
posted by brookeb at 4:19 PM on July 7, 2020
Maybe this is a strange suggestion and maybe not but a corner of YouTube that scratches this itch for me is historical sewing. Long, wholesome, quirky videos with visual interest but nothing disturbing and full of information and chill royalty-free music. My favorite is Bernadette Banner.
posted by lampoil at 4:58 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by lampoil at 4:58 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Interested in history? If so, here are three. As with most podcasts, they get better over time as they figure out the format and get better with technical stuff:
*dancey music* "Welcome to Rex Factor!" Two English history buffs (both of whom studied history in college) talk about each king or queen of (series 1: England, series 2: Scotland, and now series 3: each consort of England), with biography followed by reviewing them on battleyness, scandal, subjectivity, dynasty, and longevity. One guy is fairly serious and has prepared and tells the story and details of each monarch, and the other guy reacts. "I wasn't expecting that!" Learn about sex with nuns, Dunstan the Fun Sponge, the Holy Face of Lucca, the left of France, Henry-Bot Mark V, the penguin, the pineapple, and more.
*calm acoustic guitar* "Hello, and welcome, to The History of Rome." Mike Duncan spends about 160-something episodes going from the Seven Kings of Rome through the fall of Romulus Augustulus. Mellow, often understated humor. Occasionally you get some exasperation, as when during the third century a rare competent emperor shows up...and gets assassinated. He wrote a book, The Storm Before The Storm, about the time between the Gracchi and the death of Sulla.
*martially classical music* "Hello, and welcome, to Revolutions." After the History of Rome, he's done a series on revolutions through history:
English Civil War, American Revolution, French Revolution (55 episodes), Haiti, Spanish America, France in 1830, 1848, the Paris Commune, and now the Russians. There's also one I'm forgetting. Episode 10.37 (Russian revolution), The General Strike, published March 22, 2020, is described as "That time everyone stayed home from work." He is working on another book, Citizen Lafayette, based on his research on Lafayette for the American and French revolution series.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:38 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
*dancey music* "Welcome to Rex Factor!" Two English history buffs (both of whom studied history in college) talk about each king or queen of (series 1: England, series 2: Scotland, and now series 3: each consort of England), with biography followed by reviewing them on battleyness, scandal, subjectivity, dynasty, and longevity. One guy is fairly serious and has prepared and tells the story and details of each monarch, and the other guy reacts. "I wasn't expecting that!" Learn about sex with nuns, Dunstan the Fun Sponge, the Holy Face of Lucca, the left of France, Henry-Bot Mark V, the penguin, the pineapple, and more.
*calm acoustic guitar* "Hello, and welcome, to The History of Rome." Mike Duncan spends about 160-something episodes going from the Seven Kings of Rome through the fall of Romulus Augustulus. Mellow, often understated humor. Occasionally you get some exasperation, as when during the third century a rare competent emperor shows up...and gets assassinated. He wrote a book, The Storm Before The Storm, about the time between the Gracchi and the death of Sulla.
*martially classical music* "Hello, and welcome, to Revolutions." After the History of Rome, he's done a series on revolutions through history:
English Civil War, American Revolution, French Revolution (55 episodes), Haiti, Spanish America, France in 1830, 1848, the Paris Commune, and now the Russians. There's also one I'm forgetting. Episode 10.37 (Russian revolution), The General Strike, published March 22, 2020, is described as "That time everyone stayed home from work." He is working on another book, Citizen Lafayette, based on his research on Lafayette for the American and French revolution series.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:38 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Interested in linguistics and language ? Then I recommend the Allusionist, a podcast about language by Helen Zaltzman. It currently has 118 episodes.
posted by Pendragon at 8:55 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Pendragon at 8:55 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Reply All has been my go-to backlog podcast for cooking, walking, traveling, and just relaxing in general. The hosts are genuine, sweet, funny, and fairly clever. The topics are wide-ranging but generally internet-focused.
The link above is their "Where To Get Started" list of episodes, and "Negative Mount Pleasant" is a fascinating piece of journalism which might have been the episode to get me hooked.
Their "Yes Yes No" segments attempt to explain Extremely Online tweets to someone who doesn't really do twitter, and I find them absolutely hilarious.
In "Super Tech Support" segments, they take calls from listeners who have very out-there technology problems or questions and attempt to solve them. I found out about Reply All from a 99% Invisible episode, The Roman Mars Mazda Virus where they try and find out why 99PI will crash the entertainment center in a 2016 Mazda. If you haven't listened to 99PI, you might enjoy that as well!
I highly recommend Reply All for its chill vibe and decent backlog. I also can't recommend 99% Invisible enough, Roman Mars is one of the most soothing voices in podcasting and feels like an old friend at this point. 99PI has a great backlog as well!
Dive deep my friend!
posted by spbb at 9:13 AM on July 8, 2020
The link above is their "Where To Get Started" list of episodes, and "Negative Mount Pleasant" is a fascinating piece of journalism which might have been the episode to get me hooked.
Their "Yes Yes No" segments attempt to explain Extremely Online tweets to someone who doesn't really do twitter, and I find them absolutely hilarious.
In "Super Tech Support" segments, they take calls from listeners who have very out-there technology problems or questions and attempt to solve them. I found out about Reply All from a 99% Invisible episode, The Roman Mars Mazda Virus where they try and find out why 99PI will crash the entertainment center in a 2016 Mazda. If you haven't listened to 99PI, you might enjoy that as well!
I highly recommend Reply All for its chill vibe and decent backlog. I also can't recommend 99% Invisible enough, Roman Mars is one of the most soothing voices in podcasting and feels like an old friend at this point. 99PI has a great backlog as well!
Dive deep my friend!
posted by spbb at 9:13 AM on July 8, 2020
BTW, the one I forgot was Mexico (20th century). The Spanish America series was about South America, Bolivar, etc.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:43 AM on July 8, 2020
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:43 AM on July 8, 2020
Response by poster: just popping in to say, I'm loving all the suggestions, y'all are even hitting things I've already watched/listened to that I didn't list so y'all are really good, haha. Thank you!
Interested in history? If so, here are three.
This made me laugh because these three podcasts pretty much cover what I studied in college and couldn't possibly listen to be soothed (I also used the History of Rome to study for a couple exams before so...). History is simply too stimulating! Simply too interesting!
ok I'm gone bye
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:38 PM on July 8, 2020
Interested in history? If so, here are three.
This made me laugh because these three podcasts pretty much cover what I studied in college and couldn't possibly listen to be soothed (I also used the History of Rome to study for a couple exams before so...). History is simply too stimulating! Simply too interesting!
ok I'm gone bye
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:38 PM on July 8, 2020
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posted by tivalasvegas at 10:30 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]