Depresh Mode With John Moe
Patton Oswalt Talks About It Because It Happened/Kelsey Darragh Lives Out Loud
Along with providing an inviting space for comedians, musicians, authors, and others to discuss how the organ that fuels their creativity can also turn against them, John Moe’s The Hilarious World Of Depression made it plain that there is no destination when it comes to mental health. And the end of that show and Moe’s tenure at American Public Media will not represent a terminus in the arenas of destigmatizing brain talk and finding some humor and commiseration with people getting to know their own minds, moods, and emotions. Enter Depresh Mode (to activate the title pun, reach out and touch faith), a new variation on the same theme released with greater frequency and covering a wider range of topics—Moe promises future episodes on “things like workplace burnout, risks and rewards of online therapy, and what kind of trauma effects to expect after COVID”—on the Maximum Fun network. The premiere builds a bridge between the two shows: Patton Oswalt was to be one of Hilarious World’s first guests, but the death of his first wife, Michelle McNamara, disrupted those plans. Grief and coping form a large part of the episode’s conversation, which Moe conducts with the reassuring ease of a seasoned interviewer and the sympathetic ear of a host who knows where his guests are coming from—but never at the expense of their time on the mic. And there may be even more unexpected gems unearthed in the second of the two episodes dropping this week, in which Moe’s public-radio sensibilities contrast and complement the extremely online extroversion of Kelsey Darragh, a kindred spirit in laying a sideways track to mental health discourse through candor and laughter. [Erik Adams]
Drag Her! A RuPaul’s Drag Race Podcast
Pop! Goes The Queens (w/Mano Agapion & Oscar Montoya)
In the most recent episode of RPDR, the drag queens compete in a trivia game called “Are You Smarter Than the Pit Crew?” Mano Agapion, host of Drag Her!, and guest host Oscar Montoya make it clear that they could easily win such a game, bouncing around references and trivia from past seasons casually and confidently throughout their conversation—though once the two actually start playing their own version of the game, Montoya finds himself struggling. Next they each share their opinions on what it really takes to do well in the soda-branding challenge from season 13. Although there are a number of RPDR recap podcasts out there, Drag Her! brings a lot of personality, and it’s fun to hear Agapion and Montoya brainstorm all the potentially genius ideas that the queens might have used. Montoya is a frequent guest of the show, and this episode makes it easy to see why. [Jose Nateras]
The Spectrum Lounge
Falcon And The Winter Soldier Review
With the series premiere of Falcon And The Winter Soldier having just dropped on Disney+, this episode of The Spectrum Lounge, a podcast hosted by ReBecca Theodore-Vachon and which fosters conversations among game-changing BIPOC creatives, focuses on the latest MCU property. Representation in the stories we consume is vital, but one area where representation is often overlooked is in criticism and commentary. As important as seeing ourselves on screen, consideration and discussion of those narratives from the BIPOC perspective is equally important. Being a person of color requires discussion that is complex and nuanced, and Theodore-Vachon’s conversation with guest Robert Young demonstrates that perspective. Young, like the character of Sam Wilson (Falcon), is also a Black veteran. He offers insight into the difficulties of fighting for a country that discriminates against you, and recognizes the value of a scene between Sam Wilson and Brody (War Machine), another Black superhero. [Jose Nateras]
Total Massacre
Hard Boiled
The films of Hong Kong action director John Woo seem to be prime fodder for film podcasters these days. Not too long ago, Travolta/Cage finally got to talk about the Woo-directed Face/Off, where stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage meet on screen. Now, this new action movie podcast devotes its debut episode to Woo’s 1992 masterpiece Hard Boiled, a.k.a. the last film he made in Hong Kong before he went Hollywood. Host/critic Rowan Kaiser and fellow writers Abby Olcese and Rob Zacny spend a good two hours discussing why this is perhaps the greatest action movie of all time. A huge factor is the dual casting of stars Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai as the cops who battle bad guys (and each other) all over Hong Kong. But, of course, it always comes back to Woo and how he weaved together a bullet-filled melodrama—mostly inspired by, believe it or not, Woo’s love of musicals—complete with insanely orchestrated, over-the-top action sequences and a mild hint of homoeroticism. (Somebody mentions how the two leads drawing guns on each other is “the most romantic and intimate thing in a John Woo movie.”) [Craig D. Lindsey]
11 Comments
Not to be a hater in an internet comment section, but the name “Depresh Mode” sounds insufferably bad line on The Good Place—esque to me.
Not to be a grammar Nazi in a comment section, but that phrase you coined could use some hyphens. How many times do you expect someone to re-read your comment in order to figure out exactly what cluster of words the “-esque” is attached to? Or maybe you think that latter element is a whole word instead of a suffix, which might semi-explain your use of a dash instead of a hyphen to connect it.
I actually did consider adding quotes for clarity, but I thought they would make me look pretentious, like I was trying to coin a phrase. Too late to edit the comment now 🙁 . You’re right about the comment being somewhat hard to read, though I do think asking me how many times I “expect” people to read my comment was a little needlessly passive aggressive. It was just bad grammar on my part, not intentional malice; there’s no need for us to fight.An issue you forgot to point out was whether insufferably was a modifier on “bad” alone, or on “bad line on the good place—esque.” Is The Good Place insufferable, or is the podcast title? Personally, since I was talking about the podcast, I think it was the latter, but death of the author does apply.
I have an uncanny ability to retain bad memories, even, perhaps especially, extremely trivial ones. Earlier today I was reminded of a mildly embarrassing episode ( barely a 2 on my personal 1-10 scale) that occurred almost 40 years ago. My coping mechanism for this is to talk out loud. I’ve found that I can’t talk and remember at the same time. At least, I can’t ruminate on memories the way I otherwise do. The speech can be anything, and is usually complete gibberish, and I don’t even think about it. After a few seconds, while I can still remember whatever the triggering thought was, the “sting” is usually taken out of it. Anyone else experience anything like this?
When I was about five, I was playing under a table covered by a table cloth. After a few minutes, I got scared that I would be abandoned, so ran out and grabbed my mom’s leg. The leg actually belonged to a very hairy guy in shorts. Until I discovered alcohol, it was the most embarrassing thing that had happened to me. Then I realized that, just like when I drink, the true embarrassment belongs to the people who associate with me. Then I was free.
Glad to hear John Moe is back with this new podcast! I wasn’t entirely sure if THWOD was done for good or just on an extremely long hiatus.
Rhodey. War Machine’s name is James “Rhodey” Rhodes, not Brody.
Strange, I shouldn’t have been able to hear that.
Doughboys had a pay for view finale of their Dessert tournament. Decided to chip in some bucks for the hours of free eentertainmen I’ve taken.Laughed more than most podcasts. I think it was because I was focused while watching instead of the words washing over me and losing concentration every now and then. Would recommend a small splurge every now and then.
Holy hell, Podmass actually acknowledging MaxFun?
It’s too bad Rodney Dangerfield did not live long enough to talk to Moe for his earlier podcast about depressed entertainers. More than anyone else, he embodied that strange emotional dichotomy that’s apparently very common in stand-up comedy. I was surprised at one point to hear him talk about it very explicitly and candidly in his act (and in a psychotheraphy skit he made with Bill Murray as his shrink). He maintained his usual levity, of course, but when he talked about personifying his depression as “the heaviness” and talking to it, it was clear he was talking about something very real and, you know, heavy.