Tag Archives: Podcasts

It’s been a while since I last talked about which gaming podcasts I listen to and since the list has changed a bit I figured a quick update was due.

Rebel FM – Still one of my favorites. The show’s format is largely the same as the last time I mentioned it with Anthony Gallegos and Arthur Gies typically being joined by Tyler Barber and Matt Chandronait. They discuss what they’ve been playing, sometimes getting into a topical discussion, and then read and answer letters from listeners. Unfortunately they haven’t been doing very many relationship letters or anything else all too controversial recently, but it is still an enjoyable listen. Sadly they killed off their Rebel FM Game Club episodes quite a while ago.

The Comedy Button – After my last posting The Gamespy Debriefings changed quite a bit, first with the introduction of “The Brians”, Brian Miggels and Brian Altano, two comedy writers who drastically changed the focus of the show to be much less on-topic and much more humorous, then by the introduction of the hilarious Scott Bromley which pushed those elements into overdrive. Over time The Debriefings really became the Brian Altano and Scott Bromley show, with Anthony mostly serving as a kind of moderator, while Ryan Scott was mostly there as fodder for Brian and Scott’s jokes. When Scott Bromley got laid off from IGN The Comedy Button was born. The Comedy Button is largely the same show only with the addition of Destructiod’s Max Scoville and the now absolute absence of any pretense of needing to censor themselves or even approach sensible topics. This show always has me laughing like a maniac when I listen to it though be warned: it’s crude and usually over-the-top humor will definitely rub some people the wrong way.

Game Scoop! / Knockin’ Boots – I got into Game Scoop! after Anthony Gallegos (and the rest of Gamespy) and Arthur Gies both got picked up by IGN and started appearing on some of their podcasts but soon found the IGN regulars to have a lot of appeal of their own. Daemon Hatfield is a great host with a very likable personality and Greg Miller is (usually) fucking hilarious. Daemon and Greg’s friendship comes up often and is pretty genuinely endearing and itself a big source of laughs. The other IGN regulars fit into the formula well too. The podcast stays pretty on-topic covering mostly gaming news across all of the major platforms.

Knockin’ Boots is a spin off show which takes the same cast and has them answering relationship letters. It’s a little rougher around the edges thanks to the fact that the crew often drinks while recording it and they (especially Greg) can get a little out of control. I’ve also noticed that they tend to focus a lot more on silly sex and teen dating questions that have been answered over and over again rather than ever focusing on more serious relationship topics. If that’s what they want to do, fine, but it seems like the well might be running a little dry…

Gamers With Jobs Conference Call – As I mentioned last time, these guys remind me a bit of Idle Thumbs. Since Idle Thumbs is no longer around I started listening to the GWJ podcast regularly once again. The regulars seem to come from different perspectives than most of the gaming podcasters I’ve run across, being older gamers and often focusing on more obscure, PC based games and indie titles. They often get into lengthy discussions about topics related to gaming as well. While it is often pretty funny, it does a great job of staying on topic and being interesting and informative most of the time.

The Indoor Kids – This is a relatively new podcast that I feel needs some love as it has quickly become one of my favorites. It is hosted by comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon and every episode features at least one guest. The guests are always pretty unique people, mostly other comedians and comedy writers including some pretty big names such as Tom Lennon from The State and Reno 911! fame. This podcast is always hilarious and has an amazing habit of immediately running off the rails into lengthy and sometimes deep discussions about the more emotional side of gaming, such as sentimental childhood memories, gaming as escapism, etc. Highly recommended!

One aspect of the gaming scene that I’ve been really into for a few years now is game podcasting. I generally find it more entertaining and mentally stimulating to listen to spoken word than music when possible. I’m a big music fan and usually get too distracted to listen to podcasts while working or doing anything else that involves too much concentration so I certainly don’t listen to podcasts all the time but I find them to be a perfect fit for my daily commute. I’ve changed which podcasts I listen to and how frequently numerous times since I first began and since the topic has come up with a few of the people that I know read this recently I thought I’d quickly run down the list of what I currently listen to and why.

Rebel FM – I used to listen to GFW Radio and later its successor LAN Party along with 1UP FM so this combination of Anthony Gallegos, Phil Kollar, and Nick Suttner seemed almost too good to be true after the mass layoffs at 1UP earlier this year. Although I honestly couldn’t stand him at first (my first introduction to him was actually a forum thread largely bashing him) Anthony quickly became my favorite podcaster on LAN Party and I loved his “Anthony Gallegos on…” segments on 1UP FM. Phil and Nick have both since parted ways with Rebel FM but Anthony, Arthur, and regulars such as Tyler Barber and several of the Co-op crew, most notably Matt Chandronait lately, have kept the tone of the show largely the same. Rebel FM also barrows 1UP FM’s Backlog segment calling it Rebel FM Game Club which I find entertaining regardless of whether I’m playing along with the game they’re covering or not.

Out of the Game – Another bunch of 1UP alumni! Out of the Game is hosted by some of the all-stars of 1UP podcasts, and besides their popularity, they were some of the funniest guys on their shows. Jeff Green, Shawn Elliott, Robert Ashley, Luke Smith, and N’Gai Croal shoot the shit on what would normally be the much maligned off topic tangents on other podcasts but only totally on purpose this time. Sure, gaming comes up here and there a bit too. Hilarious stuff. Out of the Game isn’t released too regularly so feel free to subscribe even if you’ve already got a full roster. My only real hesitation about recommending Out of the Game is that it sounds like crap a lot of the time due to being quickly thrown together from a Skype conference call with no real time being invested in mixing or editing.

Idle Thumbs – A relatively recent discovery, Idle Thumbs has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts. It’s hosted by three guys who all work in the industry – two journalists and an actual developer. They cover the usual topics about what they’ve been playing and gaming news as well as answering the odd listener mail here and there though they often seem to come from slightly different perspectives than a lot of other podcasters I’ve listened to. The three guys also have a great chemistry and are often hilarious together. Oh, and the fact that they love old games as much as I do doesn’t hurt either. 😉

The Gamespy Debriefings – Anthony Gallegos recently got hired by Gamespy and when I heard he was joining the cast of The Gamespy Debriefings I decided to check it out. Anthony is, well, Anthony here so if you’re a fan this one is recommended. I also like some of the other cast members and am a bit disappointed that I hadn’t given it a listen earlier since there appears to be somewhat of an exodus of at Gamespy with a lot of the old podcasters leaving. Interestingly, Ryan Scott was recently hired by Gamespy and will be a regular member of The Debriefings as well which promises a return to the hilarious Ryan and Anthony dynamic of LAN Party before its demise.

My back up. If I need or want something else to listen to and the above haven’t taken up all of my possible podcast time this is what I go to:

Giant Bombcast – Giant Bomb’s podcast has got to be one of the better gaming podcasts currently in production. The hosts are funny and share a wealth of knowledge. These guys are all, every one of them, absolutely hilarious and are constantly making humorous comments and when they actually talk serious about games they’ve usually got a lot of interesting things to say. The only reason I don’t regularly listen to this, time considerations aside as it is a long show, is that the their constant playful quipping sometimes comes across as a little bit too snarky for me, almost as if they’d rather sit around making sarcastic comments than actually discuss anything. Even still I find myself returning to the Bombcast quite frequently.

My back up, back ups. Mostly podcasts I like but don’t listen to because of time constraints:

Listen UP – The successor to 1UP Yours after the 1UP layoffs earlier this year. Garnett Lee and John Davidson still keep the show feeling familiar but I found myself becoming more and more detached from the discussions they were having and decided to drop this one in favor of others, especially due to its often long run times. Garnett is somewhat of a polarizing figure to a lot of people, especially without an equally strong personality around to help balance the show out, though other than some of his silly tirades he’s never really got under my skin too much.

Gamers With Jobs Conference Call – Another podcast that comes highly recommended. The GWJ podcast actually reminds me a lot of a more chaotic version of Idle Thumbs. Like Idle Thumbs these guys seem to have different perspectives than a lot of other podcasters out there. The also love to talk about old and/or obscure games and go off on the oddest of tangents at times.

Honorable mentions:

Co-op – The successor to the 1UP Show, Co-op is one of the few and surely the best gaming video podcast out there. The sketches are often a little bit hokey but will surely grow on you as you get to know the cast of the show. The game coverage, specifically the footage, is outstanding and the show’s overall production is second to none. I don’t watch this on a regular basis though I do tend to go back and check out the episodes I missed from time to time.

A Life Well Wasted – Robert Ashley, who I love by the way, puts together this podcast in a totally different way. Probably inspired by listening to too much NPR, each episode of A Life Well Wasted covers a specific topic and approaches it more like a documentary, or perhaps more accurately a thesis, using the interviews and discussions therein to explore a subject and/or support a point. It is pretty unique amongst its peers and its short run time and infrequent release schedule make it easy to recommend.

That’s it for now. I’m sure there are plenty more good gaming podcasts out there, more than I’d ever possibly have the time to listen to, but if anyone has any good recommendations feel free to pass them along and I’ll check them out!