These Are The Weirdest Podcasts I've Ever Reviewed

 I started Ear Worthy back in 2007 when podcasting was in its infancy. So, it should have been no surprise to me that not many people wanted to read podcast reviews, since they didn't know what a podcast was. Back then, I called the publication, Podcast Review. I know, zero points for creativity. The publication only lasted a few years.

Anyway, back in the dark ages, podcasts were often experiments by early adopters, wildly creative types, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and bold people not afraid to fail in order to learn. But there were also the conspiracy theorists, people not allowed out of their basements, and geeks who looked like Young Sheldon, just with shabbier wardrobes.

I recently discovered some of my earlier reviews and notes of possible reviews, and I thought it might be fun to share snippets of some of the more memorable podcasts I reviewed.

 

 My Next Guest....

 There was a woman from Indiana who had an interview podcast. She actually sent me a message alerting me to the "incredible guests I have on the show every week."

So, I listened to four episodes. In those four shows, the creator/host introduced a police officer, lawyer, doctor, and college professor. All the guests were women. By the end of the second episode, I noticed that all the guests sound like...well...the host. By the end of the third episode, I was sure of it. The creator/host were also the guests as she tried to disguise her voice. Of course, I didn't publish the review, but it was ironic because her guests (which were her) were actually quite informative and entertaining! 

 This Little Piggie

Jack (name withheld by me) from Florida had a podcast named Tale Of Toe Cities. The Dickens reference initially made me curious. Each episode was five minutes in length and consisted of Jack, the host, interviewing each of Jack's ten toes. That's right, you heard me. Jack interviewed his own toes. All 10 of them. Jack was quite good at accents and voices. Each of his ten toes had a name and different ethnic background. 

For example, his second toe on the right foot was named Khenan and spoke in a thick Jamaican accent. The third toe on his left foot was named Archie, and was of royal blood. 

I actually felt sorry for Nigel, who was his pinky toe on his left foot because Nigel was being bullied by all the other toes. The podcast logo was a photo of Jack's foot. I began the review after listening to each toe's episode and then the show just stopped producing new episodes. Two weeks later, the archives were also deleted. I never knew what happened. Ingrown toenail? 

Love At First Mic

 There was the man who tried to record his first dates and then make a podcast episode from those dates. This was in the early years of online dating. Needless to say, most of the women he dated didn't appreciate his recording their date, and so there were few, if any, second dates. 

It didn't help that in the episodes he uploaded, "David" would ask the women for sex on that first date. Two women pepper sprayed him, and one went to the bathroom and never returned. 

I have to admit that listening in on the date conversation had a certain fascination. Keeping in mind that "David" edited the date conversations to make himself sound as interesting and witty as possible, I still found him to be a "wanker."

He must have run out of first dates because the podcast ended after nine episodes.  

 Smooth Operator

 Jill from Tennessee was a staunch advocate of smoothies. Her show, called Smooth Operator, was a callback to smoothies and the 1984 hit song of the same name by British-Nigerian singer-songwriter Sade Adu. Jill played that song at the beginning and end of each episode with, I'm sure, not securing the rights to the song.

On the show, Jill would detail the recipes from different smoothies that were healthy for listeners. In every episode, Jill would run the blender for several minutes, then you'd hear her pour the smoothie into a glass. She'd taste it, smack her lips, and declare it heavenly. 

According to Jill, listeners needed the right blender to master smoothie nirvana. Guess who was selling them? That's right, Jill. For the outrageously expensive price of $899 Jill would ship listeners her specially designed blender. The blender was made with titanium blades, futuristic glasses, and had 47 options to make a smoothie. 

I listened to the first two episodes, then skipped for a month or so and returned only to find Jill, now in desperate financial straits, hawking her blender for $49. She confessed to listeners in that episodes that she had purchased 1,000 of these blenders from China and now had to pay for them. So far, she had sold six blenders.

I felt sorry for Jill and did return as a listener a month later. Now, Jill had opened a smoothie store with all those blenders and was advertising the store. 

"Mention the name of the podcast and get ten percent off your next smoothie at the Smooth Operator store," Jill announced.

 There was the man who spent 12 episodes discussing one movie, National Treasure with Nicolas Cage. 

Or the woman who traveled around evaluating Cheesecake Factory restaurants. She was attempting to sample the entire menu. Good luck with that.

Or the woman who discussed her wild animal dental collections. Did you know that most bear species, including grizzly and black bears, have 42 teeth? 

I have fond memories of the people who were brave enough to test out podcasting in the beginning. 

Heroes indeed.  

Want to meet me at Smooth Operator in Tennessee for a smoothie? You can take a photo with Jill!