Comfort listening

Craig Robinson, Molly McNearney, Larry David, John Oliver, Camila Mendes, and 'Trek, Marry, Kill'

Things have been… serious over here. Everything is okay, truly, but it hasn’t been the easiest couple of weeks and I have found refuge in podcasts (as well as comfort rewatches of Parks and Recreation). It occurs to me that in hard times, I use podcasts in different ways, so in this issue of my increasingly random newsletter, I will categorize them by type… basically, the mood as they provided just when I needed it most.

Comfort listening

I often find comfort and refuge in the fact-check section of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. I get it if you skip this part of the pod; it’s often about 30 minutes long and usually has very little fact-checking. Sometimes it’s just Dax and Monica talking about planning a business trip to India, or what happened when Dax’s dog ate chocolate and they had to make him vomit it up in the tub, or the time Monica’s phone was stolen in London, or a visit from one of Dax’s kids who has an interesting math problem.

When I want to feel like I’m hanging out with two interesting people who don’t need a response from me as they keep the conversation going, it is perfect.

And I am not really into podcast preambles (or post-ambles), generally. Smartless is short & sweet and usually pretty funny, but I skip the long intros on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and WTF with Marc Maron even though both of those dudes are smart and funny and have interesting things to say. Yet I always listen to the fact-check. If you don’t love Dax & Monica, it’s not for you, but BOY is it ever for me.

They’ve also had some great guests lately.

This was one of my favorites: Molly McNearney, head writer on Jimmy Kimmel Live (and also Jimmy’s wife; they started dating after she’d been working there for a while), and head writer on the Oscars when Jimmy’s hosting.

I was happy to see Jason Bateman back. Listening to him on a previous episode is what convinced me Smartless would be worth my time (and it is). And he is.

I also enjoyed this talk with Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize winner who has a new book about being a “supercommunicator.” Perfect topic.

Camila Mendes was also a blast. (This one has the fact-check about the dog and the chocolate, btw.)

And a new one JUST went up with Rob Reiner, which I won’t have time to start until tonight. Can’t wait.

Getting a much-needed laugh

Andy Richter and Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson was on The Three Questions with Andy Richter and Andy could see him drinking something (on Zoom) and asked what it was. Craig said it was bone broth, Andy said “I hope it’s not your own.” Craig explained he’s at a studio and they told him Goop had good bone broth, and there was a Goop Kitchen down the street so they got him some.

Craig and Andy speculated on whether or not Gwyneth was behind the counter, they traded some “Hi Gwyneth”s, and then Andy said, “I came to get my vagina steamed.” I almost fell off the treadmill.

Conan O’Brien and Larry David

More big laughs came from Conan O’Brien’s interview with Larry David. Sadly, it was recorded before the Elmo kerfuffle, which I would have loved to hear them talk about. (For the record—and with apologies to Wil Wheaton—I found it hilarious and harmless, and his “apology” even more so.)

Hey, I get that he drives people crazy. I happen to be one of the five people in the world who wasn’t into Seinfeld, but I totally get Larry’s urge to police the world, or rather, to avoid things other people put up with out of habit. His idea of a party sheriff? Brilliant. I also cracked up at his story about exiting an event that went on for too long with “I have a question and then I have to run out.” (Conan was at the same event and was stuck there until the end.) I have totally ditched other people because I felt like if I was smart enough to figure out how to get out and they weren’t, so be it! I try to cultivate a generous spirit within myself, but sometimes it’s every man for himself, so to speak. I laughed a LOT during this one.

That night, I had a dream that my friend Wendy and I were pitching an idea or a show or something and couldn’t figure out where we had to go to do it, and Conan drove us there, then showed us which office our meeting was in, then chose to sit in with us in case his presence was helpful, which it was. Thanks, Conan!

Trek, Marry, Kill

I always enjoy Trek, Marry, Kill, but I found extra joy in the recent episode about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” Bryan and Kristen got hung up on EXACTLY the same incidentals I could not let go of: the gigantic luxury hotel room with a perfect view paid for with chess games and the ability to cross the Canadian/American border twice without any ID immediately following a terrorist attack. They could easily have accomplished the same thing story-wise without requiring complete suspension of disbelief. (And I had the same issue with them throwing their Starfleet uniforms in a garbage for someone to find.)

Best of all, Bryan and Kristen admitted they enjoyed the episode anyway.

Listening inspired me to try an experiment: I am rewatching Strange New Worlds from the beginning with the assumption that every single thing that happens, starting with the first moment of episode 1, takes place in an alternate timeline. It’s been fun so far.

Ooh, and my pals Brian and Kayla were on Trek, Marry, Kill a few weeks ago to discuss “Shuttlepod One” from Enterprise, which was a treat.

Finding hope in hopelessness

Can you feel hope in hopelessness? Yes. I think that’s the reason I watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, because it reminds me that I’m not the only one who knows the world is crazy and I am right to be freaked out by it. So listening to John Oliver and Marc Maron talk was weirdly soothing, because they are two smart dudes I respect and they feel the same way I do about this wackadoo time in American (and world) history.

Embracing familiarity

My Mondays remain devoted to the Delta Flyers: Journey Through the Wormhole and I am still thoroughly enjoying their look at Deep Space Nine with Armin Shimerman or Terry Farrell, depending on who’s available that week. I hope they start inviting guests on soon, but it’s just been invigorating and comforting at the same time anyway.

This isn’t their most recent one, but it was a particular favorite. Allamaraine!

Trek tomfoolery

Tony and I took a week off, but before that, we did a whole episode using his interviews on the Saturn Awards red carpet and press room, where he got some great stuff. He talked about Star Trek to Jeri Ryan, Doug Jones, Michelle Hurd, Tawny Newsome, Danai Gurira, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis (who yelled at him!), Wil Wheaton, Terry Matalas, Paul Wesley, Zach Galligan, and, believe it or not, Nicolas Cage. Fun.

And I got huge, cathartic laughs this week when I was on Virtual Trek Con’s pre-show hype show for the LLAPy Awards with several of the SyFy Sistas and some folks from the Lambda Quadrant. I made myself a cocktail (in a Chris Pine glass) and we went through all the award categories and laughed ourselves silly. Huge thank you to my co-panelists who boosted my spirits and the gang at Virtual Trek Con for inviting me back.

Before I go…

My incredible grandmother, Mildred Ulster, died last week at the age of 104. She was extraordinary: smart, loving, and open-minded, always living in the modern age and embracing new technology and ideas. It’s a huge loss to our entire family.

Here's a photo of her with my grandfather, Ben. These two stayed in love with each other in every minute of every day they were together. They believed in love and fun and movies and family and acceptance and all the good things.

I love and miss them both.

I did have two proper goodbyes with my grandmother, and told her how much I love her and how her love for her family inspires the rest of us. I absolutely won the lottery when it comes to my giant wackadoo wonderful family, and remain grateful for every minute I had with Granny.