Jake Tapper eavesdrops, Marc Maron helps Tig advise, and owls hoot from inside their eggs

Plus I check in to see how the strikes are affecting my episodic rewatch podcasts

Back after a break

I’ve spent almost a week immersed in all things Star Trek, not just because I was at a convention but also because I am OBSESSED with “Subspace Rhapsody,” the Strange New Worlds musical episode.

As a countermeasure, I’ve tried to focus my attention on some non-Trek podcasts to avoid being swallowed up entirely by nerdery.

(p.s. I interviewed the director for TrekMovie to get the inside scoop on this gem.)

Armchair Expert to the rescue!

The Jake Tapper episode of Armchair Expert was a treat. I think my favorite part was hearing him describe what it was like eavesdropping on Dax and Johnny Knoxville swapping Burt Reynolds stories at a huge week-long event hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Apparently Jimmy Kimmel owns this beautiful lodge in Idaho, and once a year he shuts it down for a week and invites a ton of friends and their families to enjoy great meals and adventures like white water rafting and horseback riding and whatnot. Listen: If I had a gajillion dollars, I would absolutely do this for my family and friends. I think it’s an ideal use of money. It sounds awesome, and I don’t even like that many outdoor activities.

Truth be told, I’m an indoorsy gal who’d rather be listening to podcasts than rowing a canoe, which sounds exhausting and buggy. But I do have a thing about one particular force of nature: owls. Imagine my glee when I found out Dax & Monica had an owl expert on the podcast. Celebrities, schmelebrites! I could not hit play quickly enough.

Jennifer Ackerman is a science writer who knows even more about owls than I did back when I used to write about them for every science assignment in elementary school. That seems less impressive now that I’ve written it, but trust me, it’s a big deal. (Owls were among my very first obsessions, side-by-side with Star Trek and Paul Simon).

I think one of my favorite new owl facts is that some baby owls hoot inside their eggs before they hatch. And also, sometimes owls will make a rattling sound to scare potential predators into thinking they are rattlesnakes and fleeing.

I’m also WAY behind on Armchair Anonymous episodes and can’t wait to catch up. This one looks particularly intriguing:

Marc Maron stopped by Don’t Ask Tig

I think I could listen to these two for hours whether or not they’re giving advice. His deep chuckle always kills me, and I was somewhat amazed to hear these two edgy people talking about how much they love their cats and trying to help someone name a new strain of tomato.

Tig had Sandra Bernhard on a few weeks ago and I loved that one too. I will never forget going to see The King of Comedy with my grandmother, which is where I saw Sandra for the first time. My grandmother kept calling her “that crazy dame” and we were both quite taken with her. I saw her one-woman show on Broadway back in the day, and I even had a strange one-on-one encounter with her in a bookstore when I was in college. She’s nuts, but I love her.

Quick hits: How are the strikes affecting my podcasts?

Well, we knew this was coming… SAG-AFTRA has told its members not to promote any of their “struck work” during this time, so let’s check in in how it’s affecting all my episodic rewatch podcasts:

The Delta Flyers

Garrett Wang and Robbie McNeill have done it: They’ve covered every single episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Being their extra considerate selves, they knew the strikes were coming and crammed in some extra episodes so they could cover the finale, plus they said they banked a few episodes looking back at the series as a whole

Our thoughtful cohosts (and their thoughtful producers) delivered not only an insightful analysis of the series finale, they also made an exciting announcement: Their next show is going to be Deep Space Nine, and they’re bringing Armin Shimerman and Terry Farrell aboard to do it! Sweet!

I can’t wait. Except I must. Stupid selfish studios.

Parks and Recollection

I still check into this from time to time, and if the guests intrigues me, I listen. They still have bunch recorded before the strike, and have not (as far as I know) announced a plan for what happens when they run out. I liked this one with writer Norm Hiscock.

The Office Ladies

I don’t know what’s up with them! They went on a two-week vacation and have not announced how many episodes they recorded before they left. That said, I think I’d listen to Angela and Jenna talk about anything, so hopefully they’ll keep going anyway.

It’s Not Only Football: Friday Night Lights and Beyond

I’ve been too busy to get absorbed in whatever they’re talking about over there, to be honest. I’m still catching up on podcasts I missed while I was away, so headlines like “Zach Gilford’s Summer Vacation Cruise” aren’t quite grabbing me.

Busy times on All Access Star Trek

We’re taking a break this week, but we’ve crammed a lot of podcasts into the last month or so.

We did a live panel at the big Star Trek convention in Las Vegas with the gang from the Shuttle Pod, for one. It was called “The State of Star Trek” and we talked about all the changes in the past year, speculated on the future, and had some thoughtful contributions from audience members too. I used to get SO nervous before these things, but I think I’m getting used to them now. We had fun.

We also reviewed the last few episodes of season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, including my beloved musical episode.

See? We could use some down time for sure. And I want to catch up on some podcasts that fall outside my regular territory now that I’m back home and don’t have any giant Star Trek conventions to go to.

Wait, I don’t have a giant Star Trek convention to go to?