AV Club Best Podcast of 2011

[Christina]

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I used to listen to that show all the time! It was super funny - and I think Dan Savage is a true American hero - the guy responsible not only for It Gets Better but also for Santorum.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

The Best Show is like the Grateful Dead in some significant ways (but much better, obviously). Long shows, cult following, improvisation, wading through certain parts (bad calls)... Perhaps that's why it ranks so highly for some people and not at all for others... Live radio for 3 hours. They should have made a bigger point of that.

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I bet Tom would be thrilled to hear the Grateful Dead comparison!  You should call in!

[fonpr]

The Best Show is like the Grateful Dead in some significant ways (but much better, obviously). Long shows, cult following, improvisation, wading through certain parts (bad calls)... Perhaps that's why it ranks so highly for some people and not at all for others... Live radio for 3 hours. They should have made a bigger point of that.

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I bet Tom would be thrilled to hear the Grateful Dead comparison!  You should call in!

Yes!

[masterofsparks]

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I used to listen to that show all the time! It was super funny - and I think Dan Savage is a true American hero - the guy responsible not only for It Gets Better but also for Santorum.

I heard a story about Santorum's Google problem on NPR when I left work today. Sadly, I missed the first part of the story so I didn't get to hear the NPR voice describing what Santorum is.

[Barry in Ireland]

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I used to listen to that show all the time! It was super funny - and I think Dan Savage is a true American hero - the guy responsible not only for It Gets Better but also for Santorum.

I heard a story about Santorum's Google problem on NPR when I left work today. Sadly, I missed the first part of the story so I didn't get to hear the NPR voice describing what Santorum is.

"Hey everybody, this is Ira Glass. Today on our show, three stories about the frothy mixture of lu.....(sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip)

[bananagrabbers]

http://www.avclub.com/articles/podmass-best-podcasts-of-2011,67056/

This process makes little sense to me, but hey, I'm always glad to see accolades for The Best Show.

Bee in my bonnet: when has the podcast ever been three hours?

Always?  After removing the music, it usually clocks in around 2:45.

Huh, I always thought it was closer to 2:30 after editing, which I thought was a significant enough difference to not round up.

I think it speaks to Tom's abilities when someone says the show "writes itself", because he keeps the show going at such a natural pace it seems like he's more of a brilliant ad-lib storyteller (which he is) rather than a calculated showman.

....

I feel bad that he's taken offense to this idea that he doesn't work hard on his show. Lots of people know and appreciate the work that goes into it, I wish he could just know that and laugh it off when some dumb kid writes something that ignorant.

I imagine the frustration is born out of a usually decent site writing a terribly offhanded and shitty "compliment."  They should know better.

[chilyte]

I bet Tom would be thrilled to hear the Grateful Dead comparison!  You should call in!

Yes!

I almost deleted it for that reason. On the other hand, I wasn't making a qualitative comparison. And perhaps Mike and Vance might have something to say. Still not calling in.

[not that clay]

On a side note, this list made me recall Dan Savage's old KCMU call-in show back in the early 90's. It wasn't a comedy show, but often very funny.

I have two memories of that show:

1) the bestiality guy from from the midwest, who argued with Dan for 20 minutes. Dan asked him if his horse was male or female, and the guy got mad -- "I'm not GAY!!!"

2) Rocket ... ... ... ... Pizza.

True story: everybody who worked on Dan's show hated him but they were all afraid of him. When the building where they recorded the show was torn down they didn't tell him. He just showed up one day and there was no studio. That was how the show ended.

[chilyte]

True story: everybody who worked on Dan's show hated him but they were all afraid of him. When the building where they recorded the show was torn down they didn't tell him. He just showed up one day and there was no studio. That was how the show ended.

I used to volunteer in the old KCMU studio during pledge drives, as a teen. I had no idea that it ended that way, or that Dan was so disliked, or feared. Never met him. One of my favorite memories from that time was the show they would do in a cafe/bar around the holidays, during which they would read ridiculous amateur erotica culled from the web (the early days of the web).