TITLE : The Treatment

SUPPORT : KCRW

WEB : kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt

LENGTH : 28 minutes

STYLE : live interview

CONCEPT

Elvis Mitchell interviews directors, writers, comedians and other entertainment creators in the studio at KCRW.  Not the most original idea in the book, a live interview, but casting Mitchell as the show’s host was a very good concept indeed.

HOST

Mitchell really has a knack for putting his guests at ease, and I’m sure it has something to do with him being a cool, intelligent black man with sensitive eyes behind wired glasses under a mop of killer dreads.  Something about his eclectic physicality must make people feel like they could tell him anything, as if he’d seen it all already and he’s just welcoming them to commiserate.  He lets his guests speak at length about things they’re passionate about, and leads them effortlessly into their next thoughts.  I’m a pretty big fan of his interview style.  He doesn’t grill them, he doesn’t noticeably bait them, he doesn’t ask the same trite questions of every guest he meets — he just knowingly asks guests about themselves, then lets them flow.

GUESTS

Guests of the show are famous, no doubt, but when a property is hot (i.e. J.J. Abrams after the most recent Star Trek), they’re kind of too hot for The Treatment.  Michell interviews really interesting people, sure, but his show is often peppered with creators promoting properties that haven’t performed well for a national audience.  Since Mitchell’s also a fim critic, I sometimes wonder how he ends up with certain guests.

For example, Brad Silberling?  Really?  “Land of the Lost” was not well-reviewed, not to mention that Kim Masters (host of another KCRW show The Business) has ragged on his film several times for being an example of a movie that was too expensive on top of being a real flop — a model of what isn’t working for studios today and definitely a thing of the past.  So why would any self-respecting entertainment news program want to give that voice such a strong, half-hour long platform to discuss a project that’s not worth emulating?  I think the clear answer to this question is “balance.”

The Treatment is one nice way of getting a fair and balanced opinion about mainstream entertainment, so it’s worth incorporating into your too-rich diet of entertainment podcasts.  Mitchell makes it pretty painless to listen to the 80% of creators in the world that are basically forgettable.  You don’t need to hold your nose for all the episodes, but every so often there’s a guest that, in title, just seems disappointing.  If you give them a chance to speak for themselves though, they are often redeemed by the end.

TITLE : Do or DIY with People Like Us

SUPPORT : WFMU

WEB : wfmu.org/playlists/PL and peoplelikeus.org/radio.htm

LENGTH : 20 minutes - 3 hours

STYLE : sound art, DJ, mix

CONCEPT

A simultaneous mix of what’s low-brow and high-brow in music.  Very original.  Requires some attention.

CONTENT

Totally unexpected.  There’s world music, classic rock, pop, live noise from the environment, screaming, cheering, cartoon noise bloopers, and probably more I haven’t even picked up on.  Songs are often played simultaneously, creating rich, interesting melodies almost by accident.

LISTENING EXPERIENCE 

Some pieces will draw you in more than others.  The hits are hits though, and what isn’t appealing usually involves screaming.  But if you’re into screaming, you might enjoy every minute of every episode.

BEST PLACE TO LISTEN

In the studio doing what you do, use it to tune out construction, or sit at home and listen alone.

TITLE : Marketplace

SUPPORT : American Public Media

WEB : marketplace.publicradio.org

LENGTH : 28 minutes

STYLE : news, produced

CONCEPT

Exploring the current market inside and out.  How small business fits into it, how big businesses stand up to it, and how we all benefit (or fail) when it comes to shaking our veritable money-makers.

CONTENT

I hate money.  I don’t get it.  But for some reason, I look forward to hearing Marketplace every day.  I’m always up on this program, even when I haven’t listened to TAL in a month.  It’s timely and interesting, and for someone who doesn’t read the daily news, I find that I’m able to stay pretty current with global affairs and technology by listening to less than a half-hour of Marketplace each day.  We’ve all come to realize that the economy affects way more than your granddaddy’s stock portfolio, and Marketplace succeeds in their effort to inject the human aspects of money management and circulation into what comes across in other venues as a very dry subject.

PRODUCTION

American Public Media brings us The Splendid Table, A Prairie Home Companion, The Story and American Routes — they certainly didn’t drop the ball with Marketplace.

MUSIC

I love that every time the market’s up they play “We’re in the Money” and when it’s down they play “Stormy Weather.”  The rest of the music is fine too, but the different renditions those two songs just crack me up each time.  It’s a good running gag.

TITLE : Old Jews Telling Jokes

SUPPORT : Sam Hoffman and friends

WEB : oldjewstellingjokes.com

LENGTH : 20 seconds to 3 minutes

STYLE : video, stand-up comedy

CONCEPT

Elderly Jewish people are video taped against a white wall where they tell jokes. Usually the jokes are in a story style, and there is a small audience of people watching the performers off-camera, who supply an obligatory but genuine laugh track at the end of each episode.

CONTENT

What’s not to love about the humor of old people?  Even the stinkers are funny.

PRODUCTION

The performers are taped from two angles, and the audio from each camera is usually different. Sometimes the takes are spliced very closely together, which clips the dialog and can be a little distracting. Looks lovely though with the white background, and it’s well-designed in terms the title sequence, which is very simple and easy to interpret.

THEME MUSIC 

Cheery and dated.  Very appropriate for the concept.

TITLE : FilmCouch

SUPPORT : Spout blog

WEB : blog.spout.com/category/filmcouch/

LENGTH : 30-40 minutes

STYLE : produced, conversational

CONCEPT

Two guys who went to art school talk about film.  They’re smart, easy to laugh, and each have fine voices for radio.  They don’t think of themselves as film critics, so their conversation is mostly about old films, some new films, trends, ideas within film and inspired by film, and so on.  It’s mostly a smart reaction to film in general, so it’s not breaking any news, but it’s hilighting the often-ignored aspects of film viewing that really makes my roster of film podcasts complete.  It’s often like listening in on the kind of conversation you wish you were having with your intelligent, film-loving friends, and sometimes get to.  Also, they call Karina Longworth for the last segment of the show, who is an actual film critic, to get an insider’s perspective on different festival happenings and reviews or responses to current movies.

CONTENT 

Each episode tackles a single topic, which leads the guys’ conversation through a dialog that easily (or eventually) works towards an understandable response or thesis.

PRODUCTION

The guys don’t just sit and talk and let their ideas ramble into unimportance.  They rehearse a conversation, record, then edit it.  The show doesn’t feel over-produced, it feels very natural, professional, intelligent and pithy because they’re taking their time to cull the process.  This isn’t a podcast that just talks about film to talk about film.  These guys are creating a podcast with core values about the importance of film in general, not just what’s happening now.  Their partnership works so well because they obviously care as much about this conversation as they do about other, major areas of their life.

THEME MUSIC

It works!  Very functional.  Not irritating.

TITLE : The Official Podcast of Creative Screenwriting Magazine

SUPPORT : Creative Screenwriting Magazine

WEB : creativescreenwriting.com

LENGTH : 1-1.5 hours

STYLE : live interview

CONCEPT

If there was a formula for the show, it would almost always start off with Jeff Goldsmith in the intro making an apology for something he did live and couldn’t edit, some equipment failure, or something else.  Next comes the interview process, and there’s nothing new about that.  The Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast is just what you would expect: a live, uncut interview recorded in front of an audience.  There’s nothing really bad about the concept or really great, it just “is what it is” which makes it so-so.

CONTENT 

The guests are very informative and each person or team’s career illuminates a lot in terms of movie making.  Personally, I’m addicted to hearing people talk about their craft in general, but screenwriters in particular have great minds for live interview, it seems.  They never cease to fascinate me.  They are very thorough storytellers and rarely shirk the question or give half-full responses.

WEBSITE

Awful!  Not coded right, so every page looks different.  Information is very difficult to find.

TITLE : IndieFeed

SUPPORT : independent

WEB : indiefeed.com

LENGTH : 5 minutes

STYLE : produced

CONCEPT

Highlighting new, noteworthy indie bands by playing rights-cleared music clips.  Includes brief artist bios and upcoming projects.

CONTENT 

I’ve never heard anything that moved me to buy an album, or got me really interested in a new band, but I’ll call that a personal taste issue.  Still, I like being able to listen to a few new tunes each week, and it takes the legwork out of getting new music recommendations from friends or other internet sources.

TITLE : BackStory - With the American History Guys

SUPPORT : Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Radio

WEB : backstoryradio.org

LENGTH : 53 minutes

STYLE : produced, conversational

CONCEPT

Three history professors, each specializing in a specific century, talk about current events through the lens of their respective century.

PERSONALITY

The hosts are super nice to their callers, and each other.  They tell wonderful puns.

BONUS!

You can participate in the show “live” by contributing online to their in-progress episodes. LINK