If I had to break down the percentage of topics of my non-work conversation, it would probably go something like this:
- 70%: Food
- 15%: Podcasts
- 5%: Netflix
- 5%: Naps
- 5%: Other, including but not limited to Jon Hamm, the john, ham, Jon Hamm’s John Hamm, etc.
Food is a given, as are Jon Hamm and naps, but I’ve become a huge fan of podcasts. They’re a wonderful way to pass the time when you need a little entertainment. Out on a walk? Throw on a podcast! Driving to a place? Throw on a podcast! Prepping your meez? You see the pattern here, people.
There are all sorts of podcasts for your listening pleasure, but here are my go-tos.
- The Nerdist Podcast: Chris Hardwick (stand up comedian and former Singled Out Host) and his besties/fellow comedians, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira, co-host. They have wonderfully weird and funny conversations with celebrities and each other. Kyle Clarke, Katie Levine and Scout the dog join in and hilarity ensues.
- Favorite episodes include: Thomas Middleditch, Andrea Romano, and Mitch Hurwitz. The Hostfuls are my true favorites, but check those out once you’ve gotten to know the hosts.
- Wits: Have you guys ever listened to Prairie Home Companion? Wits is like Prairie Home Companion if Prairie Home Companion had better writing, funnier guests and cooler musical artists. I don’t hate Prairie Home Companion or anything. I just adore Wits. John Moe hosts this delightfully oddball variety show.
- Favorite episodes include: Jim Gaffigan with Reggie Watts and Thao Nguyen, Audience Choice Show 2014, Kristen Schaal with Typhoon
- WTF with Marc Maron: I resisted this one for awhile, but a friend recommended and I fell for it. Marc Maron is a comic who takes long form conversations to a new level. His honesty is charming and disarming and it allows his guests to really share with him. It feels like you’re listening in on someone’s therapy. Notable episodes are: Terry Gross, Henry Winkler, Remembering Harris Wittels
- The Thrilling Adventure Hour: Fans of old time-y radio and kitschy things will love this silly, delightful show. It’s a serialized radio show that follows among others a a society couple that seed ghosts and the marshall on Mars. All the comedians ever are on this thing. Notable episodes are: all of them. The new episodes end in August, but there are 250 episodes to go back to and enjoy.
Now you’re probably wondering: what the actual fuck does this have to do with food?
Well, I LISTEN to them during cooking. Which how I sometimes fuck up cooking. Look at how I messed up my buns.
Not MY buns. These hamburger buns. My buns are great. WINK.
To a crisp.
The cool part about a podcast is that you never know what you’ll learn. Even if you have preconceived notions about the guest, you might learn something really cool. For example: a recent Nerdist episode featured Dexter Holland. You might not know his name, but you probably know his work. He’s the lead singer of the bang The Offspring. They’re still touring (who knew?) but he’s also getting his PHD in molecular biology studying HIV (wait, WHAT?!) This conversation was fascinating. The most interesting thing is that this guy is curious about so many things. He didn’t know how to play music when he started his first band. He loves science so he started pursuing science. And he wanted to play music and continue studying science, so he did both.
And this is how he made a hot sauce. He’s passionate about hot sauce. So he decided to make one. You know, as you do.
Yeah. That’s him on the bottle.
It’s a nice hot sauce for casual hot sauce consumption. It’s say it has a similar heat level to a Tabasco. Unlike a Tabasco, it’s much more of pepper-forward vs. vinegar-forward. It was a nice kick of heat, but it didn’t blow out my palate.
So, I salute you, Dexter Holland. Your hot sauce is solid. Your scientific research is baller. And your music is a major earworm.
That’s pretty fly for a white guy.
OH, YOU SAW IT COMING.
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Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce is available at most grocery stores and online. Try it on tacos, eggs, and all the things. Eat it while listening to The Nerdist podcast and enjoy your burrito, folks.
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P.S. There are some food podcasts that I’ve started exploring. More on that to come.
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