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[Podcast Club] August 2016 - "RISK!"

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  • 02-08-2016 8:04pm
    #1
    wnolan1992
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 14,009 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    The Podcast Club is a monthly opportunity for to share the podcasts we love with each other. Similar to a book club, you are encouraged to check out the episodes suggested below and discuss them. If you wish to suggest a podcast, head over to [url=]this thread[/url] to sign up for an upcoming month!


    So I said I'd take on the first month of this, and I've chosen a podcast that's got a very special place in my life.

    "RISK!" is a story-telling podcast similar to The Moth, except the stories on RISK are far from suitable for broadcast on NPR. The tagline for the show is "True Tales, Boldly Told", so that may give you an idea of what you're in for here.

    The show is a mix of recordings from live shows with audiences and pre-recorded stories that are edited specifically for the show. The topics covered range across the entire spectrum, from rape, sexual abuse and violence, to incredible stories of love, joy and happiness, right down to the just plain hilariously bizarre.

    The stories are broken up by host Kevin Allison (member of the sketch comedy group The State) and he often injects his personal stories in these segments too. He also does some of the funniest ad-reads I've heard in podcasts. :pac:

    The show used to be part of the MaximumFun network, which is where I first was exposed to it, but it has now gone back to being totally independent.

    The podcast can be found on http://www.risk-show.com and you can support them by going to http://risk-show.com/support/

    SO! I've chosen a number of episodes that have stories that I found particularly interesting/moving as examples of why I love this podcast so much.
    • The Walking Wounded: This one combines a funny story and a serious story. If the first storyteller annoys you, skip to 17:25 for the better of the two stories.
    • Stumbling Blocks: I chose this one because the 3rd story is honestly one of the best that's ever been told on the podcast. The first two are well worth a listen as well, but #3 involves someone deciding to donate a kidney to the US's incompatible donor list which leads to a massive chain reaction.
    • Best of #6: A Best of compilation that has a story about visiting North Korea, a story about drag queens and a story about being a Jehovah's Witness missionary.
    • Morgan: A story about an ironworker named Joe who became a comedienne named Morgan, essentially a story about being transgender.
    • Matt McCarthy: A story about being a young teenager surrounded by really, really drunk people.
    • My Old Man: Stories about people's relationships with their fathers.

    There are so many other episodes I could have chosen, but I think these give a good spread of reasons as to why I adore this podcast. Enjoy!


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    #2
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Cheers, downloading now.

    What's the plan for the thread so? Discuss in general terms, or should we aim to listen to certain episodes and discuss them in detail?


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    #3
    wnolan1992
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 14,009 Mod ✭✭✭✭wnolan1992


    dulpit wrote: »
    Cheers, downloading now.

    What's the plan for the thread so? Discuss in general terms, or should we aim to listen to certain episodes and discuss them in detail?

    I'd say try and listen to the suggested ones, then come back and say why you liked/disliked the podcast and we can discuss around that. Then maybe if people go and listen to more episodes they can suggest others to people. Or if people know similar podcasts to this, maybe they can be suggested.

    Basically, I have no idea if this is going to work as a concept but I thought it'd be fun to try. :P


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    #4
    steve_r
    Registered Users Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭steve_r


    wnolan1992 wrote: »
    I'd say try and listen to the suggested ones, then come back and say why you liked/disliked the podcast and we can discuss around that. Then maybe if people go and listen to more episodes they can suggest others to people. Or if people know similar podcasts to this, maybe they can be suggested.

    Basically, I have no idea if this is going to work as a concept but I thought it'd be fun to try. :P

    Cool, downloaded a few and listening to the "stumbling blocks" one now


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    #5
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Just listened to the Matt McCarthy episode and the first half of the walking wounded episode. So far so excellent. I burst out laughing once with the Matt McCarthy episode
    when they rocked up to the Kennedy compound and they were all inside eating breakfast
    and laughed multiple times out loud with the girl telling her story about Staten Island. Pity I was in public listening to them (walking around tesco)

    Great recommendation, I'll definitely be ploughing through the other episodes as I can.

    2 words of warning: be prepared to laugh out loud, and the girl telling her Staten Island story starts out annoying, but it's worth it for the punchline.


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    #6
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Have listened to more of these, and I'll definitely be keeping this in my podcatcher.

    Some positives:
    The eclectic nature of the stories.
    The unexpected punchline of a few stories (I hope this is a recurring feature of the types of stories featured.
    The music selections, they are perfect for the stories they are linked with.

    Some negatives:
    It would be nice if the guy doing links between stories made some reference to the story just played.
    The link guy actually bothers me, he's very annoying. Even in the episode where he tells his own story, I couldn't warm to him.

    Some observations:
    It seems like the same 5 companies sponsor all podcasts everywhere.
    Except that this podcast also has a sponsor that's a sex shop, and one of the bonuses is a cock ring with a clit attachment :pac:


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    #7
    Arghus
    Registered Users Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭Arghus


    dulpit wrote: »

    Some observations:
    It seems like the same 5 companies sponsor all podcasts everywhere.
    Except that this podcast also has a sponsor that's a sex shop, and one of the bonuses is a cock ring with a clit attachment :pac:

    I'm sort of convinced at this stage that 95% of all podcasts are just merely advertising fronts for stamps.com


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    #8
    wnolan1992
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 14,009 Mod ✭✭✭✭wnolan1992


    dulpit wrote: »
    The music selections, they are perfect for the stories they are linked with.

    There are actually some "Best of RISK! - Music" episodes available. Basically there's no links, it's just a massive playlist of songs. It's quite nice to hear the full songs. I've actually discovered a few artists from the podcast, most notably Mike Doughty and Valley Lodge (fans of John Oliver will recognise this song).
    Some negatives:
    It would be nice if the guy doing links between stories made some reference to the story just played.
    The link guy actually bothers me, he's very annoying. Even in the episode where he tells his own story, I couldn't warm to him.

    I definitely agree that there isn't enough of him referencing the actual stories. Being honest, after listening to the podcast for almost 2 years now, and having gone back and listened to every episode available on iTunes, I mostly find myself just skipping the links. They're mostly just him reading an ad or a list of tour dates or something so I just skim to the stories.

    I do like him as a host though. I find his openness about his sexuality and experiences are really refreshing. He doesn't hide his kinks like most of us do.

    But I can totally also see why he might irritate some people. If I'm honest, I sort of was reluctant to suggest this podcast because I thought he might be a barrier to entry for some people.
    Some observations:
    It seems like the same 5 companies sponsor all podcasts everywhere.
    Except that this podcast also has a sponsor that's a sex shop, and one of the bonuses is a cock ring with a clit attachment :pac:

    The clit bumper! :pac:
    Arghus wrote: »
    I'm sort of convinced at this stage that 95% of all podcasts are just merely advertising fronts for stamps.com

    Stamps.com, Audible, Blue Apron, godaddy...


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    #9
    steve_r
    Registered Users Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭steve_r


    Cheers for the recomendation. Only posting full comments now as only access to a full keyboard now and wasn't going to type everything into a phone!

    The link guy is annoying but he's only a link guy. The ads are a necessary evil for the free content. Suprised no-one has mentioned Squarespace!

    Stumbling blocks:
    • First story was a bit tame tbh.
    • Second story was very powerful, and not an easy one to tell.
    • Third story is also excellent, a genuinely moving piece.
    Best of 6:
    • Drag queen story is entertaining
    • Vist to North Korea is very moving.
    • A story about sulpher which is entertaining!
    • Haven't finished this podcast yet.
    Overall it's a podcast well worth listening to. The variety of the stories and the uncensored nature of the stories really makes it worthwhile. Great share.


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    #10
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    steve_r wrote: »
    [*]Drag queen story is entertaining

    I listened to this while out pushing my small fella around in buggy. Laughing out loud in public yet again :D

    I've listened to a lot of these actually while walking the smallie, luckily he's only 8 months and I can stick on an earphone, not very child friendly at all :pac:


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    #11
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Some more thoughts on this. I've downloaded the rest of the best of's, have 1 left to listen to.
    1. The live shows are so much better than the recorded stories. To hear the audience's reaction to some stories makes it all the better to listen to. My favourite instance of this was the story about the guy who had the creepy neighbour in the big house
      and they found his half-eaten body on Thanksgiving!!!
      . The audience's reaction was epic.
    2. I get that it's a product of the host, but an disproportionate amount of the stories seem to be about being gay and/or kink. Gets a bit tiresome. The stories from left field are much more enjoyable.
    3. In general, the comedy type stories are of a better quality than the more serious ones.
    4. A lot of the "kink" stories seem to be told for the sake of kink. e.g. "Last week I went to a sex party and did SO MUCH WILD STUFF." Repeat for 20 minutes, and that's a good portion of the stories. #yawn
    5. I've already said it, but the host really grates, step aside dude!
    6. Screw you stamps.com... :pac:


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    #12
    wnolan1992
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 14,009 Mod ✭✭✭✭wnolan1992


    dulpit wrote: »
    Some more thoughts on this. I've downloaded the rest of the best of's, have 1 left to listen to.
    1. The live shows are so much better than the recorded stories. To hear the audience's reaction to some stories makes it all the better to listen to. My favourite instance of this was the story about the guy who had the creepy neighbour in the big house
      and they found his half-eaten body on Thanksgiving!!!
      . The audience's reaction was epic.
    2. I get that it's a product of the host, but an disproportionate amount of the stories seem to be about being gay and/or kink. Gets a bit tiresome. The stories from left field are much more enjoyable.
    3. In general, the comedy type stories are of a better quality than the more serious ones.
    4. A lot of the "kink" stories seem to be told for the sake of kink. e.g. "Last week I went to a sex party and did SO MUCH WILD STUFF." Repeat for 20 minutes, and that's a good portion of the stories. #yawn
    5. I've already said it, but the host really grates, step aside dude!
    6. Screw you stamps.com... :pac:

    I'd mostly agree with you about the live shows, though I have found that there are examples where the recorded "radio style" stories allow for a better buildup of suspense. I don't have any off hand examples, but sometimes i think they just hit the nail on the head with background music and stuff.

    I have also felt the same thing about the amount of stories about being gay that are on the podcast, but honestly I think that's got a lot to do with the overall general vibe of the show more than anything. It's very much a "throw off the shackles and be who you really are" deal, which I would assume is more appealing if you've been hiding your sexuality for years.



    One thing I meant to point out before, the little easter eggs at the end of the podcast are brilliant at times.


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    #13
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,270 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Listened to last week's episode yesterday, it was a different style episode, all to do with the sketch show Kevin Allison (the host) was a member of, called The State. I've never heard of The State, but have heard of some of the members, including Joe Lo Truglio and Ken Marino. A bunch of them have ended up in Wet Hot Amercian Summer or Reno 911! Very interesting episode...

    I must say that this recommendation has been great. I can't say it's the first podcast I listen to when it's available, but I am listening within a few days of an episode being launched. Thanks for suggestion!


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    #14
    ahlookit
    Registered Users Posts: 1,709 ✭✭✭ahlookit


    dulpit wrote: »
    I must say that this recommendation has been great. I can't say it's the first podcast I listen to when it's available, but I am listening within a few days of an episode being launched. Thanks for suggestion!

    +1

    Some of the stories in the episodes you linked were superb. Great mixture of serious and funny stories, some genuinely moving.

    I'm another who finds the presenters voice annoying. He reminds me of Marc Maron. Anytime I listen to WTF I skip through the first 15 mins or so to avoid his spiel. Will probably do the same with this, but its gone into my podcast app. Handy, as I'll be spending longer on the bus now that traffic has gone mental again as schools are back!


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