Tag Archives: Serial

The Five Best Podcasts of 2014

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Image via Serial

All it took was one little girl to mispronounce the word chimp and suddenly podcasts were all anybody can talk about.

Honestly, I live in a such a bubble that I forgot that most people don’t listen to podcasts, let alone have even heard of one. Then, Serial rolled around and it became the new form of small talk. Thanks to that, people were now going and listening to other podcasts. Finally, I could talk a lot of my friends about Marc Maron! All was well in podcast land.

This is the first year I will be sharing a list of podcasts. This is not the first year that I have listened to enough podcasts to compile a best of list, but it is the first year where I actually think I understand podcasts and have gotten a taste of the wide variety out there. Before this year, I mainly listened to comedy podcasts. In 2014, I opened my heart to a single one about business. What a world.

Without much further adieu, here is my list of the five best podcasts of 2014, not including my own because I’m not that much of an ass:

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The Reel Deal Podcast

The Golden Age of Golden Ages

Happy Hanukkah! Here’s an episode I recorded back in November that never made it to air until now. I discuss why we should stop talking about Golden Ages, check in with the cast of Happy Endings, and review Zach Braff’s very Jewish, very irritating, Wish I Was Here.

Analog This: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2014

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Image via Reddit

I swear if somebody tells me that it’s the Golden Age of Television one more time…

Look, I’m not saying that this isn’t an amazing time for TV. All I am saying is that labeling one year as a golden age sets you up for future failure and disappointment. For instance, people who label the 1930s and 40s as the golden age of film completely disregard the amazing work done in later years. Plus, Gone with the Wind is sort of racist and Citizen Kane is kind of boring.

Earlier this year, some critics said the golden age of television was over. Really? Then how do you account for the fact that over half my list is freshman shows? As everything migrates towards cable and the web, TV is changing and currently on a curve of exponential growth. This is my first TV top ten list, because this is the first year that I feel like I watched enough shows that I could list ten and have a few honorary mentions.

It is amazing how diverse this year’s TV selections are. My list contains fantasy lands, New York during multiple different time periods, and a lot of talking animals. I don’t want to say that television is currently better than film, but I understand what the whack jobs who say that are talking about. Without further adieu, here is my list of the ten best shows of 2014:

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