10,000 Hours
Myself, along with my longtime friend, writer, director and producer Grant Spanier, spent five years interviewing our idols, asking them about how they perfected their personal crafts. The show’s concept was loosely based around Gladwell’s pop-sci proposition that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a master.
We talked to some incredible people over the shows 138-episode, 5-season run. The voice of Siri (Susan Bennet), comedian Kevin Allison, and entrepreneur Seth Godin were among the esteemed guests we had absolutely no business getting to spend our time with.
These Parts
With my cohost, traveling companion, and close friend (also author and designer) Elliot Matson, we embarked on a wild foray into the world of improv comedy, posing as the fictional great-great-grandsons of Rand McNally (who we would later learn was actually two people).
What started as a fun pastime where we could workshop our unpracticed comedy unexpectedly became a minor sensation. Under the premise of a traveling podcast, we aped NPR and the cult-de-Americana of smalltown life in our fully improvised three-season run. Along the way, we were even (somehow) joined by world-class comedians from all over the country.
Building a Better Bond
The second foray into improv for Elliot and myself (no lessons had as of yet been learned) was an 8-part miniseries dedicated to everybody’s favorite soon-to-be-cancelled espionage icon, James Bond.
As two fans of the franchise, we wanted to cash in on the relentlessly undying cachet of the question of who will ultimately replace Daniel Craig. In doing so, we pretend to be a radio show (while being a radio show) that ranks and rates each Bond through history.
My cohost plays a fictionalized George Lazenby and maintains an (admirable if imperfect) Australian accent throughout.
Takes of Our Lives
As a big fan of watching TV (I much prefer it to working, for instance) and an aspiring pop-culture critic, it seemed only natural that I, and my friend and fellow nostalgia-snob, Steve Wilk, would create a media review podcast.
In 2018 we began the project with a watchalong episode-for-episode companion to Season 1 of the much-talked about early 2000’s primetime highschool soap, The OC.
Three years later, we’re still going strong. Season 2, tackling the Bridget Jones Diary extended universe, launched in March, and recording for Season 3 (Frasier!) is underway.
