Yeti- Podcast Review

An interesting 10 part podcast which finds two friends, Andrew Benfield (the believing Mulder of the pair) and Richard Horsey (the cynical Scully of the pair) investigating the yeti. Now, many would say that the yeti is obviously a myth but when David Attenborough said he believed that there was something to the yeti sightings in 2015, you can't help but sit up and take notice.

The pod starts off with Benfield talking about the origins of his interest in the yeti. After that, our our intrepid travellers schlepp off to numerous Himalayan countries and following old clues and sightings to see if they can get to the truth.

They are aware of colonial and cultural bias, the old belief that it only really exists if it has been seen and documented by a middle aged Western white guy, but my issue with it is that any little clue is presented in an over the top 'OMG!' way by the believer, it gets rather grating when it is debunked or evidence to the contrary is given. It's not as rediculiusly contrived as 'Most Haunted' or that ilk of programme but the 'I want to believe' shtick is definitely there. The fact that the expedition is being followed by the Royal Geographical Society means that you do have to take the search more seriously than you otherwise would but still... a pinch of salt would help.

It's an interesting podcast though and does make you think about where folklore mixes with the real world to create mythologies. It also places the sightings and events into a chronological history and this is a fascinating insight into the evolution of this cryptid. The different ways of thinking about the creature are profound, for the West it's a search for a physical creature whereas for much of the area where the yeti has been sighted, it is a mystical creature who is symbolic of their spirituality and our connectedness to nature. The finale pretty much says this and, whilst I agree, it is a cop-out for a 10 episode podcast.

The finale of the series, where they test some hair from the ‘yeti’, is yet to be revealed as I write this but I’m not expecting much from the grand reveal. Overall, this is an interesting thought experiment but works less well as a 10 part series.

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The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Now in Podcast Form

I love Squirrel Girl. After the series ended a couple of years ago, I was heartbroken (Seriously, check my tweet below which was liked by Ryan North, the writer of Squirrel Girl).

The property has been lying dormant for a while now but yesterday Ryan North posted this message and got the Twittersphere going nuts…

I went to the website, The Marvel website promotes it as this:

Squirrel Girl has taken down Thanos and Doctor Doom – but now she faces something far more terrifying… living authentically. Empire State University college student, Doreen Green, has recently been outed as a Super Hero – The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! Hoping to unify her personas in the public eye, Squirrel Girl has created a new student radio show on ESU’s own college station. With the help of her best girl-friend, Nancy Whitehead as producer, and her best squirrel-friend, Tippy-Toe in the booth; Doreen is ready to help people more people than ever with her greatest Super Hero advice. And when the going get rough, she can always lean on her heroic friends: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Chipmunk Hunk, Koi Boi and Brain Drain.

However, with a call-in show comes caller anonymity and not all the folks on the line want help – some want to crime – and crime hard! When a suspicious caller, wreaks havoc on New York City, Squirrel Girl and her friends will have to put their heroics to the test and prove that once and for all Doreen Green is the UNBEATABLE Squirrel Girl. It’s time to kick butts, and eat nuts!

MARVEL’S SQUIRREL GIRL: THE UNBEATABLE RADIO SHOW! Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl and featuring performances by Crystal Lucas Perry (Nancy Whitehead), Leo Sheng (Koi Boi), Davied Morales (Chipmunk Hunk), Erica Schroeder (Tippy T. Squirrel), Tina Benko (Rachel Oskar), and Peter Hermann (Brain Drain). Directed by Giovanna Sardelli. Original music by Justin Huertas and Steven Tran. Written by Ryan North. 

The podcast is available for free at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marvels-squirrel-girl-the-unbeatable-radio-show/id1616691866 and there are several more episodes due to uploaded so keep revisiting the website for the latest episode. I loved the series and can’t wait to dive into the podcasting adventures.

This Game Changed My Life Podcast Shows Profound Impact Gaming Can Have

Video games often get a bad rap, being considered 'a waste of time,' often by the same people who see nothing nothing wrong in mindlessly watching boxsets on Netflix in their pants. Now there's nothing wrong with that, and in fact I like doing this too but let's not think it's better to be a passive observer in the real world than an active agent in a digital one.

Well, the ‘This Game Changed My Life’ podcast looks at how video games have had a profound impact in people's lives by sharing real life stories. So, over 10 episodes (at the time of writing) we have varied stories of a refugee using skills learned within games to travel across Europe from Syria after civil war broke out only to create a game about his experience, a young college dropout loving a physics based space game so much that it led to a real job at NASA, and a tale of how Elite Dangerous united an uncle with his autistic nephew who was slowly dying from leukaemia.

The podcast is at points funny, touching and sad but the stories are authentic and narrated by the people themselves, ably assisted by amiable hosts Aoife Wilson and Julia Hardy.

This Game Changed My Life

'Welcome to Nightvale' Comes to Shepherds Bush Empire, London

As I left my warm cosy house earlier this evening to make my way from east to west London on a dark wet evening, I felt that it was appropriate that I was off to see the live show of Welcome to Nightvale.
For the uninitiated Nightvale is a cult podcast, similar in style to shows like Twin Peaks, X Files and the works of H.P.Lovecraft but presented in the format of a radio show. The podcast is an online phenomenon, being one of the most downloaded podcast of all time.
I went to the show having heard most of the podcasts and purposely avoiding any videos of the live show. I wanted to go in blind and experience the show without any preconceptions, my concern was how would the intimacy and stark simplicity of the podcast translate onto the stage?

The Shepherds Bush Empire is a cozy sit down venue and for tonight's performance was packed, I was high in the nosebleeds; the unreserved third floor. However I did have a clear and unobstructed view of the stage, though it was from a high angle. There was a real buzz and excitement and when the live theatre show started there was a huge roar.
For fans of the show this was an excellent live performance, there was the usual 'weather report' (music performed by Mary Epworth) and great lines like "If horses were wishes, they'd all run away," "... a librarian is on the loose," "... My dress is made of spiders" and my favourite of the night "The gazebo is on fire due to a routine maintenance check."
The stage was simple but effective and Cecil (played with his usual flair for the dramatic by Cecil Baldwin) delivered his lines with the usual gravitas and knowing wink. The audience were receptive and cheered when names, locations and tropes from the podcast were spoken, particular mention must go to 'Steve Carlsberg,' his name got the biggest cheer of the night!


Well, I can say that the show was well worth a view and I enjoyed it immensely. For people excited by the fantastical and slightly unsettling, Welcome to Nightvale is well worth a look and listen.