{"id":20390,"date":"2020-04-29T05:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=20390"},"modified":"2021-09-23T16:48:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T23:48:21","slug":"podcasts-persevere-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/podcasts-persevere-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcasts Persevere During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sonia Weiser<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If it weren\u2019t for podcasts, I\u2019d never know what day it was. So I\u2019m grateful that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, shows are sticking to their regimented publishing schedules, projecting normalcy in a time when few of us can recall what being normal entails. As a listener, I\u2019ve grown reliant on these strangers talking amongst themselves as a supplement for my usual social interactions and appreciate that they\u2019re commenting on \u201cthese unusual circumstances\u201d in a thoughtful, coherent way, so that all I have to do is agree rather than fumble together some profound response of my own.<\/span><\/p>\n

And for podcast creators, having the opportunity to continue doing their job has proven equally cathartic. \u201cI think there\u2019s something really comforting about still being able to be creative under such limited circumstances,\u201d said <\/span>Helen Hong<\/b>, the co-host of Maximum Fun\u2019s <\/span>Go Fact Yourself<\/span><\/i> <\/a>and frequent panelist on NPR\u2019s <\/span>Wait Wait Don\u2019t Tell Me<\/span><\/i>. \u201cYou know, I’m still able to be funny, I’m still able to be creative, and I’m literally in my closet not wearing pants, right? And thank god for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both <\/span>Go Fact Yourself <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Wait Wait Don\u2019t Tell Me<\/span><\/i>, along with another one of my recommendations, NPR\u2019s <\/span>Ask Me Another<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>are usually taped in front of a live audience, so unlike some of my other picks on this list that function just as well when recorded from a basement with the help of video conference calls as they do from a recording studio, these three had to power through a bit of an adjustment period to find the right balance of commentary and tomfoolery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After their first post-quarantine episode, <\/span>Wait Wait <\/span><\/i>added canned laughter in response to listener feedback. \u201cThere were two schools of thought. Some people really enjoyed it and some people thought it was weird,\u201d said Helen. \u201cSome people were like, \u2018it kind of freaked me out, that something I turn to for comfort is so different now,\u2019 [while] some people were like, ‘thanks for doing it. It was weird but refreshing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\ud83e\uddf7 New Episode Alert! \ud83d\udcfa<\/p>\n

Fewer Guests, Fewer Games, Longest Episode Yet?!<\/p>\n

Guest@Jordan_Morris<\/a> <\/p>\n

Experts
@Monique_Powell<\/a> of @SaveFerris_1<\/a> @YeardleySmith<\/a> of @TheSimpsons<\/a> & @SmallTownDicks<\/a> <\/p>\n

Hosts@J_Keith<\/a> & @funnyhelenhong<\/a> <\/p>\n

Available now at https:\/\/t.co\/JGaUuwLmkJ<\/a>@MaxFunHQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QP7LNakMMJ<\/a><\/p>\n

— Go Fact Yourself podcast (@GoFactYourPod) April 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n