Friendship porn is a term I have thrown around a bunch of time on shows but I realize that I might not have explained it. Let's go back in time to what is, to my mind, the best gaming podcast in history: GFW Radio.
GFW Radio, for those unfamiliar, was the PC centric 1up show hosted by Jeff Green who was joined by Shawn Elliott, Robert Ashley, Ryan Scott, Sean Malloy and Anthony Gallegos. (We shall never mention Darren Gladstone). I often credit Retronauts for being my first gaming podcast but GFW Radio was arguably more influencial.
It wasn't due to their insight, which was considerable. It was due to their chemistry and digressions, the way that listening to those guys goof felt like hanging out with my friends. It was to friendship the way pornography was to sex. A way for me to participate at a distance. I would listen to Retronauts at the time to learn but GFWR was the show that had me thinking of my own jokes while listening, it had me editing down my favorite bits to share with IRL friends.
I was voracious. I mainlined the show, consuming the backlog with vigor. Over the course of the show, I got to know the cast. I came to appreciate their idiosyncracies, understand their perspectives. Like you do with friends. I was crushed with the show slowly died, when the core cast members drifted away. I don't think it will get that good again.
But I can still find that friendship porn feeling. I've grown to get it from Retronauts, not least because I got to know those guys. VGHD does a great job with this (and I got to know those dudes too). And there are several shows that consist entirely of FP. This is my understanding of something like Uhhh, Yeah Dude. But for shows entirely about personality, the appreciation curve for me is pretty high. It's like getting plopped into the middle of a party where everyone knows each other but you.
So, to get the FP down, a spoonful of information helps a lot. And I want to highlight two shows that do a remarkable job at this.
Firstly, The HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast. I'm a known Lovecraft fan, despite his monsterism (probably a subject for a future blog) but I'll be the first to admit that his purple prose can sometimes be a slog. The HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast is like a balsamic reduction for Lovecraft. It reduces each story to about a half hour discussion/summary and it's god damned perfect. Chad Phiefer and Chris Lackey are good friends, very funny, and know exactly where to digress. They're fans of HPL, obviously, but they recognize his foibles. They reguarly call him on his shit.
Sadly, HPL's work is finite, but the show is not. After they finish with all the primary source material, they switched to a pay model and started covering other weird fiction. It's still very good but without the chronological approach, the show does lose something. But the first 118 episodes receive my strongest recommendation.
The second show that does something similar that I want to talk about is significantly more popular: Stuff You Should Know. For those who don't know, this show takes a subject and breaks it down. This could be meth or juggling or grass or haunted houses. It's based on the How Stuff Works website and has the potential to be pretty dry. When you break this show down to its component parts, it's pretty much two guys reading Wikipedia. The hosts elevate it, however. Josh and Chuck are down to earth and extremely likeable with a charming and subtle sense of humor. I strongly recommend this show as well. Start with the episode on Meth or whatever interests you most and see what you think.
The thing these shows have in common is that they roped me in with the subject matter but the people involved have kept me there. If Chris and Chad started a "just bro'in" style podcast, I'd gladly listen. Same with Josh and Chuck. I just like these dudes now. It feels like hanging out with friends.
So, my grand point is that Friendship Porn in a podcast is a potent ingredient but for me, it can't stand alone. You need to rope me in an elevator pitch but keep me with personality. I think this might be one reason Dead Idea Valhalla never found an audience. What's the fucking logline for that show? Who knows. I have confidence that I'm likable and make good stuff but who wants to take a chance on that?