Factually incorrect*.  The Political Gabfest is fantastic, and ranks right up there with HUAL.  While Bazelon can get a little too bleeding-heart at times, all three of them (and Weigel and Saletan as fill-ins) are better than anyone on the Culture Gabfest, which is in fact empirically terrible*.

Webb Simpson

Webb Simpson

Loved loved loved this episode, particularly Hitchens spiralling efforts to deny the presence of an afterlife.

I'm late to this (reasonable) discussion, but I want to know more about Kyle's Franken-iPod.  As someone who's 160GB classic is full, a 300GB device would have great appeal to me.

I'll come out of the closet as an R&B fan.  I too enjoy when they're in character on other shows because it allows them to speak truth to power in a manner of speaking.  They were fantastic on CBB because they said everything to Aukerman that nobody else does.  It's like their characters are cloaks of invincibility…

I thought this was old news.  EBanks herself announced this last week on Slate's Culture Gabfest.  Then again, if a podcast falls in the forest and doesn't make it into Podmass, does it actually make a sound?

I'm holding out for The Me Want Food Games.

SCANDAL!

My lasting memory of Braveheart was that when I owned it on VHS it was so long that it required two tapes with a big cardboard box to keep them together.  Remember when they used to do that?

Well, um, that makes sense.  Duly noted.

Are we really still calling Ben Schwartz a "newcomer"?  He is rapidly becoming one of my top two or three podcast guests (along with Harris Wittels and Paul Scheer) and seeing his name in iTunes always makes me giddy with anticipation.  He's an absolute killer on Improv for Humans.

It's almost heresy, but he was clearly the funniest thing in Yogi Bear.  Well, other than the tagline.

As a proud-ish Northern Illinois alum, I was thrilled to hear Josh discuss the greatest game I ever attended live in his Hang Up and Listen afterball.  He failed to mention that it was homecoming week (I think - maybe just too much tailgating), and after lingering too long at the festivities I ended up sitting on the…

Wait, are we still allowed to like Idlewild?  If so, that's a good Scottish band. I didn't necessarily get all the R.E.M. comparisons, but still.

One more thing, I'm gonna pay by check.

I felt the same way when Bruce Willis was dead at the end of Setup.

Funny you say that - I always find myself listening to the Spoiler Specials wondering why they don't let Swansburg or Kois (who I know has another gig) do more movie reviews in Slate.  On the rare occasions where I listen to these after seeing a movie, it's obvious as you said that Stevens misses many important…

It's so satisfying to finally have an outlet for my Metcalf hate.  There are fewer words more welcome to hear than "Steve is on vacation this week".  Between his obnoxious geography-specific recommendations, his utter dismissal of anything remotely popular, his lack of knowledge about things he supposedly loves, and…

August Lindt the Dusseldorfian pretzel maker was one of the funniest characters on CDR.  His sheer joy at his impending suicide by fire was hysterical.