How To Destroy Everything

I would have rated 5 stars because the story is amazing and the reenactments are very well done. The only thing stopping me from loving this podcast is, surprisingly, the protagonist and cohost, Danny. It’s interesting because though his dad was clearly an INSANE narcissist, I would argue that Danny may be a different kind of narcissist. He somehow turns every episode into an overly dramatic therapy session primarily about himself. I find myself fast-forwarding through his cringy self reflections towards the end of the episodes.

I feel so grateful to have found this podcast. Not only is it well produced, deeply funny and interesting it’s also exceptionally vulnerable. So much of what Danny describes experiencing with his father echoes my own experience with my mother. The way I exist in the world is very similar (humor as a defense mechanism, hyper-focus on injustice, rewriting the generation trauma handed down to me) and I’m just profoundly grateful to hear someone talk about and explore these relationships with such nuance. I’m blown away by the tone they have managed to strike as they straddle the lightness and darkness of a traumatic parent-child relationship. It’s bringing up so many heavy things that I need to examine while also making me laugh. Quite a feat! Thank you for putting your story on display in this terrifying and meaningful way. This is what being a human is all about. This is why we podcast. This is why we tell our stories in hope that someone else out there will feel seen. I feel seen, and I see you Danny. All Hail Sandy, our lady of persistent joy and reinvention. May we all build a life we are proud of despite the life we were handed.

Storytelling is disjointed and scattered, lots of redundancy in topics and teasers for upcoming talking points. Sandy is the top reason to listen and she seems so honest and without guile. Danny unfortunately comes off incredibly condescending, almost like it's a joke and he's the only one who gets it. It gets to be too much pretty quickly. I also agree with his mom and the breakdown seemed totally inauthentic. Darren- STOP SAYING INTERREGNUM! We get it. You know a word. Congratulations.

Autobiographical podcast run the gamut of great to disjointed. This is a great one. A more nuanced story than expected. The hosts are likeable (not to leave out the podcasters mother who might be my favorite person ever in a podcast), there’s humor interjected with vulnerability/self reflecting. I’m going to be sad when it ends!