Visitations

Love the freeform nature of this show, it’s warm and inviting. The Guillermo del Toro episode is particularly profound, and you feel like you’re just sitting next to him in a private room in Bleak House.

I was excited to listen to the Cassandra Peterson interview. At the top, before they speak to Peterson, one of the hosts wonders aloud whether Peterson was always drawn to horror or if this is something she now finds herself inextricably linked to regardless of her personal interests (this is something Peterson actually addresses in the interview). The other host is silent, then bursts out laughing and says the question was so complicated he stopped listening. I'm pretty sure he's the same one who keeps up a constant patter of "yeah" and "uh huh" as the guest is talking, and who spits out trite "you go girl!" style responses any time the story introduces some kind of adversity. But wait, there's more! The theme music is slow and plodding and it goes on for way too long, and to make things even worse, they also keep it going in the background while the guest is talking. This isn't the type of journalistic podcast that needs a bed of music to stitch together different strands of a complicated story! The guest, Cassandra Peterson, was great, but the host's incurious attitude, vocal tics, and cliched responses, combined with that terrible nonstop dirge in the background, makes the podcast itself so unbearable that it's the audio equivalent of a Kabletown couch. I've never deleted an episode and unfollowed a show faster.

UPDATE: Yes! It’s back! I love this show! The conversations are so freeform and honest and vulnerable and insightful and great. The docu-lite-feel of the open and close with a simple but incredibly catchy tune stays with me long after I finish each ep. Hats off. The bar has been set. Thank you.

These guys are really onto something. They have the industry knowledge and care to carry out these interviews in a way that gives us a behind the scenes look as to what these creators are really all about. It’s genius.