Syndicated with Lesley and Ben

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Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

  1. Jun 9

    International Television Season Recap

    We invite you into a podcast, not too different from our own, a podcast of only sound. Lesley and Ben enter The Twilight Zone, the 1959 CBS produced anthology tv show about the strange, bizarre and unnatural. Written and produced by Rod Serling, the Twilight Zone is an eerie half hour format show that rides the line between science-fiction, horror and mystic and plunges audience members into tales from a bizarre dimension of the mind. What happens in The Twilight Zone? Neighbors turn against each other in The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, a jilted millionaire fakes a nuclear war in One More Pallbearer, and a sasquatch like gremlin attacks William Shatner in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. We’re starting off our new season of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben by analyzing our favorite science-fiction shows. Ray guns, alternate dimensions, robot butlers and planetary fleets. Science fiction is a lens through which we can view all other issues and the two episodes we picked To Serve Man and Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? are prime examples. In Season 2, Episode 28’s Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?, two state troopers find an unidentified flying object has crashed into a blizzard afflicted area. When they wander back toward civilization, they find evidence that the Martian pilot is hiding amongst a group of bus passengers in a diner. The only problem is that they have no way of identifying which human the alien is disguising itself as. Paranoia breaks out as the lights flicker and Dragnet’s Barney Phillips plays a fry cook.

    1h 8m
  2. International Television Season Recap

    Apr 6

    International Television Season Recap

    It's time for another commercial commentary special! Lesley and Ben are joined by our friend, streamer Svideotheque to talk Video Games, Video Games and more Video Games. We dissect 15 commercials advertising games for arcades, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and PlayStation 3 featuring Q*bert, Paul Rudd, Super Mario, Sonic, Kratos, Link and Zelda. We're plugged in on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben! Now You're Playing with Power! *On the Main Feed*: We're posting a teaser of the first half of the commercials we covered for everyone subscribed to the show, wherever you get your podcasts! *On Patreon*: Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat. At the $1/mo level, you get access to the whole enchilada. An hour and thirty minutes of 15 commercials with commentary and live reactions. We chat about 2000s office aesthetic, wireless controllers, the Nintendo PowerGlove, claymation, Final Fantasy and more. *On YouTube*: We have a complete playlist of all of the commercials covered by Lesley, Ben and Sviddy for your viewing pleasure. Many of these commercials have real wacky visual components. We included the audio in the episode, but some of these need to be seen to be believed.

    49 min
  3. SWLAB: Special Episode: Video Game Commercials

    12/01/2025

    SWLAB: Special Episode: Video Game Commercials

    It's time for another commercial commentary special! Lesley and Ben are joined by our friend, streamer Svideotheque to talk Video Games, Video Games and more Video Games. We dissect 15 commercials advertising games for arcades, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and PlayStation 3 featuring Q*bert, Paul Rudd, Super Mario, Sonic, Kratos, Link and Zelda. We're plugged in on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben! Now You're Playing with Power! *On the Main Feed*: We're posting a teaser of the first half of the commercials we covered for everyone subscribed to the show, wherever you get your podcasts! *On Patreon*: Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat. At the $1/mo level, you get access to the whole enchilada. An hour and thirty minutes of 15 commercials with commentary and live reactions. We chat about 2000s office aesthetic, wireless controllers, the Nintendo PowerGlove, claymation, Final Fantasy and more. *On YouTube*: We have a complete playlist of all of the commercials covered by Lesley, Ben and Sviddy for your viewing pleasure. Many of these commercials have real wacky visual components. We included the audio in the episode, but some of these need to be seen to be believed.

    45 min

  4. 10/14/2025

    Chef and my Fridge w/ Victoria Collins

    For the first time in Syndicated with Lesley and Ben history, we’re covering a non-narrative show. With Victoria Collins help, we dip our toes into reality tv and cover the Korean show Chef and My Fridge (Please Take Care of My Refrigerator). It’s a wacky take on the cooking show genre, as the celebrity chefs can only make their final creations out of the ingredients already in that week’s guest’s actual refrigerator. Lesley and Ben were knocked back by the stylistic editing choices and frantic energy of the show., but honestly, we kind of love it? Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

    1 hr

  5. 09/23/2025

    Ruri Rocks w/ Héctor González

    Much like the Crunchyroll anime Ruri Rocks, this episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben, is an excuse to talk about rocks, minerals and crystals. We’re joined by Héctor González to ask a critical question. Can an anime be educational, beautiful and fan service? Yeah, of course it can. Are you kidding? We covered the first episode, My First Mineral Hunt. Ruri Tanigawa becomes fixated on a crystal necklace in a boutique store. After a failed attempt to get her mother to forward her the money to purchase it, Ruri ventures forth into the forests to find some natural crystals and minerals on her own. The adventure doesn’t go her way until she meets Nagi Arato, a graduate student with significantly more experience in locating the gems that Ruri is obsessed with. Together they’re able to find some garnets and Nagi’s insight into minerals cements Ruri’s new interest. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

    40 min

  6. 08/26/2025

    Nine Puzzles

    Syndicated returns with an episode of Nine Puzzles, the freshly released South Korean detective thriller about two criminal profilers, one of whom is a murder suspect herself, attempting to solve a series of serial killings in which mysterious puzzle pieces are being left behind at the scene of the crime. We talk about atmospheric storytelling, international adaptions, how we depict memory as physical space in visual media and, obviously, the Kiefer Sutherland starring political thriller tv show: Designated Survivor. We covered the first episode of Nine Puzzles, just entitled Episode 1. Yoon Dong-hoon, a superintendent police officer and artist is found dead on the floor of his home by his niece, Yoon E-na, with an awl jammed into the back of his neck. Police interrogate Yoon E-na, but due to a lack of evidence and Yoon’s disappearing memory, are unable to satisfactorily close the case. One clue is left fully unexplained, a singular black and white illustrated  puzzle piece found on the scene of the crime. 10 years in the future, Yoon, now a criminal profiler herself, solves a murder involving a similarly amnesiac child. Just as the case is cracked, Yoon receives an envelope containing a black and white puzzle piece. The episode ends with Yoon frantically reaching out to Kim by phone.

    54 min

  7. 05/20/2025

    Money Heist

    After a bit of hiatus, Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with Money Heist, the his Spanish language crime show from Netflix about a group of bank robbers dead set on robbing the Royal Mint of Spain. This is our second show from Spain, and third Spanish overall, but instead of ghosts and worried priests, Money Heist is packed with action, intrigue and bullets. We talk about translation, non linear story telling, crime movie archetypes and the dynamic design choices that Money Heist makes in its color palette and costuming! We’re watching Season 1, Episode 1, “Do As Planned.” Runaway Tokyo is preparing to leave the country following a botched robbery and a dead partner in crime, when she’s stopped and recruited by The Professor, a strange man promising her an enormous payout for a single job. Tokyo and a team of several other pseudonymously named professional thieves enter a five month crash course to learn how to infiltrate and rip off the Royal Mint of Spain undetected. We flash forward to a heist in progress, with hints of emotional turmoil and mismatched personal relationships that may lead to the crime of the century’s bloody downfall.  Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

    56 min

  8. 10/29/2024

    Mobile Suit Gundum: Witch From Mercury w/ Jeff Martin

    Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with MOBILE SUIT GUNDUM: WITCH FROM MERCURY with returning guest Jeff Martin. Jeff has been working on a new ttrpg project called BIG ROBOTS BIG FEELINGS and that means watching a lot of Gundum anime as research, alternating between Mobile Suit and Macross shows. Jeff’s bringing that giant robot expertise to Syndicated! We talk about sad birthday songs, how storytelling pacing has changed over time, the history of mecha as a genre and werewolves. It’s a wild one!We’re watching Episode Zero, Prologue. At Folkvangr, a space based mobile suit laboratory base on the side of an asteroid, scientists and pilots are working tirelessly to bring a new type of mech suit online, one powered by the GUND format that will allow machines to interface directly with human brains. Meanwhile, two key crew members of the Folkvangr base, pilots Elnore Samaya and Nadim Samaya, struggle to raise their toddler, Ericht, on board the base. When a government takeover of the Gundam laboratory leads to its near destruction, only Elnore and Ericht survive, as Nadim dies fighting the armed intruders bent on purging the world of Gundams. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

    1h 6m
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Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

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