Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard Armchair Umbrella

Armchair anonymous is by far my favorite podcast. I look forward to Fridays and make an effort to clear my schedule for an hour in the morning to sit in my hot tub and listen to the show with an incredible view of the Rocky Mountains. It’s the best. Thanks for your good company (and conversation starters!)

The 5 star rating is for the interview portion of this program.

This interview with Chris Pine is one of the best that Dax Shepherd has ever done. He appropriately brings out his insecurities and shortcomings to direct the conversation in a meaningful manner. I am always grateful when Dax talks about his sobriety and and what he has learned along the way. It is a real active service to discuss this in such a public way. I know somewhere someone needs to hear his story and it will help them. I am grateful for anyone who discusses the things in life that have caused many people great shame to lose the shame that we feel for things that were not our fault it’s such a freeing experience. And to take accountability and express accountability for things we are responsible for is also justice freeing.

I have always had issues with the fact, check portion of this podcast. I think it’s such an opportunity for Monica and Dax to look at issues that came up in the discussion and educate themselves about them as well as correct any mistakes.

When Monica and Dax go into a sidebar discussion, the conversation often disintegrates into a foray of their own personal biases that exposes their limitations of understanding. This is where my eyes start to roll and though I should know better to just end my listening when that starts to happen, I continue with the program hoping for a redeeming conclusion to whatever point they’re trying to make. Most of this, I chalk up to the youth and inexperience in the matters of current everyday life. Most of the times Dax can breach the Hollywood bubble that they seem to inhabit. But Monica‘s consumerism seems to trump whatever values she may possess. Today, living as a middle-class American with my own home, and the ability to purchase whatever I need in ways of shelter food and clothing as well as pursue hobbies and enrichment, I have it better than so many others living on the planet. So when I hear Monica talk about fast fashion, and the millions of people who purchase it in such a dismissive way, it’s really repellent. When Monica expresses her complete surprise that Reese Witherspoon has a college education it just seems so naïve. What does that say about her thoughts about Reese Witherspoon? And why would she express it in that manner, it seems like a real dig at her.

And this is where we come back to the title of the show, Armchair Expert. This episode is par for the course in terms of the fact check/social hour.

Dax is an excellent interviewer with engaging viewpoints. Monica is just background noise laughs and when she does get get in the mix it feels out of place and adds nothing to the conversation. Dax would better off solo because Monica is distracting more than anything. Overall a great podcast. You can tell Dax does his homework and is truly interested in each and every guest and their backstory. I love hearing new things about celebrities I would've never known.