Recap: 40 podcasts, single-elimination brackets — 1 winner will emerge!
If you’re confused, read the first post here, then come back for the results.
South, Game 1: What Should I Read Next? vs. the West Wing Weekly
In What Should I Read Next? I listened to episode 80: Books that make you want to skip dinner, work, and life. Host Anne and guest Cori talked about a charming library near the ocean, and of course, favorite books! They discussed how hard it can be sometimes to explain to someone else why you love (or hate) a book, exactly.
I think my taste is much more in line with this guest than the previous one I listened to, and I appreciated hearing some titles by authors of color to expand my reading horizons.
The episode next up for The West Wing Weekly was season 3, episode 8, the Women of Qumar. This was a heavier episode: prostitution, trafficking, and an episode that in general one of the hosts was a bit critical of.
But Allison Janney finally made an appearance — hooray! C.J. Cregg might be my favorite character on the show, so it was great to hear from the woman who brought her to life on screen. I love this podcast, but since I already listened to it before this challenge, I’m going to have to move on to something else, plus, I want more book recommendations….
Winner: What Should I Read Next?
South, Game 2: The Bright Sessions vs. Random Trek
In The Bright Sessions episode 3, the continuing logs of Dr. Bright, Chloe, a girl who can read minds — or maybe read subconscious thoughts/ feelings comes for a session.
This episode was interesting, as the unflappable Dr. Bright becomes flustered by this girl, the daughter of the first “atypical” the doctor worked with…what does this mean? What is the doctor hiding??
I listened to episode 148 of Random Trek, discussing Critical Care (Star Trek: Voyager, S7 ep. 5). Hey it’s Jason Snell (of the Incomparable podcast fame)! Scott and Jason discuss this episode of Voyager that focuses on the Doctor. Apparently, seeing as it’s a season 7 episode, neither of them had seen it before, which was interesting. They were heartened to hear it focused on the Doctor, as those episodes tend to be strong.
They talked about how the content is even more interesting in today’s political climate with healthcare in and out of the spotlight, and how Trek at its best brings up big questions like: how do we handle ourselves and prioritize (or de-prioritize) people when there are limited resources?
Austin Fey 