Podcast Reviews

This is only my fourth Podcast, and already I'm getting far more attention than I expected. Within minutes of posting my first Podcast I received an e-mail asking:

"Corny, when are you going to do a Drunk show?"

A Drunk show is, predictably, when someone records a Podcast while intoxicated. This is apparently popular among some types of Podcasters. I can assure my listeners that, as I've never drunk and do not intend to drink, this will not happen. Communion wine is not sufficient to get one drunk.

The next bit of attention I received was from a Podcaster with whom I've had an ongoing battle of wills. Some months ago, I was sent a Podcast that started with clips of the Lesbian Lilly Tomlin verbally abusing her director. I found this amusing. The rest of the podcast however was NOT amusing. It featured a bit entitled "Sextastic Tuesday" and featured the host of the Podcast, a Timothy James Henson, reading a story in which a 12 year old girl is violently raped by a supernatural monster.

I began a petition to get the podcast dropped by its hosting provider, and contacted law enforcement regarding the Podcast. My efforts got the attention of the Podcast's host and his fans, the self described "Distorted View Freaks."

That's right, they call themselves "The Freaks." Never before have fans been more appropriately named.

To make a long story short, there were three consequences to this battle.

First, Timothy Henson made a point of editing his stories to make all participants of legal age. He failed to add the age verification barriers I proposed as a compromise, but he at least removed the blatantly pedophiliac slant to his program.

Second, my webmaster received word that Google was blocking www.cornswalled.com from displaying Google ads. As the ads had never resulted in any ad revenue, I did not consider this a loss.

Third and finally, after some months of debate, Timothy Henson discontinued the "Sextastic Tuesday" bit all together. He claimed this was due to a lack of quality stories, but it was clear from the content of his program that "quality" was never a consideration.

On September 19, 2007, I received an e-mail from my webmaster informing me that Timothy Henson had discussed my podcast on his own program.

(The Podcast text differs significantly from the written text in the following three paragraphs, because audio clips from Distorted View were incorporated into the Podcast)

In it he admitted that he had not listened to my podcast but claimed that I stated I'd be a bigger success than Tim Henson because I had God on my side. He then played a series of clips in which words and word fragments had been taken from my podcast and reworked into sentences I never uttered. This is a common bit of parody called a "Mash-up."

I never made ANY claims about how popular my Podcast would be. Henson was misinformed on that point.

To Mr Henson, I say this. You criticized me for failing to listen to the entirety of your episodes before criticizing you. I responded to this criticism by listening to several episodes of your own program. From then on, I did not comment on an episode of "Distorted View" unless I had listened to the entire episode.

I simply request that you show me the same courtesy I showed you, that is to listen to my podcast before commenting on it. It's a lesson You taught Me and a lesson I appreciate.

On the topic of Podcasts, my ongoing battle with Henson resulted in my fellow parishioners learning a good deal about Podcasts, and for several weeks I've been receiving requests from parents to review the podcasts their children have been listening to and to tell them what I think. Some of them lack the technical expertise to listen to a podcast, and others who hold down multiple jobs simply lack the time to listen to a few hours of programming. I've been on the Church's Childhood Media Review board for over seven years, so it was only natural for me to take on this responsibility.

The following Podcasts are being listened to by the children of my fellow parishioners. The children did not provide these on their own, but their parents simply went into their computers and found what was there. This will be the first of several Podcast review episodes as there is a good deal of material to get through.

Unless otherwise stated, I listened to a minimum of three episodes for each podcast.

I've already discussed Distorted View. It has been banned for a while. No one listens to it at my church. It's a corruption we all know to avoid.

Nobody Likes Onions.

I expected a cute kids' show when I read the title, and was shocked to learn of the show's content. I only listened to one episode of this rambling, deviant program. The episode consisted to two segments. In the first, a flagrantly homosexual host was debating with the other two hosts about the "gayness" of a sex act involving two men. In the second segment they complained that a supposedly suicidal friend of theirs had not committed suicide, and encouraged him to do so.

The program contains profanity, discusses graphic homosexual acts and advocates suicide. I encourage any parent who encounters this program on their child's computer delete it immediately and have a frank discussion with their child about Christian entertainment.

The Dawn and Drew Show

The next Podcast, and the most popular, was one entitled "The Dawn and Drew Show." I listened to three episodes of this program and found it to be boring, profanity laced, graphic and repetitive. The program consists largely of a married couple talking about how great they are.

While it is graphic in content, that is not why I'm advising parents don't let their kids listen to it. It's vapid, and about as worthwhile a form of entertainment as the average sitcom. Aside from containing unChristian themes, it is time wasted. Delete it from their computers and direct them to more worthwhile pursuits.

Crap from the Past

This weekly Podcast is 90 minutes long, and consists of three separate 30 minute files, making it the longest per episode podcast I reviewed. It's also been available for 15 years, making it the oldest. It's a music program dedicated to popular music of the 60's 70's and 80's with some newer music. In terms of it being appropriate for Christian listeners, it's comparable to Top 40 Radio back when Casey Chasm was the host.

Parents should treat this podcast the same way they would treat a radio station.

A Prairie Home Companion, the news from Lake Wobegon

Given the Baby Boomer and older demographic of the program I was surprised to find the Liberal slanted "wobegon monologs" among those listened to by teenagers. The program originated with American Public Radio, and the traditional liberal slant is obvious. Traditional values and small town life are mocked every week.

Delete it if you see it, but don't panic. It just means your kid likes drivel or dislikes Lutherans.

Hometown Tales

This Podcast is all about Urban Legends, Ghost stories and the like. The Hosts rarely try to debunk anything, but the hosts tend to offer rational explanations for urban legends where appropriate. I gave our pastor a copy of the episode "A Real No Talent Guy" which he plans to use as source material for an upcoming Christmas Sermon. Despite lacking any real Christian influence, I consider it a perfectly safe, even entertaining secular program.

There is no profanity or adult themes, and I recommend parents listen to it with their children as "Family time."

This American Life

From American Public Radio, it's a blatantly liberal highly political "Stories about Liberals in distress" program. Think of it as the Lifetime Channel for Liberals.

Delete it if you see it.

Open Source Sex

This Podcast is graphic, undisguised and unapologetic pornography. The host "Violet Blue" lives in San Francisco. I think that tells you all you need to know about her. This is the only podcast for which I did not listen to an entire episode.

This show is pornography. My computer started showing a slideshow of naked people with whips when I hit "play" and things went downhill from there. If you find it on your child's computer delete it and bring your child to your pastor or a Christian counselor immediately.

Polyamory Weekly

This is easily the most dangerous and socially destructive podcast I've ever heard. The program is about Polyamory, the practice of having multiple sexual partners, provided everyone consents and knows what's going on. It advocates just about every form of perversion you can imagine and the host frequently decries the fact that group marriages aren't legal in the United States.

The program is not the most sexually explicit, nor is it the most offensive. It's dangerous because the program seeks to normalize Homosexuality, Bisexuality, wife swapping, bondage and a host of other unChristian behaviors. They side AGAINST the Mormons who want to legalize underage brides, but if all those Mormon brides are 18 or older, they're all for it.

If your child is listening to Polyamory Weekly, then I recommend you respond as if you'd found deviant magazines in their possession. Do not react with anger, as that will only make matters worse, but respond with Christian love and understanding. Your child has been exposed to dangerous and radical ideas, and needs help with the confusion of ideas that such exposure can create.

That's all for now. I'll post another batch of Podcast Reviews once I have the chance to listen to some more.