Podfort and joycasts

One of the many things I look forward to this season is the multitude of Christmas episodes of my favorite podcasts. Music, comedy, history, interviews... they've got your earholes covered this season. Some notable ones have been trickling in over the past week or two:

• The Dana Gould Hour Holiday Special - Gould's show is one of my favorite podcasts, as it picks up the "expertly produced/extremely funny" reigns of the much missed Pod F. Tompkast. This episode runs a whopping three hours long and delves into the true story behind Tim Burton's Christmas release Big Eyes, superhero creator origins, dog dentistry, and other topics.
• The Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular 2014 - Andy Cirzan - the hardest of the hardcore Christmas music enthusiasts - returns to unveil his annual mix full of long forgotten gems. The theme for this go round is '60s and '70s pop. (Until January 1st his compilation can be downloaded here.)
• Comedy Bang Bang's 2014 Holiday Spectacular - Hot Saucerman and Underworld maestro Len Wiseman (Paul F. Tompkins) wrangle a rotating round of guests that include Bjork (Matt  Besser), Orson Welles (James Adomian), and Ho Ho the Naughty Elf (Lauren Lapkus), among others. Music is provided in studio by Aimee Mann and Ted Leo's project The Both.
• Doug Loves Movies' 12 Guests of Christmas - Doug hosts his annual extra-long version of the Leonard Maltin Game. Laughs are had. Tears are shed. Someone wins. This episode was followed by the first annual 8 Crazy Guests of Hanukkah, where some oddball characters - "Mark Wahlberg", "Jesse Ventura", etc. - try their hands at the game. Funny stuff.

And of course there are some Christmas-specific shows that are mainstays of my feed:

• Feliz Navipod - A recent episode introduced me to my Christmas Album of the Year and for that I am grateful. Details about that soon!
• The Christmas Stocking - When looking for fun facts and history about the season, look no further than this show. And it's bite sized, for those afraid of lengthy time commitments. Score!

As podcasting gains more and more legitimacy among the general populace, I'm confident that each year the above will become as greatly anticipated as the Heat Miser or Yukon Cornelius. But not Charlie Brown. No one dethrones the king, baby.

BONUS!!!  Here's a revisiting of three Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (my go to food podcast) segments where the guys talk about candy canes, chocolate babka, and fruitcake.