Calling Darkness
Someone At The Door
Calling Darkness’ comedy-horror relies on a blend of hyperbolic personalities all trapped together and the exaggeration of common tropes, balanced with tension and grotesque sound design—all of which have the effect of making the scenario feel too close for comfort. Six women, participating in an acting retreat at a secluded house with a popular star who faded from the limelight after a very public breakdown, are manipulated into summoning a demon. After struggling through inexplicable occurrences, like unseen forces speaking to them or the road transforming into quicksand to prevent them from leaving, they are somehow still incredibly genre unaware. This fact is what lends every interaction another layer of hilarity, even after the characters are forced to reconcile with the fact that they probably need a priest more than a police officer. There’s a sharp, integral focus on character relationships, mostly in the ways that they hate each other, that allows for humorous moments even when someone is being dragged to their doom. Coupled with the guidance of an evil narrator (Kate Siegel, The Haunting Of Hill House) who really wants to witness some graphic death scenes, the cadence of Calling Darkness lands somewhere between satirical horror and sitcom. [Elena Fernández-Collins]
Dad Bod Rap Pod
Hard To Earn Retrospective feat. DJ Premier
To hear a conversation between the hosts of Dad Bod Rap Pod is to eavesdrop on three longtime hip-hop fans fully invested in the music’s past, present, and future. This episode finds emcee Demone Carter, writer David Ma, and record collector Nate LeBlanc turning their attention to Gang Starr’s 1994 release Hard To Earn, an album celebrating its 25th anniversary. Joined by their comrade DJ Cutso, they examine Guru and DJ Premier’s deliberate move from the jazz-soaked feel of earlier albums toward a grittier production style with lyrics to match, commenting often on how Guru’s monotone flow lays just right within Premier’s staccato snares and cavernous kick drums. Cutso examines Premier’s turntable skills as a pivotal percussive element, equating his cuts and scratches to power chords. This deep dive is not without its conversational asides, whether it’s about Quentin Tarantino and Pulp Fiction or the questionable lyrical ability of other Gang Starr Foundation members. It’s an insightful and hysterical look back at an important album in the group’s career, one that’s made even more memorable via interview excerpts with Premier himself discussing the change in their sound and the making of their massive B-side classic “DWYCK” featuring Nice & Smooth. [Jason Randall Smith]
Fifth & Mission
Finding Kyle
The San Francisco Chronicle’s new podcast, Fifth & Mission, named for the cross streets of the newspaper’s iconic headquarters, is about more than just giving Bay Area residents a recap of the stories making headlines each week. It also provides a behind-the-scenes look at how these stories get reported in the first place, and who exactly is doing the reporting. The inaugural episode, “Finding Kyle,” covers the heartbreaking story of an 18-year-old Sacramento boy who killed himself in 2013 by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. The hours leading up to and immediately following Kyle’s death, as well as the effect his death has had on his family and friends, are all covered in a recent piece by staff writer Lizzie Johnson, who discusses her methods for handling such a sensitive story. She and Chronicle editor in chief Audrey Cooper then discuss what efforts the city is making to stop suicides on the bridge, which any San Franciscan will tell you are far too common. As a local news podcast, Fifth & Mission will appeal most to those living within the Chronicle’s circulation radius, but fans of quality journalism everywhere would do well to check it out. [Dan Neilan]
Han And Matt Know It All
Han And Matt Disinvite Fascist Relatives
Han And Matt Know It All is an advice podcast for people who think advice podcasts lack bite. Advice columnists can often be a little too sympathetic to question askers, and they also have a tendency of being fine with the status quo. Hosts Han and Matt, a queer power couple (or power two-parts-of-a-larger-polyamorous-relationship), offer a complete 180 on that setup. Because they have some distance from the question asker, they can really sink their teeth in and call the person an asshole when they’re being an asshole. Han and Matt’s experience in marginalized communities also means their take on problems is often multifaceted, nuanced, and more focused on empathy than a perceived normalcy. This week, the hosts tackle questions from other advice columns, like whether to invite a racist uncle to a wedding, whether to dump someone who cheated but then found out they have cancer, and whether Mussolini’s granddaughter can rightfully be mad at Jim Carrey for saying her grandfather—who, again, was Mussolini—was a bad person. (Spoilers: no. He was literally Mussolini.) [Wil Williams]