Beautiful/Anonymous
September 5, 2016 10:44 AM   Subscribe

Have you ever wished you could find out more about the people who post anonymous questions on AskMe? Would you find it fascinating to listen to them talk? Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, a podcast by Chris Gethard (previously), totally scratches that itch. The show's premise: Chris lets people know via twitter and instagram that he's got the line open, and he talks to whoever calls in. The only rule is that Chris can't be the one to hang up first.
posted by ocherdraco (6 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is a great show which I can only handle in small doses, because I frequently end up in tears.
posted by books for weapons at 11:19 AM on September 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Are there any episodes people particularly recommend?
posted by Erberus at 1:05 PM on September 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Are there any episodes people particularly recommend?

The two episodes that stand out in my mind are:
2. Passport, Exodus - Interesting look at the bureaucracy behind getting issued an expedited passport mixed with information about the specifics of Othodox Jewish wine drinking.
and
21.Make Fruit Baskets Great Again - which has Chris, who's a liberal, discussing politics with a Trump supporter in a very polite fashion. This one somewhat mirrored the only rational conversation I've had with a Trump supporter and kind of paint's the picture of how the decision was made and why they are sticking with it.

I've been enjoying this show as background noise when I'm working and can say that some episodes are hit or miss. In spite of that Chris's overly positive demenour can usually make the most mundane conversations very charming.
posted by coolxcool=rad at 4:13 PM on September 5, 2016


I found ep1 to be kind of a bore but ep7 was quite good. Working through some of the others now...
posted by Rhomboid at 5:05 PM on September 5, 2016


Are there any episodes people particularly recommend?

Seconding "Passport, Exodus." I also found "Early Onset" really engaging.

This is a pretty amazing show. I generally hate standup comedy, and hanging out with a professional comedian and a cast of people who want to become comedians (and who make up 95% of the audience for standup, as far as I can tell) sounds like hell. If I'd heard a pitch for the show rather than hearing a clip from it on another program, I'd never have given it a second thought. Talking to arbitrary self-selected people for an hour and not culling almost all the calls sounds like it would make for awful radio.

And yet. . . the show is fantastic. The host does a beautiful job at forcing people to say things that are both interesting and true. Or at least things that are interesting and sound true. It's the first genuinely new thing to happen to radio in a decade or more.
posted by eotvos at 11:03 AM on September 6, 2016


I am really enjoying this podcast, thank you for sharing it!
posted by invokeuse at 12:36 PM on September 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


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