Pandemic holidays are great for binge listening, so we've rounded up our fave episodes of the year to help keep your ears occupied as you hunker down with your household.
Our thanks and appreciation for all who listened with us throughout the year. We look forward to being in your podcatcher in 2021!
All the A&E we streamed:
Bollywood is for Lovers: Erin and friends at YEGPodfest — Erin rounded up an international crew of Hindi-cinema experts for this chat about how Bollywood is oddly underrepresented in the movie-obsessed world of podcasting.
Emily Missed Out: Die Hard — Christmas came in July this year as EMO returned with a convo about this true king of holiday movies. Yippie ki yay, mofos!
I Don’t Get It: Iso-Interview: Peter Brown — This conversation with Peter Brown still sticks in our mind as an exploration of how laughter changes when we’re watching alone.
I Have Some Notes: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — Liam, Gregg, and Scott relive and rewrite a problematic fave and definitely make it better.
Kyle & Dave vs The Machine: American Beauty — The fellas offer a refreshing take on the truly bad, multiple award-winning midlife crisis.
Makeshift Stories: Ken Likeley — Shapeless Mistake — By-the-books curmudgeon Ken Likeley keeps falling through cracks in the space-time continuum — this time, it’s because of a shipping mixup.
Mess Hall Podcast: Valentines Food — Before the pandemic, Avery and Lena got together with Chris and Don Wilhelm of Little Shop of Pleasures to talk about aphrodisiacs.
My View Finder: Twinkle Banerjee - Multi National Perspectives — David Youn continues his exploration of the philosophy of photography with an Indian-born photographer who finds herself in Calgary.
Putting it Together: Interview with David Möschler — Kyle talks with the founder of Awesöme Orchestra Collective in this "intermission" from Follies.
Repodcasting: Breakfast at Tiffany’s — One of the more essential classics that needed a re-cast, Janet and Lucia tackle this one with aplomb.
The Read-Along: A Pitch for Neutral Good - “The Municipalists” Final Overview — Scott and Anita wrap up their season on The Municipalists by Seth Fried in a most delightful way.
COVID culture conversations:
Assumptions: Life in the Time of Quarantine — Daniel, a Christian, and Kyle, an atheist, explore their different experiences of the pandemic and the coping mechanisms at their disposal.
anticulture: Toxic Masculinity in the AB Oil Sands — Josiah talks to filmmakers Omar Mouallem and Dylan Rhys Howard about Digging in the Dirt.
The Daveberta Podcast: A deep dive into diversification, oil pipelines and petro-patriotism — Dave Cournoyer talks to economist Andrew Leach about matters at the heart of not only the economics but also the politics of Alberta.
Eat More Barbecue: Episode 100 Celebration! — Ryan Sanderson’s fond exploration of barbecue culture in Alberta visits with some favourite past guests to mark a big milestone.
EPIC Podcast: The Silent Alarm: Where was Public Alerting During COVID — If there ever was a banner year for a podcast on emergency preparedness, it was 2020. EPIC covered pandemic preparedness in a number of fascinating conversations.
It’s a Conspiracy!: It’s a CINEMASPIRACY: Deaths and Ghosts on Films! — Emily and Breanne from Emily Missed Out explore ghostly myths with hosts Andrew and Charlie.
Let’s Find Out: Marriage and Murder at the Mirama — Nathan Fung’s series is a true gem for Edmonton listeners who remember this Chinatown restaurant’s spectacular and sordid past. Part 4 covers Mirama’s most headline-making moment.
Modern Manhood: Cold Takes: Porn and Masculinity plus the American Election — A deep (no pun intended) conversation on how porn affects perspectives on women, men, and sexuality.
Press Start to Join: Year in Review — Alan Techsmith’s look back at 2020 is truly epic. The cherry on top is Josh Shenfield’s look at gaming history in the second half.
Speaking Municipally: JeoPEARdy — Media stars Stacey Brotzel, Scott Johnston, and the recently resurrected Ryan Jespersen duked it out on this annual Edmonton-themed trivia showdown.
That’s a Thing?!: But make it fashion — Cottagecore, witchcore, mumblecore, kidcore. Karen and Elizabeth cover all the cores, and it’s delightful.
Reflections on Life & Work:
Creative Block: Roel Suasin — A dancer-turned director shares the journey of his fascinating career in the arts, which started with his obsession with Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Cross-polliNation: World Power with Connie Stacey — The entrepreneur behind Growing Greener Innovations is exactly the kind of person we love learning about on NBee’s show.
Don’t Call Me A Guru: Behind the Scenes of Some Good News (SGN) Social Media with Alberta Agency Arcade — Anything that takes us within six degrees of separation from John Krasinski is firmly on our highlight list.
Ed - Conversations about the Teaching Life: Natalie Vardabasso - Walking Through the Resistance — Host Shane Lawrence talks to a fellow education podcaster about musical theatre, equity in assessment, and more. Stay for the hair-raising tale at the end.
Healthy Lifestyle Design: The Good-Enough Holiday — Pamella and Janet offer tips on making this pandemic Christmas bearable.
Let’s Do Coffee: Episode 25 — NAIT alumni Nevin and Kara Fenske describe the journey that led to the creation of their beloved Drift Food Truck.
Life With Dementia: Living in the Here and Now — Future co-host Roger Marple talks to Johnna Lowther about how he resists and rejects the stigma of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Pandemic Year in Sport:
2 and Out CFL Podcast: 2 and Out Live: The Virtual Edition — Ty and Currah’s annual live episode was a virtual cross-country zoom party this year, which led to a major controversy in the CFL Timbit Challenge.
For Kicks: Supporter culture with Nicky Cottee — This was a fun conversation about how women can get involved in the often male-dominated fan culture of soccer.
Loyal Company of the River Valley: Episode 261 — The Island Games were the only CPL soccer we got to see this year, so here’s a chance to see what Nathan and Adam thought about the game and FC Edmonton’s performance.
Tight Ends: Tight Ends for $200, Alex — Vanda talks football, craft beer, anti-racism, and Jeopardy with the wonderful Sharon Ruyter.
The Turf District: CFL Family Get Together #1 — Early on in the pandemic, our soon-to-be-rebranded podcast covering the Edmonton football team gathered fellow CFL fans together for what turned out to be quite an emotional episode.