A little polka ditty
Move over JRE, there's a new podcast breaking comedic talent!
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Hello, Sternal Journalists!
When I was little, I used to listen to this tape, “The Great Dinosaur Mystery,” subtitled “A Musical Fossil Fantasy” with this incredible cover art:
You can listen to it’s banger “I’m a Detective, Too,” where a detective meets a paleontologist and the paleontologist, via song, reminds the detective, that she in fact is a detective too. It was entertaining, it was educational, it was like indie Sesame Street.
While I have never really factored content for kids into the things I make (though there’s a strong argument that Poop Train could live a more vibrant life if directed at children), it’s not lost on me that some great pieces of fun and silly entertainment provide the basis for some of my sensibilities.
So imagine my enormous levels of stoke when I got a chance to (sort of) get my DinoRock on a few months back. A friend works for buttoned-up finance radio show Marketplace and reached out to me because Marketplace apparently has a children’s spinoff, and the producers were looking for a comedic voice actor who could carry a tune and play the ghost of Alexander Hamilton.
I said “holy shit yes” and this week, the episode came out! It’s all about why different countries have different currencies and is extremely sweet and silly, and yes, edu-raining. I don’t show up as the ghost of Hamilton (who does want to convey his message through song, but they are sd to find out he won’t rap—he’ll only sing polka) until towards the end, but the whole episode is a hoot and I learned stuff. These guys put together a very fun classic children’s show, and it’s pretty wonderful that we live in a world where the nerds at Marketplace want to put this joy into the ether.
So if you’d like, give it a listen here! Or if you prefer Apple podcasts, here:
I just realized that their first episode this season is “What is the Black Market?” (again—showfor children), so I’m gonna have to listen. But in the meantime:
Recommendations
Navalny. Documentary. This Oscar-nominated doc about the leader of Russia’s opposition is also the greatest episode of Crank Yankers ever.
Hard Fork. Podcast. I’m just going to keep recommending this podcast, this week because of the continued coverage of Sydney-gate as well as a primer on the Supreme Court decision that might drastically change the internet.
Women Talking. Film. This was incredible, maybe my favorite movie of the year. Incredibly gut-wrenching and heavy sexual assault trigger warning, but beautiful and gentle and thrilling.
Alrighty, hope you achieve some dreams you didn’t even know you had this week!
Love,
Julian
P.S. I spend anywhere between two and twelve hours a week on the Sternal Journal. If you enjoy receiving it (and are RICH) consider becoming a paying subscriber. For just a few bucks a month, you can provide me with a bit more time to come up with fun topics, poems, and interviews; and you with probably fewer typos.
Awesome, Jules -- jazzed to take a listen!