The Toy Department – Episode 165

In Episode 165, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky waste little time with pleasantries (or unpleasantries) before covering:

  • Yet another return to Westeros (0:55), this time for the Battle of Winterfell, which delivered on the expectations of both hosts, leaving them perplexed at some of the negative response…
  • The Netflix film Someone Great (38:40) and how it is every bit as charming and enjoyable as the performance of lead actress Gina Rodriguez…
  • The new Lizzo album Cuz I Love You (51:25) and the promising future of a young pop artist…
  • The Baron Vaugh/Open Mike Eagle show The New Negroes (56:25) and how both guys were a little surprised by the format…
  • The sketch comedy disaster I Think You Should Leave (58:10) and Kolsky’s view that Tim Robinson represents the decay of society…
  • NBA Playoff talk (1:01:15) with special focus on the Warriors-Rockets battle in the Western Conference second round…
  • Homework for next week (1:14:30), including: the new HBO show Chernobyl, the Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile — starring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, check-ins on pod favorites like Barry, Billions and Killing Eve, another episode of Game of Thrones and EVEN MORE NBA playoff action…

The Toy Department – Episode 82

In Episode 82, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky revisit Madden’s diet before chopping it up about:

  • Madden’s trip to San Francisco for the Outside Lands festival (5:50), some highlights and whether the lineup was worth seeing overall…
  • Season 7, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones (17:15), rejecting the binary distinction of “action episode = good, exposition episode = meh…” and the joy of the week-to-week pop culture discussion around the show…
  • HBO’s Insecure (29:20), what a joy it has been throughout Season 2 so far and how it sets itself apart from lighter Sunday night fare like Ballers…
  • Netflix’s Ozark (36:20) and how a show that was initially panned by critics has developed a massive following…
  • Homework for next week (43:10): Kolsky is heading to Borneo (google it) so next pod is two weeks away, and the guys will be taking in a ton of media, including the last two episodes of Game of Thrones, the podcast Road Trippin’ with Richard Jefferson, the end of the clone-crazy series Orphan Black and Louis CK’s Horace & Pete…
  • A quick discussion on HBO’s Hard Knocks (50:40) which both Madden and Kolsky heartily recommend and will revisit on the next pod…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

The Toy Department – Episode 78

In Episode 78, Matt Kolsky’s smoothie leads to a brief diet digression from Derek Madden before they dive into more interesting and relevant discussions of:

  • The self-inflicted death of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington (5:00)…
  • The Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones (12:35) and the general absurdity of the whiny complaints about it…
  • The new Netflix show Friends from College (29:10) and the strangely negative reaction from critics to what seems to be a very lovable show…
  • Hot dogs (39:40) — what goes on them, what they’re for, etc…
  • Kolsky’s inability to not become a weepy mess (45:00) during heartstring-tugging entertainment…
  • Homework for next week (49:25): including next week’s Game of Thrones episode and the rapper cupcakKe… plus whatever the guys tweet about during the week 🙂

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

The Toy Department – Episode 28

In Episode 28, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open the podcast with a brief discussion about podcast listenership, then branch out to cover the very latest in:

  • Game of Thrones (2:20) where they break down the season finale (including small but heroic women doing WORK) and do a bit of looking forward to what’s next for our friends in Westeros…
  • International soccer (29:00) including Lionel Messi’s assertion that he intends to retire and a quick look at Euro 2016…
  • Madden’s Drake quandary – his girlfriend wants Drake tickets for her birthday, but Madden is disgusted with him… What does a man do in this situation??? (49:55)
  • A quick couple of TV-show-watching homework assignments for the future (57:40)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

The Toy Department – Episode 27

In Episode 27, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a quick NBA finals recap/react before some deep dives into the very latest in non-essential topics:

  • Sunday’s penultimate episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 (6:15) which, with its battle scenes and intriguing interpersonal interaction, was much more up Madden’s alley than the previous episode…
  • Team USA Men’s Soccer (24:35) and their ugly loss to top-ranked Argentina in the Copa America semifinal, plus some general discussion of the team’s future prospects…
  • ESPN’s OJ Simpson docu-series (53:55) and just how wonderful a job that it did in placing the remarkable OJ story in context…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.