I went into a restaurant to meet a friend last weekend and there was a random partition separating two tables. It was the only one in the restaurant and it stood out. I turned to my friend and said, “that is so 2020.” We both had a laugh, and thankfully, for the most part, it is true. There are a lot of life changes that happened over the course of the pandemic and some are part of our new post pandemic world.

Podcasting was not a new media forum in 2020, it dates back to 2004, but with the world in lock down, thousands found an outlet on how to communicate with not just each other, but audiences around the world who they would have otherwise never touched.

There are podcasts for every genre and anything you are personally interested in. I follow many different podcasts and keep adding more to the list. Of the many I follow, I just wanted to touch on one that is hilarious, called Smartless. This stars Jason Bateman, Wil Arnett and Sean Hayes, that are all very good friends IRL (In real life) and took the pandemic lock down as an opportunity to spend time together, apart. Apple named it one of best shows of 2020. Each week the three get together remotely to give each other a hard time, and one of them brings on a guest that is a surprise to the other two. Guests are a range of notables ranging from Jimmy Kimmel, Neil De Grasse Tyson, Kamala Harris to name drop a few.

In the winter of 2022, the three stars decided to take their podcast on the road and filmed it. They were supposed to come to Toronto on their tour (Wil Arnett is Canadian) but because of the strict Covid border rules, were not able to come. The good news was that it was being filmed as a docuseries for release.

It premiered on HBO back in May 2023. I couldn’t wait to watch it and starting searching for it on the release date, but alas…not available on HBO Max Canada. I was disappointed, and put it to the back burner for shows I may not get to see.

Why I am telling you all of this you may be asking?

Yesterday I was tired of doom scrolling and watching the never ending news loop, so I decided to check out what was on Crave and guess what, Smartless on the road is available in Canada!!!! I got comfortable on my sofa and and settled in with Wil, Jason and Sean. It is a short series (6 episodes) but if you listen to them on a regular basis, you will laugh out loud as you follow them around the US on their tour. I laughed out loud many times and six episodes flew by in a snap.

I will be sharing more about the different podcasts I subscribe to, and if you have one that you love, I would love to hear about it. I am always looking for new and interesting hosts and content.

Off to find something to listen to,

Until next time,