JJGO Episode #203

I used to listen to Jordan Jesse Go pretty regularly in their early days but I haven't been a faithful listener in a long time. In a spate of boredom I looked through their recent catalog and found several great episodes, including Episode #203 with guest Maria Thayer. As Jesse alludes to in the introduction this episode stands out for being unusually monomaniacal, "We engage in what might be longest segment in Jordan Jesse Go History." Clocking in at almost two hours it eventually serves as workshop for Jesse to process a lot of his feelings about producing radio. An extended examination of whether or not to apply for a Peabody award becomes woven into a general conversation about The Sound of Young America, motivations for making art and Jesse's occasional doubts about what he's doing. Much of it is not really funny but I enjoyed it a lot more than many of their episodes. I found myself wishing Jesse could bring more of that honest sensibility to his Sound of Young America/Bullseye interviews. It was refreshing to hear him not trying to be funny. On The Sound of Young America he's steadily improved in his selection of interviewees and in his interview structure and I think he can get even better. I was left feeling that I've underestimated what the serious, less comedically driven Jesse Thorn can do. Funny that I heard it on his non-broadcast comedy podcast.