The Toy Department – Episode 8

In Episode 8, Derek Madden tracks Matt Kolsky down while he’s driving around the Bay Area for a delightful chat that begins with Blake Griffin’s recent mishap (which is another word for punching your friend in the face and breaking your own hand) and then turns to the recent rumors that baseball is considering adding the DH to the National League (16:30). Then they jump OFF of the sports page as they revisit R. Kelly with a quick discussion of the singer’s recent GQ interview (29:30) which of course leads to some big picture questions about cognitive dissonance (around 40:00). Thankfully the conversation takes a lighter turn after that, as Madden and Kolsky get into the Friends-assaince, if you will — the apparent rash of young people binge-watching Friends on Netflix (48:25). Finally, they wrap things up by assigning some homework (58:30) and teasing ahead to next week’s episode…

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The Toy Department – Episode 7

In Episode 7, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a discussion of the Eagles in the wake of Glenn Frey’s passing – a conversation wherein Kolsky may have inappropriately slandered a band that just tragically lost a member – before transitioning into a movie conversation that should be significantly less offensive. Specifically, they talk about Room (18:30) and its engaging star Brie Larson, before getting into some specifics on The Hateful Eight (28:20) and its divisive director Quentin Tarantino. Then it’s on to television (37:15) and a discussion about the future of television programming in a world where TBS and TNT are wading into the prestige TV game. And then, FINALLY, they finish things off with the long-awaited All-Time Trash Talk Team discussion (49:45)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

The Toy Department – Episode 6

In Episode 6, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a brief discussion of football’s move to Los Angeles, before transitioning into a discussion of the life of the great David Bowie (6:30). Then transition into a long movie talk based around today’s announcement of Oscar nominations (14:45) that addresses the lack of diversity in nominees, among other things. Then it’s back to sports (32:30) for a discussion of the Bengals’ meltdown (or was it a meltdown??) at the end of their playoff loss to Pittsburgh and other postseason football issues. Then a minute or two on Sean Penn’s El Chapo interview ties things up at the end.

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!! 

The Toy Department – Episode 5

In Episode 5, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky start with a little holiday break recap and quick Star Wars follow-up (thanks to George Lucas’ odd comments) before Madden attempts to convince Kolsky to to watch the Netflix series Making a Murderer (starting around 9:30). Then it’s a breakdown of some prestige TV (24:30) – mostly FX’s incredible Fargo but also the USA series Mr. Robot. Kolsky talks about a hip-hop audio tour of the Bronx (41:10) to spur a brief discussion about art and human nature, and then there’s some discussion about the Baseball Hall of Fame and its awful voting process (49:00) to finish off strong.

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!