The Toy Department – Episode 63

In Episode 63, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky show up for class without completing their homework yet again, but nevertheless provide insightful commentary on:

  • Last week’s homework assignments (or the ones they got to, anyway): the Netflix-available show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2:30)… Amazon’s Pilot Season (6:30) and the five new shows available to watch and vote on… and Derek’s take on the new Drake album (26:20)…
  • The hot new thing in American soccer (31:20), specifically youngster Christian Pulisic and what he means for US Soccer’s future…
  • The NCAA Tournament so far (39:45) and the highly entertaining games we’ve gotten to see…
  • A quick check-in on the NBA (49:15), especially on the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference playoff picture…
  • Homework for next week (56:40): Derek will watch the beginning of the show Jane the Virgin, as he was supposed to last week, and the remainder of the Amazon Pilots… Kolsky will watch the film Mistaken for Strangers, about the band The National, as he was supposed to last 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… 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 16

In Episode 16, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with some follow-up on last week’s homework assignments – namely the Showtime show The Circus and the music of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down (11:15) which leads to a discussion of indie music in the modern zeitgeist. Things take a bit of a morbid turn from there as Madden and Kolsky pay tribute to two titans of culture who passed away in the last week – Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest (24:20) and comedian Garry Shandling (27:50). Neither Madden nor Kolsky has seen Batman v. Superman, but they still get into that (33:55) and then they finish strong with a chat about the crowning achievement of college basketball — One Shining Moment (44:00).

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 11

In Episode 11, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get right into the thick of things with a Kanye West deep dive… All jokes aside, there’s a lot to get into with Mr. West – from his music to his internet behavior, he is nothing if not interest-worthy! Then it’s a little bit of a sports injection with a brief discussion of the Duke/UNC rivalry and college sports in general (40:30), before closing with some TV talk (48:50) as the winter/spring season starts to kick into gear!!

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  We are also part of the Google Play library of podcasts (and hopefully will have a link to that soon)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.