The Toy Department – Episode 88

In Episode 88, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden get right into it with:

  • The passing of Tom Petty (1:25) and his place in the pantheon of American rock music, leading to…
  • A breakdown of the Mount Rushmore (7:15) of American rock artists…
  • The new Fox show Ghosted (20:05) starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson…
  • Another Fox comedy, The Mick (24:35) as it begins its second season…
  • The newest entry into the Law & Order canon – True Crime (28:55), focusing on the Menendez brothers murders…
  • The definitive debate about the all-time Law & Order fantasy cast team (39:00) – starring Lennie Briscoe, obviously, but WHO ELSE?!?!
  • Homework for next week (1:01:30) including: new albums from the bands Alvvays and Death From Above 1979, the USA v. Panama soccer game coming up on Friday, Episode 5 of Bojack Horseman and the new Netflix cartoon Big Mouth (from the mind of Nick Kroll) and revisiting The Deuce on HBO…
  • A few words on the NFL’s continued blackball of Colin Kaepernick (1:07:00)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 19

In Episode 19, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky waste no time before going deep into a Prince tribute. After paying proper tribute to the Purple Gawd, they move on to another pop superstar with a discussion of Beyoncé and her Lemonade release (24:00) which leads some debate about what a pop star really is in the modern music world (around 48:00). Then some quick-hitters to finish the show: Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere reaction (57:15), the #MoreThanMean video and its important message about women on sports twitter (1:08:20) and the foul ball segment on HBO’s Real Sports (1:16:25).

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 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 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.