Aquarium Reminiscing - July 6th, 2024

throwback to that time I almost stole an axolotl

Author

Fancy Anne
July 07, 2024

This week I listened to 81 hours and 5 minutes of podcasts.

So now I’m realizing that maybe May was the outlier in listening… and that I really just cannot have any moments of silence.

Going to jump right into it, so enjoy this week’s highlights!

(P.S. Can y’all recommend me some new TV shows to obsess over? I need to do something other than listen to podcasts forever!)

Table of Contents

Listening Stats

For June 30th - July 6th, 2024…

  • Listening Time: 81 hours and 5 minutes

  • Listening Time (at 1.5x Speed): 54 hours, 3 minutes, and 20 seconds

  • Number of Episodes: 83

  • Average Episode Length: 58 minutes and 37 seconds

  • Approximate Daily Listening: 11 hours and 35 minutes

  • Approximate Daily Listening (at 1.5x Speed): 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 20 seconds

Overall Weekly Averages to Date:

  • Listening Time: 46 hours, 26 minutes, and 01 second

  • Listening Time (at 1.5x Speed): 30 hours, 57 minutes, and 21 seconds

  • Number of Episodes: 63

  • Average Episode Length: 42 minutes and 50 seconds

  • Approximate Daily Listening: 6 hours, 38 minutes

  • Approximate Daily Listening (at 1.5x Speed): 4 hours, 25 minutes, and 20 seconds

Weekly Playlist

🎪 Tihany’s Illusion

When I heard about Tihany’s Illusion, I was intrigued and added it right to my queue, and then as soon as I listened I knew this one was going to be amazing! The storytelling and editing are so good, and I was hooked immediately. There’s only one episode out so far and I can’t wait to hear more!

Introducing Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.

⚖️ 5-4

I knew this episode of 5-4 was coming without it being announced and before it ever hit my Pocket Casts queue.

Trump v. United States

Take a deep breath. John Roberts just handed Donald Trump the keys to the country and said "don't bother bringing it back in one piece."

🍼 Childproof

Okay hear me out. I may not be a parent (yet? I have no immediate plans to change that but I won’t say never), but Tori and Gwenna are really fun. And this newest series they’re doing on Childish about all the best advice they’ve received about parenting is priceless as someone with multiple friends with babies! I have to be prepared the be the best Auntie Fancy I can be!

Ages And Stages: The Early Years

Welcome to our first Ages and Stages episode. This week, Tori and Gwenna walk through the early years. They emphasize trusting your instincts, prioritizing sleep, and realizing that disposable products can be self care. They discuss letting go of worries, balancing challenges, and dealing with regressions, while also stressing the importance of keeping and creating memories. They share their stories and advice on scrapbooking, gentle parenting, and the significance of repetition and communication in parenting toddlers (even though you hate it).

🎬 Quick Smart

This Quick Smart episode is a replay from earlier this year, but it still covers an important issue in the TV and film industry. As a member of the WGA Audio Alliance, I’m obviously a big supporter of unions and of writers and actors in particular. So… that’s how I feel about CGI and AI use in this industry. 😂

The rise of AI in the movies

AI is impacting every creative industry - and movies are no exception. If a young Harrison Ford can be churned out of a computer, what does the future of film look like? And would you feel differently about your favourite TV show if you knew the characters in it were created by a computer?

🧸 Decoder Ring

Do you remember the name of your first stuffed animal? I do, but DON’T TELL ME YOURS. That’s a commonly used security question! Keep it to yourself!

But my love for this episode of Decoder Ring is twofold because of my trip to Dallas a few years ago where I had the wildest experience with axolotls. At the Dallas World Aquarium (which… is an aquarium kind of and also a zoo and also an indoor rainforest and also- just go here. nowhere else in Dallas—just go to the aquarium and then go home) there’s a small set of stairs down into the shark tunnel. And along the stairs is a tank with axolotls in it.

This tank does not have a lid on it. There is no top to this tank. And the top edge of this tank is 100% within arms reach if you are standing on these stairs.

Do you know how much self restraint it took me not to reach my little gremlin fingers into this tank and touch an axolotl?

I should have taken a picture of this unbelievable experience, but I was so focused on escaping the situation as quickly to resist temptation that I completely forgot to get proof. If you go to this aquarium, can you take a picture of the axolotl tank and send it to me? Please.

Stuffed Animals Gone Wild

Every few years, it seems like American kids and parents collectively decide they cannot get enough of a creature that makes teddy bears seem impossibly quaint. In today’s episode we’re going to swim after the axolotl, as it takes us to some far-flung and unexpected places, to understand how it came to rule the stuffed animal kingdom. Though the answer absolutely has to do with parents eager to please their children at the gift shop, it's bigger than that. The insatiable hunger for novelty that is bound up with the axolotl — well, that has to do with all of us.

🐦 The Deposition

I’m not letting you get away without a reminder about one of my new podcasts: The Deposition. This is almost definitely the funniest thing we have ever done at Hug House, and it required no writing from us… just reading an actual really real transcript of Elon Musk’s deposition in his case against Ben Brody.

After listening to the first episode, my aunt told me that she was glad we included the character breaks because it would get to a point where she thought she was imagining how stupid some of the things said were, and then we would break into laughter and she’d know it wasn’t just her.

Episode 1: Do You Feel the Need to Yell Again?

Welcome to The Deposition, a dramatic reading of the public record transcript of Elon Musk’s deposition in full. We promise: this is really real, a real thing that happened in a real lawsuit that exists in real life, word for word – with the addition of some actor editorializing. In this episode, we enter the virtual Zoom court of law, hear Elon Musk learn what this lawsuit is about, and hear Alex Spiro get educated on how to use objections in Texas. ALLEGEDLY! Justice for Ben Brody.

What were the stand-out episodes that you listened to this week? Know of a podcast you think would make it on to my list of favorites? Let me know in the comments or a reply to this issue in your inbox!

And if you happened upon this on the web, make sure you subscribe to get weekly updates on my listening habits!

See you all next week!

- Fancy Anne