Westworld podcasts we love and you’re missing out on!
By Renay
Westworld is big. Podcasts are big. Why not combine them, shake them up and see what pours out? This delicious mix results in some pretty epic Westworld podcasts.
I’m going to get this out first. Please know, or remember, podcasts contain spoilers, spoilers, spoilers.
Some of the best qualities of a podcast include up-to-the-minute news, reviews, recaps, opinions, and humor. You listen to them at your leisure, whenever and where ever. It’s talk radio for the modern world. What’s really cool, is anyone with a bit of equipment and a computer can create and publish a podcast.
Westworld fans are amazing–a lot of them are technically minded. Some, like me, aren’t. Don’t be shocked but until last night, I had never listened to a podcast in my life.
Hey! Stop throwing wadded up pieces of paper at me! I’m just being honest. That being said, I’ve now done my homework and understand what all the fuss is about.
We gathered up our favorite podcasts and asked them a few questions about their shows.
Next: Do Westworld robots of the future need legal rights?
We asked the podcast hosts to tell us about how their podcast started, describe it in a few sentences and tell us what they love most about Westworld.
Westworld The Podcast
How it started: I had been thinking about starting a podcast for a while, but I couldn’t think of anything that was both unique and that I was passionate about. I saw the trailer for the show and was really intrigued.
I started doing some research and found out it was based on a movie from the 70’s. I thought it would be fun to write an article about it in anticipation of the new show. Then it dawned on me this is what I was looking for. Something brand new that I could be in on the ground floor. Luckily it turned out to be one of the best shows on television.
About your podcast: The best Westworld podcast this side of the Mason Dixon. My friends and I have improv backgrounds and they’re also really smart. So that helps make the podcast funny and informative (we hope anyway).
What they love about the show: The thing I love most about the show is how well all the complex elements are woven together. It’s a testament to the show-runners for putting together an amazing piece of television.
Radio Westworld
How it started: John and I had done a podcast called Jupiter’s Roster: The Spartacus Podcast several years ago. We’re coworkers and fellow nerds and we both loved that show, so that got us into podcasting.
When Westworld was announced as a new series it felt like the perfect opportunity for John and I to reunite since we’re sci-fi nerds from that era.
About your podcast: We spend some time recapping the episode, and I finally get an opportunity to put my Philosophy degree to use in a segment we call Cowboy Philosophy. We close each show with feedback from our listeners, who are fellow fans just like us.
What they love about the show: What we love most about the show are the puzzles and questions it challenges its audiences with. It harkens back to the style of sci-fi associated with speculative masters such as Philip K. Dick.
We consider it social science fiction, where the questions being asked and the world being presented is less about the science itself and more about the impact science can have in our society.
Westworld Theorycast
How it started: The germ of Westworld Theorycast actually started 10 years ago when I began The LOST Mythos Theorycast. We continued podding with Podcast Winterfell covering Game of Thrones and were always on the lookout for the next breakout show.
Being a huge sci-fi fan and knowing the talent involved Westworld seemed like a sure-fire theory bonanza for our new venture, The DVR Podcasting Network.
About your podcast: Westworld Theorycast is a straight up theorycast and discussion show, we bypass the traditional recap to delve right into the most compelling and interesting aspects of this puzzle. We do an Initial Reaction cast that posts within a couple hours of that week’s airing and a 2 hour deep dive/feedback that drops Wednesday.
The podcast is hosted by Axel Foley, DJ Timm Hines and occasional appearances by Heath Solo.
What they love about the show: I love that Westworld is intelligent and challenges traditional narrative and storytelling conventions. I’ve been reading hard sci-fi from authors like Arthur C. Clarke since I was a child and likewise the philosophical questions Westworld poses force the audience to question themselves and their reality. And Westworld is never short on theory crafting!
Freeze All Motor Functions
How it started: Same as Hector: a loooottt of market research. Okay, not really. My co-host Ross and I were both obsessed with season 1 of Westworld, but neither of us knew that was going to be the case before last season aired — hence why we didn’t get into the Westworld podcast game until after season 1.
Ross has been doing a Game of Thrones podcast called Oysters, Clams & Cockles for a while now, and the two shows’ crossover audience — paired with our love of Westworld — made it a natural fit to add a Westworld podcast to the Grandex podcast network for season 2.”
About your podcast: What we try to bring to the table with Freeze All Motor Functions is a podcast that doesn’t take itself or the show it covers too seriously. We make a LOT of stupid jokes and pump out some intentionally terrible theories, but if you listen to a full episode you’re going to leave fully informed about everything going on.
We also love to hear from our listeners, which is why we have a listener-focused episode every Thursday called “Analysis Mode” wherein we respond to listener voicemails left at our cold line number, 888-6-FREEZE.
What they love about the show: No show in the history of eternity has been able to captivate an audience quite like Westworld. Not only does it have you questioning the nature of your reality with its poignant commentary on artificial intelligence, but it also has you questioning the nature of every aspect of the show at all times.
Nothing is ever certain on Westworld, which lends itself to the creation of crackpot theories that are fun to formulate and consider.
Violent Delights
How it started: I (@MrBabyMan) have always been a fan of Michael Crichton’s 1973 Westworld— it was a movie that kind of terrified me as a kid, and I grew to love it and appreciate how forward-thinking Crichton was about the perils of artificial intelligence.
Crichton’s fascination with technology informed my interest in tech and led me to create @TheDrillDown, a weekly tech podcast. When I heard HBO was rebooting Westworld as a flagship big-budget series, I knew I had to cover it in a podcast, so I invited my The Drill Down co-hosts to participate, and they were totally on board.
About your podcast: Violent Delights approaches Westworld not by simply recapping the show, as many other podcasts do, but really, to deconstruct it on a thematic basis– to dive into the overall narrative.
We’ve discovered that Westworld’s showrunners have taken great care to infuse the work with an incredible amount of subtext and allusion, and we attempt to pull that apart and lay it out for our listeners.
What they love about the show: I love Westworld’s existential exploration into what defines humanity– is it our organic origins, or how we treat our fellow intelligent species? It’s that fundamental question that transcends the trappings of science fiction.
Next: Westworld-like robot in the works in the U.K.
Also, check out Tactics FC for a comprehensive list of the latest episodes of the various Westworld podcasts available for your listening pleasure.
What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Follow Beyond Westworld’s Twitter and Facebook accounts for everything you need to know about Westworld.
Enjoy this article? Follow and see more from Renay here.
Westworld airs every Sunday on HBO at 9 PM EST!