State of Alert

May. 22, 2012 at 10:21pm with 10 notes

Things I Like: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Jesse Thorn is one of the best people in the world, period. As founder of the Maximum Fun network of podcasts and radio shows, Jesse has created a network brimming with hilarious content that always feels genuine and heartfelt, whether it’s presented as a semi-serious interview covering less-than-humorous topics, two people shooting the shit without fear of radio censorship, or if it’s people taking Yahoo Answers topics and amplifying their inherent stupidity as far as it can go. Even though Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is technically the newest member of the MaxFun family, it’s actually a complete rebranding of a previous show, The Sound of Young America, which, with its title, likely alienated the audience it wanted. Bullseye aims to change all of that.

Bullseye nestles itself into the interview category of talk shows. The typical episode lasts about an hour and consists of three main segments, with one to three recurring segments positioned in each break. However, unlike it’s contemporaries, such as This American Life, Bullseye is never centered around a central theme. This lack of thematic congruence may put off some listeners and could be something holding back the show from being greater than what it is. However, by including such a hodgepodge of topics, the show invokes a “just one more” mentality, so that you’ll be so engrossed in the previous interview that you want to listen to the next, even if it’s based around a subject in which you might otherwise be uninterested.

A lot of this is due to Jesse’s personality and how much it lends itself to creating chemistry with the guests. Thorn, at this moment, is a dad raising a family on top of his day job of running the MaxFun network, and it’s very apparent in all of his shows. He often comes across as a over-enthused oaf that’s interested in anything the guest has to say. I’m sure some of this is due in part to his ability to cherry-pick which content enters each episode, meaning that there’s less of a chance, that the topic won’t interest him in some way, but Jesse always comes across as a curious person who wants a chance to hear a part of someone’s story. The format is never route or cookie-cutter, either, as Jesse essentially gives free reign to each guest to talk about something what fascinates them and guides it into something entertaining. We don’t need to know each person’s life story, but by virtue of that person’s passions coming through their segment, the audience still manages to get a glimpse into what that person’s world is like.

With a formula like this, Jesse could have made a show about obscure and unknown people and still make it engrossing, but he is backed by some quality talent. The smaller intermission segments often offer suggestions from The Onion’s very own A.V. Club, while the cast of My Brother, My Brother and Me, another member of the MaxFun network, occasionally provide answers to some of Yahoo Answer’s most ill-founded questions, always to hilarious results. On top of that, the actual interview segments have starred talented people like Tim and Eric, from their eponymous awesome show (Great job!), Penleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time, and Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam in the US adaptation of The Office. Going even further into The Sound of Young America’s history, you’ll find that Jesse has interviewed the likes of Patrick Warburton, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Simon Pegg, Weird Al Yankovic, Carrie Brownstein, and Kate Beaton. Not every show has people with such a high amount of fame, but with Jesse Thorn guiding the conversation, that’s never a problem anyway.

Bullseye is still technically in its infancy, but it’s gaining traction and improving all the time. So, with all of that said, listen to the show on the internet or over public radio, and while you’re at it, join the Maximum Fun community. They’re good people.

Bullseye is available in iTunes, as a RSS feed, or as a broadcast on the following set of radio stations:

XM Public Radio XM Channel 121

WNYC 93.9 FM New York, NY

WNYC 820 AM New York, NY

WHYY 91 FM Philadelphia, PA

KALW 91.7 FM San Francisco, CA

KCPW 88.3 FM Salt Lake City, UT

WYBC 1340 AM New Haven, CT

KUSP 88.9 FM Santa Cruz, CA

KBDH 91.7 FM Ardo, CA

KISU 91.1 FM Pocatello, ID

KSRQ 90.1 FM Thief River Falls, MN

KISU-FM 91.1 FM Pocatello, ID