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The Voice of America(ns): The Podcast

PinkRibbons

By PinkRibbons
in The Americans [V]

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PinkRibbons

PinkRibbons

(edited)

High time we had a thread for discussing the podcasts the show is doing for every episode this season!

 

I loved today's podcast. Matthew Rhys sounds like one of the most fun costars ever; it's so funny to hear a man who plays such a multifaceted, serious character being a big old goofball. The previous episodes were really good too; the writing process on this show is fascinating.

 

(Historical Note: The Voice of America was one of several radio stations that sent broadcasts in Russian out to the Soviet Union from adjacent free countries. The Soviets would jam the frequencies as much as they could, but they would still often get through. The broadcast would include world news from a Western perspective, "unencouraged music" like jazz and rock, readings from forbidden books and writers, etc. Often the people of the USSR would find out news about their own country that the government was suppressing. The Voice of America had a very distinctive opening, "This is The Voice of America from _____". My grandmother got it from Okinawa when she was living in the Far East, my father from Soloniki, Greece when he was in Odessa, and my mother can't remember but she thinks she heard it from Paris or London in Vilnius. Mama spent more time listening to The German Wave broadcasting from Cologne, and the BBC, and then there was also The Voice of Israel, Radio Free Europe and the very rarely caught Radio Liberty. They were collectively referred to as "The Voices". And people would literally say, "He's been listening to The Voices.")

Edited by PinkRibbons
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CarpeDiem54

CarpeDiem54

Thank you, PinkRibbons. I never know how to find these things.

Thanks, also, for the Voices information. I really appreciate the Soviet perspective that both you and the poster, chocolatine, post. It really adds to my understanding of that era even though I remember it well but from an American point of view. You guys have fascinating information.

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crgirl412

crgirl412

 

I really appreciate the Soviet perspective that both you and the poster, chocolatine, post. It really adds to my understanding of that era even though I remember it well but from an American point of view. You guys have fascinating information.

Me too!!!  It's makes our experience of watching the show so much richer! 

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stillshimpy

stillshimpy

I loved today's podcast. Matthew Rhys sounds like one of the most fun costars ever; it's so funny to hear a man who plays such a multifaceted, serious character being a big old goofball. The previous episodes were really good too; the writing process on this show is fascinating.

 

That was a truly startling revelation.  He's so delightfully silly.  He made me laugh out loud four different times.  He's also clearly a very gifted and thoughtful actor, who had a lot of insight and the juxtaposition from that to how he could just suddenly transition to being absolutely hilarious made it all the more entertaining.  

 

What a great podcast that was.  

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5cents-worth

5cents-worth

Are they only available on ITunes?

 

If you use Chrome, you can download an app called Cloud Caster and can subscribe to podcasts available on iTunes, including this one from Slate.  Cloud Caster and Podcast Nation are good apps for Android phones as well.  

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5cents-worth

5cents-worth

The podcast this week (for 3.8 Divestment) was really good.  Alison Wright was a guest for part of it and talked a lot about Martha's denial of her situation. For me, though, the star of this week's podcast was Ian McLaughlin, the stunt coordinator.  He described how they pulled off the tire fire, and it was surprising to hear that they used a stunt person for it.  I figured it was so dangerous they probably used a dummy and tricky camera work.  He is also a really good storyteller, and his descriptions of how stunts are designed and how they fit into the storytelling was tremendous.  

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PinkRibbons

PinkRibbons

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You know, these pocasts (especially the one released today) has explained, I think, something about Matthew Rhys's acting to me. He is so frikkin' good at loaded silences and these moments when you think he's going to talk and then the scene ends and you find yourself (*ahem*, myself) screaming at the screen. It's like a loaded gun that you're waiting to see go off any second.

 

And that seems to be exactly who Matthew Rhys is. He, as himself, is like this wonderful ball of hilarity and energy, exploding here and there. And I think a lot of being Philip is holding that considerable energy in. Does that make any sense?

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Umbelina

Umbelina

(edited)

Thank you!  I had to get around my script blocker, but for some reason opening that in a new tab made it work.  Yay!

 

Wow, at this http://cdn.panoply.fm/SM7650771618.mp3 !  The "real life" Philip who was never given weapons training, recruited by Stasi, handed off the to KGB, to work undercover here.

 

He quit the KGB by telling them he had AIDS.  Russia didn't want someone with AIDS back, so they even gave his money to his wife, and told he that he had died of AIDS. 

 

I've got to look up that guy he talks about pulling off many Romeo (honey trap) events, like the one with Martha.

Edited by Umbelina
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Umbelina

Umbelina

Bumping this thread, because I keep forgetting about it.

Also, I'd really like a consensus or mod view about where we should talk about the Previews.  The spoiler thread doesn't seem quite right.  @aquarian1, what would you prefer?

This podcast starts out mentioning the music and the themes, which is something I've meant to comment on for a while now.  I really love the theme music for this show, it's just right.  He also goes into themes for various cast members.

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Janc

Janc

I like the podcast to hear about the background stuff like music cues, etc. but I wish they'd discuss the episode itself more and analyze it.  I've found a couple of podcasts that do this but the people are rather annoying... 

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scartact

scartact

4 minutes ago, Janc said:

I like the podcast to hear about the background stuff like music cues, etc. but I wish they'd discuss the episode itself more and analyze it.  I've found a couple of podcasts that do this but the people are rather annoying... 

I sorta get the sense that when they're on episodes they don't want to talk too much about so they can avoid spoilers, they'll do more behind the scenes stuff. Not sure how accurate this is, but I do enjoy what they do give us in the podcast and I appreciate the J's elucidation of what they're doing and the characters, which really does inform my reading of the show. I personally would love to hear more from the episode writers, but maybe they avoid that to prevent spoiler leakage during their conversations.

Not sure if bringing this up belongs in this thread, but I do agree about wanting to hear more analysis-based podcasts and the one I've been trying out, while fairly well-made, can be frustrating to listen to partially because the hosts often allow their biases to control how dynamic the content is (which to me, is not dynamic at all; plus, I get frustrated by their rather flat interpretations of the characters).

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Umbelina

Umbelina

Yeah, I agree.  The ones that focus on the episodes are much better.

Still, there are people out there that will probably enjoy the music one, but I switched over to The Day After fairly soon.

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scartact

scartact

Actually I did love the music one too and I know Nathan Barr was also interviewed by THR a year or so ago and covered much of the same topics. I like when the other elements are coming together very thoughtfully in support of what the show is trying to do, such as the score. I thought it was also really interesting that the title was built off primarily Elizabeth's theme, it seems. I haven't really listened as often for the score to see what it's doing, but it definitely made me want to go back to older episodes and see what elements I can take from it.

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Janc

Janc

(edited)

I did like the last one about the music, I'd never noticed the 'theme music' that for each character.  Will be listening for those more closely now.  

The podcast I've discovered that gives a show recap with some analysis that I don't mind is this one.  This week they had a great theory about the Russians/Gaad meeting, hope it pans out.  

Edited by Janc
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scartact

scartact

21 hours ago, Janc said:

The podcast I've discovered that gives a show recap with some analysis that I don't mind is this one.  This week they had a great theory about the Russians/Gaad meeting, hope it pans out.  

I sampled one and while the sound quality isn't the best (as expected since not everyone can afford to buy fancy mics!), I did better enjoy their conversation surrounding the episode. I may continue listening to it. Thanks for the rec!

Something not mentioned in this thread yet was how great the David Copperfield podcast episode was, where they interviewed Matthew Rhys! MR was so utterly charming and he gave pretty fun insight on filming various scenes, including multiple takes of Keri Russell screaming at Holly Taylor, and then following every take with apologies before starting all over again. I also found it funny how irreverent he was about getting too talk-y about the process and just wanting to ensure he got the necessary footage. That was very fun.

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madam magpie

madam magpie

Quote

 MR was so utterly charming and he gave pretty fun insight on filming various scenes, including multiple takes of Keri Russell screaming at Holly Taylor, and then following every take with apologies before starting all over again. 

I only recently started listening to this podcast; I need to go back to the earlier seasons. But I also found this bit to be charming. I've always suspected Keri Russell was lovely...

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scartact

scartact

(edited)
3 hours ago, madam magpie said:

I only recently started listening to this podcast; I need to go back to the earlier seasons. But I also found this bit to be charming. I've always suspected Keri Russell was lovely...

I believe they only started the Slate Insider Podcast for the show in season 3, but they're definitely worth a listen if you have time. As previous others have stated, typically the better ones offer more relevant post-episode insight. There's even a few with MR and KR (individually and together). So far, my favorite is the season 3 finale episode, which had MR, KR, and HT together, and featured Matthew and Keri talking about practicing scenes with Holly and Keri's internal reaction to finding out Elizabeth would actually get to see her mother. That one is especially worth a listen! They're all equally lovely and it's nice to see how fun and funny Keri can be in contrast to what we get in the show with Elizabeth.

Edited by scartact
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madam magpie

madam magpie

9 minutes ago, scartact said:

I believe they only started the Slate Insider Podcast for the show in season 3, but they're definitely worth a listen if you have time. As previous others have stated, typically the better ones offer more relevant post-episode insight.There's even a few with MR and KR (individually and together). So far, my favorite is the season 3 finale one, which had MR, KR, and HT together, and featured Matthee and Keri talking about practicing scenes with Holly and Keri's internal reaction to finding out Elizabeth would actually get to see her mother. That one is especially worth a listen! They're all equally lovely and it's nice to see how fun and funny Keri can be in contrast to what we get in the show with Elizabeth.

Cool! I'll check those out!

Keri Russell has held a special place in my heart since her Felicity days. The fact that sweet Felicity who constantly got shit on grew up to be a badass spy who takes no shit may be my favorite TV twist of all time.

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madam magpie

madam magpie

(edited)

OK. This week's podcast was great! First of all, I was so excited to hear from the spycraft expert, and I love that he (sort of) told the story of the killer umbrella they have at the spy museum. I'm assuming that's what they were talking about...he can't possibly have two?? That umbrella and the actual Enigma machine they have are two of my favorite exhibits there. Second, he's so interesting! Did I understand correctly that he's just a historian and collector, or did he once work for the CIA? What a fascinating guy. It definitely sounds to me like the Don con was fairly common with the KGB. And the bit about the pin-prick microfilm being bleached with iodine and smuggled in orange juice is just wild.

Edited by madam magpie
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Umbelina

Umbelina

I think he was talking about the CIA using it, which makes sense, drug the guy and make him think you had sex with him.  I doubt the CIA orders female agents to have sex with a mark.  They may anyway, but not under an official op.  Too many possible lawsuits and bad press.

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madam magpie

madam magpie

I thought he said the KGB did it with ambassadors and such living in the USSR. They were disappointed when the people went back to their home countries and didn't keep spying for them.

I think you're right about the CIA not ordering female agents to have sex with marks. I've read and listened to a lot of interviews with Valerie Plame Wilson, and she always says that the honey trap isn't used much and rarely works. I always suspected that's because our agents aren't ordered (or expected) to fully commit.

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Umbelina

Umbelina

The CIA has used the honey trap plenty of times!  Now the ones I've read of involved recruiting a young hot thing for money to seduce and then either compromise or bankrupt the mark they had.  I don't expect too many former agents to admit to sexual activities in name of God and Country...

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madam magpie

madam magpie

(edited)

Well, I think there are different levels of sexual involvement in honey traps, but she was basically saying that they rarely yielded info her teams could use and they were pretty uncommon. Granted, she worked in Islamic terror intelligence, so maybe it depends on the culture you're spying on? I could see why honey traps would be less useful with Islamic terrorists vs. Russians. That said, I think she worked out of Europe for awhile, so who knows. She could be lying. She was a CIA officer/analyst after all. Or I could have misunderstood what she meant.

Edited by madam magpie
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Umbelina

Umbelina

(edited)

Interesting podcast this week. 

http://cdn.panoply.fm/SM9560446602.mp3

They moved Oleg calling his mom to this week instead of last, to help create the emotional tone for telling Stan about the bioweapons.  Good call guys!

Bonus!  "Oleg" stops by near the end to talk about his betrayal of his country.  He says he thinks Oleg is ahead of his time, and talks about at the end of the day, what is right and what is wrong.

Edited by Umbelina
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Umbelina

Umbelina

(edited)

http://cdn.panoply.fm/SM4181976948.mp3

Keri and Mathew on the podcast this week!  Also, the showrunners.

They start off about the Paige make out session.  He says it's both, Paige making out, and that Paige is beginning to spy (work Mathew.)  She says it's a good Romeo and Juliet story, two kids, left alone a lot, both with all these secrets around, but also the danger of them sharing information.

They are adorable together.

Edited by Umbelina
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sistermagpie

sistermagpie

It's funny people always refer to this as Romeo and Juliet when in fact their families are very good friends.  If anybody is Romeo and Juliet it's Philip and Stan and even they don't really fit the bill. In both cases only the Jennings knows they're even in that kind of situation. Matthew and Stan are both clueless and involved more because of location than anything else.

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madam magpie

madam magpie

(edited)

I don't see the Romeo/Juliet thing at all...you can't have a tragic, forbidden love if no one involved actually knows it's forbidden! Even Philip and Elizabeth, who are the only ones who have a clue, told Paige it was OK to be friends with Matthew if she wanted, just not to spycraft him. 

The podcast really was fun this week. Keri and co. are delightful.

Edited by madam magpie
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scartact

scartact

I liked the idea they presented that Paige is being recruited to spy for the family, not the KGB, and to me that's actually a greater reflection of how Elizabeth especially is shifting the emphasis of her priorities to align more directly with Philip's in putting their family first.

Additionally, on the subject of Henry it was interesting to hear how Matthew Rhys views him as actually this incredibly sad character, and that it's upsetting to see him reaching out to Stan for comfort because that isn't something he's necessarily given with Philip and Elizabeth. For all P&E's attempts to keep the family together, I am curious to see if Henry will factor in much more heavily in the final two seasons because he's been pushed extremely to the side for the last few seasons. I mean, his last major storyline was being caught breaking into the neighbor's house to play video games!

Anyway, great final podcast for the season. I love how amicable everyone is for such a dark show.

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Umbelina

Umbelina

I think Henry will be more involved.  Those long looks as the camera focused on his face were very telling.  His broken foot will be healed so he won't always have to be on the computer, couch, or in his room too.

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sistermagpie

sistermagpie

2 hours ago, Umbelina said:

I think Henry will be more involved.  Those long looks as the camera focused on his face were very telling.  His broken foot will be healed so he won't always have to be on the computer, couch, or in his room too.

It's interesting when you think about it...in the first part of the season P&E were stretched really thin, but the point of the time jump was to get them at home more. Yet Henry still seems like an outsider, because ultimately if you're outside the secret you're outside. And being at the Beemans doesn't help, but there too his view of Stan is very different than Matthew's and even Paige's, since she now knows about Stan's affair. Even he, iirc, waits until Henry's out of the room to say stuff like "My dad wanted me here and now he's never home..."

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Christina

Christina

It took me forever to find this thread and I was beginning to think I'd imagined it's existence. That probably means I should go to sleep and not post on PTV a probable, incoherent post, but I'm too tired to sleep or make wise decisions (or spell; you should see all the redlines on this post). ; )

This season, the fifth one, seems to be pretty divided by people who strongly love it and people who strongly think it is a failure, with very little in between. I'm wondering if those of you who listen to the podcasts are the ones who love it? Podcasts, blog posts and Q&As can often add context to scenes and a lot of the time I think they are an added benefit to me as a viewer. I have no problem continuing my belief even if it differs from J&J's intent, but cannot listen to this podcast because it typically just irritates me. 

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Epeolatrix

Epeolatrix

I don't have strong feelings about the show, but I still enjoy the podcasts because I'm interested in show production. I like learning about why certain choices were made, how items are sourced, and the real-life historical information that gives me more context for people and events.

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Umbelina

Umbelina

I still listen to the podcasts, and this season, at least once in a while, they have helped me like the show a bit more (really though, credit that to VOX, Paste, and a few other great recappers.) 

This episode, I found the podcast simply irritated me as well, as have one or two others.  The showrunners kind of seemed willingly blind or satiated or something, in love this themselves, or riding on past glories...  I don't know what it was, just my general disappointment of this season, or if something was really there in the podcasts when the showrunners are there.  Whatever it was, I got 3/4 thru it and for the first time ever?  Just stopped listening and closed the page.

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Erin9

Erin9

I've enjoyed this season over-all, but I've only listened to a few podcasts. I can take them or leave them.

I don't think they've added much to my enjoyment of the show. The few I've listened to have been somewhat interesting, but that's it. The show, for me, rises and falls on its own merits while I'm watching. A review or podcast may lend a different perspective, but I'll either like it, or I won't. 

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