The ACP http://www.adamcarolla.com/
Adam Carolla does not need my love. His podcast has hundreds of thousands of downloads and is consistently in the iTunes top ten. But I am going to give him big props anyway because he cracks me up.
I first came across Adam, when he was cohosting The Man Show along with Jimmy Kimmel. Now, certainly Kimmel has gone on to much success and that success made me feel a little bad for Adam, almost like he got left behind.
But things seem to have turned out pretty well for Adam, who, despite losing a radio gig, has a pilot in the works for CBS, and his enormously successful podcast (if only he could find a way to make money at it!).
The format of the Adam Carolla Podcast is part of its success. It’s Adam in his home office with one or sometimes two guests. And they just riff off anything that could be part of a conversation with or about said guest for about an hour. Adam’s long time friend Donnie runs the technology and provides occasional commentary.
The podcast has been running a couple of months now with five shows a week which is a lot of material and a big commitment for a listener. I listened to the first dozen episodes but now, due to the time constraints all my podcast listening creates; I pick the show based on the guest.
After all the listens, though, I see a dichotomy developing in the ACP (my made up acronym for the Adam Carolla Podcast). At its core is a raunchy, brutally honest give and take on sexuality, growing up and often crappy life experiences. This seems to work best if the guest is a comedian. With other types of guests, it becomes more of an interview. Not that Adam doesn’t try and see if he can get back in the gutter with that day’s guest. He probes subtly and backs off if the guest isn’t biting. Both approaches feature ample stories about Adam, because, after all, it’s his podcast and he is not pretending to be Larry King (though he has excellent interviewing chops).
Here are a few examples of how the show can go. In one of the early episodes, the guest was comedian (and fellow Dancing With The Stars alum) David Allan Grier. He is a personal friend of Adam’s and the hour was a slug fest of dysfunctional family humor. Absolutely hilarious. But race car driver Danica Patrick has also been a guest (Disclaimer: I have met Danica Patrick). She is not going to talk (at least on a recording) about drugs and masturbation. In that episode, Adam, showed his versatility and shifted into gear head mode. The result was also a good listen and Adam’s interviewing skills showed Danica in a very positive light.
One of my favorite podcasts featured Lynn and Alex, two gay men who run laragmag.com. In the early part of the conversation, the two guests were pleasant and funny, but they know Adam’s reputation and there was an undercurrent of…where is this going to go? Not to worry, Adam found his opening, and after asking with all sincerity about power bottoms, everything snapped into place. The ensuing conversation about gay sexuality was classic ACP. You laugh and you learn.
Contrast that with the podcast featuring George Takei of Star Trek fame. While topics like coming out to colleagues and family were discussed, it was in no way as down and dirty as the episode with Lynn and Alex. But again, this episode showed the other head of the ACP dragon.
In Adam’s shows you can learn things, like inside information on racing with Danica Patrick or aspects or the Japanese internment during World War II from George Takei (great Tokyo Rose story in this episode by the way). There a human element that Carolla brings to the podca
st because he sometimes goes over board and the show jumps the tracks. With George Takei, Adam got into a corner covering the motivation behind the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Adam kept trying, unsuccessfully, to put into words his concept that the actual internment was evil but that the motivation behind it was not. Fortunately, Takei was having none of that. In another podcast, Adam had a lingering rant about Mexico needing more Jewish people. I guess you could rationalize that it’s comedy, you try and see what parts of the envelope you can push, sometimes though, you need to leave with your dignity intact.
One other point, the guest list for the ACP is very impressive. Obviously the guy has connections. In addition to some of the guests I have mentioned, other notables who have shared Adam's office include the aforementioned Jimmy Kimmel, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane and boxer Mike Tyson (as opposed to Tyson from Survivor).
Yes, it’s usually raunchy, sometimes abrasive, occasionally enlightening and always funny. I don’t know if he will keep podcasting if the TV show gets picked up, but for now, I will enjoy the hell out of the ACP.
I first came across Adam, when he was cohosting The Man Show along with Jimmy Kimmel. Now, certainly Kimmel has gone on to much success and that success made me feel a little bad for Adam, almost like he got left behind.
But things seem to have turned out pretty well for Adam, who, despite losing a radio gig, has a pilot in the works for CBS, and his enormously successful podcast (if only he could find a way to make money at it!).
The format of the Adam Carolla Podcast is part of its success. It’s Adam in his home office with one or sometimes two guests. And they just riff off anything that could be part of a conversation with or about said guest for about an hour. Adam’s long time friend Donnie runs the technology and provides occasional commentary.
The podcast has been running a couple of months now with five shows a week which is a lot of material and a big commitment for a listener. I listened to the first dozen episodes but now, due to the time constraints all my podcast listening creates; I pick the show based on the guest.After all the listens, though, I see a dichotomy developing in the ACP (my made up acronym for the Adam Carolla Podcast). At its core is a raunchy, brutally honest give and take on sexuality, growing up and often crappy life experiences. This seems to work best if the guest is a comedian. With other types of guests, it becomes more of an interview. Not that Adam doesn’t try and see if he can get back in the gutter with that day’s guest. He probes subtly and backs off if the guest isn’t biting. Both approaches feature ample stories about Adam, because, after all, it’s his podcast and he is not pretending to be Larry King (though he has excellent interviewing chops).
Here are a few examples of how the show can go. In one of the early episodes, the guest was comedian (and fellow Dancing With The Stars alum) David Allan Grier. He is a personal friend of Adam’s and the hour was a slug fest of dysfunctional family humor. Absolutely hilarious. But race car driver Danica Patrick has also been a guest (Disclaimer: I have met Danica Patrick). She is not going to talk (at least on a recording) about drugs and masturbation. In that episode, Adam, showed his versatility and shifted into gear head mode. The result was also a good listen and Adam’s interviewing skills showed Danica in a very positive light.
One of my favorite podcasts featured Lynn and Alex, two gay men who run laragmag.com. In the early part of the conversation, the two guests were pleasant and funny, but they know Adam’s reputation and there was an undercurrent of…where is this going to go? Not to worry, Adam found his opening, and after asking with all sincerity about power bottoms, everything snapped into place. The ensuing conversation about gay sexuality was classic ACP. You laugh and you learn.
Contrast that with the podcast featuring George Takei of Star Trek fame. While topics like coming out to colleagues and family were discussed, it was in no way as down and dirty as the episode with Lynn and Alex. But again, this episode showed the other head of the ACP dragon.
In Adam’s shows you can learn things, like inside information on racing with Danica Patrick or aspects or the Japanese internment during World War II from George Takei (great Tokyo Rose story in this episode by the way). There a human element that Carolla brings to the podca
st because he sometimes goes over board and the show jumps the tracks. With George Takei, Adam got into a corner covering the motivation behind the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Adam kept trying, unsuccessfully, to put into words his concept that the actual internment was evil but that the motivation behind it was not. Fortunately, Takei was having none of that. In another podcast, Adam had a lingering rant about Mexico needing more Jewish people. I guess you could rationalize that it’s comedy, you try and see what parts of the envelope you can push, sometimes though, you need to leave with your dignity intact.One other point, the guest list for the ACP is very impressive. Obviously the guy has connections. In addition to some of the guests I have mentioned, other notables who have shared Adam's office include the aforementioned Jimmy Kimmel, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane and boxer Mike Tyson (as opposed to Tyson from Survivor).
Yes, it’s usually raunchy, sometimes abrasive, occasionally enlightening and always funny. I don’t know if he will keep podcasting if the TV show gets picked up, but for now, I will enjoy the hell out of the ACP.
