“I first heard Ben on the meateater podcast and wanted to give this a shot bc Ben was hilarious on that, so I was hoping that humor/charisma would carry over to this show. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed and this show is too serious for its own good. I’ve listened to dozens of episodes waiting to get hooked and feel that I gave the show its fair shake, but it’s not going to happen. The interview with Wes Siler is the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. That guy was one of the most pretentious, unlikable characters I’ve heard and seems to share a lot of the same view points as Ben, bc Ben didn’t challenge him on anything. Ben doesn’t strike me as being genuine in any sense of the word. I don’t think it’s even malicious, I just get the sense that he doesn’t even know what he’s about. As an east coaster I was hoping to have something I could relate to and enjoy, but this isn’t it. Personally I don’t need another public lands circle jerk, that is sooooo played out at this point. It’d be cool to find something lighthearted and interesting. It is concerning when this and other meateater productions only seem to grow a set of balls is when anyone challenges their sacred goat: Public lands. Otherwise if your an animal activist, gun rights activist, or New Jersey cat lady, they seem to all of sudden become neutered. So far I’ve been pleased with the bear grease podcast and Clay has the charisma that I was hoping Ben would have (fingers crossed that one doesn’t drink the kool-aid too).
If the meateater team isn’t already fielding focus groups and consumer research, they would be smart to do so, so they don’t alleniate their base. It’s concerning to see them trading their ‘Montanan’ in favor of ‘Manhattan’.”
Jackson McNicklebach via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
01/09/22