Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Podcast Name: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Date launched: Feb, 2018

Date finished: N/A

Still running: Yes

Number of series: N/A

Number of episodes p/s: 298

Length of each episode: 1.5 hours

Summary of content:

Armchair Expert is a weekly podcast that features Dax Shepard and Monica Padman interviewing celebrities as well as journalists and academics about “the messiness of being human.” Each episode contains a long-form interview between Dax and a notable guest. At the end of each episode is a fact check conducted by Monica Padman.

Dax’s acknowledgements of his own misgivings and shortcomings allow his guests to open up about their own feelings and insecurities. This is what makes the show so unique. Dax builds rapport with his guests unlike any other host. He delves into the high and low moments of his guests’ personal and professional lives, he digs deep on their insecurities, and makes broad theories about why his guests think and act the way they do. His guests list is full of powerhouse celebrities like Conan O’Brian, Casey Affleck, and Dax’s wife Kristen Bell. But he also hosts writers, show runners, musicians, and politicians along with real experts like Sam Harris and Brené Brown. Dax is equally skilled in talking with celebrities, as he is with experts.

‘Armchair Expert’ is a weekly podcast hosted by American actors Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. Each podcast features Shepard and Padman interviewing celebrities, journalists, and academics about “the messiness of being human”.

Most notable/funny/moving/shocking moments:

Episode 186: Dax and Monica sit down for a wide-ranging conversation with Whitney Cummings. Whitney talks about her struggles growing up with an alcoholic mother and how that experience led to major challenges with pathologically co-dependent behaviour, workaholism, and people-pleasing. In the show, Dax, Whitney, and Monica talk about how everyone seems to think they are unique, and others cannot relate to them but conclude that finding your “tribe” who have gone through similar experiences can be healing in itself.

– “We all suffer from terminal uniqueness, so we think we are a unique scumbag on planet earth and come to find out we’re pretty much all scumbags, so it’s okay.”

– Episode 286: Dax and Justin get into some interesting discussion on masculinity and growing up in what is hopefully a different and bygone era for boys having to disown or stuff away emotions.

– “ I had 4 stepdads. I hated 3 of them. And then I dated a girl with kids and I was like ‘oh this is f#@cking impossible’. I know feel bad for these guys” – Dax Shepard

– Episode 29: In this episode, the notoriously private Mila Kunis comes out of her shell and shows a personality that is engaging, hilarious, and in Dax’s own words, “startlingly well-adjusted.” On the show, she discusses her history with Ashton on That 70s Show and how she never saw him as anything but a big brother at the time. She tells about how Ashton would do her homework and when the sparks finally flew between them, many years later. Mila also credits Ashton for helping her to learn to know her own worth, by encouraging her to educate herself and become involved in her own contract negotiations.

Host/presenters/journalist names and bio:

Dax Randall Shepard is an American actor. Since 2018, he has hosted Armchair Expert, a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.

Shepard is best known for his work in the feature films Without a Paddle (2004), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Employee of the Month (2006), Idiocracy (2006), Let’s Go to Prison (2006), Hit and Run (2012), and CHiPs (2017), the last pair of which he also wrote and directed.

Monica Padman is an Indian-American podcaster, actor, and producer. She is best known for co-creating, co-hosting, and editing the podcast Armchair Expert alongside co-host Dax Shepard. As an actor, she has appeared in films and television shows including CHiPs, The Good Place, and Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television.

Trivia:

  • The podcast premiered February 14, 2018, with Shepard’s wife, actress Kristen Bell, as the first guest.

  • It appeared on Vulture’s list of 2018’s best comedy podcasts and got reviewed by The Irish Times.

  • Shepard and Padman have also taken their podcast on the road, filming episodes in front of live audiences.

  • Armchair Expert was launched “on a lark” after Shepard’s experiences as a guest on other podcasts appreciating the length of time the format allowed, compared with the typical brief segment on a talk show.

  • Shepard’s goal is to give people the “experience of an AA meeting without them having to become a drunk”. He states that he is qualified to host a podcast from his “decade of sobriety, degree in Anthropology, and four years of improv training.”

  • Podcasts are recorded in Shepard’s guest house attic, each being released on Mondays and Thursdays. Shepard is assisted by co-host Monica Padman, who “fact checks” him at the end of each episode from a different perspective.

Opinion:

Dax and his co-host Monica Padman have a natural talent for connecting with their guests and having honest conversations with some of the most interesting minds in the world. Thanks to Dax’s experience in the industry some truly fascinating guests have come through “the attic”.

The episodes are interesting and deep diving I always feel like I am learning something. Dax generates an easy-going banter with the guests so that the interviews are also a lot of fun to listen to. It doesn’t hurt that Armchair gets top notch guests and experts.

Hearing these hyper-talented and successful people talk about their own issues and doubts has helped me see and confront my own, while gaining a new perspective on what it’s like to be a creative or a celebrity. That is the magic of this show, and why people connect with it so deeply.

Our review:

Links

Official Website: https://armchairexpertpod.com/

iTunes Link

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/6kAsbP8pxwaU2kPibKTuHE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairExpPod/

https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairExpPod/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArmchairExpert/

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