Comedian Megan Stalter delivers signature weirdness with new podcast Confronting Demons

Bonanas For Bonanza

Season 1, Episode 3: The Newcomers

For two seasons of The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project, comedian Andy Daly showcased his hilarious and often morally bankrupt characters under the pretense that one of their “pilots” would be picked up for a full series by the Earwolf Network. After much deliberation—and some overt threats of physical violence—Earwolf has decided to bestow this honor on the Poet Laureate Of The West, Dalton Wilcox, who, having put his monster-hunting obsession to the side momentarily, has launched a watch-along podcast for the TV show Bonanza. Alongside co-hosts Mutt Taylor (Matt Gourley) and Amy Sleeverson (Maria Bamford), Dalton has threatened to rewatch all 431 episodes of the long-running 1960s series, which he praises for its lack of “city slicker nonsense.” Comedian Mano Agapion (We Love Trash) stops by in the premiere episode to offer a modern perspective on Bonanza’s more dated aspects and to teach Dalton a little about early-20th-century queer art. This goes about as well as you would expect. Meanwhile, Amy has some Bible-themed crafts to sell and everyone has a theory about what happened to Ben Cartwright’s three dead wives. As far as rewatch podcasts go, this one is definitively bananas. [Dan Neilan]

Confronting Demons With Megan Stalter
“27 Stolen Hearts” w/Caleb Hearon

Megan Stalter isn’t haunted by her demons. She invites them all to sit down with her, lets them know in detail just how much they fucked her up, and then conquers them. The result is a new podcast that’s completely batshit, disconcerting, and wonderfully occupying a whole different solar system. In this episode, Megan confronts the one who got away, Caleb Hearon (played by Caleb Hearon), to ask him what went wrong that day under the bridge when she asked him that big question (He knows which one). “27 Stolen Hearts” is freewheeling right from the top, as Megan didn’t give her brother and co-host Nick a full script, and pushes toward insanity once Caleb joins them. Confronting Demons drops twice weekly, with character episodes every Tuesday and follow-up episodes each Thursday featuring those same friends out of character as they confront their real-life demons. This off-kilter interview show is perfect for those who wish to laugh into the abyss. [Morgan McNaught]

Dissect
Beyoncé: Lemonade

Dissect has spent six seasons living up to its name, devoting each one to the investigation of a seminal album such as To Pimp A Butterfly and The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. Now the series turns to Beyoncé’s game-changing visual album, 2016’s Lemonade. Joining host Cole Cuchna this season is co-host Titi Shodiya, and the pair begin by recapping a 2014 incident in which Solange Knowles attacked Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, in an elevator—the domestic turbulence that would inspire a Peabody Award–winning artistic endeavor. Shodiya and Cuchna present the album as Beyoncé’s intent to “make lemonade from the lemons of American history,” while highlighting the varied influences and collaborators behind the visual album. From philosophers to poets, the hosts explore the visual and historical context of Lemonade and its synthesis of various media, challenging our idea of what an album is or can be. [Jose Nateras]