Thanksgiving marks the time when we all voyage home for a long weekend of turkey, stuffing, and uncomfortable conversations with family members who want to know when we’re moving on to the next major Adult Human Being milestone. For a lot of us, Thanksgiving doesn’t start with cheeseballs, spiked egg nog, or Aunt Ida’s Fox News rehashes — it starts with a long journey home. Whether you’re flying, roadtripping, or hot air ballooning back to your family this holiday season, POMEmag has your back. Here’s a ton of listening material that doubles as moral support for both congested highways and awkward conversations with people who really do love you, no matter how long it’s taking you to get through grad school.
POMEsgiving Playlist
We consulted the stars and also many of our friends to make you a roadtrip playlist.
Podcasts
Welcome to Night Vale
We’re aware that campy-spoopy is a large part of the POMEmag brand. Because of this, we figure that many of you might already be Night Vale listeners, but just in case you’re not: Night Vale is a fictional community radio program set in a mysterious town where you’re more likely to be pulled apart by wild librarians than finish up at your internship. Night Vale blends goofy mystery with heartfelt sincerity (and also, with body horror fast food commercials). This podcast will remind you that no matter how terrible your hometown is, at least you don’t need to worry about what will happen to you if you bring a dog to the dog park. 13 / 5 crones.
Gilmore Guys
Website / iTunes / Soundcloud
If you’re even marginally interested in the cult-classic WB hit show Gilmore Girls, Gilmore Guys’ delightful hosts Kevin and Demi will charm you into listening to every hour-or-more episode of their show. These guys goof on their subject matter and bringing in the actual Gilmore Girls cast and crew to talk about how things came together. I’ll level with you guys – when I started listening, I worried that this podcast would hinge on the premise of following two dudes who just Didn’t Understand or Care About Silly ~~Girl~~ Things. But it’s not like that at all! And Kevin’s pure, true love of Kelly Bishop might be the most relatable part of this whole show. 12/5 crones.
Buzzfeed’s Internet Explorer
Website / iTunes / Soundcloud
Internet Explorer takes an in-depth look at how the meme-sandwich is made — they interview guests like the Dancing Pumpkin Guy, write minute-long slash fanfics, and explain nasty stuff from the internet to their moms. These dudes have absolutely no fear. Plus, the 20-or-so-minute episodes are great for binge-listening. 11/5 crones.
Sawbones
Website / iTunes / Libsyn / Podbay
Billed as a ‘marital tour of misguided medicine,’ this podcast features Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy as they delve into all the truly weird things that we has humans have tried to pass off as medicine throughout history. From episodes about trepanation (drilling a hole to your head) to spontaneous combustion to the miracle of childbirth, this couple covers it all. Also, they are genuinely funny and charming to listen to. 12/5 crones
We wish all of you a safe trip to wherever you might be going this Thanksgiving. Hit us up in the comments with anything you might be listening that we can add to our lists!
(Special thanks to all of the friends of POME who helped us populate the wonderful roadtrip playlist above).
