Ive been listening to chapo since circa 2019, on and off as of late, and cant really shake the feeling theyre getting close to ending. Maybe in the next year or so as theyve been focusing on movies as of late.

If they do, great and if they dont also great. Its their project and I support whatever choice they make.But it is a vibe Im getting.

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[–] erik@hexbear.net 3 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I guess I am a little more positive on the current state of the show than most folks here. I've been listening since the fourth episode and was one of the first patreon backers and have been giving continuously. For me, they still give me $50 a year worth of content, so I'm happy to pay them for their labor, little as it may be. I guess in the interest of full disclosure, I almost know them. I've gone to parties they've been to and I used to play Overwatch with Virgil.

I think the pod was in a much worse place post Bernie crash out. The year or so after Biden locked up the nomination was the closest I got bailing, felt way worse than what they're doing now to me. I also think Felix's contributions have gotten substantially better since he left LA.

That said, I agree with everyone that has pointed out how much of a hole the absence of Matt has been. He was, like most people, my favorite member of the show. As someone else that also grew up in Wisconsin, I just felt a big time kinship with a lot of what he put down culturally as well as politically. I also agree that their film studio ambitions feel a little... off? Not enjoyable anyway. And also having a Democrat on to defend the Delaware Court of Chancery on the most recent episode felt really weird.

But, the back half of that episode where they just dunked on an incredibly stupid neoliberal project felt like the old days in a lot of ways. So, that episode felt like both a high and low point as far as recent episodes.

I agree it would be nice for them to add some more regular hosts and try to get some sort of a recipe going for shows a bit more. I know they've been burned by Virgil turning out to be an alleged creep and Amber just sort of disappearing for long stretches, but adding someone like David Roth, if he'd be up for it, would be really healthy for the show.

I recently cleaned out a lot of my podcasts out of my life. Decided my time would be better served listening to audiobooks. But Chapo still makes the cut even after I got myself down to basically only three podcasts still subscribed. I'm not quite as negative on them as a lot of other folks, but I don't blame anyone for checking out.

[–] Vernon_Tennessee@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I feel the same way in a lot of ways. Just when I feel like checking out, they def do give a little crumb that keeps me coming back for a little bit. Even if its just having Matt on or Amber being on during a good day.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago

squints in username

[–] Des@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I like that they still laugh at all this horrible shit which helps keep the doom at bay just slightly. But i was always in it for Matt. Back when chapo was considered "dangerous" and had a naughty reddit community I checked the show out and was like "really? this seems tame" Then Matt starts a rant and it resonated so hard with me and I sort of understood the "danger".

Matt pushed me from socdem/demsoc to Marxist with those rants, perfectly timed with the Bernie collapse. Also his Reformation series was amazing, up there with Blowback in quality. I was looking forward to him just doing history podcasting forever but shit happened of course.

Post-stroke, I used to worry when he's on now that he's just being puppetted by Chris or something. Then realized it was just Chris helping him find the right words, like a language coach. He did start a rant a few eps ago but got too worked up and sort of trailed off, struggling to find the right words. It hit me in the heart a bit, but also it was good to see that Matt is still there, he hasn't been Fettermaned. But I'd rather him rest, recover the best he can, then be dragged onto the show to stress out.

[–] erik@hexbear.net 0 points 3 weeks ago

I definitely share your concerns about Matt. As long as his doctor and him think his brief appearances on the pod on occasion are good for him, then I'm not gonna make a big deal of out it. But I do notice what you're talking about where he definitely has a heater in him and it sort of fizzles when it hits his tongue and it just makes me feel bad. Maybe that's my own mortality staring at me as well and it's a me thing more than anything else. As someone that has felt the struggle of raising a child myself, doing it while my brain was recovering just sounds impossibly difficult.

Like you, I felt like Matt expanded my horizons a bit. I've been a socialist for most of my adult life, but Matt's historical knowledge really widened my views on that. I've read basically every history book he's mentioned. So, I feel indebted to him in a similar way.

[–] FloridaBoi@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago

I agree with everything you said. Post Bernie I almost stopped (maybe I did?) and only sporadically listened but they got their groove back months later.

I really love the episodes with Alex Nichols as well as David Roth. They’re both really solid and wish they were on more.