The Phil Vischer Podcast, by Phil Vischer
The first time I heard Phil Vischer’s voice on the podcast was a momentous occasion. Before that moment “podcast” was only a strange new word, nebulously connected to the internet, and therefore able to be ignored. After listening to the episode, “podcast” was a world filled with possible delights, waiting to be explored.
You’ve never heard of Phil Vischer? Well, does the word VeggieTales ring a bell? The old VeggieTales—the ones worth watching—were written by Phil Vischer. Bob the Tomato, Mr. Lunt, Pa Grape, Mr. Nezzer, and Archibald Asparagus are all due to the voice talents of Phil Vischer.
Now, the podcast itself has nothing to do with vegetables, except for the fact that Phil will sometimes use the various voices for the theme song. Rather, Phil and two of his friends, Skye Jethani and Christian Taylor, converse each week about “pop culture, media, theology and…living a thoughtful Christian life in an increasingly post-Christian culture.” [1]
What I like:
The podcast is often absolutely hilarious. They make fun of almost everything they talk about.
They talk about current events, but not the big news stories, necessarily. Just whatever happens to catch their interest.
They have guests on the podcast to talk about specific subjects. A couple times, they have had an atheist come on, which was quite interesting.
They talk about theology, and are willing to admit to uncertainty on some topics.
Oh, and how could I forget the theme song! Very catchy, even though Phil still forgets the words sometimes, after singing it on every episode for 197 episodes. It’s the only song I can play on the ukulele.
What I don’t like:
Sometimes they take the humour too far, into inappropriateness in my opinion. Since our family is very careful of crude humour, I skip over anything along those lines.
There is a lot of discussion of pop culture and media, which I am not very familiar with, so I sometimes get a bit lost in the conversation. Also, some of the current topics are not suitable for a younger audience—no surprise, with the kind of issues getting covered on the news these days.
Their theology on some subjects (especially Young Earth Creationism and Premillennial Dispensationalism) differs quite a bit from my own, so when they make fun of people they don’t agree with, it can be uncomfortable. This is not necessarily bad, since I do want to hear what other people think about theology, whether or not they agree with me. The problem is that they often seem to be unaware of how the other side would argue. I’ve especially noticed this in the more recent episodes.
The guests they have on are always arguing from the more liberal side of the argument, they never have a well-known, articulate conservative on the show.
So, I have mixed feelings about this podcast. Sometimes I love it, but sometimes I get really frustrated with it. Obviously, I’m better at writing more about what I don’t agree with. To further complicate my relationship with this podcast, I retain some nostalgic affection for it as the first podcast to which I was introduced. I don’t recommend it unequivocally, as I have some of the other podcasts I’ve been reviewing in the last few months, but if you do choose to listen to a couple episodes, you might really enjoy it.
A Well Cultivated Mind 
I agree with you. When I first found the podcast a couple of years ago, I loved it and started going back to the first ones and working my way through them. Lately, I hardly listen to any new ones at all and when I do, I often get annoyed because they are becoming more and more negative about churches, evangelicals, those who don’t hold their own viewpoints, and more. And as you say, they don’t usually have guests who hold a more conservative viewpoint. They (well, one of them) come across more and more arrogant about the excellence of their own viewpoint and more apt to mock those who think differently. I’m sorry about this because I used to enjoy listening to their banter.
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