The Podcast Divide or Animation is Animation, Guys. WTF

So after discovering the hotness that is iOS's Podcasts app (subscribing to podcasts without having to download them? Word?) I set about on a subscription frenzy, amassing a list of podcasts in my subscription list that I'll probably never be able to clear.

Music? Stones Throw, Mad Decent, and Fool's Gold got me covered. Information? NPR and Phil Yu's Sound and Fury. Comedy? Yo, I 'f*x with' Neal Brennan's The Champs Podcast.

But as far as animation goes, there are hundreds to choose from, but I haven't found many that discuss animation in a way that interests me. I'm probably making gross generalizations, but animation podcasts seem to fall into two distinct camps. The ones discussing Eastern animation ('Eastern' almost always meaning Japanese) are usually enthusiastic anime fans sitting at a table talking about whatever the hot new film/series might be, sprinkled liberally with references to "Over 9000" or some hot internet meme. Which is cool, I guess, but because they don't have a ton of supplemental information or access to anyone on the production side, I don't find them particularly insightful. The ones focusing on Western animation ('Western' usually meaning 'American') might satisfy my thirst for critical discussion and 'insider' talk, (the Alt Animation Podcast, for instance, is excellent), but there seems to be an almost willful ignorance of anything coming from other parts of the world, particularly Asia ... particularly Japan. Judging by the descriptions in various show archives, Hayao Miyazaki is apparently the only living Japanese animator. Even then, his work is considered like some bizarre Martian artifact, impenetrable and wholly unlike anything done in the West. Meanwhile, discussion-worthy work like Kaiba, and Noitamina shows like The Tatami Galaxy and Kids on the Slope are banished to the 'otaku' podcast ghetto where discussion barely ventures beyond plot, love triangles, and kawaii factor (Again, I know I'm probably making some nasty generalizations here). Not to mention all of the innovative works coming from Europe that appear to be cockblocking my film on the film festival circuit.

Really, is it too much to ask for a podcast featuring knowledgeable, well-rounded, animation enthusiasts introducing and/or discussing cool animation, no matter where it comes from? The only thing out there that seems to fit the bill for me right now is the French TV show Catsuka. But it's not quite a podcast, and I can't understand a word of French.