Cast of the Week XXI

Welcome to the 21st edition of the Cast of the Week awards (Breaking out of Lockdown Edition). Got the sick of home blues? Get outside! But first, read on for a double dose of winners and important info.

You can find this week’s nominees can be found at https://ykyz.com/f/cotwxxi.
 
Junior Microcaster Prizes
We will be experimenting with a dedicated Junior Microcaster award and might do a summer program. This would be open to anyone 18 or younger. We hope to offer at least one prize per week in this category, and if we get enough participants, we might offer a Junior Microcaster of the summer award. This is a great way for a teen to launch a career in casting. Note that if you take a teenage caster under your wing, you are eligible for our Mentor program, and will get referral credit for anyone you bring on.
 

And now, on to the CotW XXI winners! But first, some shoutouts:
 
Shoutout to PracticalMagic for episode 73. It is OKAY to rest!  and the reminder that during the pandemic, lowering expectations for what you get done may be the only way to stay sane.
 
Shoutout to Rebekah of the SmartMoney microcast for a solid review of pay-to-play games in episode 318. Paid to Play Apps – Worth It?
 
Shoutout to BorisTheBlade for touching a nerve with the title and content of his 175th microcast episode Fat is not beautiful, Adele’s weight loss and Social Justice Warrior fascists pt. 2.
 
Shoutout to Asi the Voluptuous Voyager for episode 191. Ramblings… and her thoughts about the goal of her cast and reaching out to others.
 
Shoutout to Mistress of the Microcast for fearlessly asking the question no one else dares to ask in her episode 260. What happened to the Bermuda Triangle?
 
A few microcasters had episode milestones recently. Shoutouts to Snippets With Sophia, Doctor Irish, and Smart Money for hitting the big 300. Whoot whoot!
 

And now, on to the winners! But first, a few honorable mentions:

Honorable mentions:
Poegosi The Poet for his intriguing and highly interacted with episode 195. Selling feet pics online strange ways to earn online
 
Snippets With Sophia for episode 302. Food-Based Insults, an excellent overview of the many ways to label another nation based on their food preferences, from Limeys to Krouts to Butter Stinkers (who knew!)
 
ThatbeardedSwede for episode 262. Nordic Walking voice chat debates online! Apparently, this awkward looking activity works not just for the elderly but can be good for fitness if you swap out lightweight poles for ones that weigh as much as mid-sized chickens.
 

And now, and this time we really mean it, on to the winners:
 
Bleats of the week:
This award goes to the most listened to (non-microcast) bleat of the past week. Since two weeks have gone by, we have two winners.
 
Should they be allowed? by Muslim Things
 
and
 
Live now 🔴 Gaming chat at 5 pm Friday! by Maleficent Gaming
 

Quote of the week:
This award goes to my favorite quote taken from a microcast episode or bleat. The two winners this time are:
 
“It’s as if you  asked me what colors I would want the walls of my apartment painted while there’s a gaping hole in the floors and also the kitchen is on fire”, by Just Thinking Aloud in episode 186. Right/Left Wing and Other Pipe Dreams.
 
And
 
“Covid. I blame Covid. The entire last three months I blame solely on Covid. I mean, don’t you?”, by jenagain in episode 87. Ready or Not, pt 1.
 

For our regular microcast awards, we have:
 
Fourth prize:
In episode 242. Street Corn by Black Girl Baker, we get a great explanation of how to debug dense cake as well as a mouth-watering description of how to make homemade Street corn.
 
Third prize:
In Greek mythology, the Titans were pre-Olympian gods. In episode 260. Story Time: The Titans, Astrocast By Diz tells their wild and disturbing story with a mix of drama and delightfully strange detail.
 
Second prize:
Addie, of Music and Peace, gets a silver star and second prize for episode 384. Give Addie A Sticker – Rough And Rowdy Controversy, for her excellent contextualization of Bob Dylan’s latest album. In this packed cast, Addie covers the questions of how to judge new work of an old artist, music in the time of pandemics, and, as the title suggests, stickers.
 
First prize:
A Brewtiful Mind takes top prize for episode 189. Could You Drink 101 Beers in a Week? In it, Micah tells the true tale of a former school track star who drank 101 beers in a week and ran 101 miles in that same week. Mixing self-indulgence, Covid relief (funds were raised), excess drinking, and the return to much-neglected exercise, this cast perfectly captures our current moment.

Cast of the Week XVI

CotW XVI
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwxvi

Here is u/Mattasher to announce the winners of Cast of the Week XVI (The Sweet Sixteen):

Before we get into the winners, we have some shoutouts this week.

Shoutout to Mark for hitting episode 100 with his Just Thinking Aloud microcast, to Poegosi The Poet for his 100th, Joanie Reviews Stuff’s 100th, Boris the Blade 100th, and to ThatbeardedSwede, Aspie and Proud, and Astrocast by Diz for posting episodes 200!

Shoutout to Lilith of the Maleficent Gaming microcast for experimenting with rapid-fire, YouTube-style editing in her episode 29. Exploiting employees for Borderlands 3 pt.2

Shoutout to Angelibean for giving the community a shoutout in the wonderfully titled episode 22. I’m a hater and I may need a nap

Shoutout to Rebekah of SmartMoney for the snack tips in episode 232. Give Me the Snacks and No One Gets Hurt, another well-titled episode this week.

Shoutout to Black Girl Baker for experimenting with sound recording in her 174.My version of ASMR. By the end, I was for sure craving some of those salty crunchy snacks Rebekah described.


And now, without further ado, the winners. But first, a couple of Runner’s up:

200. Wine from Sweden – YKYZ Podcast Microcast by ThatbeardedSwede
Who knew Sweden had not one, but several growing regions, and that it produced some award-winning whites?


31. Occupy by Brown Skin Pearls
Clare gives out practical advice for how to stop touching your face in this short but straightforward episode.  


219. Danish Pastries by SnippetsWithSophia
Sophia takes us on a tour of Danishes around the world (spoiler alert, they’re not called Danishes everywhere) in this mouth-watering episode.


And now, on to the winners!

THIRD PRIZE:
116. Pilsners for Boris The Blade – A Brewtiful Mind by A Brewtiful Mind
In this packed episode, Micah takes us on a quick tour of the world of pilsners, from their home in the Czech Republic to their new world versions. For my own part, I’d highly recommend heading to Prague, finding a patio, and sipping a punch-bowl sized glass of the local favorite, Pilsner Urquell. You’ll never want to drink beer in a can again.


SECOND PRIZE:
26. Swear Words by Hilarious History
Hannah hits her stride with a SFW episode about NSFW language. In this episode we learn how Saxon words became vulgarities with the help of the Anglos. Hannah leaves us with the polite admonition, “Thank you for listening, and don’t get conquered”, which seems like the perfect advice for this moment we are in.


FIRST PRIZE:
200. Air Signs As Jazz Music by Astrocast By Diz
This was a tough one to pick. Not because we wondered who to give the top prize to, but had a hard time picking which episode from Diz deserved it most. In the end, we’re choosing her intriguing 200th cast, wherein Diz connects the astrological Air Signs with jazz, giving a surprisingly rich introduction to both in under 75 seconds. We also highly recommend you have a listen to her episode 203. Story Time: Bia. Come for the story of Prometheus, stay for the perfectly timed sound samples.

Cast of the Week XV

CotW XIII
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwxv

And now, without further ado, I’m handing things over to u/Mattasher for the winners of Cast of the Week XV (The Quiñcenero):

But first, some shoutouts.

Shoutout to Kayla (Violaceous Curiosity) for trying her hand (or voice) at the cold opener. Together we are exploring this new micro podcasting space.

Shoutout to MyNameIsQuest for the intriguing teaser episode The Spot. Everyone loves a good treasure hunt or vaunt opening tale, just don’t let us down like Geraldo.

Shoutout to our own Teresa (ThatOneGirl) who took over the Astrocast By Diz microcast to give Aries their due (and do’s).

Shoutout to Joanie for the bold and brave decision to review her own face in episode 93. Rambling About my Ugly Face

And now, on to the winners! But first, some honorable mentions:

35. But How are YOU doing? by jen.again
Good old Jen checks in with all of us in this friendly, nicely scripted episode.

153. Vinegar by Brown Skin Pearls
Clare examines the idea of using vinegar as a skincare product and concludes with a gentle reminder that when it comes to applying things to our body, we might want to leave the chemistry to the chemists, a reminder that seems particularly relevant right now.

148. Own Your Choices by Voluptuous Voyager
In this easy to listen to episode, Asi the Voluptuous Voyager introduces an expression that captures the distinction between where we land, and where we stay.

And now, the winners of CotW XV

Third Prize:
193. Paul Bunyan And Pancakes by SnippetsWithSophia
Sophia goes over one of my favorite characters from childhood, the tall tales of Paul Bunyan. Everything about this legendary lumberjack was supersized, including the story, Sophia tells about frying up pancakes in an acre-sized griddle. Grab a pick and pluck along with this giant microcast episode.  

Second Prize:
108. Fast Facts: IPA’s – A Brewtiful Mind by A Brewtiful Mind
Micah opens with a teaser of an upcoming episode, then goes all fast and furious on us with facts about India Pale Ales. This 86 second episode would have to be rated with an IBU of 0, given the smooth delivery and how easily Micah makes the info go down.  

Grand Prize:
10. My job isn’t real and the gaming industry is a joke by Maleficent Gaming
Our grand prize winner this week is from Lilith, who has just the right mix of personal experience and hard data in this episode about the gaming industry in her home country of Serbia. Lilith takes us into her narrow and misunderstood professional world, and leaves us with a broader understanding of how it fits into her countries overall economy.

Cast of the Week XIII

CotW XIII
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwxiii

We’ll get right into the winners of Cast of the Week XIII.

But first, some shoutouts.

Shoutout to Elvira for crossing the 100 episode barrier with her Mistress of the Microcast series.

Shoutout to Joel for clocking in with 200 episodes of his NerdyOldGuy microcast.

Shoutout to Fredrik for the lovely episode 38. March Madness – Improvisation on Swedish Folk music (Guitar) (Original music by Fredrik). We always appreciate your original compositions.

Shoutout to the many users who jumped into March Madness with swaps and guest hosting. We listen to all of these, and you can find them collected in one place at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=marchmadness

And now, on to the winners. But first, some honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions
2. Mobile Gamers And Console Wars by Maleficent Gaming
Lilith got a big response for just her second microcast episode, an invitation to weigh in on the current state of mobile vs console gaming.


146. Kabbalah Numerology by Astrocast By Diz explains how to turn your name into a number as part of the ancient Hebrew practice of Kabbalah. Also, check out the fun and opinionated 155.Storytime: Zeus by Astrocast By Diz


60. Free Speech – Not Just Another Value by Just Thinking Aloud
At a time when patience for free speech is at the lowest point, it’s been in my lifetime, and censorship seems to championed even by the media itself, Mark succinctly explains the connection between free speech and honestly confronting reality.


And now, on to the winners!

Second place
87. Rosetta Stone with Alba of the Culture Mix by Life in Ancient Egypt
Alba steps into Marwan’s sandals and picks up his staff to lead us out of Egypt and into the British Museum, current home of the Rosetta stone, for a tour-guide quality description of this famously fractured artifact.


Grand prize
168. Takeover – Voluptuous Voyager – Swedish Death Cleaning by ThatBeardedSwede
This week, one caster perfectly captured the vibe of the show she swapped with. Asi, of Voluptuous voyager fame, gave us a wonderful slice of Swedish life in her guest appearance in episode 168 of ThatbeardedSwede’s microcast. Focusing on the practice of Death Cleaning (döstädning), or getting one’s affairs in order before it’s game over in this simulated we all share, Asi nails the feeling and focus of her host’s microcast. We also highly recommend Asi’s other Swedish take over episode on The Ice Hotel.