Armchair Expert is a podcast created by Dax Shepard, most widely known for his roles in films like Without A Paddle, Zathura, and Employee of the Month, as well as his recurring role as Crosby in the NBC series Parenthood.
Dax’s podcast runs weekly and typically features other famous actors and actresses such as Sophia Bush, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Michael Peña. His site’s tagline simply states, “Welcome to the Armchair Expert, a podcast that celebrates the messiness of being human.”
I listened to episode 82 this week, which featured New Girl and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse star Jake Johnson. While I was listening, I took note of a few things I liked that I think contributes to the success of the show. Although it’s clear Dax and Jake have met before, listeners don’t feel like outsiders in the conversation. Dax has clearly done his research, a fact that Jake even points out himself, and he brings the audience into their conversation in a way that doesn’t feel forced. I never thought at any point: oh he’s interviewing Jake about this or that – the conversation flowed very nicely and the two had a nice banter going.
Another thing I noticed was that the conversation between the two felt authentic. Dax isn’t afraid to talk about touchy subjects, and in fact, he got Jake to open up rather quickly about some deeper topics by first opening up himself. The two go off on a long tangent about their alcoholic fathers and how they did or didn’t mend their relationships later on in life. Dax brings out a vulnerable side of Jake and his other guests by reciprocating the openness.
I noticed that this episode in particular started off pretty heavy (what with the alcoholic dads and such) but then got into lighter topics such as Jake’s time on New Girl, their wives and daughters, and how Jake got stuck at Natalie Portman’s house. After a bit of this easier conversation, they gravitate back into a more intense conversation about addiction and drugs and how they will talk about drugs to their children one day. The interview comes full circle but doesn’t put pressure on the guest.
Like many other podcasts, you can listen to Armchair Expert on Spotify, which is how I enjoyed it, but you can also tune in on Apple Podcasts or on Dax’s site, https://armchairexpertpod.com/
The link to the Jake Johnson episode: https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/jake-johnson
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