In my opinion, there’s no better way to relax while sitting at your desk or on your daily commute to and from work than a Super Smash Bros. podcast. Since the early days of "Melee It On Me", Smash podcasts have been a mainstay of the competitive scene’s content creation. Podcasts can be catalysts for important issues, too: Through Melee It On Me, community leaders helped raise funds to get Melee into EVO 2013, and Joseph “Mang0” Marquez and Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma settled the beef that had publicly erupted between the two during Mang0’s infamous Reddit AMA.
Many Smash podcasts have come and gone, and there are only a few mainstays that currently contribute to the ever-growing library of Smash content. Perhaps the most popular Smash podcast is the Bad Melee Podcast, featuring the comedic stylings of a pack of beloved SoCal goons led by Anthony “Slime” Bruno, and the well-respected Commentator’s Curse podcast features the knowledge and opinions of Arian “The Crimson Blur” Fathieh and Daniel “tafokints” Lee.
Recently, two promising new podcasts have appeared in the Smash Twittersphere—both are worth checking out if you want to diversify your consumption of Smash content.
The first is analog, a Smash podcast hosted by commentator Zane “Epengu” Bhansali and top player Rishi “Rishi” Malhotra. In only a few episodes, these hosts have brought in a cast of guests to discuss important issues facing the scene, such as harassment of women within the Smash community and the pains that come with community growth.
The second is the Melee Stats Podcast. A panel discussion featuring a number of knowledgeable Melee heads who are part of the Melee Stats organization that contributes towards the seeding of many majors. If you’re looking for hard-hitting analysis of trends within the Melee scene, you’re unlikely to find a better podcast than this one.
There’s a lot of Melee content out there, but podcasts fill a unique niche; they’re a great way to kill time that you’d otherwise spend twiddling your thumbs. Give these ones a try, and who knows—one or both might work their way into your regular commute!
