Dinner Party Download Review: Eat, Drink, and Be Merrier

Yesterday morning, as I was walking around Uptown finishing up some errands, I saw a small, wax-wrapped square. It took me a moment to register what it was as I kicked it mindlessly along the sidewalk. A piece of Hubba Bubba? No, not quite the right shape. A Starburst? Nope, wrong wrapper. Then, as my jaw tightened reflexively, I realized it was a Now & Later, the candy that effectively soldered my mouth shut for most of my childhood. It hurt, sure, but it hurt so good.

The point isn't that I'm a remarkable candy sleuth, just that sometimes you only have to look at the packaging to know exactly what's inside.

Which is why I knew, well before I listened to the episode, that I'd probably love the Dinner Party Download. It's a public radio podcast (think: well produced without being slick, articulate hosts, well-modulated voices, occasional light humor) that offers up 15 minutes of fodder you can use at your next dinner party.

The hosts, Brendan Francis Newnam and Rico Gagliano (often heard on APM's Marketplace shows), offer up a solid lineup each week: a quick, clean joke; a two-question interview with a semi-famous person in the arts; tips for smart small talk from public radio reporters; a "this week in history" lesson complete with a related drink mixed by a bartender; food trends; and a song to close out the episode.

It's nice to hear the informal banter between the hosts and the usually buttoned-up reporters about the news they'll be chatting about with their pals after hours, and the joke is a fantastic way to open the show, even if it showcases a certain high-falutin-ness that public radio haters find exasperating. ("Decartes walks into a bar. The bartender's like, "Hey, Descartes! Can I get you a drink? Descartes says, "I think not." And then he disappears.) 

I also appreciate the legwork that goes into these segments. Unlike so many other podcasts that feature the hosts talking to exclusively to each other, they've booked guests and done their homework. They've got connections, to be sure, but they've also used them exceptionally well. 

While podcast reviewer Colin  Marshall suggests they might be a little too polished for what's supposed to be an informal podcast, I couldn't care less. I'll take polish over chaos any day.

My main gripe is the "buzzworthy" songs that close out each show. First, as a concept? Meh. There are a million places for me to find interesting new music, and for now, this show isn't one of them. And now that strict regulations demand no more than a 30-second snippet per show, I'm even more lukewarm on it. (The one exception: the Simon and Garfunkel-y "God's Highway" from Tobias Fröberg, which I downloaded the second I was back at my computer.)

But there's a reason it earned a nod as one of iTunes' best podcasts of 2008: it's fun, it's fast-moving and it doesn't take itself too seriously. And it delivers on its promise to help you "win your next dinner party." To that I say: Cheers.