I’d been meaning to write a quick post on vaguely BBS scene related podcasts for quite awhile now, but a couple of things transpired at nearly the same time which meant the time was right.
While there are a number of good retro computing and gaming related podcasts out there (several might even feature the odd interview or other segment related to BBSing) and maybe a couple centered around the demo scene, there aren’t any actually about the BBS or art scenes. Fellow SysOps and textmode artists Smooth and Anachronist are attempting to correct that with the launch of Textmode Underground. The plan is to focus on a particular subject each episode, along with news and other updates, with the first one focusing on tips for setting up a unique BBS. With only one episode out so far, there’s a lot of potential for this to be a mainstay of the scene if the guys are able to keep it up. The podcast doesn’t seem to have been spread to the usual platforms yet, but you can find it on YouTube here and its RSS feed here.
Coincidentally, I recently added a new show covering stories related to infamous hackers and related HPCAV shenanigans called Modem Mischief to my podcast feed. While any good underground story taking place before the late 90s is going to at least mention BBSes, the podcast is definitely not BBS scene focused in any way. That said, shortly after listening to the episode about the Legion of Doom (a story I was familiar with as one of the subjects of the absolute classic The Hacker Crackdown) my friend Esc mentioned that the creator had been posting on /r/bbs and mentioned being the cofounder of Zer0net. An email or two later, and sure enough, I’ve confirmed that this is none other than Marlon Brand0, former SysOp of Black Hole Cafe and the legitimate cofounder of Zer0net. Small world! So, next time you listen to an episode of Modem Mischief, know that the dude talking actually knows a thing or two about what he’s talking about! Check out the Modem Mischief podcast here, or wherever you prefer to grab your podcasts.
Finally, I want to give a shoutout to Jason Scott of BBS: The Documentary and textfiles.com fame’s podcast, Jason Scott Talks His Way Out of It. With well over a hundred episodes, not many of them are focused on BBSing, but often semi-autobiographical, a great many of them mention BBSing, retro computing, digital archiving, hacker culture, and a number of other “scene adjacent” topics. Not everyone in the scene loves Jason for various reasons I won’t bother to get into, but I’ve always related to and appreciated the passion that he puts into his personal writing, talks, and now these podcast episodes, and there are a lot less entertaining things you could be doing than listening to his unscripted anecdotes about subjects you likely have at least a passing interest in. Jason’s homepage for the podcast is here.