 left to right: Sexy Blind Justice, Judge John Hodgman, Bailiff Jesse Thorn Judge John Hodgman is a weekly, comedic court show podcast hosted by humorist John Hodgman and distributed online by Maximum Fun. It began in 2010 and is my favorite podcast that isn't just comedians talking to eachother about ____. Hodgman brings a curious mixture of funny and insightful to the show and clearly cares about the people who bring their disputes to his courtroom. JJHO posted:Tonally, there was no discussion; I just don’t know any other way to do it. I don’t want to make people feel bad, and I don’t want to make their problems into a joke. I do love telling people when they’re right and wrong, but for the most part, it was always going to be about real fights where people have a real difference of opinion and a real dispute. I want to make jokes, but I also want to make a decision that is fair. In each episode, Judge John Hodgman hears and renders a judgment on a dispute (often over petty or trivial matters) between two people (calling in via Skype or similar program from their home location) in a virtual courtroom setting. Hodgman is assisted in most episodes by Bailiff Jesse Thorn, who acts as co-host, introducing each episode, interjecting humorous questions and observations during cases, and interviewing the disputants before and after Hodgman's verdict is announced. Though Hodgman has no formal legal training or experience (often describing himself as a "fake internet judge"), and much of the content is played for laughs and entertainment, the disputants in each episode do verbally agree to abide by Hodgman's ruling before their case is heard. Each case starts with the Judge presenting an obscure cultural reference that may or may not be pertinent to the matter at hand. In theory the person who can correctly identify said reference automatically wins a verdict in their favor. Occasionally, when the Judge feels that his knowledge of a particular subject is insufficient, the court will call on expert witnesses. Past expert witnesses include Paul F. Tompkins (per podcast law), Tom Scharpling, Jon Wurster, Alton Brown, John Darnielle, Eugene Mirman, Morgan Webb and many more. My favorite eps are the ones that feature kids against their weird parents, particularly Weird Moms. A Weird Dad will usually just go "this is how I am and you don't have to like it", while a Weird Mom is just as likely to accuse her daughter of being a lying, untrustworthy garbage eater. Episodes that relate to sports are also great because the Judge hates pretty much all aspects of sports that aren't the Hartford Whalers logo. If you'd like to submit your own case to Judge John Hodgman you can do so here.
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Dec 11, 2014 13:17
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I'll add some episodes to check out for first-timers later, if you have one in mind post it.
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Dec 11, 2014 13:36
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Let me think of a few essentials... 8: Tree or not to Tree (Sadvent Tree w/ Jason from Huntsville) 54: Die Flederhaus (the Bat Brothers) 71: Probable Cosplay (Star Wars convention cosplay dispute with wife) 94: Bleached and Mounted Bones of Contention (skeleton & taxidermy collection?) 98: All Dogs go to Trial (can you pretend to have a service dog) 112: Court-o-Potty (chamber pot in the bedroom) 134: The Right to Remain Silent (should a dad force his tween daughter into embarrassing situations) But when you listen to it every week, you don't necessarily keep a running tab on the hits. And if you're looking for one where the defendant's crime is almost above the jurisdiction of internet court and the episode is fascinating but really uncomfortable, give episode 176 a listen. Flip Yr Wig fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Dec 12, 2014 |
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Dec 12, 2014 00:20
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Flip Yr Wig posted:And if you're looking for one where the defendant's crime is almost above the jurisdiction of internet court and the episode is fascinating but really uncomfortable, give episode 176 a listen.  Mother of God, what an rear end in a top hat.The episode that got me into the show was 17, where a daughter thinks her father makes her watch too many classic movies instead of letting her go out with her friends.
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Dec 12, 2014 02:14
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Yeah, I like that one because I think it sets the precedent for "you can't force someone else to love a thing you love" AND it 's the first appearance of a Weird Dad, which are both cornerstones of the podcast.
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Dec 13, 2014 00:44
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My favorite episode was #73 - Gavelbangers Ball, which challenges the "you can't force someone to like something" precedent when a guy tries to get his girlfriend to give heavy/death/black metal a try, featuring special guest metal expert John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. That said, I haven't listened to the show in over a year because it seemed like every case had gotten impossible to follow and either lazily argued for or psychotically over-defended by the bringers of the case because they had just wanted to get on the show. Hodgman frequently called them out on it, but they were already there and he needed an episode for the week, so it just got dragged out until the judgement, which was often the only good part. I'll try out the recommended episodes to see if I should get back on board.
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Dec 16, 2014 06:29
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My Legal Pony and Gross Misconduct are two pretty great recent EPs. I really enjoy most episodes of this show and Hodgman is a seriously funny dude working with a pretty hard to make funny setup for a show.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:55
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Competitive debating is some weird poo poo. Good job by the husband there, I can't believe I was rooting for a lady who was suing for the right to make someone eat mustard sauce pizza.
Illinois Smith fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Dec 25, 2014 |
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Dec 25, 2014 04:27
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JJHO posted:The BROCAVORE BROS from Judge John Hodgman Verdict 167 have begun their year long eat-only-what-they-raise-on-thier-farm experiment/audition for NY State Official Cult status.   
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Jan 7, 2015 00:35
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