I can’t go most days without at some point uttering the words “I was recently listening to a podcast where…” Usually what I mention is a joke or maybe a little tidbit that is factually questionable but there still some value in saying it. It is a much more rare occasion when the podcast I am mentioning is not Harmontown.
"Harmontown," for those of you that have somehow missed my long rants or the documentary about it, is a podcast hosted by the writer Dan Harmon and his best friend Jeff Bryan Davis. Harmon is best known for creating and writing the shows “Community” and “Rick and Morty,” along with the film “Monster House.” Davis is a professional improviser, seen frequently on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The live show is built on the premise that Harmon acts as mayor of a fictional town that will one day become a moon colony while Davis keeps things on track as comptroller. All in all, it is honestly a type of performed diary for Harmon as he discusses what is truthfully on his mind whether it be his alcoholism, race issues, comedy or anything else. Harmon’s overwhelming honesty is what interests most listeners especially if he makes a good joke every once in a while along the way.
I hardly remember how I came to discover this podcast. It was most likely a boring summer day in 2012 where I was looking through the new comedic podcasts on iTunes hoping to find something to pass the time. The first episode had just come out and in less than a week I had listened to it around six times. Harmon’s sense of humor and brashness is what interested me; it was much later when I discovered he had created one of my favorite sitcoms. Today I can recite full parts from the first hundred episodes of the show, especially since I tend to listen to them at night so as to fall asleep. I don’t listen to a lot of the newer episodes because they just need some time to become relevant to me. My obsession with the podcast has its highs and lows, but I never seem to be finished learning from it.
Harmontown for me has become a way of remembering who I was when I first started listening to it and noticing how much I have changed. Funny enough, Harmon continuously talks about story arcs and how at the end of a good story the protagonist should return to their home having noticed a significant change in their personality, views, etc. Every episode is like that for me because the podcast has led me to realize a lot of things about myself. When Harmon started to mention his issues with organized government, I finally heard what I had been saying repeated back to me for the first time. When Harmon complains about the underrepresentation of colored people in television I nod my head viciously the entire time. When I began to question my own gender identity I went back to listen to several episodes in which transgender people were invited to talk about their experiences. It was then that I joined the Harmontown Reddit community and found solace there with people interested in helping me through the hard times of discovering parts of yourself.
It has been brought up to me by several friends that I idolize Harmon, he has become somewhat better than human. I am still battling with my thoughts on this because what has kept me interested for over two hundred episodes of rambling is an unrelenting humanity. He has his problems, some major ones, but he is also changing now by getting proper mental health help and admitting his faults. But if I were ever able to meet Harmon it would be difficult to describe to him how much this has all meant to me. Having a place, even if it is somewhere in the audioverse, to consider safe and fascinating is something invaluable he has provided for so many people now.
At this point where I should say, “check out this cool podcast on…” I become weary of even promoting it. The humor and format are not for everyone. But there is one thing for sure: no matter who you are you are welcome at Harmontown.
