x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

00:45:21

SWLAB: Special Episode: Video Game Commercials

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2025/12/01

It's time for another commercial commentary special! Lesley and Ben are joined by our friend, streamer Svideotheque to talk Video Games, Video Games and more Video Games.We dissect 15 commercials advertising games for arcades, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and PlayStation 3 featuring Q*bert, Paul Rudd, Super Mario, Sonic, Kratos, Link and Zelda. We're plugged in on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben! Now You're Playing with Power! *On the Main Feed*: We're posting a

en

00:59:40

Chef and my Fridge w/ Victoria Collins

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2025/10/14

For the first time in Syndicated with Lesley and Ben history, we’re covering a non-narrative show. With Victoria Collins help, we dip our toes into reality tv and cover the Korean show Chef and My Fridge (Please Take Care of My Refrigerator). It’s a wacky take on the cooking show genre, as the celebrity chefs can only make their final creations out of the ingredients already in that week’s guest’s actual refrigerator. Lesley and Ben were knocked back by the stylistic editing choices and frantic

en

00:40:20

Ruri Rocks w/ Héctor González

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2025/09/23

Much like the Crunchyroll anime Ruri Rocks, this episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben, is an excuse to talk about rocks, minerals and crystals. We’re joined by Héctor González to ask a critical question. Can an anime be educational, beautiful and fan service? Yeah, of course it can. Are you kidding?We covered the first episode, My First Mineral Hunt. Ruri Tanigawa becomes fixated on a crystal necklace in a boutique store. After a failed attempt to get her mother to forward her the money to

en

00:54:12

Nine Puzzles

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2025/08/26

Syndicated returns with an episode of Nine Puzzles, the freshly released South Korean detective thriller about two criminal profilers, one of whom is a murder suspect herself, attempting to solve a series of serial killings in which mysterious puzzle pieces are being left behind at the scene of the crime.We talk about atmospheric storytelling, international adaptions, how we depict memory as physical space in visual media and, obviously, the Kiefer Sutherland starring political thriller tv show:

en

00:55:31

Money Heist

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2025/05/20

After a bit of hiatus, Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with Money Heist, the his Spanish language crime show from Netflix about a group of bank robbers dead set on robbing the Royal Mint of Spain. This is our second show from Spain, and third Spanish overall, but instead of ghosts and worried priests, Money Heist is packed with action, intrigue and bullets. We talk about translation, non linear story telling, crime movie archetypes and the dynamic design choices that Money

en

01:05:55

Mobile Suit Gundum: Witch From Mercury w/ Jeff Martin

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/10/29

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with MOBILE SUIT GUNDUM: WITCH FROM MERCURY with returning guest Jeff Martin. Jeff has been working on a new ttrpg project called BIG ROBOTS BIG FEELINGS and that means watching a lot of Gundum anime as research, alternating between Mobile Suit and Macross shows. Jeff’s bringing that giant robot expertise to Syndicated! We talk about sad birthday songs, how storytelling pacing has changed over time, the history of mecha as a genre and werewolves

en

00:54:57

The Untamed w/ Nik Boylan

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/09/03

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with The Untamed, an ahistorical Chinese fantasy drama from Tencent Video. We’re joined by Nik Boylan of Legends of Laia and Athraplay, who has spent the last year becoming an Untamed expert. After our hosts flip out about the massive complex of historical sets and theme park attractions that the Untamed is filmed at, we learn about the Xianxia genre of Chinese fantasy and the bizarre path this show took to be adapted. Lesley, Ben and Nik faun

en

00:17:19

Syndicated Bonus: Vintage Regional Commercials w/...

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/07/28

Lesley and Ben are thrilled to be once again joined by Rachel Collins, host of the upcoming grocery and shopping podcast, 10 Items or Less! Instead of our usual format covering single episodes of television, we're chatting about vintage commercials and the stories they're telling! We cover 21 commercials ranging across the decades from the 1960s to 2004. Electronics Boutique, Hollywood Video, Schlitterbaun Water Park, CompUSA, B Dalton Booksellers and mail order educational software learning

en

00:54:03

30 Coins (30 monedas)

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/06/04

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with 30 Coins, another Spanish language horror series. Now what are the odds! We talk about how international tv is working great for streaming companies, our personal affinity toward religious and folk horror (including plenty of examples), and the incredible set design of Pedraza, Spain, the location of 30 Coin’s story.We covered Season One, Episode Three, El Espejo. When a wedding guest violently crashes his car on the way to the reception, an

en

00:54:03

Los Espookys

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/04/23

Is this thing still on? We’re coming in live from our affiliate stations across the world! We’re covering International TV this season with the help of newly installed satellite tv dish. Specifically, we’re focusing on non-English television regardless of narrative genre!We’re starting with Los Espookys, the Spanish language, Latin-American set, HBO produced comedy series about a group of friends who build elaborate special effect horror as a small business. It’s Lesley’s opening staff pick for

en

01:04:39

The Wire (Season 3 Finale)

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/02/20

We did our time, listener! 13 long episodes in crime tv. You can’t make us go back in there! It’s time to wrap up our crime season, and we could think of only one show to throw the book at us. Lesley and Ben cover The Wire, the lauded HBO prestige police procedural starring Lance Reddick, Idris Elba and Dominic West. We started with the season two finale, Any Port in a Storm and were stunned by the quality of the story so far. Was everyone else right? Was The Wire always this good?Plus we talk about

en

01:02:42

Death and Other Details

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2024/01/30

Lesley and Ben are trying something new. At Lesley’s suggestion, we’re watching Death and Other Details, the brand new murder mystery drama from Hulu, starring Violett Beane and Mandy Patinkin. Death and Other Details has a compelling plot, but is otherwise tripped up by some visual issues that got under Ben and Lesley’s skin. We’re excited to see how this mystery concludes, we just wish we could see more of the show! Plus, a lengthy discussion about crime as a genre, the lasting prevalence of the

en

00:48:29

Lupin

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/12/13

Lesley and Ben are now on an international crime spree. We’re tackling Lupin, the Netflix produced French thriller series about the adventures of Assane Diop, a man who has modeled himself after pulp character Arsene Lupin, the Gentleman Thief. We talk about Sherlock Holmes, pulp fiction of the early 1900s, foreign television, expanding our cultural horizons and how to execute a good plot twist. Also we talk a lot about France. Sacre bleu!Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast

en

00:56:06

Poker Face

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/11/28

Syndicated is hitting the open road and solving murders across America with Poker Face, the Rian Johnson helmed and Natasha Lyonne starring mystery anthology show. We had to cover Poker Face after tackling Columbo and Murder She Wrote. Lesley and Ben fell in love with the 1970s retro Americana aesthetic, the cast of complicated characters and the BBQ being grilled in the third episode of the show. We talk alibis, Star Wars, Okja, cinematic murders. and the use of star power in

en

00:51:42

Murder She Wrote w/ Jay Gagnon

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/10/03

Cabot Cove has no shortage of murders and there is no one more qualified to solve them than mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Editor Jay Gagnon brings us Murder She Wrote, the number one source of Angela Lansbury material. Lesley, Ben and Jay stumble through a charming double murder in the high stakes cutthroat world of fiction publishing. Logically, we picked an episode that guest stars Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television,

en

00:46:07

Dexter

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/09/19

For every crime, there’s a mystery. A series of clues that lead back to the grisly, heinous answer. But Lesley and Ben stumbled on a mystery neither Jessica Fletcher nor Columbo could possible solve: what did people like about Dexter in 2006? Lesley and Ben are unimpressed with the Showtime show’s writing and narrative pacing and aren’t holding back about why. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of

en

01:09:11

Peaky Blinders

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/08/15

Chip Chip Cheerio. Top of the Morning. Other Such Phrases. Lesley and Ben are trying something different with this episode of Syndicated. Instead of having a guest, or showing each other one of our confirmed favorite shows, we decided to take a chance on Peaky Blinders together. Imagine our shock finding out that Sam Neill is in this and that Peaky Blinders, is in fact, pretty good. Plenty of Oppenheimer talk in this one, don’t worry.Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about

en

01:17:25

Better Call Saul w/ Jeff Martin

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/07/03

“Gimme Jimmy!” is what returning guest Jeff Martin said to us, verbatim when he sat down with us to talk about the AMC prequel series to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul. We talk about convenient corruption, the fall of a moral character, Better Call Saul’s incredible cinematography and abstraction techniques, and just how awful the fictional residents of Albuquerque, New Mexico are. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your

en

00:47:52

Justified

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/06/20

Any excuse to talk about Walton Goggins. Lesley sits Ben down so that they can talk about Justified, the FX modern day neo western starring Timothy Olyphant as the morally grey lawman Raylan Givens and Walton Goggins as irredeemable skinhead cult leader Boyd Crowder. Their dynamic is fascinating and we talk at length about the relationship between the two while dissecting what happens to crime when the law doesn’t matter round these parts. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast

en

01:14:26

Leverage w/ Adam P Knave

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben ·

2023/05/09

The Hosts, The Producer, The Guest. We’re assembling a crack team of specialists to talk about Leverage, the heist show about criminals who rob the wealthy and corrupt. Lesley and Ben are joined by Adam P Knave, who brought us Season 2, Episode 1: The Beantown Bailout Job. We talk about safecracking, stunts and the contemporary politics of Obama Era crime and the 2008 Financial Crisis. We keep it pretty lighthearted around here. We also take a moment to talk about the luxury watch

en

50 results

Similar Podcasts

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Nerd Culture - A Gamekings Podcast

Blammo Media

UPodcast

UPodcast

The Writers Hangout

Sandy Adomaitis

The Sarah Fraser Show

Sarah Fraser