User:The listener90/sandbox

Baconsale is a podcast centered on pop-culture media, and films. The podcast is hosted by Kent, Joel, and Jacob. The three of them started the podcast while working together in Ogden, UT when Jacob wanted to record the random and sometimes heated discussions Kent and Joel would have. The name for the show came from a game that Kent and Joel played, similar to the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but named after their mutual celebrity crush, Kate Beckinsale. The other names considered for the podcast were Alpha Geek, and Coolboy podcast (rumored), with Baconsale eventually winning out. Baconsale releases a new episode each Monday, which are usually 60 minutes or more in length. They also will occasionally release mini-episodes called BaconBits.

Content
The topics that Baconsale discusses are very diverse, but are all related to pop-culture in some way or form. The formats vary also, and include such show types as Discussions, Categories, Lists, Rankings, Tournaments, Versus Matches, Pitch Shows, Reviews, Guests, Games and Quizes. Baconsale prides itself on being interactive with "The Listener" and is very active on Twitter and Facebook interacting with fans. They often take fan suggestions for episodes. Topics generally revolve around movies, music, television series, video games and the fandoms that enjoy them. They normally try to avoid discussions of politics and religion because they are controversial, and sports because they know very little about them.

Fanbase
Baconsale refers to its fans as "The Listener". The fans are very active and dedicated to the podcast. When Kate Beckinsale came to Utah for the SLC ComicCon in 2016, Kent, Joel, and Jacob started a GoFundMe page to earn the money to meet Kate, get a photo with her along with an autograph. The Listener's responded well and made it possible for Baconsale to go meet Beckinsale, who kindly recorded a line of audio which is used occasionally in the opening of the podcast. The Listener title applies generally to all fans, but has at specific times either been given or claimed by individual fans. The first fan to be given the title of "The Listener" was Sam, the winner of the quiz in Episode 100. Another prominent instance of a fan to lay claim to the title was an anonymous fan who claimed it after submitting a spreadsheet cataloguing, in-depth, statistics about the show. Once Baconsale refused to bestow the title on this Listener, they changed their moniker to "Reverse Listener" and proclaimed themselves a villain to the show.

Hosts
Baconsale has three main hosts, and has invited a number of guest hosts onto the show. The three main hosts are Kent, Joel, and Jacob.

Kent:
Kent is a movie critic, host of the Radio Ronin podcast, founding member of the Podbash network, and a former radio morning show host. He prides himself on his mantra "Dare to be the villain" and has been considered by fans to be the most critical and negative of the three hosts. This has changed over time, most notably after one of his favorite films, Batman vs. Superman, was largely panned by critics. Kent enjoys doing Pitch shows, often submitting himself to watching shows at Joel's request to "earn" the chance for additional pitch shows. Once while cleaning the bathrooms at Lagoon for his summer job Kent was cornered by two burly thugs who attacked him. Drawing upon some unknown inner strength, Kent dispatched the hooligans with his mop. Kent felt it was his duty to use his new found mop fighting skills for the betterment of mankind. Taking this responsibility upon himself Kent became the Bathroom Ninja, a crime-fighting defender of the restroom who protects innocent bystanders from muggers and those who brush their teeth at public restroom sinks.

Joel:
Joel is an improv comedian, former member of Divine Comedy, Alumnus of Brigham Young University, and a father to a (jokingly) undetermined number of children, somewhere between 1 and 100 children. Experts believe the correct number to be around 35 kids. Joel has been considered by fans as the most optimistic of the three hosts, providing a good contrast to Kent's critiques. Fans have noted after Episode 38: Does the Force Awaken? that Joel took on a more negative tone, which fans have ascribed to the intense debate of Episode 38. Joel enjoys doing tournament and tiering episodes, and dislikes pitch shows. Once while on a hiking tour of cactus farms in Northern Mexico, Joel found himself lost in the desert. After many days he ran out of food and water. Searching desperately for resources he came across a large rock formation shaped like a hand giving a thumbs up. Joel climbed up to the top, having recently watched holes, he hoped this rock hand would be home to a mini oasis of water and food. Upon reaching the top he wretched in horror for on top of this rock hand was a large pool of water and a cove of pineapple trees. Grateful for the water, yet repulsed by the fruit, Joel resorted to eating the beetles at the oasis. After 4 hours of recuperating he found a flare gun in his pack which he had forgotten about, and was able to signal for help.

Jacob:
Jacob is the "everyman" of Baconsale, and the moderator. Not much is known about Jacob, he lived in Missouri when he was younger, and it is often joked about that he was Amish at some point (occassionally with disastrous results). Jacob is a fan of Supernatural, Galavant, and toilet papering houses. He is the most mischievous of the three hosts, often springing "Jacob Twists" or "Jacob Questions" on Kent and Joel that they haven't prepared for during episodes. Jacob structured most of the Tournament episodes, acting as tie breaker for tough matchups, and also built the "Fearmid" and "What Would Baconsale Do?" episodes, some of the most popular of the podcast.

Guest Hosts
Baconsale invites guests on the show to provide unique perspectives on a range of topics. Normally, these guests are invited onto the show only once, though, there are three recurring guests that are brought onto the show. These recurring guests are Dr. Matt, a clinical psychologist in Salt Lake City, Emily, a movie critic and die-hard Star Wars fan, and Mark, a sports and Fast and Furious Fan who has helped come up with a number of new show types and twists.

Controversies
A number of episode topics, or points of discussion, started significant fan base debates. The most notable controversies are listed below.