The Mastercast

This week we look at Irish treasure Words to that Effect with music guest Ben Samples. Words to that Effect is a literature podcast that looks at the stories behind the stories.

Show Notes

This week we look at Words to That Effect by Conor Reid and the Headstuff network. Musical guest is Ben Samples. 

Full Transcript:

Hey Pod lovers. I’m your host Marie and  If you’re joining us for the first time: Welcome! The Mastercast is a podcast recommendation show that brings you a brand new non-spoiler binge-worthy review every week of the best podcasts in a short and sweet 2-3 minute summary on everything you could want to know, from the number of hosts to on average how long you can expect each episode to be. New episodes come out every Monday. You can find the week’s other reviews on the show’s social on Instagram @themastercast and Twitter @mastercastpods. If you like what you hear and want to help out this independent show you can find me on Buy me a coffee by searching The Mastercast. I’d really appreciate it. This week’s review is on

Words to that Effect - No Spoilers! 

I am surprised this podcast isn’t in the top charts of Apple Podcasts although it has placed #10 and #23 in the arts categories for Ireland and Britain respectively. There’s no warming up to the host or topics, you only have to hear it for it to become a new favorite. Part of the Headstuff network it was started in 2017 by Conor Reid, a writer and teacher, who lives and records the show in Dublin, Ireland. Reid covers the behind-the-scenes factors of what goes into the stories we hold dear and starts each episode with a question such as how can fiction save the world and why are there so many novels with "girl" in the title? There is a bit of a concentration on works and topics from the late 19th and early 20th century but more modern works are covered. The pod has 4.9 stars and 27 ratings on Apple Podcasts. So far there are 60 episodes with Season 6 on a bit of a delay but an update has promised many more episodes to come. When the show is active, episodes come out about every two weeks. You can search them by topic on the website. They’re also evergreen which means they aren’t time sensitive and can be listened to in any order. In amongst the others you might find a series of bonus episodes titled “A Word To That Effect” that covers the literary origin of a word or phrase. There’s also the occasional guest and cross over episode. Owltail has the most popular by listen being “The Invention of Time” and “Irish Science Fiction.” My favorites so far have been “The Endless Influence of Robinson Crusoe” and “Dinosaurs (Palaeontology to Pyjamas).” If you can’t get enough of the show head its website where you can sign up for the newsletter and get news on two upcoming projects. No content warnings for this one. 

Similar pods: All About Agatha, Words That Burn, and Fireside

All right, guys, that’s all for this week but remember if you want to see the cover art, sources or the written transcript for this episode be sure to check out the show notes. You can also send us an email at themastercastpodlist@gmail.com. There you can tell us if you have music you would like played on the show or submit a podcast to be recommended. This week’s music came from Ben Samples. The song featured was Traitor. You can find them on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube by searching Ben Samples. These links will be in the show notes as well. Remember to share the show with the pod lovers in your life and tune in next Monday. Thanks for listening. 

Artist: Ben Samples
Song: Traitor 

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bensamples

Twitter: https://twitter.com/djsamples 

Facebook: https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdjsamples&token=c23ec6-1-1661129552866

Website:https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamples.bandcamp.com%2F&token=78fb10-1-1661129552862



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What is The Mastercast?

The Mastercast covers a non-spoiler binge-worthy review of the best podcasts every Monday in a short and sweet two-three minute summary on everything you could want to know from the number of hosts to on average how long you can expect each episode to be.