TV Guidance Counselor Episode 721: TVGC 2025 Year in Review

·1 hr 25 min·5 clips

Ken Reid reflects on surviving a terrible 2025, revealing it was the show's first completely remote year and a period of personal and global strain.

In this solo episode, host Ken Reid provides a detailed retrospective on the year 2025 for his podcast, TV Guidance Counselor. He opens by framing 2025 as a difficult year, both personally and globally, mentioning a second Trump administration. Reid explains this was the show's first completely remote year, with no in-person episodes, a shift from its first six years which were mostly in-person. He attributes production delays to personal upheavals, including his wife being laid off for 10 months, which forced him to take freelance work. Reid then walks through the year month-by-month, listing and briefly describing guests. January featured Dan Does, Amy Stock, and Alan Strickland Williams. February included Gregory Leon and stand-up shows in upstate New York. March was marked by the deaths of Lynn Stewart and friend Ryan Shores, alongside guests like Mia Follick. April highlights included an interview with cult movie author Danny Peary, which Reid calls a dream guest. He also discusses his dog Larry's emergency vet visit. May guests included Ahmed Kalafon and Mangesh Hattikudur. In June, Reid turned 45 and his dog Ted was diagnosed with a heart murmur, requiring a $2,000 cardiologist visit. Summer guests included Kendall Phillips and Glenn Rubenstein. Reid details a personal movie project where he watches films from 1985 and 1995 around their original release dates. He mentions technical issues with his microphone and phone. Fall episodes featured favorites like Hart Hanson and Bob Perlo. Reid concludes with November's car repair saga, where his Nissan needed $6,500 in fixes, and December stand-up dates with Todd Barry. Throughout, he thanks patrons for financial support during a tough year and reflects on the show's 13-year history.

As heard by us

A loose 2025 archive tour finds its heart in TV memories, listener questions, and the promise of year 13.

TV Guidance Counselor's 2025 year-in-review moves through the year in a loose week-by-week pass, with Ken Reed adding director's-commentary-style notes on episodes while also taking listener questions.

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Why you'd press play

Want a year-end TV time capsule with listener questions, week-by-week commentary, and a detour through Christmas ghosts?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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