There's long been some form of "reality TV" kicking around - in the form of news programs, documentaries and game shows, for example. But in the 1990s and especially the 2000s, there was such an explosion of "unscripted" programming on television coinciding with wholesale changes in society that it was hard to separate the two.
It could be argued America in particular has been susceptible to the influence of reality television. The country even elected a reality TV star - Donald Trump of "The Apprentice" - as its president.
Beyond politics, reality TV has become a key platform for upcoming music stars with shows such as "The Voice" and "American Idol" and made stars of people just living their lives in front of the camera on shows like "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," "The Real Housewives" and even "Jersey Shore."
And it seems we've become more likely to reward brash behavior than ever before, pulling for "villains" on shows like "Survivor" and "Big Brother."
As entertainment journalists, Chuck Campbell and Wayne Bledsoe, hosts of the podcast "How We Heard It," have had their brushes with reality shows and reality stars over the years. And in this episode of the podcast they discuss and debate their experiences and observations.
Has reality TV made Americans less empathetic? Has it dumbed down the country? Has it helped us in some ways by teaching us lessons about human behavior? Has it diversified our entertainment beyond the generic fare of many scripted shows?
Bottom line: Is reality TV simply another form of escapist entertainment, is it a sinister force in our society, or is the truth somewhere in between?
What do you think?
Jul 25
1 hr 29 min
Just looking at the music you've gathered over the years can give you insight into who you are and what you're about.
Whenever the hosts of "How We Heard" dig into their music collections, they always seem to find out more about themselves - sometimes more than they're expecting.
The guys are at it again on this week's episode, which prompts a free-flowing conversation about everything from old jazz to electronic dance music, from the glory to the pitfalls of live albums to the vague joy and uncertainty of rediscovering old albums they don't quite remember.
They discuss artists ranging from Radiohead and Beck to Santana and Ravi Shankar and focus on far-flung singer-songwriters including Aimee Mann and Ron Sexsmith.
Hosts Chuck Campbell and Wayne Bledsoe, both veteran music critics, also talk about how they handled reviews of Christian rock for the mainstream media as well as how they dealt with artists who used obscenities in their names or song/album titles.
And they dive into the past of Ryan Murphy, acclaimed Emmy-winning producer/director/screenwriter of TV's "Glee," "Nip/Tuck," "American Horror Story" and other shows as well as film adaptations of "Running With Scissors," "Eat, Pray, Love," "The Normal Heart" and "The Prom." Wayne explains what Murphy was doing in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the 1980s and what was he like back then.
When was the last time you really looked at your music collection? It could take you places you don't expect to go.
Jul 18
1 hr 28 min
If you can find the energy you need to get through every day, how do you do it?
A well-balanced diet?
A consistent exercise regimen?
Regular restful nights?
Maybe you need a little boost - like, say, a methodically steady stream of caffeine during the day balanced with diphenhydramine HCl at bedtime?
Well, don't forget the power of music. Whether you require a special blast of energy to get through a particularly demanding time or you simply need an extra dose of oomph to help you complete the daily grind, music can help you instantly and cleanly, without all that planning or stress on your kidneys.
This week on "How We Heard It," your hosts compile a list of high-energy songs from the ages that will gas up your tank.
These are the songs that prompt primal reaction with extra electricity and/or jacked-up beats per minute. Or they may use any number of other tricks, such as rousing rhythm sections, spiked vocals or even explosions of horn.
These songs can start suddenly and all at once, without all the prelude and layered setups employed by other songs. And they can bust out of the gate at a full gallop and then just keep gaining momentum until they blow up at the end.
However they do it, they get the job done. And you don't have to go to the gym, eat a power lunch or juice your system with energy drinks.
Jul 11
1 hr 31 min
Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere have already had our share of scorching days and steamy nights this summer, and there's only more to come.
But rather than take shelter with a cool drink behind blackout curtains, the hosts of "How We Heard It" decided to face the heat head on with a collection of "hot" songs.
Some are obvious, some you might have forgotten, and some you may never have heard. Some are recent, some go back several years, and some go back before any of us were born.
And "hot" can mean almost anything.
Songs about hot weather? Of course.
Songs about hot people? You bet.
Songs about fire and heat lightning? Naturally.
These songs will make you want to celebrate. They'll make you uncomfortable. They'll turn you on. And they might even freak you out.
But most importantly, they'll help you pass the time until the gentle kiss of autumn billows into your world again.
So embrace the heat (like you have a choice) and make the best of it. It'll be over before you know it.
Jul 4
1 hr 23 min
This week on "How We Heard It," your hosts talk about bands and singers they haven't mentioned often on the show but who deserve to have their stories told.
For example: How did Lauryn Hill squander the record-breaking fame and adulation for her solo debut so badly that she never released another studio album?
Or why didn't Lou Reed's counterpart in The Velvet Underground have anything close to Reed's success?
Then there's the Australian pop sensation who has been churning out hits since the 1980s and has achieved Madonna-like status around the world, even though in the U.S. she's only a minor star ... because she HASN'T had a scandal?
Also, there's the British act that's been a phenomenon all across Europe but has proven too acerbic for Americans.
The episode includes others, from Marty Stuart and The Band to Men At Work and Jamiroquai. And find out what happened to the Chainsmokers during the 2020 pandemic that took them from the middle of everything right off the radar.
That's show business: You can go from overwhelming success one minute to obscurity the next. But it's still better than some mind-numbing office job.
Jun 27
1 hr 22 min
"How We Heard It" is two years old this week, and Wayne, Chuck and John hope you're having a good time - because they are.
Oh sure, they sometimes slip up, say "you know" and "right" too often, lose their way sorting out topics and forget what they're saying now and then. Yet they keep finding their way in sharing lose opinions and hard facts about music, movies and TV from before any of us were born to what's happening today and might happen tomorrow.
In this week's podcast episode, the guys celebrate the show's highs and shame themselves for the lows. They share the most popular episodes - their own and those of the listeners (some of which surprised them) - and talk about the periodic chaos that happens when they aren't on the same page.
They also share details about each other.
But most of all, the team celebrates and deeply appreciates their listeners, who have found their way here from 101 different countries and most every state (we're still not sure what's happening in that Dakota).
Thank you.
It means everything.
Jun 20
1 hr 30 min
In May your "How We Heard It" hosts served an episode of songs about moms in honor of Mother's Day, so it's only fitting that for June they turn out an episode of songs about uncles.
Kidding!
Of course Father's Day brings about an episode of songs about dads - all kinds of dads. From supportive dads to deadbeat dads, from the doting fathers to the cold fathers and maybe a hot daddy here and there for those so inclined.
For better or worse, our fathers often play an important role in who we become, even if they were no part of our lives at all, and performers from Bruce Springsteen to Tupac Shakur have had quite a bit to say (or sing or rap) about their own fathers.
Meanwhile, other men have gone above and beyond to inspire, protect and provide for their children, fully embracing the part of "role model," and they get their props in songs, too.
Then are all of those numerous tributes to departed dads, and they include some of the most touching songs in all of music.
Following the lead of last month's episode about moms, this episode of "How We Heard It" also finds the hosts talking about what kind of fathers some of the biggest stars proved to be to their performer children (and if you didn't already know about John Lennon, prepare to be disappointed in him). And in a more whimsical turn, the show also features a little conjecture about what kind of fathers some of today's younger male stars might prove to be, and one host even offers a potential pair of "dream parents" of two of today's biggest stars.
No matter what kind of father you had, or even what kind of father you are, someone has written a song that fits you better than a new tie.
Jun 13
1 hr 19 min
Everyone likes to laugh, but not everyone agrees about what's funny.
So if something tickles you, don't worry what anyone else thinks.
That's the attitude the "How We Heard It" hosts had when they dove into this week's topic: goofy movies we can't resist.
There are different kinds of intentionally funny movies, from slapstick to smart humor wrapped in absurd premises. Crude jokes, innuendo, outrageous sight gags and bizarre plot twists all find their way into these movies.
Then there are the unintentionally funny movies, sometimes so bad or hokey that you groan more often than you giggle. But they're funny all the same, despite their intentions.
Spotlighted in this episode are films from the 2020s going back to movies from before we were born, ranging from big budget cinematic adventures featuring A-list stars to those with shoestring budgets and a cast of nobodies.
The hosts pass judgment on oldies like "Blazing Saddles," "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" to not-quite-as-oldies like "Dumb and Dumber," "Death Becomes Her" and "Joe Dirt" to more recent film fare like "Splitsville," "Fackham Hall" and "Bodies Bodies Bodies."
Of course, humor has changed through the years, so "How We Heard It" also takes a look at the films that haven't held up over time. Some of those old bits were classic, but some make you wonder why anyone ever thought they were funny in the first place.
Jun 6
1 hr 23 min
If you go looking for songs about the moon, they'll start falling out of the sky.
Moon-themed songs are some of the oldest in recorded history as well as some of the most recent to hit the charts.
They can be found connected to everything from organized religion to witchcraft, they come from all parts of the planet, and they show up in every genre of music.
In honor of the 2026 blue moon, the hosts of "How We Heard It" embarked on a quest to find songs about the moon, and they were overwhelmed - not just by the sheer number of songs they found, but also by the extensive breadth of the songs.
Earth's closest companion inspires all manner of emotions. And when you project your feelings on the moon, it reflects and enhances your mood. Are you feeling amorous? Lonely? Anxious? Content? Mysterious? Grounded? Gaze upon the moon and your feelings will intensify.
In song, the moon can be blue, red, pink, silver and orange. It can be full, new, half ... or just a sliver. The phases of the moon can reflect the phases of life. Or the moon can just be an old goose.
As the podcast's hosts discovered, the moon can be whatever you want it to be. And it seems like most artists have performed at least one song about the moon - from Frank Sinatra to Audrey Hepburn, from Elvis Presley to Creedence Clearwater Revival, from Van Morrison to Neil Young, and from Bjork to Bruno Mars.
Just be careful with how hard you dig into moon-themed songs ... or you may end up seeing stars.
May 30
1 hr 22 min
For the 100th episode of their show "How We Heard It," the podcast team is giving you the music artists who give 100 percent.
Musicians are like any other group of workers. Some are tireless - endlessly productive, relentlessly creative or both. Others fill the status quo, doing what might be expected, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. Still others are just plain lazy, pushing their work off on others, making excuses why they can't do more and invariably disappointing their supporters, time and time again.
It's not about talent, it's about effort.
This week "How We Heard It" is all about effort. While other artists might knock out a new album every few years, these artists are producing twice that output. Or while other artists are sticking to their established style (same themes, same sound), these super-producers are constantly exploring new ways to express themselves, tweaking and reinventing their art as they go and challenging their followers to keep up.
The same goes for live shows: Some artists are constantly on tour, giving their all on stage night after night. Others rarely tour - and when they do, they just phone it in.
Not surprisingly, effort and success don't exactly overlap. (Life is never fair, is it?) Some of the most ordinary artists generate the biggest sales, draw the most fans and win the most awards while some extraordinary artists struggle on the edge of obscurity.
Yet every now and then, the brightest and hardest working artists will be among the most popular.
Where do your favorites rank? "How We Heard It" takes a look at everyone from Bob Dylan and Elton John to Kenny Chesney and Adele to Taylor Swift and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
Their conclusions might surprise you.
May 23
1 hr 25 min
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