Erotica with a Sense of Humor

 

Alice Levine, Jamie Morton, James Cooper

The following podcast contains adult themes, sexual content, and strong language. Basically, all the good stuff. -- My Dad Wrote a Porno disclaimer

My niece and I were on the train into New York City one Sunday a few years ago when we got to talking about podcasts.

I had developed a slight interest in podcasts and was beginning to establish what I liked to listen to.

The train came to a stop and we sat for a while in Valhalla, NY waiting for the delay to subside. 

Stephanie and I have similar senses of humor so as our podcast discussion carried on, she enlightened me about a favorite of hers.

She told me the title and I sat there, sort of stunned.

So, imagine your father has retired from his career but, instead of living a mundane life, elects to sit quietly and write a book. Then you discover your father's genre is, er, erotic literature. You're horrified but, for entertainment, you sit down with your mates and read a new chapter of your father's erotic novel.

Well, then, welcome to My Dad Wrote a Porno. The podcast debuted in Oct 2015 with Jamie Morton serving as the host of the show. It's Jamie's dad, writing under the pen name Rocky Flintstone, who is the author in question.

The books that Rocky wrote are part of a series that began with Belinda Blinked and evolved to Belinda Blinked 6.

Joining Jamie as hosts are his friends James Cooper and Alice Levine. The format of the show was always pretty simple. During each episode, Jamie would generally open and close the show as well as serve as the reader of his father's creation. Alice and James reacted with shock and hysterics as each chapter was dispersed.

Their hysterics were normally enough to reduce me to the same.

The creation of the podcast -- at least in theory -- seemed easy enough. There was a great theme song that literally every fan knows by heart and certainly, some editing was needed but, beyond that, there were never any "bells and whistles" to MDWAP.

Jamie would conjure up different voices for each character with varying results, especially when it came to accents. Alice and James would mock Rocky's writing skills, grammar, and punctuation and go down whatever rabbit hole they saw to add to the laughs. Also, Alice and James were known for making up little songs at times.

Now, here's the thing. As I've written, I'm hardly a prude (listening to this podcast should solidify that) but I tend to not write that kind of stuff on the blog. So I'll likely not be quoting much of the podcast here due to language and content. I also don't want to give away any spoilers.

Besides, if you're going to listen, you need to hear it fresh.

Normally, as each season reached its conclusion, Jamie would note that he'd open the next book and when the next podcast season would begin. As Belinda Blinked 6 came to a close, nothing was said about a new book.

Oh, there will be a new book but it will proceed without a podcast. Each host announced via social media that the end had arrived for the podcast.

The series, in fact, concluded a week ago. Jame, James, and Alice announced that the podcast had reached a point that, they felt, was a natural stopping point.

The show that I had come to call "The Porno Podcast" was over. The three hosts said that there is a future for My Dad Wrote a Porno but they can't announce what that next step is yet.

Indeed, what had started as an audio podcast had certainly evolved with over 430 million downloads. The books actually generated physical copies and merchandise before a stage show was created and even an HBO Special, which aired in 2019.

Fans had become known as "Belinkers" in honor of Belinda Blumenthal, the heroine of the books.

In fact, the stage show was on tour in London and had its first night there when I was in town in April 2022. I considered getting a ticket for myself but, considering I was in London with my Hunt Scanlon family, I didn't think it was appropriate. I settled for walking by the theater and smiling at the knowledge that the show was there.

Emma Thompson keeps the hosts honest

Along with the new chapters, the podcast included episodes called "Footnotes" which often had the hosts reading fan emails and chatting with some celebrities as well. Dan Levy and Emma Thompson were just two of the celebs to talk with Jamie, Alice, and James.

Following the final chapter reading, the trio released one last "Footnotes" episode with the author and legend himself, Rocky Flintstone. It was an enjoyable coda to listen to the creator of all of the ridiculousness discuss how it all came together.

In the end, the books and the podcast helped make father and son even closer and I'll always applaud that.

When you invest in listening to such a thing, the people involved become a part of your life. Alice was a BBC Radio DJ when I started listening to MDWAP so, of course, we have a certain kinship, though Levine has since moved on to TV.

But you get to know these people to an extent and they help you through long drives to and from work or while mowing the lawn or doing something else.

The laughs they generated won't be forgotten and, of course, the podcast itself will live on in archive form wherever you get your podcasts. It's not too late to start listening.

Prudes need not apply though. The language is salty and sharp though the content isn't quite as filthy as "erotic literature" might imply. There's a whole story to each book and, if anything, the "eroticism" is more comical than anything else.

Still, I can assure you that if you blush easily then you need to be prepared. I'm positive I blushed and uttered my fair share of groans at the more painful passages in each book.

I was grateful for each season of MDWAP and I'm sorry that they've stopped the podcast. Still, time moves on.

I look forward to whatever they do next.