A few years ago, Jonnie Park started his podcast, Fun With Dumb (a play on his rap name, Dumbfoundead). I remember listening to episode nine when it came out several years ago and really enjoying it. With Jonnie at the helm, the podcast went on for over 300 episodes and gathered a loyal fanbase. Along the way, he invited Steffie Baik and Rick Lee to be his co-hosts. 

Still, structured as it was, the podcast wasn’t financially sustainable and Jonnie drew it to a close last year. Fun With Dumb was one of my favorite podcasts, and the three of them clearly had something special, so this was tough news for me.

A few days ago, the three of them came back together and published the first episode of a new podcast entitled, Homeroom. Most importantly, they started it as equal partners.

What also stood out to me was how, in the first few minutes of the new podcast, they all agreed that life without the pod was tough. 

The trio recorded Fun With Dumb at Jonnie’s house, so whenever he passed the room he felt sad. 

Without the podcast as an outlet, Rick talked his wife’s ears off, so she’s happy he started it back up. 

The same happened to Steffie with her ex-boyfriend, and she believes not having the podcast as a creative outlet played a factor in the relationship not working out.

It’s an insight I’ll be applying to my own podcast with my friend Hamza, New Material.

I’m really glad this new podcast exists. If you think the idea of rappers bringing a therapist into their entourage for a tour is interesting, you’ll like this podcast.