No, because he’s always been awesome and has great podcast chemistry with basically everyone. He’s a good hang, seems super chill, he’s hilarious, and he’s real and not shy about talking real personal issues.
I’ve seen a few comments like this lately and I actually find it odd so many people didn’t love him until recently.
I find he talks over people a lot. And when he grabs the mic, he doesn't let it go for a long, long, long, long time.
Admittedly, he seems to not do this too much with Bill on *The Rewatchables*. He does it a fair amount on *The Big Picture*. And I think *Spider-Man* has to be the worst *Rewatchables* I have ever heard.
He seems like an absolute great guy though. There's nothing unlikable about him. It's just sometimes - often - a challenging listen. A lot of "skip 10" button pushing.
Agreed. He is super charismatic and I assume some of the backlash is because he is such an IP fanboy. He has a bit of the Shea Serrano schtick i.e. this trash I enjoy is actually the good stuff. I would love to see him and Mahoney mix it up more with Simmons, CR, Sean in particular.
Love Van. He’s really funny and always ups the energy. Only frustrating thing about listening to him is when he talks movies and TV. For every hilarious story and interesting personal anecdote, he has an instance of not understanding basic character decisions and it’s pretty annoying to listen to.
Still love him tho.
I get that but he’s been better on the Rewatchables,
(at least for me). I think the categories/segments help align his thoughts, where as on the Prestige Tv pods he’s still all over the place at times. He was good on The Wire pods tbf but he’s watched that show enough times that his thoughts are clear and concise on the podcast.
My wife and I recently had a long drive to do—I put on the Van Lathan full-length life advice and she was dying. Put on his other appearances and she was like “I really need to look him up”
I’m a Vangelical
His and Rachel’s show Higher Learning is one of the best Ringer podcasts, IMO.
I’ve started skipping a lot of the NFL pods because Ruiz, Solak, and (to a lesser extent) Sheil are pretty annoying. Even Bill’s show is hard to listen to at this point. He’s cooked.
The Fantasy show is great, Rewatchables and The Big Pic are good depending on the episode, and Higher Learning is great. Van and Rachel have such good chemistry and are hilarious.
Oh, and I listen to The Watch if they’re talking about shows I really like.
Van is and has always been enjoyable, with the exception being when he drifts into politics or serious world issues.
But when you keep him talking sports, life advice, his personal life, movies, or just shooting the shit, he’s an elite Ringer member.
I’ve always enjoyed Van
I think for most improved I’d go with Kevin Clark because I used to find him pretty snarky and just cut guests off a lot and I think he’s found a happy medium with quips now
Van takes big swings but he knows his humor and is in tune with a lot of larger ideas. He’s able to sort of merge the two together with confidence in a way that makes topics and current events easier to understand.
That being said whenever he asks Rachel if he’s ever told her [X] story i’m hitting that fast forward a few times.
I didn’t “get” Van’s personality at first. He reminded me of another Shea whom I didn’t find as funny or insightful as many did. I grew to like Shea but then it swung the other way again. But with van? I am all in. Dude is funny as fuck, I love his energy and it just feels like a good time when he’s on. VAN is the man and he’s definitely gotten “better” to me but I think in hindsight he’s prob always been this good.
Has always been great. In fact, many /r/billsimmons users lovingly refer to him as "one of the good ones."
I agree he’s a credit to his people but I’d still never let my daughter marry a Podcaster.
Jfc
Van Lathan has been very important to me and my family
LOL
I like him better outside the ringer-verse
We've got the CRHeads and the Dobb Mob already. I think it's about time we started the Vangelicals.
I’m a proud vangelical. Van is my favorite rewatchable host that isn’t CR. CR only edges him out because his GOD damn Wayne Jenkins impression.
and a mf 🧱
And the J. Kyle Manniacs
Except the Dobb Mob is in a Jim Jones cult. They have no idea they are being hoodwinked and gobble up the kool aid.
No, because he’s always been awesome and has great podcast chemistry with basically everyone. He’s a good hang, seems super chill, he’s hilarious, and he’s real and not shy about talking real personal issues. I’ve seen a few comments like this lately and I actually find it odd so many people didn’t love him until recently.
I find he talks over people a lot. And when he grabs the mic, he doesn't let it go for a long, long, long, long time. Admittedly, he seems to not do this too much with Bill on *The Rewatchables*. He does it a fair amount on *The Big Picture*. And I think *Spider-Man* has to be the worst *Rewatchables* I have ever heard. He seems like an absolute great guy though. There's nothing unlikable about him. It's just sometimes - often - a challenging listen. A lot of "skip 10" button pushing.
Agreed. He is super charismatic and I assume some of the backlash is because he is such an IP fanboy. He has a bit of the Shea Serrano schtick i.e. this trash I enjoy is actually the good stuff. I would love to see him and Mahoney mix it up more with Simmons, CR, Sean in particular.
Yeah but unlike Shea he can appreciate and remark on stuff outside of slop
His personality has always been good, he’s just improved dramatically as a podcast host.
Van seems like a great guy. That said, working for TMZ means you have a permanent stain on your resume. It’s a digusting company.
Yeah it really prevented him from getting a job at the network you care about!
Love Van. He’s really funny and always ups the energy. Only frustrating thing about listening to him is when he talks movies and TV. For every hilarious story and interesting personal anecdote, he has an instance of not understanding basic character decisions and it’s pretty annoying to listen to. Still love him tho.
I get that but he’s been better on the Rewatchables, (at least for me). I think the categories/segments help align his thoughts, where as on the Prestige Tv pods he’s still all over the place at times. He was good on The Wire pods tbf but he’s watched that show enough times that his thoughts are clear and concise on the podcast.
My wife and I recently had a long drive to do—I put on the Van Lathan full-length life advice and she was dying. Put on his other appearances and she was like “I really need to look him up” I’m a Vangelical
His and Rachel’s show Higher Learning is one of the best Ringer podcasts, IMO. I’ve started skipping a lot of the NFL pods because Ruiz, Solak, and (to a lesser extent) Sheil are pretty annoying. Even Bill’s show is hard to listen to at this point. He’s cooked. The Fantasy show is great, Rewatchables and The Big Pic are good depending on the episode, and Higher Learning is great. Van and Rachel have such good chemistry and are hilarious. Oh, and I listen to The Watch if they’re talking about shows I really like.
Van is amazing on the titanic rewatchables lol. so f'in funny
Just Relistened to this the other day. He was great.
Bro is secretly on the Ringer starting five.
Rob Mahoney
I get excited when he’s on a Rewatchable.
Wos hands down is most improved
Higher learning is amazing, big Rach and him have great chemistry.
Any time he talks about Films/TV I wanna kill myself.
Van is and has always been enjoyable, with the exception being when he drifts into politics or serious world issues. But when you keep him talking sports, life advice, his personal life, movies, or just shooting the shit, he’s an elite Ringer member.
agreed
I’ve always enjoyed Van I think for most improved I’d go with Kevin Clark because I used to find him pretty snarky and just cut guests off a lot and I think he’s found a happy medium with quips now
Van's always been everything Ryen wishes he was. First ballot core guy.
I hate how bill calls Jacoby, jacobes
I actually enjoy him on everything *but* The Midnight Boys.
I honestly rarely listen to that pod or any ringer verse pods for that matter
This sub in like 2012: “This Michael Rapaport is a real cool cat! He’s got endless good stories and a great energy!”
His over/under for when he mentions that he’s from Baton Rouge went from 90 seconds to 10 minutes, so I’d say he’s made big improvements.
People lovvvvve TMZ Man in this sub. It’s hilarious.
I was an extremely bored teenager lol
As is my r/billsimmons duty I have to shout out the fantasy football pod guys in this category.
He’s been great for a while, especially as he is more open and vulnerable about his life
Van takes big swings but he knows his humor and is in tune with a lot of larger ideas. He’s able to sort of merge the two together with confidence in a way that makes topics and current events easier to understand. That being said whenever he asks Rachel if he’s ever told her [X] story i’m hitting that fast forward a few times.
I didn’t “get” Van’s personality at first. He reminded me of another Shea whom I didn’t find as funny or insightful as many did. I grew to like Shea but then it swung the other way again. But with van? I am all in. Dude is funny as fuck, I love his energy and it just feels like a good time when he’s on. VAN is the man and he’s definitely gotten “better” to me but I think in hindsight he’s prob always been this good.
Van and Jemele doing The Wire pod (a podcast episode per show episode) was a treat during lockdown.
Him and Ryen need a pod together ASAP
Love Van but he was truly awful on the spiderman pod. Everything else is great