Smoke Gets In Your Ears

It has been one year since Don Draper offered to buy the world a Coke, one year since the end of Mad Men, and most importantly, one year since the end of Smoke Gets in Your Ears: A Mad Men Podcast. What have Arlo (yeah, he goes by Arlo now), Kenn, and Joe been up to since last you heard from them? What do we think of Don's final epiphany, a year removed from the hype surrounding it? How do the first and last episodes of the show compare? Plus, don't miss a very special Hamm Watch!

Grab your most cherished JC Penney bag, down a case of cheap beer, and try to be open to the final episode of Smoke Gets in Your Ears. For the last time, AJ, Kenn, and Joe set their sights on our favorite Madison Avenue advertising executives and all their assorted hopes and dreams. In discussing the Mad Men series finale "Person to Person," the boys talk about everyone's attempts to break the cycle, the ever-present theme of renewal, and whether or not Dick Whitman's final epiphany is a cynical one. It's been a long ride; hopefully, we found our waitress. Thank you for listening. Plus, don't miss the series finale of Hamm Watch!

For the penultimate installment of Smoke Gets in Your Ears, AJ, Kenn, and Joe take "The Milk and Honey Route," on which our characters begin to find themselves. Pete takes a job interview and gets more than he expected. Betty goes to class and learns more than she bargained for. Don stops in Kansas and gets to teach a lesson. It's as if, with only one episode left, the confused and frustrated citizens of Mad Men are inching nearer and nearer to something like self-acceptance. It's about time. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

In the pre-penultimate (?) episode of Mad Men, "Lost Horizon," Don takes a ride, Peggy rollerskates to Roger's organ accompaniment, and Joan attempts to burn it all down. AJ, Kenn, and Joe discuss the SC&P gang's anonymity at McCann, whether or not we've seen certain of our characters take their curtain calls, and just where the hell Don thinks he's going. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Like "Shut the Door. Have a Seat" and "For Immediate Release" before it, "Time & Life" signals a time of great change in the lives of the Sterling Cooper gang. Can Don and the others pull off yet another gambit to save the agency? Why does this feel so familiar and yet so different? AJ, Kenn, and Joe explore these questions and what they mean at this point in the show's life. Meanwhile, Peggy and Stan have a heart-to-heart, and Pete deals with a weird old money blood feud. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

What does the future hold? Where does Don Draper see himself going? Where does Mad Men see itself going? These questions and more are speculated upon in this week's Smoke Gets in Your Ears as AJ, Kenn, and Joe discuss "The Forecast." Glen stops by the Francis manse, Mathis is in dire need of a bar of soap, Don oozes, and the gang analyzes the average viewer's response to the season. One thing's for certain: this was a much, much better episode than last week's. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

It's finally happened. Matthew Weiner & Co. finally turned in an episode of Mad Men that AJ, Kenn, and Joe simply don't like. Well, not simply; this show never does anything simply. There are good things in "New Business," which is mostly about old business, including a parade of Don's past lovers and the return of Megan. It's the new business itself, Don's dalliance with waitress Diana, which proves more of a problem. The gang discusses whether this is the show just spinning its wheels, trying something new, or building to something greater. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Mad Men is back on the air for its final seven episodes! AJ, Kenn, and Joe are here to guide you into the homestretch, finding yet new facets of Don's existential quandaries to plumb. On "Severance," the season 7B/season 8 premiere, Don is visited by a familiar face, Peggy loves veal, and Ken is gonna kill Pete. The gang also discusses viewers' (and our hosts') expectations for this final run of episodes, and whether or not Don's end will live up to them. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Well, they've finally done it, those mad men. AJ, Kenn, and Joe are now all caught up with Mad Men. As they discuss the season 7A finale, "Waterloo," the gang discusses how much it feels like a series finale (except for a few major loose threads), the beautiful way Matthew Weiner & Co. say goodbye to a long-time character, and what that last scene means for the final seven episodes. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

This week on Smoke Gets in Your Ears, AJ, Kenn, and Joe do it their way while discussing the penultimate episode of Mad Men season 7A, "The Strategy." As the gang at Sterling Cooper & Partners dances their way to the end of the '60s, Don and Peggy finally have it out; Pete and Trudy's relationship (or lack thereof) comes to a head; and Bob gets closer than ever to Joan. So many subplots have a button put on them that this may as well have been a season finale...but no, there's still one more episode before Mad Men returns to the air. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Now that they're in the home stretch, with Mad Men season 7B premiering on April 5, AJ, Kenn, and Joe have moved to discussing just one episode per podcast. This week, that episode is "The Runaways," in which everyone is trying (to various degrees of success) to run from authority. There's Don trying to rout his partners, Betty attempting to assert independence from Henry, and...Ginsberg v. computer? This episode goes to some dark, strange places, and your hosts are on hand to make sense of it all. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

For the final podcast discussing multiple episodes of the show, AJ, Kenn, and Joe continue their analysis of Mad Men season 7 by discussing whether or not Don, or anyone on the show, has any hope of attaining redemption. Once you've bottomed out, can you climb your way back up? The gang tries to find answers by taking a look at "Field Trip," wherein Betty drinks milk; and "The Monolith," in which the other couch is full of farts. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

At long last, AJ, Kenn, and Joe have reached the seventh (and current!) season of Mad Men. If the sixth season was about echoes of the firm's and the series' past reverberating in new circumstances, season 7 begins with the characters in the midst of great change. This week, the gang sets their sights on the first two episodes of the season: "Time Zones," in which Lou is immune to Peggy's charms; and "A Day's Work," wherein Bert is all for the national advancement of colored people. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

During season 6 of Mad Men, the gang at Sterling Cooper & Partners found themselves with much to lose. What, then, do they stand to gain? AJ, Kenn, and Joe are on hand to discuss just that as they take a look at the sixth season finale, "In Care Of." Pete's absurd new highs (or lows, depending on how you look at it) are detailed at length, Don's affection for Hershey bars is expounded upon, and the boys analyze the finale's great final scene. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

For the penultimate episode discussing Mad Men season 6 (and the final episode discussing three hours of the series), AJ, Kenn, and Joe get serious about Sunkist. Well, among other things. The episodes under discussion are "A Tale of Two Cities," in which Don takes a dive; "Favors," wherein Sally discovers model UN is just the worst; and "The Quality of Mercy," in which Ken Cosgrove becomes an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Things get startlingly revelatory on Smoke Gets in Your Ears this week, as AJ, Kenn, and Joe make a major discovery about a very important character. As they continue their way through season 6, they take a look at "Man with a Plan," in which Don and Ted are in for a bumpy ride; "The Crash," wherein the gang gets their shots; and "The Better Half," in which Peggy makes a kebab. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Our white, monied gang gets prepared for some major status quo changes as AJ, Kenn, and Joe continue their discussion of Mad Men season 6. The three episodes under review are "To Have and to Hold," in which things swing; "The Flood," wherein Paul Newman's speech is rudely interrupted; and "For Immediate Release," in which a whole bunch of letters get thrown together. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

Mad Men season 6: the jumping-off point. AJ, Kenn, and Joe begin their discussion of the show's sixth season by discussing the two-part premiere "The Doorway," in which, yes, there is a metric shit-ton of doorway symbolism; and "Collaborators," wherein Beans and Ketchup are emphatically not two tastes that taste great together. There's much talk of Don's new fatalistic bent, the Dawn Summers-like introduction of Bob Benson, and the addition of Linda Cardellini as another (but quite different) Draper mistress. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

With "The Phantom," Mad Men season 5 draws to a close in surprisingly bleak fashion for what at first seemed like an optimistic, enlightened year for the gang at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. AJ, Kenn, and Joe discuss the bitterly ironic endings for each character, what doesn't exactly work about the finale, whether or not subtlety is overrated, and what the future may hold for our favorite ad men and women. Plus, don't miss another exciting installment of Hamm Watch!

AJ, Kenn, and Joe ring in the new year by chronicling the most devastating string of episodes season 5, and perhaps the entirety of Mad Men, has to offer. Those under discussion are "Christmas Waltz," in which the Negrons pick cotton for the Caucasons; "The Other Woman," wherein Joan rides a Jaguar; and "Commissions and Fees," in which the agency is forced to raise (then lower) its Pryces.