February 10, 2009

From: The Lebowski Podcast
www.lebowskipodcast.com
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Married couple celebrates the two-year anniversary of their internationally-known project, The Lebowski Podcast.

When he was a bachelor, Ben Ranfeld’s friends used to come over to his apartment once a month to watch their favorite movie, The Big Lebowski. The cult film has such a huge following that it has prompted the writing of books, an academic symposium in Louisville, KY, and a series of festivals that are attended by thousands every year.

After each monthly viewing, Ben and his friends – and eventually his wife Liz – would talk about the movie for hours. It didn’t take long to discover that there were people all over the country who loved to talk Lebowski, especially online. Ben, who is known in the Lebowski world as “Chalupa,” realized that there were no podcasts dedicated to the movie, even though there were podcasts all about far less interesting topics. Taking a line from the movie, Ben declared, “This will not stand, man!” and decided to start his own. That was over two years ago.

Since then, the podcast has become a popular fixture in the Lebowski subculture. Ben and Liz, along with a number of friends and professional acquaintances, record monthly episodes addressing as many elements of the film as possible. In their first year, guests included a number of notable Indiana residents, including Taylor University professors Dr. Beulah Baker (who addressed feminism and Lebowski) and Dr. Jim Spiegel (who spoke about the philosophy of Dudeism). For their one-year anniversary episode, Liz and Ben traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to interview the founders of the Lebowski Fests, Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt about cult films. Shortly after, they interviewed Ed Commentale from Indiana University and Aaron Jaffe of the University of Louisville, whose book of academic papers about The Big Lebowski will be released in 2009.

The past year has also featured a number of highlights, including:

• A mention in a Slate.com article, leading to 13,000 downloads for the month of September.

• An ever-growing number of monthly downloads, currently averaging about 6,000.

• An interview with filmmaker Eddie Chung, who directed The Achievers, featured on the 10^th Anniversary DVD of the movie.

• Special licensing to include original music by the Steepwater Band on the podcast.

• A guest interview with Whitney Matheson, columnist of USA Today’s “Pop Candy.”

• Ben’s gig writing for Dudespaper, the online publication of Dudeism.

• 24,000 hits to www.lebowskipodcast.com.

• Special guest Jim Hoosier, who played Jesus’s bowling partner Liam in the film.

Future plans for The Lebowski Podcast include more excellent guest speakers, interviews with artists and musicians who are fans of the film, and special Listener Spotlights celebrating the podcast’s biggest fans and best listeners.

For more information about The Lebowski Podcast, visit www.lebowskipodcast.com. The website features downloadable episodes, merchandise, a collection of Lebowski-related links, and an all-Lebowski blog.

Contact information:

Ben Ranfeld
www.lebowskipodcast.com
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