{"podcast":{"title":"New Zealand Net Radio","slug":"new-zealand-net-radio-7869194","podcast_index_feed_id":7869194,"rss_url":"https://www.nznetradio.net.nz/podcast-feed-licensed.php","website_url":"https://www.nznetradio.net.nz","image_url":"https://www.nznetradio.net.nz/podcast-artwork/nznetradio-podcast-cover-1400.jpg","author":"New Zealand Net Radio","episode_count":41,"summary":"Recorded programmes and themed mixes from New Zealand Net Radio.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-24T02:21:06.537898+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-zealand-net-radio-7869194"},"episode":{"title":"Musical Musings: Five of the Best - Toad the Wet Sprocket","slug":"musical-musings-five-of-the-best-toad-the-wet-sprocket","published_at":"2026-08-05T02:55:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-zealand-net-radio-7869194/musical-musings-five-of-the-best-toad-the-wet-sprocket","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-zealand-net-radio-7869194","url":"https://www.nznetradio.net.nz/podcast/#ep-82","audio_url":"https://www.nznetradio.net.nz/podcast-audio/Musical-Musings-Five-of-the-Best---Toad-the-Wet-Sprocket-2026-08-05-1455-licensed.m4a","summary":"For this edition, Ken Cheshire champions a band whose ridiculous name (lifted from a Monty Python sketch Eric Idle designed to be “so silly nobody would ever use it”) has always undersold the quiet brilliance underneath. High-school friends from Santa Barbara — Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols, Dean Dinning and Randy Guss — they made warm, jangly, thoughtful alt-rock that could land a knockout blow by playing softly, with two platinum albums in Fear and Dulcinea. What makes Ken’s five so satisfying is that they quietly tell the band’s whole story: the gorgeous hit “Walk on the Ocean,” the platinum peak of “Crowing,” a genuine rarity in “Are We Afraid,” the pre-hiatus “Whatever I Fear,” and the fan-funded 2013 comeback “Is There Anyone Out There.” Breakthrough, peak, rarity, farewell and return — a fan’s love letter in five songs. Broadcast 5 August 2026","meta_description":"For this edition, Ken Cheshire champions a band whose ridiculous name (lifted from a Monty Python sketch Eric Idle designed to be “so silly nobody would e…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3671,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-zealand-net-radio-7869194/episodes/musical-musings-five-of-the-best-toad-the-wet-sprocket/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-zealand-net-radio-7869194/musical-musings-five-of-the-best-toad-the-wet-sprocket.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}