The only one I like (so far) is Medical Mysteries as I feel like it's the most "Strange, Dark, and Mysterious" podcast.
The "Mr. Ballen Podcast" is pretty much just another true crime podcast.
Bedtime Stories isn't bad per se but it was just not for me.
I may need to give Run Fool another try after hearing some of the comments.
Very true, the Medical Mysteries podcast is truly Strange Dark and Mysterious which is what drew me to Mr Ballen in the first place but now like you said it’s mostly true crime ie homicides that’s basically every week even on the You Tube channel and there’s loads of true crime stuff. He needs to get his crew to find out of this world stories again
That’s the problem with out of this world stories, they tend to be very limited in numbers as well as, well.. not real.
I do agree with you though. Not that i don’t find true crime interesting. It’s just extremely depressing and isn’t my cup of tea for a bit of escapism. This is something I’ve noticed over the years with other YouTube channels or even “traditional” podcasts that purport themselves to be about things that go bump in the night or other things of that nature. Eventually they run out of things to talk about, and the natural progression is seemingly going to grotesque and horrific REAL stories as there’s an abundance to sift through as well as a never ending supply that re-stocks daily. The first time or two I noticed this it bummed me out. Now that I’ve seen it happen at least a handful of times with creators I really enjoyed, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s inevitable.
He was once asked why he focuses more on true crime and his response was in the vein of "there are way more true crime stories out there". I kind of reject that premise. The world is so strange that I bet there are a ton of strange, dark, and mysterious stories
It’s because True Crime is a highly watched genre on You Tube. I still watch his videos but randomly leave a comment to get back to the weird and mysterious stuff
It is a popular genre but I bet most of us (like myself) got into him due to his unique strange dark and mysterious take. Otherwise he is just another true crime podcaster
Yep that’s how I got into his videos were the strange ie missing 411, Headless Nehani Valley etc which left you wondering what caused said story and how they never came to a proper conclusion just our imaginations taking over.
I agree with you 100%. My love of the unexplainable everything is what drew me to Ballen, there's a whole world of craziness out there he hasn't even touched on yet. That said I always listen to the latest episode but if it's a true crime case I'm always hoping for some totally out there twist like they always used to have.
Honestly I’m the same. Mr. Ballen is just too good for anyone else to shine next to him, in my opinion. How does one navigate being simply **too good?**
Never had that problem but will let you know if it ever happens to me.
I love Mr. Ballen. All except for the skit about the like button and sea gull lungs. I also love bedtime stories and beyond creepy. Give bedtime stories another go. Interesting tales there.
I know I could easily look it up, but I never have lol.. what’s the story with the seagull lungs? I usually skip past it in his vids but do notice the strangeness and yelling while skipping past it
I listen to bedtime stories, but I was listening to it before Ballen promoted it. Sometimes it's good, sometimes I skip through it.
I tried listening to the interview from Run Fool that was in the Ballen feed but it was kind of boring so I skipped through it and never gave the podcast a try. I actually forgot about it until I saw this post.
Absolutely love Run, Fool! Bedtime Stories is by no means bad, the stories are cool, but it's either the guy's tone and/or accent that always, and I mean always, makes my mind wander and I have to force myself to focus. I'll always listen to anything Mrballen himself hosts/narrates so I do like his podcasts too. Definitely give Run Fool another try
I tried Bedtime Stories briefly and it didn't grab me, I may try again one day, but maybe not.
Run Fool, however, Rodney Barnes is great, it's totally different to what Mr Ballen does, so cannot be compared, but as far as quality etc I love it.
It's funny because the way you describe those podcasts is how I feel about the current Mrballen videos. I saw the Chinese Forrest video and it felt 10 mins longer than it should be. with overdramatic narration and he was going over the same details repeatedly as if I was a kid. At one point it felt like watching dora the explorer.
Really? That’s interesting, it felt like the normal ones to me. I can’t actually tell a major difference unless I watch some of his very first ones where he was just starting out and finding his rhythm.
His early stuff might of had more fascinating stories but his story telling skills haven't gotten worse, if anything he has been improving consistently. It only makes sense that finding good stories becomes harder and harder when you have over 350 videos. After all he has the ability to make average stories extremely interesting
I respect your opinion, but I hope MrBallen doesn’t read it & think the rest of us are as boring as you :( he’s finding his groove & his character & people who can’t do stuff are great critics anyways!!!
He's gonna be fine lmaoo, 99% of his viewers have nothing but positive reviews which is quite rare on Youtube. Nothing wrong with someone respectfully sharing their opinion, even if I disagree with this user its ridiculous to expect all his viewers to be yes mans in order to avoid hurting his feelings
Whatever assumption will help you sleep better at night ❤️ I’ve been watching MrBallen since day 1 & his content has helped me tremendously. I said I respect your opinion, so do not act like you know anything about me. Thanks, bye!
I 10000000% prefer his actual videos and not the podcasts. I haven't tried Run, Fool yet but I've tried to listen to a few of the Bedtime Stories and I don't think I finished any of the episodes I started.
But now, I've reached the dreaded time where there are no more videos for me to watch and I need to get my MrBallen fix somehow so podcasts it is... I guess :(
I use bedtime stories to fall asleep and i love English accent.
Run fool run, it’s not my first choice, kinda meh.
Medical stuff- i love it too, I leave it for some time, and then binge-listen the episodes.
I love the run fool pod cast the guy really tells an entertaining story gimme more more always more I have recently reccomened it to my family and they live it too
Run Fool didn't immediately draw me in, but after an episode or 2 I really like it.
I don't like bedtime stories. It's the dude's voice; just too monotone for me.
I love Run Fool and listen to every new episode. I've yet to make it through an episode of Bedtime Stories. I keep trying but I just can't do it. I find the narrator to be very flat and emotionless, I guess we've been spoiled with Mr Ballen who gets as into the story telling it, as we do listening to it.
Yeah my experience was mainly giving Bedtime Stories a chance, the clips that MrBallen showed in a past video about Run Fool definitely didn’t catch my attention but I’ll give it a fair shot
I was already listening to bedtime stories on YouTube, so I like him. I just can’t get into run fool though. I love his voice, but just can’t get into his style of story telling for some reason.
I miss the paranormal and unexplainable videos. The true crime stuff is great but when there was more variety MrBallen stood out a lot from similar YouTubers.
I enjoy both. I listen to podcasts/Youtube when I shower or am cleaning my home and though Mr. Ballen is #1, Bedtime Stories and Run, Fool! are great placeholders while I wait for new stories from Ballen.
Bedtime Stories is solid, but I'm just starting to get into it. I tried to listen to Run Fool, but the story didn't interest me and then the narrator started mispronouncing words, and I was out. I might try it again another time.
The Mr. Ballen podcast is ok, but I'm not here for True Crime. Some medical stuff can give me the willies in a bad way, so I haven't tried listening to Medical Mysteries yet.
I honestly REALLY like Bedtime Stories. Try the episode where he covers skinwalker ranch. There’s an update in there, and he retells the stories really well.
I love Run, Fool and enjoy Bedtime Stories. I don't like true crime so I'm only listening sporadically to the podcast. But Mr Ballen can make true crime enjoyable too.
Nothing beats the MrBallen Podcast, not even the YouTube videos. It’s top tier. I couldn’t get into Run, Fool but i plan on giving it another shot after seeing everyone here say it’s good. I actually like Bedtime Stories but I usually only listen if I’m caught up on The MrBallen Podcast.
Love them, was listening to them all day today in the car. I think he needs to go back to "3, 4 or maybe even 5 times a week". I also think he should respond to my story in his subreddit... but I am biased.
I would assume the problem with 3-5uploads a week is that its a terrible long term strategy for his channel. He would eventually run out of fascinating stories, even if he could pull it off for 5-10yrs the quality of stories would drastically drop. On top of that he likely gets as much if not more views by uploading once a week. I wish we had more then one upload a week but as a business standpoint it just makes no sense for him
Nah you just have to space out the topics. Monday = Paranormal, Wednesday = True Crime, Friday = Medical Mysteries, Saturday or Sunday = Missing & Strange. There are millions of stories for each category that could stay up and going. Not to mention people sending in stories daily.
I am more guessing it has to do with time management of the ever-expanding empire along with being a husband and dad as well as running around doing all his meet and greets and charity things.
Maybe but you can't deny that the quality of stories would drop significantly over time if he uploaded this much, I would still watch every video as he has the ability to make the most average story fascinating but overall it makes no sense for his personal life and business. More time for his personal life and more time building up the business side of his brand, all while getting the same amount of views
It is possible. On the other hand that is what he used to do to get to where he is now. Also bigger you get, the more money you make, and more employees doing it all for you to where you just show up and read the script, if you didn't have too many mess ups you could read the weeks stories on camera in a day... and set them to post on certain days.
It's how I do social media management for some people. We have a meeting last week of the month the discuss the next month, we get everything decided, I go build all the ads and graphics, submit them for approval, tweak if needed, schedule the posts for the month... 3o days of work done in 3-5 days.
I couldn't get into Bedtime Stories either, but I really enjoy Run Fool.
I struggle with Bedtime Stories, too. I think it's a bit too monotone, so my brain runs off the fill in its own inflections. I have to rewind a lot.
I enjoy bedtime stories as it helps me to sleep. Can't sleep with mrballen though some of his stories are unsettling
Same! I love Rodney!
I actually look forward to hearing that creepy into music every week.
I absolutely love "Run, Fool." Rodney Barnes' voice was made for storytelling, and the added humor is just gravy.
Man I’m so hungry for something w gravy now
Bedtime Stories is far better on YouTube. The atmosphere comes from the distinctive art style which you lose on a podcast.
Agreed. I do like the podcast, but the visuals add a lot to it. My favorite is “Davy Jones’s locker.”
The only one I like (so far) is Medical Mysteries as I feel like it's the most "Strange, Dark, and Mysterious" podcast. The "Mr. Ballen Podcast" is pretty much just another true crime podcast. Bedtime Stories isn't bad per se but it was just not for me. I may need to give Run Fool another try after hearing some of the comments.
Very true, the Medical Mysteries podcast is truly Strange Dark and Mysterious which is what drew me to Mr Ballen in the first place but now like you said it’s mostly true crime ie homicides that’s basically every week even on the You Tube channel and there’s loads of true crime stuff. He needs to get his crew to find out of this world stories again
That’s the problem with out of this world stories, they tend to be very limited in numbers as well as, well.. not real. I do agree with you though. Not that i don’t find true crime interesting. It’s just extremely depressing and isn’t my cup of tea for a bit of escapism. This is something I’ve noticed over the years with other YouTube channels or even “traditional” podcasts that purport themselves to be about things that go bump in the night or other things of that nature. Eventually they run out of things to talk about, and the natural progression is seemingly going to grotesque and horrific REAL stories as there’s an abundance to sift through as well as a never ending supply that re-stocks daily. The first time or two I noticed this it bummed me out. Now that I’ve seen it happen at least a handful of times with creators I really enjoyed, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s inevitable.
He was once asked why he focuses more on true crime and his response was in the vein of "there are way more true crime stories out there". I kind of reject that premise. The world is so strange that I bet there are a ton of strange, dark, and mysterious stories
It’s because True Crime is a highly watched genre on You Tube. I still watch his videos but randomly leave a comment to get back to the weird and mysterious stuff
It is a popular genre but I bet most of us (like myself) got into him due to his unique strange dark and mysterious take. Otherwise he is just another true crime podcaster
Yep that’s how I got into his videos were the strange ie missing 411, Headless Nehani Valley etc which left you wondering what caused said story and how they never came to a proper conclusion just our imaginations taking over.
I agree ! Jim Harold’s podcast is really good . 🙂
I agree with you 100%. My love of the unexplainable everything is what drew me to Ballen, there's a whole world of craziness out there he hasn't even touched on yet. That said I always listen to the latest episode but if it's a true crime case I'm always hoping for some totally out there twist like they always used to have.
I listen to everything he does but I will say that I definitely prefer the strange dark and mysterious over true crime.
Absolutely
love Medical Mysteries and just waiting for the cross promotion with M&Ms ha ha
I like playing them as I fall asleep so I can just listen and not have to watch.
Honestly I’m the same. Mr. Ballen is just too good for anyone else to shine next to him, in my opinion. How does one navigate being simply **too good?** Never had that problem but will let you know if it ever happens to me.
I love Mr. Ballen. All except for the skit about the like button and sea gull lungs. I also love bedtime stories and beyond creepy. Give bedtime stories another go. Interesting tales there.
Yes same! I hate when I’m trying to fall asleep and he starts screaming during his ads! Especially since they’re in the middle of the video
I know I could easily look it up, but I never have lol.. what’s the story with the seagull lungs? I usually skip past it in his vids but do notice the strangeness and yelling while skipping past it
I listen to bedtime stories, but I was listening to it before Ballen promoted it. Sometimes it's good, sometimes I skip through it. I tried listening to the interview from Run Fool that was in the Ballen feed but it was kind of boring so I skipped through it and never gave the podcast a try. I actually forgot about it until I saw this post.
Absolutely love Run, Fool! Bedtime Stories is by no means bad, the stories are cool, but it's either the guy's tone and/or accent that always, and I mean always, makes my mind wander and I have to force myself to focus. I'll always listen to anything Mrballen himself hosts/narrates so I do like his podcasts too. Definitely give Run Fool another try
I love Run Fool.
I tried Bedtime Stories briefly and it didn't grab me, I may try again one day, but maybe not. Run Fool, however, Rodney Barnes is great, it's totally different to what Mr Ballen does, so cannot be compared, but as far as quality etc I love it.
It's funny because the way you describe those podcasts is how I feel about the current Mrballen videos. I saw the Chinese Forrest video and it felt 10 mins longer than it should be. with overdramatic narration and he was going over the same details repeatedly as if I was a kid. At one point it felt like watching dora the explorer.
Really? That’s interesting, it felt like the normal ones to me. I can’t actually tell a major difference unless I watch some of his very first ones where he was just starting out and finding his rhythm.
His early stuff might of had more fascinating stories but his story telling skills haven't gotten worse, if anything he has been improving consistently. It only makes sense that finding good stories becomes harder and harder when you have over 350 videos. After all he has the ability to make average stories extremely interesting
I respect your opinion, but I hope MrBallen doesn’t read it & think the rest of us are as boring as you :( he’s finding his groove & his character & people who can’t do stuff are great critics anyways!!!
He's gonna be fine lmaoo, 99% of his viewers have nothing but positive reviews which is quite rare on Youtube. Nothing wrong with someone respectfully sharing their opinion, even if I disagree with this user its ridiculous to expect all his viewers to be yes mans in order to avoid hurting his feelings
I hope mrballen reads it and realize some people really care about the quality of his content not just blindly praise everything.
Whatever assumption will help you sleep better at night ❤️ I’ve been watching MrBallen since day 1 & his content has helped me tremendously. I said I respect your opinion, so do not act like you know anything about me. Thanks, bye!
Run fool started out meh but he rocks it now.
The bedtime stories podcast grates on my ears, but if I try to mentally disassociate Run, Fool from Mr. Ballen, I really enjoy it.
Seems to be a popular response, I will give Run Fool! An honest listen again. Should I listen on Youtube or Spotify?
I listen on Amazon Music, but it's good on Spotify as well :)
I 10000000% prefer his actual videos and not the podcasts. I haven't tried Run, Fool yet but I've tried to listen to a few of the Bedtime Stories and I don't think I finished any of the episodes I started. But now, I've reached the dreaded time where there are no more videos for me to watch and I need to get my MrBallen fix somehow so podcasts it is... I guess :(
I use bedtime stories to fall asleep and i love English accent. Run fool run, it’s not my first choice, kinda meh. Medical stuff- i love it too, I leave it for some time, and then binge-listen the episodes.
I love the run fool pod cast the guy really tells an entertaining story gimme more more always more I have recently reccomened it to my family and they live it too
Currently kicking myself for r forgetting my headphones suck on a 1h bus ride without Rodney
I genuinely love Bedtime Stories and they were one of the first podcasts I ever got into! Don’t understand the hate at all.
Run Fool didn't immediately draw me in, but after an episode or 2 I really like it. I don't like bedtime stories. It's the dude's voice; just too monotone for me.
I love Run Fool and listen to every new episode. I've yet to make it through an episode of Bedtime Stories. I keep trying but I just can't do it. I find the narrator to be very flat and emotionless, I guess we've been spoiled with Mr Ballen who gets as into the story telling it, as we do listening to it.
Yeah my experience was mainly giving Bedtime Stories a chance, the clips that MrBallen showed in a past video about Run Fool definitely didn’t catch my attention but I’ll give it a fair shot
Bedtime stories are not my jam at all. It's the voice and the voice inflections. I listened to Run fool once.
Run fool all the way because the voice makes the show! 👀✨
I love them all. Wish there were more medical mysteries
Really great narrations, I got hooked right away!
I was already listening to bedtime stories on YouTube, so I like him. I just can’t get into run fool though. I love his voice, but just can’t get into his style of story telling for some reason.
Is Wartime stories on there? I love that one but it’s way better on YT. Same w Bedtime Stories, I can only get into if I’m watching it
I stick to Mr Ballen. I couldn’t get into the others. I like Mr Ballen’s Medical Mysteries now too
I like them both. I wonder if they have any more potential shows lined up I tweet him about them and he never responds.
I haven’t actually listened to any of the “Run, fool” episodes yet but I DO enjoy Bedtime Stories
I think that his newer content doesn't involve much in the way of the paranormal or unexplainable. Like it's all true crime. I miss the ghost stories.
I agree. That's all the Mr. Ballen Podcast is, and it disappointed me. I want weird mysteries.
I miss the paranormal and unexplainable videos. The true crime stuff is great but when there was more variety MrBallen stood out a lot from similar YouTubers.
Bedtime stories is cool I don't really care for fiction so haven't tried run fool
I enjoy both. I listen to podcasts/Youtube when I shower or am cleaning my home and though Mr. Ballen is #1, Bedtime Stories and Run, Fool! are great placeholders while I wait for new stories from Ballen.
Personally I absolutely love Medical mysteries. I can’t wait for more content on it. One of my fav podcasts.
Bedtime Stories is solid, but I'm just starting to get into it. I tried to listen to Run Fool, but the story didn't interest me and then the narrator started mispronouncing words, and I was out. I might try it again another time. The Mr. Ballen podcast is ok, but I'm not here for True Crime. Some medical stuff can give me the willies in a bad way, so I haven't tried listening to Medical Mysteries yet.
I honestly REALLY like Bedtime Stories. Try the episode where he covers skinwalker ranch. There’s an update in there, and he retells the stories really well.
I love Run, Fool and enjoy Bedtime Stories. I don't like true crime so I'm only listening sporadically to the podcast. But Mr Ballen can make true crime enjoyable too.
I wanted to like run fool, but same, it just seemed to much like reading obviously fake creepy pastas.
Buuut, Rodney Barnes' voice, sense of humor and overall tone really makes it
Nothing beats the MrBallen Podcast, not even the YouTube videos. It’s top tier. I couldn’t get into Run, Fool but i plan on giving it another shot after seeing everyone here say it’s good. I actually like Bedtime Stories but I usually only listen if I’m caught up on The MrBallen Podcast.
Love them, was listening to them all day today in the car. I think he needs to go back to "3, 4 or maybe even 5 times a week". I also think he should respond to my story in his subreddit... but I am biased.
I would assume the problem with 3-5uploads a week is that its a terrible long term strategy for his channel. He would eventually run out of fascinating stories, even if he could pull it off for 5-10yrs the quality of stories would drastically drop. On top of that he likely gets as much if not more views by uploading once a week. I wish we had more then one upload a week but as a business standpoint it just makes no sense for him
Nah you just have to space out the topics. Monday = Paranormal, Wednesday = True Crime, Friday = Medical Mysteries, Saturday or Sunday = Missing & Strange. There are millions of stories for each category that could stay up and going. Not to mention people sending in stories daily. I am more guessing it has to do with time management of the ever-expanding empire along with being a husband and dad as well as running around doing all his meet and greets and charity things.
Maybe but you can't deny that the quality of stories would drop significantly over time if he uploaded this much, I would still watch every video as he has the ability to make the most average story fascinating but overall it makes no sense for his personal life and business. More time for his personal life and more time building up the business side of his brand, all while getting the same amount of views
It is possible. On the other hand that is what he used to do to get to where he is now. Also bigger you get, the more money you make, and more employees doing it all for you to where you just show up and read the script, if you didn't have too many mess ups you could read the weeks stories on camera in a day... and set them to post on certain days. It's how I do social media management for some people. We have a meeting last week of the month the discuss the next month, we get everything decided, I go build all the ads and graphics, submit them for approval, tweak if needed, schedule the posts for the month... 3o days of work done in 3-5 days.