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An ongoing feud between beloved podcast “Public Power Underground” and its self-described “more profitable audio alternative,” “Private Power Overhead,“ heated up this week in a charged exchange between hosts on the two shows.  

“I just don’t understand how they can wake up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror while they practice their podcasting voice and think, ‘I’m not going to enrich a single shareholder today.’ Can you imagine living like that?” PPO podcast host Bill Rysing said during an exchange with his co-host Sly N. Vestor.

The co-host piled onto the downloadable discord. “And that silly ukulele intro! They say they started in hard times to bring us all into laughter. What do they know about hard times? They’ve never had to hear Jim Cramer or Maria Bartiromo bash their quarterly earnings reports.” 

“Public Power Underground,” with technical production by Pioneer, recently posted an episode discussing the importance of regional cooperation for market development using quotes from the Apple TV comedy, “Shrinking.” In that episode, host Paul Dockery took an unusual swerve during the podcast’s witty banter to respond.   

“It’s nice to see you got your spark back, but rut-roh Sly,” an obviously perturbed Dockery told listeners. “What you resist persists, that’s Carl Jung, but I gotta say, their show isn’t even infotaining!”  

In a PPO episode interviewing @BrosforDecarb, Vestor responded, saying Dockery and his cohosts “wouldn’t know infotainment if it hit them in a public meeting.” Vestor later joked that he wasn’t sure exactly what the phrase “public meeting” meant since the meetings he attends are all in smoke-filled backrooms.  

“Public Power Underground” co-host Ahlmahz Negash says the pugilistic podcasting is unwelcome, but not unexpected.  

“We are electric utility and electric utility-adjacent news from a power department’s perspective,” Negash explained to her listeners. “We have friends at investor-owned utilities, but there is certainly some love lost between the podcasts. I guess any time you are doing something great, there’s going to be resistance. With electricity, we measure that resistance in ohms. In podcasts, we measure that friction in which guests decide to appear on our show. I guess we’re doing OK if Rob Gramlich and Jesse Jenkins picked us, instead of PPO.” 

Off mic in a later interview, Dockery, formerly of Clatskanie PUD and now Seattle City Light, explains the feud had been simmering for some time.  

“At first I just thought it was a little weird how many times they were critical of ukulele music on their show,” he says. “I mean, we used the ukulele in our intro music because it’s universally loved as a happy-sounding instrument, but maybe it doesn’t sound right on the speakers in their Maserati or something. Then, I noticed they started using typewriter sound effects just like ours. But when they hired some guy named Aaron to do a segment called ‘Aaron Reports on How Much Money We’re Making,’ I started taking things personally. It really did hurt that @BrosForDecarb picked their show instead of ours, but, ya know, you gotta get the decarb message to everyone, I suppose.”  

The feud extends beyond the digital airwaves. Like “Public Power Underground’s” popular Shopify store, the staff at PPO also opened an online marketplace full of swag with electricity-related phrases. While PPU’s store benefits the “Share the Warmth” program supporting bill assistance for low-income families, PPO’s proceeds benefit a group called “Shareholders.”  

As usual, “Public Power Underground” host Dockery brings optimism to the situation.  

“Who knows? One day maybe we can all get together, play a fun game of Disruptors or Duds and laugh about all of this,” he says.  

 Learn more about “Private Power Overhead” here.  

The opinions in this story do not reflect the opinions of Seattle City Light, the Public Power Council, Pioneer or NewsData — especially because none of this is true. It’s April 1. What IS true is that Pioneer would love to help your telco or utility launch your own podcast.