Last week the AV Club asked, “Are we nearing comedy podcast overload?†To which the writer not surprisingly asserted we were. I both entirely agree and totally disagree. Sure, there are more well-produced comedy podcasts than one would ever have imagined. The fact that there are many sustainable podcast networks (Earwolf, Nerdist, ACE, etc.) is particularly astounding. There is no shortage of good podcasts but there is a shortage of great podcasts. Just like television or movies or whatever, there is plenty of worthy content out there but the amount that is transcendent is always lacking. The same podcast overabundance argument could have been made six months ago yet since then shows like improv4humans and You Made It Weird have been launched and become required listening. Moreover, one of the examples the author used to prove his point, Mike Detective, might be the best one to do the opposite. Mike Detective for my money (which is $0 because podcasts are free) is still to this day the funniest thing the medium has ever produced; however, there hasn’t been a new episode in almost a year and considering creator Scott Aukerman is busy with Comedy Bang! Bang! (both the TV show and podcast), it seems like there won’t be a new season anytime soon. The comedy podcast world is under-loaded with shows like and as good as Mike Detective. Still, beyond that podcasts are a niche medium driven by niche programming. Everyone is not supposed to listen to Indoor Kids and Sklarboro Country and The Dead Authors Podcast. Well, other than us; we’ll listen to everything so you don’t have to. Speaking of which, here are this week’s picks:
JAY: The Joe Rogan Experience #190 - Greg Fitzsimmons
Most people probably think they know Joe Rogan. But he is more than a stand-up comedian or a UFC commentator or the host of a game show in which contestants drink equine bodily fluids. Joe is also the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast where Joe, Deathsquad Podcast Network founder Brian Redban, and their guests are free to deeply explore whatever topics come to mind. In this episode, comedian/radio host/podcaster Greg Fitzsimmons joins the guys for a marathon session of audio dynamite. Joe and Greg began their comedy careers together in the nuclear comedy incubator of Boston in the 1990’s and this conversation has the feel of two good friends catching up right where they left off. First, Greg brings up a confrontation he and Joe once had in which (ironically) a Ben and Jerry’s Peace Pop was used as a projectile. The pair discusses their experience working on The Man Show together and playing the part of a Hollywood actor. They lament the rise of political correctness and decline of free speech in the media and colleges and each agrees that stand-up comedy and podcasting are the only true avenues of expressing free speech that are available to artists. The conversation goes on to uncover some insane truths about America, such as the fact that our parents were raised by people who essentially lived in the technological dark ages (compared to today), that the country grew from the 13 colonies to world superpower in a historical blink of an eye (about 200 years), and if you make it to the end of the podcast, the meaning of happiness. Joe and Greg are having such a great time on this episode that they force themselves to end it at the three hour mark, but you get the feeling that these old friends have barely scratched the surface.
JESSE: The Pod F. Tompkast # 16 – Judy Greer, Gillian Jacobs, Jen Kirkman
We talk about the Pod F. Tompkast a lot in the column so I decided to discuss two NEVER BEFORE discussed parts of the show. 1) First there was John Hodgman, then Chris Hardwick, and this week Gillian Jacobs. PFT has secretly introduced a new segment, in which funny friends drop by and pretend they are trapped in the Internet. With all the clamoring of too much guest overlap, I say phooey, it’s great to hear people you enjoy talk to others you also enjoy. Gillian is as always charming and game to play along. Their conversation has a dark undercurrent that is tempered by two’s inherent inner-Keystone rivalry. 2) PFT thanks his wife at the end of every episode. The moment passes very quickly but even in those seconds there is a noticeable shift in tone. It’s maybe the most genuine moment in all of podcastdom and I’m very happy it’s there.
JOEL: The Bugle #185 “Burning Rings of Steelâ€
Connecting to comedic rage is always a fun way to commune with your fellow man, albeit an obnoxious fellow man. Or men. John Oliver and Andy Zaltman keep offering up a high dose of politically-minded disdain, always at an impressive clip. Episode #185 of The Bugle is a quick-paced jaunt back and forth between quality political satire and good ol’ self-deprecating anecdotes. Oliver and Zaltman go after London’s mad-dash Olympic Games preparations. Zaltman continues to impress with his rapid-fire joke delivery and Oliver relays more artful rage-filled sarcasm. The guys mix in some fun bickering between each other with their usual political barbs. The Bugle still being recently independent from their Murdoch-led newspaper overlord causes Oliver to lament his lack of joy slamming his old corporate podcast boss. He muses over the fruitlessness of going after their new web boss, Soundcloud. The guys even throw in a fun metaphor-laden debate over the various types of political self-interest. Plus, there’s a mundane German parliament Sudoku scandal of underwhelming proportions, among many more stories and riffs. A ton of goodness in well less-than an hour. It’s all dealt with swiftly and soundly by The Bugle duo, the seminal force in political comedy. Long live the rage.
LINDSEY: improv4humans #16 - Chad Carter, Katie Dippold, Gil Ozeri
Matt Besser’s improv4humans is a podcast that I haven’t really given the proper amount of attention. It’s featured so many favorites of the comedy community (Andy Daly, Ben Schwartz, Seth Morris, etc.) but hasn’t really elicited any personal reaction beyond being an amusing way to pass an hour. My feelings have changed, however, as this week’s episode had a lot of things I love, including the classic combination of Starbucks plus the homeless, and cum buckets. (So many cum jokes, you guys.) Joining Besser in the studio this week are UCB regulars Chad Carter and Gil Ozeri, as well as Katie Dippold (who wrote Parks & Rec’s “Fancy Party†episode, therefore she is the best). Whether we are learning the importance of a trauma, meeting the world’s worst knife-wielder/line-cutter, or just imagining how intense Hatchet’s nod really must be, the improvising seemed both lively and fun this week. Truth be told, it took a second listen for me to appreciate how solid the episode is from beginning to end. This installment also added a whole slew of new terms (and practices) for the lovely men and women of the service industry. (We should all be on the look out for a staff of garbage mouthers. They are out there and you know it.) So let’s raise our glasses of pure coconut drink (it’s definitely coconut flavored, not sperm flavored) to a job well done, and to a podcast that has definitely found its groove. Because in the end, all we really want are good cum eating jokes. Episode 16 delivered on all fronts.
MARC: Professor Blastoff #44: Kung Fu – Christian Everhart
Last week I covered nascent science-comedy (SciCo?) podcast Probably Science, which inspired me to drop in this week to the more veteran Professor Blastoff (housed over on the Earwolf network), with hosts Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan and David Huntsberger. After a vaguely disturbing opening chat around one of the host’s unfortunate childhood run-in with a stationary bike, followed by the cyber-squelchy voice of the long-absent Professor B giving the topic of kung fu for the episode, the hosts welcomed in Christian Everhart, a fifth level disciple of Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu. It was clear from the get-go that the hosts knew little about martial arts beyond some Karate Kid references and a couple of nods to the Mixed Martial Arts craze. So Everhart was able to lay out some of the basic tenets of philosophies behind kung fu and martial arts in general, as well as where they came from (China) and how people can get started. The hosts kept trying to goad him into talking about getting into bar fights but he was into preaching peace and self-control – the latter of which he was forced to exhibit time and time again during the episode as Notaro, unable to keep his actual title straight, kept referring to him as a “cyclops masterâ€, whatever the heck that is…
ROGER: Superego: Episode 3:12 - Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Paul F. Tompkins
The first time I remember Family Feud being legitimately lampooned was on Family Guy. In one of their most obvious but arresting tangential asides, Peter Griffin took Richard Dawson’s trademark slutty hosting demeanor to its comedic and creepy next level by way of jamming his tongue down one female contestant’s throat and feeling up a breast to another. Superego during it’s third season had been periodically going down the Feud comedic well with Patton Oswalt portraying Dawson not as a pervert, but as a doomed host saddled with really funny sociopaths who at times are not even 100 percent human (it’s basically SNL’s Celebrity Jeopardy bits on cocaine). That apparently has all been a slow burn, because in the March installment of the podcast four of the eight (half!) segments were devoted to the Feud. At the end of the second segment Oswalt’s Dawson finally completely loses it, cursing out all of the contestants, going so far as to demand that the Paul F. Tompkins voiced psychopath remain down on the floor to be stepped on by a family member. An Entertainment Tonight circa the late 80’s-early 90’s followed with more audio goodness of a demented and pushed past his limit Dawson, with the post-credits bit featuring James Mason and Peter Graves answering Feud questions like total mouthbreathers. The episode is bittersweet, since the mental breakdown of Oswalt’s Dawson plays as a denouement for the recurring, often hilarious bit.
Honorable Mentions:
Ten Minute Podcast “Deadly Animalsâ€
The Dana Gould Hour #3 “Jailbirds†– Eddie Pepitone, Matt Weinhold
The Mike O’Meara Show #527 “Continue to Water the Gardenâ€
This Week With Larry Miller: “Larry’s Little White Lieâ€
Walking The Room #93 “Spitting Out Homeless and The Wigâ€
Jesse David Fox is a freelance writer, cat person, and Jew (in that order). He lives in Brooklyn. His iPod is broken.
Jay Kuperstein is a writer, founder of ComedyK.com, and attorney working in Washington, DC.
Joel Mandelkorn is the co-Founder of The Plop List, Producer at CleftClips, Producer of The Super Serious Show.
Lindsey Allen lives in Austin, TX. She has perfect teeth and a nice smell. A class act, all the way.
Marc Hershon is host of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast and author of I Hate People!
Roger Cormier has been retweeted by Dan Harmon on two separate occasions. In his spare time he asks Rupert Murdoch questions