The comedy podcast universe is ever expanding, not unlike the universe universe. We’re here to make it a bit smaller, a bit more manageable. There are a lot of great shows and each has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the exceptional, the noteworthy. Each week our crack team of podcast enthusiasts and specialists and especially enthusiastic people will pick their favorites. Also, we’ll keep you posted on the offerings from our very own podcast network. We hope to have your ears permanently plugged with the best in aural comedy.Â
The Fogelnest Files - “Pedro and Man Meet Jake†with Cheech and Chong
ROGER: Pop culture curator Jake Fogelnest changed his podcast up a bit last week when the legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong found their way into the studio. In deference to their stature, the entire episode featured (audio of the) video clips either from their impressive oeuvre, or from bits inspired by them. The episode works as a fun auditory primer on the world’s most famous stoner comedians, and anytime Fogelnest sounds genuinely surprised at a factoid, it feels a lot more educational than any hour of Radiolab could be. Over the course of the episode, it turns out that Cheech’s claim that both himself and Chong belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a very valid one, and throughout their careers, they’ve collaborated with or at the very least received flattering and retrospectively funny fan mail from various walks of celebrity. The fact that Chong in particular is a deft raconteur is frosting on the pot brownie.
JAY: Jim Florentine is one of those guys that comedy fans associate with no-holds-barred, unapologetic cringe humor. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that there is some darkness in his past. Florentine opens up about his career, his history, and his humor on this week’s WTF. First, however, Marc airs his feelings about the Boston Marathon bombing. Years ago, the country would have tuned in to Walter Cronkite’s news for his reaction to such a tragedy, but in today’s world we look to the only people who can still give us their true opinion: comedians. Maron does a beautiful job expressing himself and his experiences about that horrible day. Onto the interview… Jim Florentine has his own podcast (Metal Comedy Midgets) but it tends to be an outlet for him to rant about whatever issue is bothering him at that moment. On WTF, Jim talks for the first time about his tumultuous rise to comedy stardom (including early days with Jim Norton and Rich Vos), how he dealt with the suicide of a long-term girlfriend, rock and roll gigs, and comedy club politics. For those who dismiss Florentine as just a shock comic, this podcast shows how deep he actually is.
ROB: Uhh Yeah Dude is a pretty simple idea: two friends talking to each other for an hour about what’s new in the world. From that concept, Seth Romatelli and Jonathan Larroquette (son of John Larroquette of Night Court fame) have created not only a consistently funny podcast, but a kind of world built of their own particular lingo, the kinds of news stories they talk about (usually either bizarre or appalling), and the healthy cynicism through which they filter their comedy. They’ve been doing it for seven years now and were one of the first comedy podcasts to exist. Long-time fans will be happy to hear in this episode the return of Seth’s hilarious quiz “Is it a strain of weed, a name of a horse, or something I made up in my mind’s eye?†Also, check them out on WTF with Marc Maron this week, where Maron gives these pioneers of comedy podcasting their due.
Nerdist #348 - Scott Adsit
JENNY: It’s still difficult for me to fully understand in my brain that 30 Rock is over, even though Scott Adsit tells Chris Hardwick how long it took him to trust that 30 Rock was going to be a real thing, not even moving to New York until the show’s third season. Adsit and Hardwick go one-on-one for this episode, Adsit’s first time on Nerdist. The two are pretty good at talking to one another, and, at its best, their conversation exemplifies how much both of them are just really good guys. The highlight of the episode comes when Adsit expresses his desire to just make people happy but then recounts the times during sketch and improv shows in Chicago when he cruelly experimented on the audience, announcing mid-show that the president had been shot or faking a horrible injury for the entire duration of an improv game. Hardwick shares Adsit’s nice-guy sensibility, making this episode a pleasant hang session between friends.
Doug Stanhope’s Podcast #2 - Goosekirk
MARC: There are two kinds of podcast performers in the world – those who guest on podcasts and those who host podcasts. Comedian Doug Stanhope has recently moved from the former to the latter with the debut of Doug Stanhope’s Podcast earlier this year. This week, Episode 2 dropped, recorded by Stanhope and assorted cronies on the patio bar at Portland’s Jupiter Hotel. His guest was Christopher “GooseKirk†Kirk, an old buddy who just returned to the US after serving 5 years in a Brazilian prison on drug trafficking charges. It seems that Stanhope was saving discovery of GooseKirk’s backstory for the show and didn’t do a whole lot of digging into the details of his friend’s plight. Throughout the hour, he pushes for Midnight Express–type stories but GooseKirk’s tale seems more like a slightly horrific version of Meatballs (a reference made by the host during the show). Reading between the lines — men crammed 10 and 12 to cells built for six, prison rules created and enforced by the convicts themselves, and making 12 dollars/month in the prison bakery – one gets the feeling that GooseKirk isn’t quite ready to lay open his soul, especially for a buddy who never wrote him and ALMOST flew down to visit. (Stanhope cancelled his flight when he discovered he needed a visa). The host, along with buddies Andy, Bingo and Greg, manages to wring an amazing amount of funny out of what could have been an appalling tale. Just as he’s brought his own stamp to the world of standup, it’s clear we can expect nothing less now that Stanhope has come to podcasting.
This Week on the Splitsider Podcast Network:
The Complete Guide to Everything: Summer Movies 2013
Even though it’s Spring, it’s still time for this Summer’s blockbuster movies to premiere and Tim http://splitsider.com/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=26573&TB_iframe=1&width=640&height=525and Tom are here with their preview. This week they look atOblivion, Iron Man 3, Hangover Part 3, Fast and Furious 6, The Great Gatsby andStar Trek Into Darkness which doesn’t even get them out of the month of May. The merits of 3D and 4D movies are also argued as well as an agreement that all movies should be much, much shorter.
It’s That Episode: Weekend Update’s Josh Patten, Civil Rights & Quantum Leap
Josh Patten (SNL’s Weekend Update) drops by to watch a racial-barrier-breaking episode of Quantum Leap. Josh and Craig grapple with the idea of a white man leaping into a black man in order to start the civil rights movement. So grab your egg salad sandwich as we “Quantum Bounce†into the world of Quantum Leap.
The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: eSports Commentator djWHEAT
This week on the Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, Jeff talks to eSports commentator djWHEAT. They talk about how eSports became a thing, how he became a commentator for it and what it was like to be a Y2K IT guy.
You Had To Be There #104: Al Madrigal
This week, Sara and Nikki reannounce the renewal of their really great TV show Nikki & Sara LIVE (thanks for watching!) before quickly introducing their guest, comedian Al Madrigal(The Daily Show, @almadrigal). Al’s new standup specialWhy is the Rabbit Crying? premieres on Comedy Central this Friday April 26, making this episode the perfect opportunity to reflect upon the grueling road sets and iffy TV spots that have gotten him this far. It’s “gratitude and cautionâ€, Sara points out, that keep a comic sane as he strives through those early days, dreaming of a time when he’ll have earned the respect and admiration of both his peers and his cussing kid cousins.
A Funny Thing 4/20 Special: Amey Goerlich Smuggles Up
Our story this week: Â In honor of 4/20 we bring you international intrigue, body cavity bingo, vagina lips like hot dog buns, and so much more, as Amey Goerlich smuggles us past customs and secrets us away in the most intimate storytelling crevices of her heart. Watch out for that yogurt.
Roger Cormier was not supposed to say “Who is it?â€
Marc Hershon is host of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast and author of I Hate People!
Jay Kuperstein is a writer, founder of ComedyK.com, and attorney working in Washington, DC.
Jenny Nelson goes to school in New York and created the podcast On Stage at Housing Works Bookstore.
Rob Schoon lives in Brooklyn and writes about tech, media, comedy and culture.