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. We hope to have your ears permanently plugged with the best in aural comedy.
Girl on Guy - Dan St. Germain
Elizabeth: Aisha Tyler chats with Wikipedia page-less comedian Dan St. Germain on this week’s Girl on Guy. Recent LA transplant St. Germain talks about the challenges of finding stage time in the city, why bombing on stage is now more akin to a cold nuclear winter than a wreck, and how a breakup fueled the start of his standup career (and inspired a cardboard puppet act). Plus believe it or not, St. Germain’s appearance on the MTV show World of Jenks wasn’t totally representative of his actual life. (He also had to tell them no when the network wanted to record him at an AA meeting.) And speaking of AA, he sings the praises of gay AA meetings, which he prefers because he can share whatever he wants and he doesn’t have to worry about saying things just to get laid (and he likes being flirted with occasionally). The show continues with a discussion of Bill Cosby. Aisha believes the accusations are true and Dan is still waiting for his father—a former Cosby Show writer—to come forward. St. Germain finishes up with a series of amazing stories including the time he tried to unsuccessfully hook up with a guy friend, relapsing on valium while Michael Moore theorizes why O.J is innocent, asking Sinbad to take him to the ghetto to buy crack while fucked up, and picking up a heroin addict at MoMA.
improv4humans - Whiplash
Pablo: Last year on a special episode of Who Charted, fill-in host Armen Weitzman got an earful from Matt Besser on… well, pretty much everything. It was all tongue-in-cheek, but it was easy to miss the bit and think Besser, a fairly new father, was really unleashing his paternal fury on the goofy, coddled Weitzman as if he wrecked the family Honda Accord. But since Weitzman didn’t take up Besser’s offer of free improv classes, his punishment is to be the whipping boy on an extremely meta episode of improv4humans. Taking after J.K. Simmons’ character in Whiplash, Besser spends the episode berating his “novice†improv students (played by Stephanie Allynne, Paul Rust, Neil Campbell, and Mookie Blaiklock in a reunion of the UCB Master Class web series) while Weitzman waits, as the alternative player a la Miles Teller, for his big chance to shine. Bad improv ranks up there as one of the most painful art forms to see performed live, but expert improvisers pretending to suck, plus one who actually is atrocious, in a parody of both Whiplash and the actual comedic training they owe their careers to equals an early candidate for best podcast episode of the year.
Don’t Ever Change with John Roy - Pete Holmes
Leigh: If it were up to me, John Roy’s podcast Don’t Ever Change would be mandatory listening for all anxious kids in high school. I can’t imagine a better way to help make those four uncomfortable years more tolerable than to hear what comedians were like when they were 14. That being said, it’s still just as helpful for listeners way (way, way) past high school age. We all realize what’s become of those kids who peaked in high school, but there’s still something so comforting in hearing about a weird kid who runs to class carrying all his text books and secretly plays with G.I. Joes by himself who grows up to have his own late night talk show. Because you’ve already read the name of the episode, you of course know I’m talking about this week’s guest, Pete Holmes. Holmes shares what he was like in high school, which includes noting the distinction between camp cool and school cool, being friends with nerds, developing social intelligence, and trading oily stickers. It’s been a while since there’s been a new Don’t Ever Change, but this powerhouse episode was worth the wait.
Never Not Funny - Rich Sommer
Kaitlynn: In the beginning there was comedy: standup, sketch, improv, and more. One day the comedy gods said, “Let there be podcasts,†and thus, podcasts began. They created Jimmy Pardo in their likeness and Matt Belknap to guide mankind into this new world. Together, Jimmy and Matt created Never Not Funny to lead all others that followed. Many creatures from the garden would visit and see what this new comedy podcast was and became tempted by the fruit of having one of their very own. Fast forward to present day to the first episode of season sixteen. The guest is returning friend of the show, Rich Sommer. In general, the episode is like a night in a boy’s summer camp except instead of “Truth or Dare,†it is “Intern Garon Go.†He’s speaks to the building’s neighbors multiple times and then goes to 711 for an update on their logo and brings back hot dogs for everyone, while on the phone. In-depth discussions cover USA for Africa, Hands Across America, Chevy Chase, and hecklers at charity events. The giggling and laughter throughout is infectious, making you feel like a part of the show.
Batman: The Animated Podcast - Two-Face – Harry Chaskin, Murphy Cross
Marc: Podcastland continues to amaze in many ways, including its ability to appeal to niche tastes on a gargantuan level. Did you know, for instance, there are over 15 different podcast series devoted – in some way, shape, or form – to Batman, the Caped Crusader? That number includes Star Trek vs. Batman and Calvinist Batman & Friends, where Batman talks about theological issues. There are several with a comedy bent, like Kevin’s Smith’s Fat Man on Batman and Batman: The Animated Podcast, which is the one I’m focusing on here. Just two weeks in and the show’s creator, host, and executive producer Justin Michael has received kudos from the likes of Nerdist.com, as well as jumping up into the Top 50 iTunes shows. This kind of action is amazing, especially for a show that is devoted to one micro-topic: Batman The Animated Series, which was only on TV in first run syndication from 1992-1995. It was a highly stylized 22 minutes of animation (modeling itself in something called “Dark Decoâ€, as we learn from Michael’s main guest in this episode – his childhood friend and now Hollywood stop-motion animation artist, Harry Chaskin). Michael himself is a performer and comedian, with roots in LA’s UCB Theater. And he’s clearly infatuated by BTAS as he digs into each episode with the aid of various people, including voice actors from the show – such as Seth Green, who played the character of Wizard – and in the latest installment when he’s joined by Murphy Cross, a veteran of Night Court and Cheers, and who voiced the wife of criminal Harvey “Two-Face†Dent. Is Batman a comedy podcast per se? Not exactly, but it passes the sniff test because it’s hosted by a comic performer who knows how to insert laughs along the way.
The K Ohle - Wedlock with Lauren Cook
Rob: This week Kurt Braunohler’s multi-format podcast The K Ohle added a promising new configuration to the group: Wedlock with Lauren Cook (his wife, of course). It’s not the first spouse-spouse relationship podcast out there, but having only tied the knot about three weeks ago, “Wedlock†is bound to get particularly interesting. Especially considering that Braunohler and Cook purportedly never shared their sexual histories – or “past bones†– with each other, but plan on opening up about it for the podcast. It’s very risky, but potentially awesome listening. Cook, though mentioning her shyness, is already giving as good as she gets, with lines like “I’ve had a ton of dicks in me†– both hilarious for the listener and perhaps a bit stinging to Braunohler. Down to the roots of its name, podcasting as a medium is the embodiment of the age of earbuds. So with the vast majority of the audience being individuals, listening alone, any married co-hosts run the risk of either entertaining only themselves, or on the other extreme, trying too hard and coming off as the podcast equivalent of that insufferable couple that performs a kind of practiced preciousness in front of new people. The two lampooned the latter in a video for Buzzfeed, and judging by the laughs both delivered in their first outing, the former won’t be a problem either.
Other Podcasts We’re Listening To:
Professor Blastoff - Catching Up
With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus - The Tom Leykis Program
The Dollop - Lenny Dykstra
You Made It Weird - Al Madrigal
Sklarbro Country - Mark Duplass
Down with Joe Derosa - Jake Weisman and Masculinity
The Bob Zany Show with Erin O’Connor - Kevin Fagen
TenMinutePodcast - The Steven Seagal Show - Ep. 1 Bryan Callen
Truth and Iliza - Mary Lynn Rajskub
The Moment with Brian Koppelman - Seth Meyers
Leigh Cesiro is a writer living in Brooklyn who only needs 10 minutes to solve any Law & Order: SVU episode.
Elizabeth Stamp is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.
Pablo Goldstein is a writer from Los Angeles, CA.
Marc Hershon is host of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast and author of I Hate People!
Kaitlynn E-A Smith is a writer/creator and (somehow) MA fashion grad, born and living in Toronto.
Rob Schoon lives in Brooklyn and writes about tech, media, comedy and culture.