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.
Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend - Greg Fitzsimmons Returns
Pablo: You can always tell Greg Fitzsimmons truly likes a guest on Fitzdog Radio when the conversation zooms past standard podcast topics to land on more honest repartee. This is also true when he’s the guest, like on this week’s ARIYNBF where he returns to talk about his (apparently) notoriously large penis and his penchant as a young man for masturbating with a pencil up his butt. The frankness doesn’t stop there as they start off the episode with Greg’s recent problem of having to book an unfunny comic on his podcast due to the future guest forcing himself onto the show. But the real honesty comes from the dual History/English major’s admission that he graduated from Boston University without even applying because his dad wrote the application essay. BU didn’t know that when it booked him to perform at its most recent alumni weekend, but the comic couldn’t resist talking about it once he got on stage.
Hollywood Handbook - Moments of Greatness, Our Constant Companions
Kaitlynn: Fresh off their guest starring roles on this week’s Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, Sean Clements and Hayes Davenport bring a best-of episode of epic proportions. If you have a spare two and a half hours, this episode is definitely for you. If you’re unfamiliar with Hollywood Handbook, please speak on that. It is obviously an insider’s guide to kicking butt and dropping names on the red carpet lined back hallways of this industry we call showbiz. Just in case you’re thinking what I was thinking when I first began listening… is this just actor Sean Hayes playing two characters? Well listeners, we might never know. The guest on this episode is a new engineer (since the episode was recorded in NYC) Rashid Ramkissoon, who is automatically compared to Earwolf’s engineer Cody. Instead of dropping beverages on the soundboard and watching VICE News while recording, Rashid is a professional and honest delight. He adds unexpected excitement as a first time listener and is caught off guard by the hosts’ barrage of questions. There are too many “best of†clips to list and review, but this lengthy episode is a great introduction to the comedy that is Sean and Hayes. They have had a bevy of interesting guests in their 84 episodes thus far, including so many celebrities! If you haven’t listened to these entertainment experts before, I hope you start because even the commercials are funny— now speak on that!
Henry & Heidi - Mr. Pepperman
Marc: Podcasting is open to any and all, illustrated again recently by the entrance of musician, writer, journalist, publisher, actor, television and radio host, spoken word artist, comedian, and activist Henry Rollins, with Henry & Heidi about 6 months ago. I’m not sure if this show is actually a comedy podcast — although it’s listed as such on iTunes — and there is a humor vibe. It runs through Rollins’ narrative in this episode, and it’s definitely present between him and his co-host and longtime assistant Heidi May. The fuel that drives the content for the show comes in the form of emailed questions from the listening audience. This episode has Rollins recounting the journey through adolescence he had, and Mr. Pepperman, the teacher and influential figure that helped him gain confidence, self-esteem, as well as the physique he became recognized for as the lead singer for Black Flag. Rollins’ unique voice spins a tale that is compelling without being preachy or pedantic. May steps aside and lets the frontman have his due, although tosses in questions now and then to clarify moments of the story. She also has moments to shine in the show, with funny little features that Rollins insists on introducing with odd sound effects that gives those moments the feel of an avant garde version of an AM radio morning show.
Doughboys - Chili’s with Eva Anderson
Elizabeth: Comedy Bang! Bang! writer Nick Wiger and The Birthday Boys’ Mike Mitchell have debuted their new podcast, Doughboys, a show that revolves around something near and dear to my small-town–born heart: chain restaurants. First up is Chili’s, the restaurant that brought Tex-Mex and baby back ribs to the masses. Joining them for the inaugural episode is You’re the Worst writer Eva Anderson. They had all been to Chili’s prior to the taping (Eva with her co-worker and Nick and Mike together), so they’re prepared to give full, detailed critiques of the apps, entrees, drinks, and service. A hot issue is the recent addition of the “ziosk,†a tablet on each table that can be used to reorder drinks, play games, and pay the bill. Eva’s server bluntly stated that it was making his job obsolete. And it wouldn’t be a podcast about Chili’s without a discussion of the different versions of the baby back ribs song, including the original, one by NSYNC, and a rendition by Fat Bastard in the second Austin Powers movie. Eva also shares her experiences working at California Pizza Kitchen, from pulling the chair out from under a woman to waiting on Tom Hanks and a ten-year-old Chet Haze. They also introduce a few recurring segments including Feedbag, Snack or Whack, and Unsatisfied Yelper, which features a one-star Yelp review of the episode’s restaurant and yielded these words to live by: “If you’re at a Chili’s, the only reason you should be licking lips is because you got barbecue sauce on them.â€
Other Podcasts We’re Listening To:
The Hooray Show - Live Fast, Die Young
Doodie Calls - Live with Randall Park and Gil Ozeri
Professor Blastoff - Renewable Energy
TalkBlocked - Cocaine is a Hell of a Drug
The Mid-Week Drive - From ‘Who’ to LA and the Education Paradigm
Elizabeth Stamp is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.
Marc Hershon is host of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast and author of I Hate People!
Pablo Goldstein is a writer from Los Angeles, CA.
Kaitlynn E-A Smith is a writer/creator and (somehow) MA fashion grad, born and living in Toronto.