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 one has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the exceptional and 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.
Secure the Gag - Joel Kim Booster
Each week on Secure the Gag, Nathan Pearson invites fellow queer comedians to chat about how they’ve used online platforms to sidestep mainstream gatekeepers, build a career, and, of course, to secure that bag. This week’s guest is Joel Kim Booster, who’s swiftly secured multiple high-end luxury bags ever since his 2016 set on Conan introduced him to a wider audience. The comedian, writer, and actor talks with Pearson about the difference between that first Conan set, which was identity heavy, and his second set, where he felt freer to be more experimental and goofy. They also chat about their mutual hunky Russian barber, the trend of reality shows about rich Asian families, Booster’s dream gig as a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! coming true, and the very funny trend of Booster and other NYC comedians trolling lazy entertainment publications with the very simple gag of tweeting that they’re much more powerful than they really are. For the record, Booster did not direct a Normani music video, Ayo Edebiri is not the showrunner of The Kominsky Method, and Abby Govindan is not the creator of Emily in Paris. But also … maybe let’s just pretend they are? —Pablo Goldstein
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Scam Goddess – The Stealing Starlets With Matt Rogers
It feels a little bit like worlds colliding as Laci Mosley, the Scam Goddess, welcomes one half of Las Culturistas, Matt Rogers, in front of her con-gregation to talk about hard-core cons and skeevy rip-offs. These two are already barely controlled balls of high energy, but get them together and BAM, the audio levels are off the charts on this one. They start off talking about people doing lightweight scammy stuff when they were in college and how tipping in restaurants was a by-product of slavery, but then they get into the main event: a dude with a made-up name of Robert St. John who moved to L.A. to become a comedian but became a pimp along the way and while under house arrest for his own crimes orchestrated a string of bank robberies using prostitutes to pull off the heists. So deliciously ballsy! It’s definitely a feel-good lovefest between Mosley and Rogers, and they are in sync with their disdain for the last scam of the show: a teenage girl who ripped people off claiming she only had six months to live. Boo! You’re left with the distinct feeling that Rogers may be back for a second dose of scammery sooner rather than later. —Marc Hershon
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Bitch Sesh - RHSLC: Reunion Part 1
Casey Wilson and Danielle Schneider’s Bitch Sesh, best known as a podcast dedicated to breaking down Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise, opens with and dedicates a lot of time to another reality show this week. It’s a delightful detour that sees guests June Diane Raphael and Elizabeth Laime drop by to discuss all things Sister Wives with dutiful watcher Wilson. Even for listeners unfamiliar with the show, there’s humor to be found in the Brown family rundown. The latest shenanigans occurring in their plural marriage center around patriarch Kody’s dream of a compound on Coyote Pass, which the women worry “may never come to pass.†Listening to them call out Kody, a perpetual schemer, er dreamer, provides comedy and catharsis in equal measure. Later, Schneider and Matt McConkey get back to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City to dish on the debut season’s first reunion episode. It’s worth the wait when they declare it’s fair game to make fun of Brooks Marks, the adult son of cast member Meredith Marks, despite what his mother says. Tune in and escape into what passes for reality on TV. —Becca James
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Other Podcasts We’re Listening To:
Celebrity Memoir Book Club - Courtney Robinson Isn’t Here to Make Friends
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
My Pandemic Makeover Spectacular - Dating! With Andrea Silenzi
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Two Old Queens - JULIE & JULIA With Ryan Rosenberg!
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Zack Lyman Podcast - Christianna Youkers Interview Cosplay
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Surviving Sister Wives - Sister Wives S4:E8
Listen: Spotify | Apple | Website
Got a comedy podcast recommendation? Drop us a line at [email protected].
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