A Seriously Comprehensive Guide to Comedy Podcasts

It’s official: there are now more essential comedy podcasts than there are hours in the day. We’re fully outnumbered, people. It would be an impossible, Icarus-like ambition to listen to them all and still function as a human adult person. Don’t even try — it’s not worth throwing your life away. Perhaps some of you haven’t listened to any podcasts yet, though, and merely clicked on this link to find out what your nerdy co-worker won’t shut up about. These jaded ears envy your innocence and adventurous spirit. You might not realize it but right now you’re like Jake Sully, newly arrived on the planet Pandora — except instead of virtual space-legs, you’re about to receive a hard drive filled with comedians talking about funny stuff.

While some comedy podcasts adhere to a late night talk show template, many others also contain trace elements of sketch fest, improv exercise, intimate stand-up venue, and backroom history lesson — all coming together to perform the Heimlich maneuver on your laugh-hole. No matter which comedic style you’d prefer, there’s an embarrassment of riches out there, waiting to be devoured for free. Unfortunately, there’s also an embarrassment of garbage. Lucky for you, I have spent a TRULY embarrassing amount of time sifting through the murkiness to sort out which is which. I initially wrote the Fairly Comprehensive Guide to Comedy Podcasts, then spent the next few months digging in deep to a different comedy podcast each week. The resulting guide will surely help you find just the right podcast to soundtrack your next trip to the gym game of Arkham Asylum. Ready? Okay, let the chuckles commence!

So here’s how this will work: first, there are the original entries from the first guide. Then, there are shortened versions of my weekly reviews of other podcasts. Finally, there’s a listing of notable other podcasts that I didn’t have a chance to do full-on reviews for, but are still worth checking out. It should be noted that where a podcast falls in this list isn’t necessarily indicative of its quality; there are podcasts in the final list that are better than some of those from the original guide. So, let’s get to it!

Nerdist

Host: Chris Hardwick, with Matt Mira and Jonah Ray

Podcastin’ since: February 2010

How often: Weekly

Format: Funny people hanging out, tagging each others jokes, and talking with guests

Recurring features: Lengthy, loose, interviews

Typical guests: Eugene Mirman, Mythbusters, Alison Brie

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: Because it’s called Nerdist, conversations will frequently delve into Second Life, 4G networks, Winger, and Dr. Who

Live shows: Sometimes. You can catch them at Largo in LA or Comix in NY

For Fans of: Esoteric things, the lives of comedians, old-timey voices, snappy banter

The Verdict: Highly recommended. Even though Chris Hardwick is an in-demand multi-hyphenate whose career has been steadily rising, he considers himself a nerd for good reason. It’s touching, for instance, to see his genuine affection for and hero-worship of Weird Al Yankovic. Although the podcast originally aimed to talk about only nerdy things, since most of the guests were comedians the focus shifted pretty radically toward that end. Most of the interviews focus on comedy history, what it’s like being a comic, what it takes to make it, and the answer to the question, “what is your process?” Hardwick’s affability and energy keep things moving in between breakdowns of SNL skits that never made it to air, and discussions about how, once upon a time, appearing on The Tonight Show could change your life overnight (if your name was Drew Carey.) The wide range of interesting guests bodes well for Nerdist’s longevity.

WTF

Host: Marc Maron

Podcastin’ since: September 2009

How often: Twice weekly

Format: One-on-one interview, with very few holds barred. Excuse me, I meant none – no holds barred.

Recurring features: Comedians talking about therapy

Typical Guests: Bob Odenkirk, Robin Williams, Maria Bamford

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? No

What’s different about this one: Marc’s style is confrontational, intense, and almost intrusively personal.

Live shows: Sometimes. You can catch them at Comix in NY

For Fans of: The book, “Here’s the Kicker”; the Metallica film Some Kind of Monster

Verdict: Highly Recommended. WTF has become the go-to forum for setting the record straight and clearing the air in the comedy community. Marc Maron famously confronted Carlos Mencia about his alleged joke-stealing head-on, and ended up doing a follow-up podcast because he didn’t believe what Mencia said the first time and he wanted to investigate further. Marc Maron, Comedic Detective, etc. These interviews together comprise a Director’s Commentary track about comedy itself, and the individual stories of everyone who works in the field. Marc and his guests often end up exploring what it is that drives them to do what they do. The two-part Judd Apatow episode, especially, served as a master class in comedy, ambition, and what makes comedians tick.

Marc Maron has a reputation for filling a room with tension when doing a set, and that strategically tactless approach is put to ballsy use in these recordings. You can pretty much hear the air being sucked out of the room when Marc asks Dane Cook about why Dane seems like such an asshole all the time. With so much drama, WTF occasionally has a soap opera feel to it. The revelations come at you fast as lightning: Patrice O’Neal sort of hates women and white people, Bob Odenkirk comes off as cranky and maybe a dick, Dane Cook seems like a control freak, but a basically decent guy. People tend to say things to Marc Maron for some reason that they might not say elsewhere. And despite everything stated in this description so far, WTF is actually really funny, too. If you only listen to one comedy podcast, this should probably be the one.

Pod F. Tompkast

Host: Paul F. Tompkins

Podcastin’ since: July 2010

How often: Monthly

Format: Well-structured blend of extended riff suites, sketches, and “award-worthy” character scenes

Recurring features: A series of phone calls mockumenting a secret project between Andrew Lloyd Weber, Ice-T, and John C. Reilly—all of whom are voiced by Tompkins; a real phone call to comedian Jen Kirkman

Typical guests: Jen Kirkman

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? No

What’s different about this one: A lack of co-hosts and guests; an absurdist tone

Live shows: No

For Fans of: Showing up at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre randomly

The Verdict: Highly recommended. Although we’re only two episodes in, these dispatches are shaping up to be the purest distillation of Tompkins’ loquacious brand of humor yet. He really uses the freedom of not being in front of a live audience to tap into his gifts beyond stand-up.

Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show

Host: Kevin Pollak, frequently joined by Samm Levine

Podcastin’ since: March 2009

How often: Started off twice-weekly, but the podcast is now weekly

Format: Very conversational. Like a talk show. Duh.

Recurring features: The Larry King Game, wherein fans of the show do impressions of octogenarian sea creature, Larry King. In character, players of the game give away highly sensitive personal information that Larry King would probably not disclose, and end by throwing over to the phones in another city. Basically the best game ever.

Typical Guests: Jim Gaffigan, Martin Mull, Neil Patrick Harris

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: Considering the movies Pollak has been in, the roster of guests is deeper than most other podcasts (his director in The Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer, was scheduled to appear at one point.)

Live shows: Not yet.

For Fans of: The Dick Cavett Show; deep, probing interviews; old showbiz tales

The Verdict: Recommended. Pollak may be most famous (to me) for his role as Phillip Green in Casino, but he is also a respected old-school standup. He has a relaxed, patient interview style, and a canny selection of guests. His long-form interviews tend to creep toward the two-hour mark, but if you’re into that sort of thing, this is your jam.

Doug Loves Movies

Host: Doug Benson

Podcastin’ since: February 2008

How often: Weekly

Format: Half talk-show, half game-show, all about movies.

Recurring features: The Leonard Maltin Game: an elaborate, difficult version of Name That Movie.

Typical Guests: Adam Scott, Morgan Murphy, Matt Besser

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: The game show aspect and the focus on movies

Live shows: Yes – usually at the Upright Citizens Brigade in LA

For Fans of: Movies (duh), funny people talking about movies

The Verdict: Recommended. In addition to just being fun to listen to, Doug Loves Movies is also a great example of how podcasts differ from, say, late night talk shows with regard to plugs. The guests’ upcoming projects are not treated with that fake-casual “You just happen to have a movie coming out I heard through the grapevine” approach native to TV talk shows. The plugs are obligatory, and here they are acknowledged as such, in a mutual back-scratching way that doesn’t take anything from the friends-hanging-out vibe. Rather, at the end of each episode, Doug will simply ask, “Got anything you need to plug?”—and be done with it

The Adam Carolla Show

Host: Adam Carolla a/k/a Ace Man (cool nickname alert!) and co-host, Teresa Strasser

Podcastin’ since: February 2009

How often: Several times throughout the week

Format: News, listener call-ins, guest interviews

Recurring features: Games such as “What Can’t Adam Complain About,” which are more or less self-explanatory

Typical Guests: Jay Mohr, Olivia Munn, Ralphie May

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? No

What’s different about this one: Opinionated; lots of news; very high episode frequency for a podcast

Live shows: Sometimes, when Adam is on tour.

For Fans of: Terrestrial radio, hostility, political incorrectness of the Look-Ma-No-Hands variety

The Verdict: Not recommended. If you’re a fan of Carolla’s old radio show, you’re in luck because this couldn’t be any more like a radio show. Random noises are frequently beamed in from the producer’s booth—a Will Ferrell Anchorman line, apropos of nothing; a 1990s techno beat meant to evoke ‘gay’—and presumably in an effort to kill time, jokes are beaten into the ground mercilessly. The success of this #1-rated podcast just goes to show you how far a loyal following will get you.

Comedy Death Ray

Host: Scott Aukerman

Podcastin’ since: May 2009

How often: Weekly

Format: Chatting with a “co-host” and a “special guest” who basically serve the same role, interspersed with improv, songs, and sketches.

Recurring features: At least one visit each week from a fictional character; Doug Benson phones in from Doug Loves Movies

Typical Guests: Nick Kroll, Tom Lennon, Garfunkel & Oates, Sarah Silverman

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: The format of this podcast is completely bonkers—there’s blessedly zero scheduling consistency. The songs played are all funny, either intentionally (The Lonely Island) or otherwise (Joe Pesci put out an album quite recently.) There’s considerably more improv at work here than in any other podcast.

Live shows: Sometimes, at Upright Citizens Brigade in LA

For Fans of: Mr. Show, silly things, funny voices of all stripes

The Verdict: Highly recommended. This podcast evolved out of a famed weekly comedy show in LA that host Scott Aukerman founded with fellow Mr. Show alumnus, BJ Porter. Each week’s co-host and special guest will usually be a friend and peer of Aukerman’s in the comedy world, but if the guest happens to be a personal hero like Weird Al Yankovic (that guy gets mad love from everyone), a full-on interview will commence, complete with a question about ‘process.’ Some guests appear anonymously as characters like the observational comedian who only talks about disgusting things nobody can relate to, or the uber-macho novelist who writes “poetry for men”. You never know what you’re going to get from episode to episode, which raises the likelihood that any given podcast will contain something amazing.

FitzDog Radio

Host: Greg Fitzsimmons, Mike Gibbons

Podcastin’ since: August 2009

How often: Weekly

Format: Interviews and news, with the occasional game

Recurring features: Half-a-Man (listeners and guests list off celebrities who seem similar and who are similar-looking), Liar’s Poker (guest tells two stories; host guesses which is false)

Typical Guests: Tom Arnold, Zach Galifianakis, Lisa Lampinelli

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: More frank sex talk than most comedy podcasts

Live shows: No

For Fans of: Howard Stern, sex

The Verdict: Recommended. Greg Fitzsimmons is a funny, genuine-seeming guy, and a true veteran of the comedy circuit. The interviews he conducts with his fellow survivors of early 1990s HBO specials are lively and interesting. The world might not have needed to hear so much about Susie Essman’s boobs in her episode, but I guess that comes with the turf when you’re also on Howard Stern’s radio station, and at least she got an episode.

SModcast

Host: Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier

Podcastin’ since: February 2007

How often: Weekly

Format: Loose, rambling, all too personal. The two men shoot the shit in front of a live audience

Recurring features: Do self-deprecating fat jokes count as a feature?

Typical Guests: Cast and crew of Kevin Smith films

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? No

What’s different about this one: The focus is usually localized around Smith’s personal universe.

Live shows: Yes, always. Smith owns a theatre in LA where he records these in front of an audience that laughs appreciatively at every single remark, it seems.

For fans of: The filmography of Kevin Smith, sex (but not necessarily having it), dick jokes

The Verdict: Not recommended. SModcast is a house built on even more crude sex talk than Fitzsimmons’—only this talk often includes hypothetical gay sex with Kevin Smith. The behind-the-scenes tales of how various Smith productions came together should hold plenty of appeal for die-hard fans, but nearly everyone else might find them tedious. The director also makes so many self-deprecating jokes about his own weight that it crosses a line beyond uncomfortable and becomes apparent that we’re listening to a person who sort of hates himself (but who clearly does not hate not wearing jean shorts all the time.)

Kevin Smith has expanded the SModcast universe beyond just one show. His audio network now includes five programs, almost all of which are weekly and feature Kevin Smith. There’s Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, Hollywood Babble-On, and there’s also Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave!, which is hosted by two of Smith’s boyhood friends, and which I have not listened to because, when it comes down to it, each of us is allotted only precious few hours to dwell upon this island Earth. Finally, one of the sponsors of SModcast is noted men’s masturbation aid, the Fleshlight. Kevin Smith is actually paid to give out samples of these things to audience members during live tapings of the podcast. Gross. So gross. And also creepy and just yuck.

Sklarbro Country

Host: Jason & Randy Sklar

Podcastin’ since: August 2010

How often: Weekly

Format: Sports and pop culture news, a long interview, and some well-chosen indie rock in between.

Recurring features: Douchebag of the Week; a parody of sportscasters, “Racist Vin Scully”

Typical Guests: Glenn Howerton, Nick Thune, Janeane Garofalo

Has Jon Hamm been a guest? Yes

What’s different about this one: The focus is on sports. Also, of course, the hosts are identical twins with cartoon animal voices and impeccable comic timing

Live shows: Not yet.

For Fans of: ESPN’s Cheap Seats, overlapping sentences

The Verdict: Recommended. The Sklars definitely have a unique style, and they know just how much sports talk they can get away with before zooming right over the average comedy nerd’s head. Also, just try to think about the words ‘Sklarbro Country’ and not crack a smile. It is very difficult!

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The Lavender Hour

Duncan Trussell and Natasha Leggero are sometimes described as a comedy power couple, which would be an accurate descriptor if it weren’t a terrible, oxymoronic way to describe something. They are a pair of thriving stand-ups who’ve been in various shows and short films, and on The Lavender Hour, they talk Twitter politics with Steve Agee, discuss Cuba with The Office’s Oscar Nunez (who tells a story about getting screamed on by Oliver Stone), and instigate Tim Heidecker’s evisceration of Saturday Night Live.

Duncan is an awesomely bizarre individual who seems to know about everything weird that has ever happened. Sometimes it’s not at all apparent what the hell he’s talking about, but who cares when it ultimately leads to a sentence like this: “If someone killed your mother, would you want to put them in a pantyhose egg and lather them down with LSD?” As you can probably tell from that sentence, the subject matter of the show is fairly open. The meaning of “celebrity” is a recurring theme, and the hosts make their position known from the very first episode, entitled Professional Assholes. “Kim Kardashian burps advertisements,” Natasha says, and sort of proves it by reading a series of Ms. Kardashian’s tweets regarding Carl’s Jr. The element of the podcast that really stands out is that the hosts are constantly cutting away to “commercials,” with Natasha slipping into a Southern accent to parody KFC. These pre-recorded bits help liven things up if the talk ever gets too far away from being funny.

Keith and the Girl

When a podcast runs five days a week, it’s probably going to be steeped in current events, and this one is no different. What distinguishes this show is Keith and Chemda’s personalities, their interaction with an unusually devoted audience, and their relationship with each other. Keith has a total guy’s-guy point of view but he’s a solid comic and even when talking about hacky subjects, he finds a way to put a personal spin on things. Chemda makes a good foil for Keith as she tends to be a bit more good-natured, but is not above ripping someone a new anus if she’s in the mood. Both of them read comments on-air from listeners writing in during the podcast, take calls, and have a poll at some point during each episode that fans can weigh in on. The show can get pretty Howard Stern-y sometimes, but the sex stuff is actually quite interesting because of the hosts’ particular circumstances. Keith and Chemda are an ex-couple who still lives together, which gives a heated charge to their discussions on dating and relationships.

You Look Nice Today

The overriding style that You Look Nice Today has perfected could be described as Deadpan Conversational Improv. The hosts will start in on a topic in a completely serious way, and end up going off on extended surreal tangents without ever changing their tone at all. A discussion about raising awareness for various causes leads to a convincing case for how ‘mouth breathers’ are the most unfairly maligned of all groups. Eventually the population has been divided into Noseys and Moutheys, with heated speculation about whether celebrities like Ed Begley Jr could potentially be “outed” in the mouth breather magazine, “Gape.”

The three hosts are Hot Dogs Ladies (whose popular joke-saturated Twitter feed is totally worth a look), Lonely Sandwich (real name: Adam Lisagor) and Scott Simpson (who doesn’t have a nickname, but it feels like he does since his name is always said in full). “We are in deep Larry David territory here,” Scott Simpson announces during one episode, and in their dissections of common annoyances and domestic miscellany, they do occasionally dwell there, but they are by no means confined to it. More often they are hard at work exploring odd universal truths like the desire to grab the gun out of a cop’s holster on line at Starbucks. The only unfortunate aspect of You Look Nice Today is its irregular schedule. When the show started in early 2008, it was a weekly. After about a year, it slowed to a monthly, and now, well, the November offering was the show’s first since mid-summer, and there hasn’t been a new one since.

The Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan is a member in very good standing with the comedy community. If any comedians have a negative opinion of him, they tend to keep it to themselves, which may or may not stem from the fact that they are all 100% sure Rogan could absolutely destroy their asses with tactical proficiency in a cage match. He used to fight competitively and he still practices jujitsu, but more importantly, Rogan is a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and he knows everybody in the MMA world. Fighting and mixed martial arts are frequent topics on the show, and fans of those pursuits will surely eat up these conversations about who can take whom, and who is under investigation for steroids, et cetera.

Oddly then, the conversation also strongly resembles fogged-out dorm room chatter at times because Joe Rogan loves drugs. He is a big proponent of mind-expansion via mushrooms and DMT, and his passionate advocacy of marijuana is so pronounced that during pretty much every episode, he and the other hosts are apparently barbecued out of their minds. There’s a lot of overlap in topics, and lots of narrowly avoided overlap too (“We’ve talked enough about Eddie Griffin in the past, so let’s not get into it again.”). If the show were a little tighter there’d be less repetition because the hosts wouldn’t need to fall back on comfort zone topics in order to shove past the two-hour mark.

The Bugle

The conceit of The Bugle is laid out right in the tagline: “An audio newspaper for a visual world.” Basically it’s the podcast equivalent of The Daily Show and The Onion, but British, and with a little Monty Python-style absurdity thrown in for good measure. The Bugle is a weekly satirical dispatch about world events which proudly trumpets (or bugles, I guess) the increasing irrelevancy of the format it’s mocking. After all, in a world gone nutty for 24-7 news, who exactly would need an actual straightforward radio program chronicling the week that was? The show is hosted by two comedians, John Oliver from The Daily Show and Andy Zaltzman, with whom American audiences will be less familiar. John always sounds boisterous and celebratory, giving his sarcastic quips a whiff of cognitive dissonance. (How could a delivery so chipper carry content so biting?) Andy is often more reserved, but no less funny. He’s a British comedian of the Daniel Kitson mold.

So much preparation and thought go into each episode, you’d think there was a small staff of writers, or at least more than two of them. It’s amazing how many jokes they manage to cram in. The show smacks of effort in the best possible way. See for example, one episode’s section mocking self-help books offers this impressive list of fake titles: “How to Shout in Public and Find Love”, “You and Your Eyebrows: Unlocking the Power of the Frown”, “The Stranger Whisperer: How to Make Friends on Crowded Public Transport By Gently Whispering into People’s Ear About Fun Things You Might One Day Do Together,” and “The Expectant Expectorant: Spitting for a Long Life.” Another example of the seemingly offhand greatness of the show is the way Andy introduces John at the beginning of each episode. He always throws in some hilariously unnecessary over-the-top praise during the announcement, see for example: “The Mahatma Gandhi of making gags, the Jesus Christ of joke cracking, the Ludwig Van Beethoven of lampooning those buffoons, the Barbra Streisand of biting satire, it’s John ‘The Pitchfork of Accountability’ Oliver.”

Walking the Room

Greg Behrendt is a strange case in the comedy world. He’s a 20-year veteran of the standup circuit, but he’s most famously known as a bestselling author and self-help guru, having written He’s Just Not That Into You. That massive hit book, and the movie it inevitably inspired, may have made Behrendt millions, but it broke his reputation. It’s a classic case of a person being haunted by their own freak success. Dave Anthony is a comedian and writer who’s been on the verge of making it for a long time. Suffice to say that both of these guys have a lot to prove these days, which seems to be the unspoken motive behind the podcast they co-host, Walking the Room.

The tagline for the show is “Kind of a podcast,” but a more accurate line would be “The most existential comedy podcast.” A great deal of airtime is devoted to the concept of podcasts and what it means to have one. When the hosts are not jokingly slagging off the quality of their own show, they are opening up and detailing sincere-sounding thoughts on how the ubiquity of podcasts is a good thing. The main thrust of the show is that these guys are mostly concerned with what is happening with their lives right now at every level. Lucky for them, they’re able to do so in way that is funny. Both Greg and Dave are middle-aged parents and they work pretty hard at hilariously deglamorizing the lifestyle of aging comedians. They talk about aging a lot — about having to deal with it in general, but also dealing with it specifically as a comedian. Walking the Room is enjoyable enough, though, and hardly ever takes itself seriously.

Uhh Yeah Dude

It’s pretty impressive that Jonathan Larroquette and Seth Romatelli have been producing weekly episodes of their show, Uhh Yeah Dude, for almost five years now without any guests. At this point, though, guests would probably just get in the way of the easy comic chemistry between the hosts, which is what makes the show. Jonathan and Seth combine the regular-guyness of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with a jaded LA attitude and an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. Seth is a sometime actor from Boston whose biggest role to date was in the Britney Spears vehicle, Crossroads, and Jonathan is Hollywood royalty, being the son of… well, I bet you can guess who he is the son of. Seth is the more tightly wound of the two, and when he vents a head full of steam about something in his Masshole accent, Jonathan usually just backs off and laughs as the rant intensifies. While Seth has the tirade thing down, Jonathan is probably the better storyteller, offering funny bits from his childhood, annoying encounters with the denizens of LA, and tales from being on the road with his electro-acoustic band, Jogger. By now their timing is well honed enough that they can jump all over each other’s sentences in a complimentary way and never miss a beat. Their rapport is nearly telepathic.

Although Jonathan and Seth often talk about the general state of society, the show isn’t exactly topical. It’s obvious they make a conscious effort to avoid talking about whatever everybody else will be talking about. Instead, they tend to report and comment on the many News of the Weird-type items that either fall between the cracks or end up on the lower slugs of CNN’s webpage. Jonathan and Seth have a knack for glomming onto the kind of anecdote-bait studies you’ll want to tell someone later on, such as scientists conclusively refuting the famous 5-second rule. (“How about the no seconds rule?” Seth asks. “How about even if you catch a piece of food on the way to the ground, don’t eat it?” Jonathan counters.) What elevates this podcast to the very top tier is its consistency — every single episode has steady laughs to spare.

Risk!

Risk! is one of those gems which bring together a diverse group of performers who are unafraid of embarrassing themselves if it means making a connection with the audience. It features comedians, writers, and various film and TV people sharing personal stories they never thought they’d reveal. “True tales boldly told” is the tagline, and the resulting show comes off like a cross between This American Life and a series of ASSSSCAT monologues at UCB.

The podcast is hosted by Risk’s creator, Kevin Allison, who hails from densely populated comedy troupe, The State, and who is still in possession of the fun, goofy energy he brought to The State’s MTV show in the 90s.

Each episode has a theme, like Dreams, Awful Jobs, or Strange Sex. Although some of the stories tie only loosely into the theme, it doesn’t really matter as long as the product is funny or at least interesting. The focus in selecting talent for the show seems geared toward finding the best raconteurs with the best stories, rather than just going after big names (although there are some of those too). Not every story is one you’ll find worth listening to — they can’t all be winners — but when the quality dims, quantity is there to even things out. At least four guests are featured on each show, and the fact that Risk! is made up of so many short vignettes means that if you don’t like what you’re hearing now, the odds are you’ll get a kick out of the next bit.

Comedy & Everything Else

Jimmy Dore must have a decent reputation in the comedy world, because he books headlining shows and has a steady stream of quality guests for the podcast he hosts (along with co-host Stef Zamorano). David Spade ended up being a really compelling interviewee, and how could Joan Rivers’ story not be worth hearing? Sometimes there are playful bits with guests, where it sounds like everyone is having fun, but at some point each episode undergoes a tonal shift. The slide from stories about comedy to opinions on day-to-day news feels abrupt every time. As long as Jimmy and company don’t get too carried away they tend to make some interesting points, but the hostility that eventually emerges must be off-putting if the listener isn’t 100% on board with the philosophy behind it. When guests seem to feel uncomfortable agreeing with the partisan opinions Jimmy tries to goad them into endorsing, you just might find yourself squirming.

Jordan Jesse Go!

The titular Jordan and Jesse are Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn, a couple of funny guys who are both articulate and full of relatable opinions. Jordan is a comedian and TV host whose only film credit (All About Steve) is a perennial target of gentle ribbing, usually self-inflicted. Jesse Thorn is an all-around digital magnate with several podcasts and websites to his credit. Both of these guys are quick and sharp enough to go beat-for-beat with some of the funniest comics and writers working today and never seem too outmatched. Typical guests include actors like Martin Starr, literary humorists like Sarah Vowell, and pretty much every comedian who has a podcast, has ever been a guest on one, or ever will.

Rather than simply interviewing, the hosts include guests in the discussions they have planned out and whatever else happens to come up. There are dissections of modern social behaviors alongside rundowns of TV shows, music, and restaurants. It’s usually such free-flowing conversation, though, with everyone jumping in and detouring in different directions, that it’s a wonder they ever get back to whatever they were talking about in the first place. “This show needs Ritalin” Scott Aukerman said when he was a guest, prompting a bit about Ritalin sponsoring the show. Overall, Jordan, Jesse, GO! is a funny and subscription-worthy podcast from some total pros who’ve been at it a long time.

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Never Not Funny is the weekly podcast of national treasure, Jimmy Pardo. It is a thing of beauty. Although Pardo does charge a fee for subscribing, you can download a shortened version of each episode for free on iTunes.

Superego features improv games and sketches with some A-list guests

How Did This Get Made is Paul Scheer’s brand new weekly podcast devoted to deconstructing the abysmal failure movies that are currently stinking up a theatre near you. His co-hosts are Jason Mantzoukas (who co-stars with Scheer on The League), and June Diane Raphael.

Comedy Film Nerds is an in-depth look at movies from comedian/filmmakers Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini

Who Charted? is a new one from Howard Kremer (a/k/a Dragon Boy Suede), wherein he and a guest discuss the top 5 chart makers in music, movies, and television.

The Morning After is a podcast notable for pairing up comedians with porn stars to reach new levels of sexy awkwardness that you probably are not yet prepared to encounter.

Judge John Hodgman is the work of John Hodgman and you love John Hodgman so I’m not even going to say any more about this one.

Harland Highway is a trip into the wacky psyche of comedian Harland Williams, whom you will recognize from his bit roles in all the early Farrelly Brothers movies (i.e. the good ones).

Road 2 Shambala is a weekly podcast with up-and-coming New York comics celebrating conversation, Good Times, music, mystery, and beer.

UCB Asssscat! is a recording of the flagship show from L.A’s branch of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Funemployment Radio is the project of two former radio hosts from Portland who turned their stint at unemployment into a popular comedy podcast.

40 Year Old Boy is the brainchild of one Mike Schmidt. He describes it as “a brutally funny and profane steam-of-conscious monologue about my life” and he is not wrong.

The Best Show on WFMU features brilliant TV writer Tom Scharpling doing things to the radio call-in show format that are truly innovative. The 3-hour length requires patience, but also rewards it.

The Mike O’Meara Show is a fun mash-up of real-life, pop culture, news of the day, dynamic audio clips, and four guys busting each other’s balls.

Stop Podcasting Yourself is sloganed “Vancouver’s Top Comedy podcast?,” to give you an idea of the self-effacing wit of its hosts. The show is an affiliate of Jesse Thorn’s Maximum Fun family of podcasts.

MATTs Radio was an awesome weekly visit from comedians Matt Braunger and Matt Dwyer that had a stellar lineup of up-and-coming guests like Julie Klausner, Joe Mande, and Kumail Nanjiani. Unfortunately the Matts stopped recording in August of 2010, but with over a year’s worth of episodes banked, the show is worth seeking out.

Walking with Michelle is recorded while Michille Biloon goes on an adventure with some great guests.

The Dork Forest is veteran comedian Jackie Kashian hitting the sweet spot for comedy nerds who are also nerd-nerds, like, for real.

Bill Burr Monday Morning Podcast, Steve Agee: Uhhh, and Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident are all exactly what those titles would lead you to conclude.

Joe Berkowitz edits books and writes stuff. He also has a Tumblr.

A Seriously Comprehensive Guide to Comedy Podcasts