This Week in Podcasts: Steve Carell, Pete Homes, and Hugo Chavez

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. 

The Nerdist - Steve Carell

ROGER: Podcasts have reached the point in their evolution where it’s no longer big news simply because a high-profile actor appeared on one, but it is still a big shot in the arm for the medium to have a Steve Carell spend a little over an hour of his promotional tour talking to Chris Hardwick. Hardwick – who conducted the interview solo and didn’t even have to give his big time guest an expensive and caring gift beforehand this time! – asked Carell several questions that touched upon the various milestones throughout his career that comedy connoisseurs are interested in knowing about, including the all-too-brief time in his life when The Dana Carvey Show was allowed to be on television, how he got his role as a Daily Show correspondent, his approach to making himself look like the idiot, and the right ways to perform improv. Somewhat organically stemming from Hardwick’s first-hand eyewitness account of Carell flop sweating during his first TV appearance being himself, the lack of originality, and the well-established rules and restrictions of late night talk show sit-downs was also discussed, which just highlighted the advantages of podcasts to television when it comes to getting to know the guy who proved that “that’s what she said” could be funny. But most importantly: the Anchorman 2 script is “really funny,” and smart/silly.

Walking The Room #1D - Dave’s Dollop with Dave Anthony

MARC: Greg Behrendt is taking a break of some kind. A sabbatical. A walkabout, perhaps. Whatever is going on, one-half of Walking The Room has left the room (or the closet) and the other half – Dave Anthony – rather than wait for his buddy to return, is soldiering on. Clocking in at a half an hour, Anthony at first seems apprehensive and tentative about treading in the earspace the two guys normally fill with raucous humor. But the man is a stand-up and an actor so before you know it, he’s off into a rant about the dog in the apartment upstairs that won’t stop barking and reading the non-sympathetic text from his landlord live as it comes in. Regular cuddlers know Anthony to be a guy who’s got some anger issues. While it seems his anger is operating at full strength here, he’s also able to temper it and find a bit more meat on the bone than when he and Behrendt are riffing at 90 miles an hour. I don’t know how many Dollops there’ll be before his partner returns, but I found Anthony’s solo run to be good fun.

You Made it Weird #133 - Brody Stevens

JAY: Pete Holmes doesn’t even try to resist imitating Brody Stevens on this week’s You Made it Weird. You may recognize Brody from The Steven Brody Stevens Festival of Friendship podcast or movies such as: Hangover, Hangover II, or Due Date. He’s been there. People like him. He’s personal friends with Zach Galifianakis. If you know Brody, you were reading that whole intro in his voice. Yes! Positive energy. Never one to be shy, Stevens brings his A-game to this interview. He and Holmes discuss comedy, baseball, affirmations, relationships, Brody’s well-publicized breakdown, and more. Like a great therapist, Pete Holmes gives us a fascinating insight into Stevens’s unique comedic voice and when the podcast concludes, we all know a little more about Brody and ourselves. And that is positive energy. Yes! Enjoy it.

The Bugle #227 - Farewell Bush’s Muse

ELISE: It was a big week in news both international and personal for The Bugle. The latest episode explores why the recently deceased Hugo Chavez is not worthy of the coveted Fuckeulogy, why Jesus probably wouldn’t win elected office, and why it’s possible that John Oliver will end up sacrificing animals live on air when he takes over for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show this summer. There’s also a definitive answer on the sexual habits of molecules and what The Times of London has to say about its former podcasting duo. And of course, there’s a respectful look at the glorious return of Silvio Berlusconi on the Italian political scene.

Harmontown #47 - Procrasturbation

JENNY: For this week’s Harmontown, Dan begins by pulling up an agenda on his new smartphone. He and Jeff Davis mostly manage to stick to the list, but a lot of items end up coming back to the first, which is Dan’s idea for a morality based on poop. What if, he asks, instead of pooping your own pants when you die, you could poop anyone else’s? Jeff has a lot of questions – does Dan want to be known for creating this initiative? Would that make people want to send poop to his pants? What does this mean for people who already poop their pants regularly? What about for presidents in times of war and unhappy soldier-ghosts? The hypotheticals escalate in a segment pleasantly reminiscent of Comedy Bang Bang’s “Would You Rather?” bits but with perhaps a heavier karmic weight. They also discuss how lame Superman is unless you know about his Jewish backstory, bring pushy Harmontown regular Adam Goldberg to the stage for a quick gift exchange, and lead their D&D party into a pit of snake people.

This Week on the Splitsider Podcast Network:

The Complete Guide to Everything: Supermarket Shopping

In this episode we talk about getting into altercations with experienced shoppers in supermarkets, the merits of leaving milk in the refrigerator until it solidifies for easier disposal, tricking your children into thinking your favorite cereal is health food, the many infuriating new flavors of mayonnaise and the strange cases of Miracle Whip and Cool Whip.

You Had To Be There #100: Mike Birbiglia

This week, Sara and Nikki just barely evade the censors and then react to Nikki’s illicit half hour special gifts. To celebrate their first triple-digit episode, the ladies entertain one of their biggest guests yet: Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs). In Sara’s humble office, the trio kick around some themes Mike covered in his recent movie Sleepwalk with Me, like crazy dreams and on-stage stress. Later, they get to some he left out too, like the isolation of marriage and the optimism of cell division. Plus Kanye. They really cover it all. Talking Pee this week singles out The Ben Show, that new Baumbach movie, a positive Internet interaction, and Maria Bamford’s comedian-approved comedy. Here’s to the next hundred.

It’s That Episode 57: Justin Tyler Was Super Into the Super Mario TV Show

Justin Tyler (Comic Book Club) used to play Nintendo like it was his job, so when he needed to take a break from work, he’d watch The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Justin and Craig talk about everything video games, from Zelda to Zelda cereal, and try to figure out why the star of The Super Mario TV show, wrestler Captain Lou Albano, was friends with Cyndi Lauper. Also, plenty of hashtags including #captainloumissing4ever and #mariopoopjuice.

The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: Fantasy Kingdoms with DC Pierson

This week on the Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, Jeff talks to comedian/author/actor DC Pierson, whose new book Crap Kingdom is now for sale. They talk about being in commercials, The fantasy series The Red Wall, and then they each say the three fantasy worlds they would least like to live in, and the three fantasy worlds that they would most like to live in.

A Funny Thing: Streeter Seidell Loves Dogs, Re-animation of Dead

Our story this week: Streeter Seidell (CollegeHumor) takes us down his twisting path of pet ownership, from the truth of how horrible cats are to the inevitable dark magic ritual that brought a colony of dead mice back to life. Only one of them came back evil!

Left Handed Radio: Sequel Machine—’G. I. Joe 3taliation’

Every month, The Sequel Machine recruits 25 writers to write the sequels for film’s biggest franchises one page at a time. The catch is, the writers only get to read the page before theirs in a round-robin, exquisite corpse style. The end result is a hilarious, twisted, and as coherent as any misquided Hollywood sequel. This month: G. I. Joe 3taliation.

Roger Cormier does not have a cool DJ name, but that is okay.

Elise Czajkowski is a freelance journalist in New York City.

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 lives in New York and studies structure and pop culture things.

This Week in Podcasts: Steve Carell, Pete Homes, and […]