As some of you may know I hosted a podcast for a few years starting back in 2005. The show was called the On Hold podcast and was a topical, entertainment, and humor show that involved lots of drinking, a little drugs, some far too personal stories, and entertainment news of the day. Really it was a lot of fun and I miss it. However in 2008 I got a new job that kept me far too busy to podcast regularly, and I got married, had kids, etc etc... And it all just kind of slipped away.
But I've always been an avid fan of podcasting, and to this day spend much of my travel time listening to my favorite shows. Over the years the landscape has changed a lot, and I think my tastes have changed a bit too. While it used to be a online wild west audio free-for-all it seems like now the podcasting world is taming into something more polished and respectable. Not to lessen anything they've done for the medium but the days of Adam Curry and Dawn and Drew are past; for my money there are so many wonderful and truly professional podcasts out there now the stakes are raised to a whole new level. Sure there's still room for the little guy, sure there's still room for niche markets (that's the beauty of this kind of narrow-casting), and the medium is legitimately still evolving, but I think the big players are pretty much all on the field now. We'll just have to see where it goes from here.
I mention the changing landscape, and my history with podcasting because I've got a few recommendations that I wanted to throw out here and it might help to have some context. Over the past two years or so, a ton of professional comedians have gravitated into the podcasting world, and it seems like a natural fit. Frankly I'm surprised its taken so long, but as listeners we're really lucky to get access like never before to some great comedians. So here are some of my favorite comedy podcasts out there that I'd recommend to anyone.
Doug Loves Movies - Recorded live (usually at the UCB theater in LA), the show has a great hook in one of the most entertaining movie trivia games ever, and stoner comedian Doug Benson always has great comedy guests. This is my favorite podcast right now.
Comedy Bang Bang - Scott Aukerman hosts this great podcast with more of a radio show interview style. He brings on comedian guests to chat, and always keeps it funny, with good questions and fun games. Guests often come, and stay in character the entire episode. Very funny.
WTF - Despite some serious neurosis from comedian host Marc Maron, his comic interview show is so damn entertaining you can't help but listen. His guests include big name comedians and his interviews are simply put fantastic. He's a natural interviewer and manages to almost casually get great insights from some of the biggest comics of all time.
Hollywood Babble-On - Director Kevin Smith is no stranger to podcasting. I've been listening to his Smodcast for 5+ years now. But this, one of his newest podcasts (he has an entire network of them) is really the perfect one for me. Great comedy moments between Kevin and co-host Ralph Garman, generally covering geeky and fun entertainment news of the week, the show is constantly moving and always interesting.
There are so many more shows that I like but I find I just don't have time for them all. What's really nice though as a trend is that people who are professionally funny are finally picking up the podcasting microphone, producing some great content. There is treasure trove of information and comedy being chronicled right now in podcasting and its really very cool. I've discovered lots of comics that I might not have heard of before, especially since I have two young kids and can't get out that much. So now I know about people like Andy Daly, Jessica St Clair, and Paul F Tompkins and can look for them in the future.
So its not really about the technology or novelty of podcasting itself anymore, now its really about the content, and that's why I love it. I'd really recommend you check out any of the podcasts I mentioned above and let me know what you think.
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But I've always been an avid fan of podcasting, and to this day spend much of my travel time listening to my favorite shows. Over the years the landscape has changed a lot, and I think my tastes have changed a bit too. While it used to be a online wild west audio free-for-all it seems like now the podcasting world is taming into something more polished and respectable. Not to lessen anything they've done for the medium but the days of Adam Curry and Dawn and Drew are past; for my money there are so many wonderful and truly professional podcasts out there now the stakes are raised to a whole new level. Sure there's still room for the little guy, sure there's still room for niche markets (that's the beauty of this kind of narrow-casting), and the medium is legitimately still evolving, but I think the big players are pretty much all on the field now. We'll just have to see where it goes from here.
I mention the changing landscape, and my history with podcasting because I've got a few recommendations that I wanted to throw out here and it might help to have some context. Over the past two years or so, a ton of professional comedians have gravitated into the podcasting world, and it seems like a natural fit. Frankly I'm surprised its taken so long, but as listeners we're really lucky to get access like never before to some great comedians. So here are some of my favorite comedy podcasts out there that I'd recommend to anyone.
Doug Loves Movies - Recorded live (usually at the UCB theater in LA), the show has a great hook in one of the most entertaining movie trivia games ever, and stoner comedian Doug Benson always has great comedy guests. This is my favorite podcast right now.
Comedy Bang Bang - Scott Aukerman hosts this great podcast with more of a radio show interview style. He brings on comedian guests to chat, and always keeps it funny, with good questions and fun games. Guests often come, and stay in character the entire episode. Very funny.
WTF - Despite some serious neurosis from comedian host Marc Maron, his comic interview show is so damn entertaining you can't help but listen. His guests include big name comedians and his interviews are simply put fantastic. He's a natural interviewer and manages to almost casually get great insights from some of the biggest comics of all time.
Hollywood Babble-On - Director Kevin Smith is no stranger to podcasting. I've been listening to his Smodcast for 5+ years now. But this, one of his newest podcasts (he has an entire network of them) is really the perfect one for me. Great comedy moments between Kevin and co-host Ralph Garman, generally covering geeky and fun entertainment news of the week, the show is constantly moving and always interesting.
There are so many more shows that I like but I find I just don't have time for them all. What's really nice though as a trend is that people who are professionally funny are finally picking up the podcasting microphone, producing some great content. There is treasure trove of information and comedy being chronicled right now in podcasting and its really very cool. I've discovered lots of comics that I might not have heard of before, especially since I have two young kids and can't get out that much. So now I know about people like Andy Daly, Jessica St Clair, and Paul F Tompkins and can look for them in the future.
So its not really about the technology or novelty of podcasting itself anymore, now its really about the content, and that's why I love it. I'd really recommend you check out any of the podcasts I mentioned above and let me know what you think.
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2 comments:
Some of my other favorite comedy podcasts include: Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, How Did This Get Made?, Comedy & Everything Else, The Joe Rogan Experience, Never Not Funny, Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, Judge John Hodgman, The Smartest Man in the World (Greg Proops' podcast), Who Charted?, and The Earwolf Challenge (which introduced me to The Little Dum Dum Club, The Totally Laime Podcast, and Left Handed Radio). All of these shows are really fun listens :)
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