21
votes
Podcast Recommendations
I was wondering if anyone had any good humor or social commentary podcast recommendations. I've come to a blank when trying to find new ones. Any and all suggestions welcome!
I was wondering if anyone had any good humor or social commentary podcast recommendations. I've come to a blank when trying to find new ones. Any and all suggestions welcome!
I listen to a lot of podcasts, but there are only three that I'm consistently excited to see in my download queue:
Runners up include:
EDIT: For humor/pop-culture I like Fat Man on Batman by Kevin Smith (director of Clerks/Mall Rats)
Second Hardcore History. The time between releases is long, but it's worth it because of the depths Carlin goes to in writing and producing.
Would also recommend to OP Chapo Trap House, which is both a humor and social commentary podcast. It does have a very hard leftist slant and glees a bit in being non-politically correct, but it is funny and insightful.
if you enjoy Fatman on Batman check out Tell em Steve-Dave, it's 3 of Kevin's mates he grew up with just talking and ragging on each other each week.
This pod is where Comic book men came from, its got about 350 some episodes but is well worth jumping in
I like pretty much all of these - but am I alone in thinking this current season of Revisionist History has been quite underwhelming? It feels more like the Malcolm Gladwell greatest hits than genuinely fresh, new content. It's still good - but previous seasons have set a very high bar.
my brother my brother and me
Given the interest in D&D that recently popped up, from the McElroy it's worth checking also The Adventure Zone: http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone
The McElroys have so many podcasts they could be a network in their own right.
Also if you like a bit more structure from your McElroys (mbmbam is great, but it's mostly just funny nonsense) Justin has a podcast with his wife who is a GP, and they do weird/bad medical history. It was the first podcast I ever listened to, and I still think it's great!
Sawbones is great. Court Appointed is pretty good, too. Similar format but for legal stuff.
Seconding this and the recommendation below for The Adventure Zone. Both are great shows that are a lot of fun, and they're what got me into podcasts in the first place.
Critical Role, Druken Dungeons and Dragons, Radiolab, Supermega, H3 podcast, Stuff you should know. I know a lot of those are nerdy or whatever, but even my girlfriend who isn't into that stuff is always laughing from the interactions between the people in them (minus RL and SYSK).
Yeah, I love the H3 podcast, mostly due to my interest in internet personalities.
You might like supermega. A lot of it is just bantering, but they're hilarious imo
+1 for supermega! Matt and Ryan are absolutely hilarious.
WNYC (an NPR affiliate) had a good series recently called 'The Eights'. It covers major cultural shifts in the United States each decade starting in 1948, going to 1958, etc. It's a good (if sometimes distressing/depressing) look at some of the themes of American culture, and they give some good data to back things up too!
I also really enjoy More Perfect (about the US Supreme Court) and Radiolab from WNYC!
Thanks. I plan to listen to this over the next few days.
The YogPod still remains one of my favourite podcasts to date. It’s just two middle-aged british guys having a laugh, really easy listening and hilarious to boot.
Have anything to do with Yogscast? I used to watch them a lot about 6 or 7 years ago.
Yup, the YogPod is their first podcast from a few years ago, and it's hilarious. They have a new one now called Triforce, which is very similar, and still pretty funny.
In a similar vein, I love Idle Thumbs and the related Important If True.
Idle Thumbs is a gaming podcast by some guys in the industry, and IIT is by the same group just rambling about whatever.
Unfortunately both are now sort of on hiatus while the hosts are busy with running their game studio/being bought by Valve/making their next game.
Three of my favorites:
Beautiful Anonymous: "1 phone call. 1 hour. No names. No holds barred." Each episode Chris Gethard has a one hour phone call with an anonymous stranger. It's a wide slice of life from unique and interesting people.
Hello Internet: Youtubers CGP Grey and Brady Haran talk about everything from Réunion swamphens to the transporter paradox to flag referenda.
Penn's Sunday School: Penn Jillette, Michael Goudeau, and Matt Donnelly talk about life and culture as seen through the eyes of Las Vegas magicians. If you are into Bob Dylan, magic, monkeys, naked pissing elvis impersonators, and libertarianism, or like listening to guys who are, this is the podcast to listen to.
If you like Women's Issues! LGBTQ+ Issues! Fun Times! I would highly recommend Throwing Shade.
Ear Hustle (https://www.earhustlesq.com/) is a podcast that talks about life inside prison and is made inside a prison with lots of interviews. It just rapped up its second season and has 19 episodes. It an easy and interesting listen.
I'm not a podcast guy but the one podcast that's really drawn me in is Hello Internet.
Citations Needed at the top of the list, because it's one of the best and most important podcasts that presently exists if you care at all about anything that actually matters. The others in no particular order.
Citations Needed
Brilliant, poignant, and pointed media criticism by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson. Recommended first episode: Whichever title catches your eye the most. They're all self-contained, so you can really start anywhere you like and listen in whatever order you please. Every episode is excellent. I especially recommend the Yemen episode (17) or the Palestine episodes (28/29) if you'd like an eye opener into the inhuman cruelty of American foreign policy.
https://soundcloud.com/citationsneeded
Chapo Trap House
Absurdist comedy podcast about american and world politics and the very stupid world we live in. Recommended first episode: any of 58 - We Live In The Zone Now (the immediate post-2016 election episode), or 133 - Antifap feat. Shuja Haider (immediate post-Charlottesville episode), or 164 - The Deficit Rag (post Dec. 2017 Republican budget passage episode). Whatever you do, don't start at the very beginning - it took them a few episodes to figure out what they were doing.
https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house
Revolutions
A concise and compact historical educational series about various revolutions throughout history, from the English Civil Wars onwards. Recommended first episode: 000 - Introduction, then 1.1 - The Kingdoms of Charles Stuart. Would suggest listening in linear order from the beginning. Otherwise it might be confusing.
http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/
Ashes Ashes
A podcast about major structural issues in society that threaten humanity's dignity, health, and survival on a global scale. Recommended first episode: 16 - What We Reap. But most of them are good, and there's no necessary order.
https://ashesashes.org/
Citations Needed is so so good.
Just to throw some out in a similar vein: Srsly Wrong, Streetfight, Radio War Nerd, This is Hell.
Thanks, I'll give Citations Needed a look, sounds interesting. I tried Chapo Trap House but it didn't click, I guess too US-centric and they were like two hours long, without really saying anything for like half an hour at a time in the few I listened too.
Comedy Bang Bang is a humor podcast where the guests participate in improv with a wide variety of standard and guest starring comedians hosted by Scott Aukerman. They made a 5 season T.V. adaption in a talk show format that was star-studded and absolutely hilarious if you're into absurdist humor; it's on Netflix
Pretty much everything Scott Aukerman touches is gold. I'm not usually into improv but the group of people he usually gets on his shows work so well.
I somehow hated the show but absolutely love the podcast.
I really like Pete Holmes podcast You Made It Weird. He is a comedian who had a talk show, and now interviews all sorts of different people, from actors and comedians to musicians and spiritual gurus.
My suggestion would be to start with an episode of a guest you really like, and expand from there. My personal favorites have been Bo Burnham, Richard Rohrs and Michael Ches episodes.
I loved the ones with Boom Burnham but i keep forgetting to go back and see if there's other gems in there. I'll check out those two guests for sure now though. Cheers
The Way I Heard it - mike rowe. Small stories usually with a twist or surprise due to mike's way of telling the story. Learn a ton and be entertained and all in 5-10min episodes. Plus it's hard not to enjoy mike rowe's voice and story telling cadence.
I also second anything with scotty ox! "Solo bolo" series with john ralfio and all the best of's with PFT arw amazing.
The Dollop, each episode is a hilarious tale on a piece of history or person. Trust me, my description does not do it justice!
The podcast Cumtown is a super funny one I listen to, and I also do my own NSFW animal podcast called Animal Jam. You can find both on iTunes by searching "-name- podcast iTunes."
Cumtown is three New York comedians just riffing about dumb stuff. I like it because they are usually very funny and they cut out all the boring podcast stuff like intros and the ads are also very funny.
My podcast is just a bunch of friends of mine and myself talking about animals and making crude jokes. It doesn't hit it's stride until about Episode 6, but there are bunch of good ones from 10-current.
Hello From the Magic Tavern, one of the funniest podcasts I've ever listened to. It's completely improvised, and the basic story is that some guy fell through a portal into a fantasy world (think D&D), and he does a weekly podcast from a tavern in this world. They are very good at improvising.
The Last Podcast On the Left - A show hosted by three comedians who are die hard fans of true crime, paranormal activity, conspiracy, the supernatural or things that are just plain weird and crazy. Check out their most recent series on the murders of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.
The Joe Rogan Experience - This man probably needs no introduction, but I mention this show just in case. If you haven't watched/listened to this show, just look up the Alex Jones episode on YouTube to start with. Also check out the episodes with Jamie Foxx, Megan Phelps-Roger, Leah Remini, Jordan Peterson, and episode #666 with Duncan Trussel. Ought to give you an idea of what the show is about.
The Best Debate In The Universe - A podcast hosted by my favorite angry Armenian guy, Maddox. Maddox is a satirist and writer who's most well known for his website The Best Page In The Universe and his YouTube channel. The show is mostly centered around debating contemporary topics. Heads up, they had to work quite a bit on the format of the show and it improved a lot over time.
I really love LPOTL. I've heard some criticism that it's a bit too 'morning zoo' but if you have a passing interest in 'counter culture' (demons, aliens, cults, serial killers, etc.) And connect with even one of the three hosts I think you'll get hooked pretty quick. The overall positivity of the show too is really worth mentioning. There's a big focus on what makes people act in heinous ways, and very little dehumanizing them. Can't recommend it enough.
Stephen Frye's Great Leap Years. The melodious voice of a wonderfully wry Brit giving us the history of some of the world's greatest inventions. Fun and educational with enough humour to carry it over.
I don't know how popular this would be here, but Welcome To Nightvale is one of my all time favs. Blends a surreal/gothic style of comedy that I absolutely love with great story telling and awesome music from independent artists into a huge ongoing documentation about this dusty little desert town in the USA.
Waking up with Sam Harris.
Monday Morning Podcast with Bill Burr
I mostly listen to comedy podcasts, but my favourites are:
8bit book club- 3 people reading awful video game books
A very fatal murder- a hilarious comedy podcast about murder making fun of other podcasts, Made by the onion
I love Criminal for its amazing Soundtrack, just nothing like it. other than that it showcases the human stories behind crimes past.
And there is Love + Radio my absolute favourite, as it is just produced with so much attention to detail.
Bodega Boys is a funny podcast by the two Bronx natives Desus & Mero. They also had a talk show on Viceland that just ended. The podcast mainly contains commentary on hip-hop, pop-culture and anecdotes from their lives. NSFW language and topics.
I listen mainly to two different podcasts:
The Jeff and Casey Show. A funny, somewhat nerdy and sadly irregular podcast by two programmer dudes (one the president of Rad Game Tools, that company whose logo you see in front of every videogame and the guy who runs handmade hero) who might occasionally talk about programming but mostly pick one random topic (sex bots, "smart" coffee makers, awful books, etc) and dissect it to absolutely hilarious detail.
If you're a movie person I love Kermode and Mayo. They have a special kind of banter that only two hyper-intelligent Brits can have. Really funny and Mark is an excellent critic.
Seconding this, as a devout wittertainee myself. I don't always share their subjective taste in films, but the critique and thought put into each review is always of the highest quality.
The banter is exceedingly funny and the extra bits you get on the podcast (the main show is part of a live BBC radio broadcast) are great.
Sword and Scale is a pretty good crime podcast.
The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe is my personal favorite podcast. It's primarily focused on discussion and analysis of the previous week's scientific news, and as the name implies, it also includes discussions on skeptic culture and the fight against the proliferation of pseudoscience.
Freakonomics and Planet Money have always been my go tos