Podcasts

This page of the revamped Jester site will feature a listing of the site’s favorite comedy and comedy-related podcasts, along with lists of some of the best episodes of these podcasts – in effect our own curated “required listening” primer. At some time in the future, Jester’s own podcast will be in the works, and listeners will find that here.

Adam Carolla Show – Man Show co-host and author of “In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks,” took to the web after CBS cancelled his radio show. His show runs 60 to 90 minutes, and is on a few times a week, alternating between live shows and in-studio editions. In recent months, he’s had interesting repeat appearances from musician Ben Folds and documentary director Morgan Spurlock. http://www.adamcarolla.com/

Judge John Hodgman – The actor who played the stodgy PC in the Apple Mac commercials and special commentator from The Daily Show gets to play a judge on his own podcast, in which he rules on household or sub-small claims type disputes. http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/judge-john-hodgman

Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show – A long discursive podcast – episodes clock in between 90 minutes and two hours or more – but Pollak does give listeners a chance to get in-depth with numerous comedians and comedic actors. Even lesser known acts like Kate Micucci (with the Garfunkel & Oates duo) and Jimmy Fallon writer Wayne Federman get the treatment. Some of the length of the shows does get taken up with party games with the guests. http://kevinpollakschatshow.com/

Nick & Artie Show (Nick DiPaolo and Artie Lange) – DiPaolo, a close colleague of Louis C.K. and Opie & Anthony, has paired with former Howard Stern show sidekick Artie Lange (see book review, 11/9/08) for a 3-hour weeknight sports-focused show for the web and Fox radio. DiPaolo and Lange engage in conversations about the night’s games but also about sports in general, but all of their talk definitely plays comedically. www.nickandartie.com

Real Time With Bill Maher – Audio versions of Bill Maher’s weekly HBO show, plus the “Overtime” discussion that are run online after the live show, are available for free on iTunes, even for non-HBO subscribers. It’s a smart way of keeping Maher’s opinions accessible to the larger conversation.

The B.S. Report With Bill Simmons – This is largely a sports podcast, but it does semi-regularly intersect with the world of comedy, through its guests, which have included Weird Al Yankovic, Adam Carolla, Norm Macdonald and Seth Meyers. A particularly memorable episode featured Carolla and Simmons dissecting the latest “Fast and Furious” movie. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=bsreport

The Tobolowsky Files – is a spin-off of “Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party,” a documentary in which the highly recognizable character actor regales audiences with some of his amazing life stories. Tobolowsky has done over 50 of these now, far more than there was room for in the film. www.tobolowskyfiles.com

This Week With Larry Miller – a unique weekly storytelling podcast of about 30 minutes, where the veteran comedian reaches into his past life experiences for interesting stories, interspersed with views on little life annoyances. http://www.adamcarolla.com/LMBlog/ Some of the best episodes are “Hey, Fatso!” “Mom, Meet Hooker. Hooker, Mom.” and “One No Good, Five OK”

WTF With Marc Maron – the indispensable podcast for, as Maron puts it, “the comedy nerd community.” Begun in fall 2009, the twice-weekly podcast now has two years and more than 200 episodes under its belt. Maron often gets his guests to reveal a lot about themselves and the craft of comedy. Some episodes are recordings of multi-guest live shows Maron does. www.wtfpod.com. Multiple classic episodes to recommend from this one including ones featuring Jim Norton, Patrice O’Neal, Judd Apatow, Louis CK, Paul Scheer, the infamous Gallagher walkout, Henry Rollins, Dave Foley, Carl LaBove (a close colleague of Sam Kinison), Conan O’Brien, Jonathan Winters, Amy Poehler, Rob Riggle and Bryan Cranston. Maron does occasionally stray a bit outside comedy to personalities that will still be of interest to comedy fans.

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