Four Comedy Podcast Gems
New shows are flooding the podcast industry on a daily basis, and the comedy genre is no exception. Since comedy is rooted in great writing and joke delivery, podcasting is a perfect medium for the genre.
Podcasts have quickly become a rite of passage for comedians. Finding the true gems among a sea of shows means going beyond the podcasts coming from popular celebrities, such as the veteran show “WTF with Marc Maron” or the newly debuted “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” (both of which are unequivocally great shows). Instead, these four shows are ones that probably won’t ever be featured on Apple Podcasts’ homepage — their humor bucks the mainstream with highly engaging, original content. Listening to any of the following podcasts is sure to brighten your day with an hour of comedy gold.
Dr. Gameshow
Comedy podcast network Earwolf has no shortage of hilarious content, but one show that is often overlooked in its catalogue is the inimitable “Dr. Gameshow.” Small-time comedians Jo Firestone and Manolo Moreno host the show, and their contrasting personalities bring the podcast to life. Moreno’s self-deprecating, gloomy attitude is reminiscent of Eeyore from “Winnie the Pooh,” while Firestone boasts a quirky, devil-may-care disposition.
Each week, the hosts play listener-submitted games, usually with call-in contestants and a guest comedian. The games always verge on absurdity, but that makes them all the more enjoyable. Examples include “Werewolf Elton John,” where contestants are asked to sing Elton John songs while slowly turning into werewolves, and “Alaska? I’ll Ask Her,” where contestants guess whether or not a town name is a fictional or real city in Alaska.
The show’s devoted fanbase is as much a mainstay as the hosts — the podcast, by its nature, involves listeners at every opportunity. Their irreverent interactions with the hosts are as hilarious as the hosts themselves, and the hosts’ choice to allow listeners to take the reins of the show at times makes it a uniquely community-oriented podcast. Though Earwolf sadly canceled the show at the end of 2018, its archive features 63 full-length episodes.
DELETE THIS!
From WNYC, this social media podcast offers perceptive commentary on the digital age through a omedic lens. Its hosts are popular YouTuber Hank Green of “vlogbrothers” fame, who has over 790,000 followers on Twitter, and his social media-averse wife Katherine. Green is a frequent Twitter user, and on “DELETE THIS!” he reviews each of his oft-misguided tweets with Katherine’s help. Green always realizes how his passion for a topic in the moment can cause him to tweet something he regrets later, and his wife makes him delete at least one tweet each week.
“DELETE THIS!” offers a critical look into how we can tailor social media to our own needs, rather than succumbing to algorithms designed to keep us using social networks as often as possible. This nuanced examination of the internet age doesn’t prevent the show from being exceedingly humorous, however. The couple has such natural chemistry, and neither is afraid to speak candidly about their lives and relationship. Together, they become a comedy duo that makes you laugh out loud while being endearing and heartwarming at the same time.
Off-Book
Another offering from Earwolf, “Off-Book: The Improvised Musical” is an adventurous delight. Improv is a genre that wonderfully adapts itself to the podcasting medium. Through sound effects and great acting, podcasts create expansive, imaginative worlds without worrying about the lack of visuals. “Off-Book” takes full advantage of this.
Hosts Zach Reino and Jess McKenna are experienced improvisers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. On top of this, they are impressive singers and voice actors, which allows them to create characters in many different voice registers and improvise songs from almost any genre. The musicals the two create each week are impressive in their range and creativity, and while the plots and songs are imperfect due to their on-the-spot nature, the catchiest tunes will often stick, and the stories take on thematic elements that deepen their quality.
The best comedy moments come when Reino and McKenna don’t try to act like they are performing a real, developed musical — the cracks in the stories and the hosts’ hasty attempts to cover them up are just as funny as the punchlines themselves. For theater nerds and comedy lovers alike, putting on an “Off-Book” episode means an hour of nonstop fun.
Wooden Overcoats
This British sitcom sets itself up for success with an uncanny, darkly humorous premise: On a small island in the English Channel, Rudyard Funn lives comfortably as the isle’s only funeral director — until rival Eric Chapman moves to town and sets up another funeral home just across the street. The two begin to rejoice over every death the island sees, and compete for the affection (and business) of the deceased’s family. This storyline proves to be absurd when the show’s narrator is revealed to be a mouse who fancies herself as a budding journalist, documenting the funeral directors’ travails.
As the series progresses over three seasons, listeners become increasingly invested in the show’s wide cast of recurring characters, including Rudyard’s sister, Antigone, who displays nihilistic tendencies and a deep obsession with embalming fluids, and the town’s mayor, Desmond Desmond, whose frustrating and bumbling idiocy creates amusing situations for the two funeral directors to navigate. Unlike podcast genres like true crime and interview shows that have become discouragingly oversaturated, the audio drama market is wide open. “Wooden Overcoats” follows in the footsteps of other fictional podcasts like “Welcome to Night Vale” and “The Truth” to produce one of the strongest offerings the genre has to date.