Our Favorite Podcasts!

In addition to all the traditional media we consume here at spunkybean, we just love a good podcast.  Most of them are comedy based, of course, but they also sometimes mix in movies, tv, music and sports.  Here’s our guide to the best of the best.  While in most cases we’re giving you a link to the podcast’s actual website, they’re all available free on iTunes if that’s how you like to do things.

Comedy Bang Bang – Scott Aukerman (Mr. Show) hosts this weekly podcast, and every week it’s one of our most-anticipated shows.  Every week there’s a guest or two, people like Patton Oswalt, Jon Hamm, Andy Richter, Amy Poehler, or any number of great comics.  Most episodes also have a surprise visitor – say, Ice T (Paul F. Tompkins), or Jesse “The Body” Ventura (James Adomian), or a DJ called El Chupacabra (Nick Kroll).  These characters keep it from turning into a standard interview format, and make it more of an improv show.  Most episodes have games like “Would You Rather?” (recent question – “Would you rather eat an entire human being once, or only eat at Chipotle?”), and sometimes there’s even a freestyle rap batter (Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler?  Surprisingly good!)  It’s always a fun listen, and sometimes the results are brilliant.  Check out the recent two-part clip show that ended the year – you’re almost guaranteed to hear at least a few of your favorite comedians.  And hey – IFC just picked up a TV version of the podcast.  We don’t know how Thomas Lennon is going to play Little Gary in live-action, but we’re looking forward to it.  (You can follow the host on Twitter, @ScottAukerman and submit “Would You Rather?” questions to @CBBWYR.)

How Did This Get Made? — 2011 Spunky Award Winner Paul Scheer, along with his NTSF:SD:SUV:: co-star (and real life wife) June Diane Raphael, and Paul’s The League co-star Jason Mantzoukas, watch terrible movies and then talk about them.  Sometimes they legitimately love insane movies (Punisher: War Zone, Crank 2), and sometimes they’re confused and angry (Old Dogs, Burlesque), but they dissect ridiculous films and try to make sense of the plot, figure our what went wrong, and celebrate Nicolas Cage.  (A frequent topic on the show.)  Each episode, they have a guest help them out, like Adam Scott for Fast Five, Damon Lindelof for Superman III, or Paul F. Tompkins for The Smurfs.  They have a genuine affection for bad movies, and sometimes even get into what point the movie was trying to make or how an awful scene could have been better – they really have a genuine affection for these subpar films.  (Especially Paul and June – Jason tends to get angry and wish harm upon directors.)  You can enjoy the show even if you happen to like the movie that they’re discussing (Oh, poor misunderstood Green Lantern…), which makes for a more consistently entertaining and inclusive show.  Trust us – if you haven’t heard a discussion of the geographic implausibilities of Jingle all the Way, then you really haven’t experienced Jingle all the Way.  (You can follow two of the three hosts on Twitter – @paulscheer and @msjunediane)

Sklarbro Country–Identical twin brothers and stand-up comedians Randy and Jason Sklar host this weekly show, which combines their love of sports with their love of comedy and their many friends in the industry.  We first were acquainted with these guys back on their ESPN Classic show Cheap Seats, and always enjoy when they fill in for Jim Rome, which they say is what prompted them to create this podcast.  Each week they answer emails from loyal fans, do a bit called “Quick Hits” to give their thoughts on (often absurd) sports headlines, interview a guest or two and welcome regulars like Bruce Jenner, Bryant Gumbel (both played by Jason Nash), Jesse Ventura and Gary Busey (both played by James Adomian) when they call in.  They have a catchphrase (“Henderson!”, which comes from a favorite play by play announcer’s call), and a recurring fantasy guru, Jesse Thorne, who instead of talking fantasy football or baseball, will go in depth on a fantasy marsupial league.  They’re also awesome to follow on twitter, @sklarbrothers.  Being from the midwest, we appreciate their midwestern roots (they hail from St. Louis and attended The University of Michigan) and their coastal connections (they spent time working in both New York and Los Angeles in their many years in comedy).  Plus, it’s funny when they talk in unison.

Doug Loves Movies–Another one in the brotherhood of comedy podcasts that features comic Doug Benson (you’ve seen him on the I Love The…specials if nowhere else) and a group of regulars: Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, Jimmy Pardo, TJ Miller and and Freaks & Geeks alum Samm Levine.  There’s also a bevy of celebrity guests, like Jon Hamm, Sarah Silverman, Adam Scott and Aziz Ansari.  The focus of this briskly paced show is movies, mostly recent ones, and movie trivia, which runs the gamut.  We’ve only found it recently, but the episodes we’ve heard have been awesome.  Any show that has Paul F. Tompkins screaming “Burgess Fucking Meredith!” when discussing the Rocky movies is a winner with us.  (follow @DougBenson on twitter)

WTF with Marc Maron–Maron has an interesting story.  He was a somewhat successful stand up who didn’t quite hit the big time and subsequently flamed out for a while.  He’s now built himself a very successful podcast that’s got him back on the comedy circuit, with his angry, blunt, neurotic style. His guests are mostly comics, but he’ll toss in a chat with the likes of Anthony Bourdain or a musical guest, too.  There’s the occasional live show with an audience, which is fun, and he’s happy to invite folks into the Cat Ranch (his garage) that he has a “past” with, like Louis CK or Michael Ian Black.  He also gets very noteworthy guests like Conan O’Brien and Russell Brand, fresh off his divorce from Katy Perry.  And he asks tough questions and confronts issues head on.  (follow him @marcmaron on twitter)

The Pod F. Tompkast — Paul F. Tompkins (@pftompkins) sometimes takes a break from appearing on other people’s podcasts to produce his own.  This show usually appears on the first of the month, though he’s just coming off a break.  Still, it’s always worth the wait.  Most of the show is just Tompkins talking to the audience, and just going where his train of thought leads him.  He’ll go off on a tangent about the possibility that pillows are living creatures that desire only to be loved, or mull over a strange turn of phrase.  From most other people, it would just be rambling, but Tompkins is so quick-witted and adept that he can turn anything into comedy.  The show also includes several regular segments – there’s always a clip from his live show, for example.  Usually it’s a short sketch with a celebrity guest or two, though he also does “Google Voice Theater”, in which he reads transcripts from the notoriously unreliable program.  Each episode also includes an installment of “The Great Undiscovered Project”, which is presented as a series of phone calls between a group of collaborators on a movie (all played by Tompkins).  This particular series is reaching the end, so presumably we’ll find out why a movie written by Ice T and Stephen Sondheim, directed by Garry Marshall, starring John C. Reilly, John Lithgow, and Mr. Brainwash and catered by the Cake Boss was doomed to failure.  Finally, Paul always calls his friend and fellow stand-up Jen Kirkman.  She recounts stories of her childhood and comedy career, and they’re always hysterical.  Tompkins is one of the best comics in the business these days, and his show never disappoints.

Analyze Phish — In this occasional show, Parks and Recreation writer Harris Wittels tries to convince Comedy Bang Bang’s Scott Aukerman to like the band Phish.  Harris plays Phish songs (Well, parts of songs.  Those things go on forever!), and then he and Scott talk about them.  None of this sounds funny, but somehow it is.  Scott and Harris go back a ways, and they have a great chemistry.  Besides, it seems like you either get Phish or you don’t (we kind of don’t), so it’s inherently funny to try to win somebody over by discussing it.  But man, Harris knows a lot about the band.  The most recent episode also featured Adam Scott sitting in, but we’re really geeked for the upcoming episode.  Scott and Harris went to a Phish show over the holidays, and we’re really looking forward to Aukerman’s take on the experience.  Harris has a funny Twitter account over at @twittels and he’s also the man behind the famous @humblebrag.

Girl on Guy — Hosted by Aisha Tyler (Archer), this show features lengthy conversations between Tyler and her guest of the week.  It’s not even really an interview – they just sit down and talk about what interests them and it almost feels like you’re eavesdropping.  This approach leads to some fascinating tangents.  On any given week, you’re going to learn something about her guest that you would never hear anywhere else.  We recommend the episodes with Paul F. Tompkins (him again!) or any of her Archer cohorts.  The first episode in particular, which features H. Jon Benjamin, is absolutely fantastic.  Not only does Benjamin reveal that the first two seasons of Dr. Katz were recorded in Jonathan Katz’s pantry, but he also tells the greatest diarrhea story in the universe.  (It begins with “I didn’t sh*t my pants.  I sh*t my car” and it goes from there until it becomes the funniest and most uncomfortable thing ever.)

Mohr Stories – Jay Mohr has tried just about everything in his comedy career and he’d probably cringe to read this, but hosting a radio show and putting out this podcast is some of his very best work. Fresh off a hit sitcom, having written a second best-seller, and being the #1 guest-host for syndicated sports radio host Jim Rome, he’s created a great, funny, guest-filled weekly podcast that’s among the best. Follow @jaymohr37

Tom vs. Aquaman — This one is definitely more of a niche show, but it’s a lot of fun.  Tom Katers (@tomkaters) reads old Aquaman comics and comments on them.  That’s the show.  It’s hard to explain why it’s so funny – some combination of the absurdity of the stories and Tom’s persona.  He genuinely loves old comics, and it’s very funny to hear him either try and justify ridiculous plot twists or just marvel at the insanity.  Actually, the previous series “Tom vs. the Flash” (on the same iTunes feed) was even better because the comics had a bigger supporting cast, which gave Tom room to run wild by creating off-panel secret lives for them.  If you like Silver Age comics, this show is indispensable.  And even if you don’t know Aquaman from the Submariner, it’s still funny to hear Tom’s regular frustration with the comic’s use of swordfish.

So, did we list your favorite, or make a glaring error by leaving off one of your regular weekly shows?   Perhaps there’s a hidden gem you can turn us on to? Sound off in the comments section and let us know what we’re missing!

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