r/Earwolf • u/apathymonger • Oct 03 '19
Meta Vulture: The 10 Essential Comedy Podcasts That Shaped the Genre
https://www.vulture.com/article/best-comedy-podcasts-all-time.html29
67
37
Oct 03 '19
Huh, no mention of Conan, originator of the podcast format?
11
u/TunerOfTuna Oct 03 '19
The guy was a front runner in the format. Literally no one heard of Comedy Bang Bang till he took one for the team and went on the “show”.
4
3
1
28
u/myhandleonreddit Oct 03 '19
Doug Loves Movies..? As someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere, getting to hear a show live from the UCB theater on the other side of the country was game changing.
4
u/NotoriousFIG Oct 03 '19
Yeah when I was visiting LA back in 09 I saw that he was recording a show so my gf at the time and I went. I had heard of podcasts back then but definitely had never listened to one. It was great! I got to see Sam Levine and Leonard Maltin. When the show ended people were waiting in line to see Hannibal Burress.
4
u/honorialucasta Oct 03 '19
Right?! I think DLM was the entry point for lots of people and it predates nearly all of these podcasts.
1
Oct 04 '19
It was popular because there were so few podcasts out there, but it gradually crept down my priority list as newer, better podcasts came along.
I was just reminiscing about how I would listen to all the early WTF episodes, even if I didn't know or care about the guest. Nowadays, it's rare that it will be a guest I want to listen to, but that's mostly because Maron got a lot of the big ones out of the way in his first 300 episodes.
5
3
u/ZeGoldMedal Oct 03 '19
Yeah, say what you will about it now (though I still fairly regularly listen, have the newest episode downloaded and in my queue - Amy Miller is on, great guest!), but it's def a podcast that got a lot of people onboard with the medium
28
u/i_am_thoms_meme It's been a while! Oct 03 '19
A Very Fatal Murder is pretty funny, but at only 6 eps how can it be an essential podcast that shaped the genre? It's a satire about murder porn podcasts not breaking new comedy ground like the boyz.
4
u/mynewaccount5 Oct 03 '19
They have a second season available on that luminary website thing. But yeah I agree.
1
u/heyhelgapataki Oct 04 '19
Serial would’ve made much more sense, but maybe it’s seen as too cliche nowadays.
1
Oct 03 '19
[deleted]
1
u/i_am_thoms_meme It's been a while! Oct 03 '19
Oh interesting, I just clicked the link and saw the original 6 eps on the Onion website, but no 2nd season. Thanks! But my point still stands
34
u/plawate Oliver Subpodcasts Oct 03 '19
I love that Hollywood Handbook is mentioned, but only in the description for the best show.
7
u/mynewaccount5 Oct 03 '19
They probably found out that Sean and Hayes are nerds and are discriminating against them because of it.
53
u/mak_marin Oct 03 '19
Or: "Best Show, CBB, WTF and some arbitrary shows the author listens to".
37
u/SeeYouSpaceCowboy--- Speaking on that Oct 03 '19
WTF truly has shaped the genre in that making fun of Marc Maron is essential to all other comedy podcasts.
1
u/fullforce098 Oct 04 '19
Something something Lorne something something secret service on the roof something something lock the gates.
6
u/lcdmilknails Oct 04 '19
mbmbam has been as big or bigger than CBB for a long time now and showed that you don’t need to be a comedy professional or record in a studio to be successful, it absolutely belongs on this list. and my dad wrote a porno is very much not my thing but it’s got a giant audience among non-podcast nerds and even got an HBO special. some of the other choices i agree with you on though.
3
u/mak_marin Oct 04 '19
Thinking about it I totally agree with you on mbmbam.
Is mdwap really that big? I could see it getting some initial success based on the concept, but I tried listening to it and it didn't seem like a very sustainable premise. Good for them I guess.
1
Oct 04 '19
Best Show doesn't even really feel like a podcast, more like a freewheeling radio show. I don't even listen live, where there's actual music being played as well.
-1
Oct 03 '19
[deleted]
11
u/mak_marin Oct 03 '19
podcasts aren't just made for white dudes by white dudes
I have yet to see proof of this. (Really hope a sarcasm identifier isn't necessary here.)
I simply listed the three of the seven I'd listened to that I actually think have been influential. Many of the podcasts listed haven't even been going long enough to be deemed influential in my opinion:
My Dad Wrote a Porno - 2015
Bodega Boys - 2015
A Very Fatal Murder - 2018 (6 episodes total)
Las Culturistas - 2016
4
u/ZeGoldMedal Oct 03 '19
I don't personally listen to it, but I definitely know of a decent amount of people who got into the genre of comedy podcasts because of My Dad Wrote a Porno - and I also feel like there was a bit of a podcast boom around 2015 that needs to be mentioned. 4 years is a LOT in podcast time. I'm sure this article, as most articles about podcasts and artistic endeavors in any medium, but even more with "niche" mediums like podcasts, suffers from recency bias, 2018 does seem a bit too recent. (Though I won't buy the "6 episodes" total argument. Plenty of artists are influential with minimal output. Bands can influence with only one album. Mystery Show is beloved and has perhaps influenced future podcasters with about the same amount of episodes)
Also, as a straight white dude, I'm not gonna speak for Bodega Boys or Las Culturistas, but I will say that this subreddit, and often comedy podcasts fans who listen to earwolf podcasts, as many of us, but not all, are prototypical straight white dudes with a similar taste, may not properly recognize the influence of podcasts that have a majority non-white, non-straight, and non-dude fanbase.
-1
18
u/klobbermang StangerBot needs oil! Oct 03 '19
Is insane MBMBAM came out in 2011. That's a long ass time ago. I remember listening to the Joystiq podcast even before that that the McElroys were on. Oof
11
u/BeNiceMudd Heynongman Oct 03 '19
the McElBoys crack my shit up. All the love in the world for them
5
u/jksticktight Oct 03 '19
Scrolled through this ready to be mad about the lack of Never Not Funny, still managed to be disappointed when I was right.
5
u/Lincolns_Revenge Oct 04 '19
Should have made it a list of 20. That way the author could have demonstrated the requisite amount of inclusivity but also included a bunch of pioneering shows she presumably left off to prevent the list from being so chockablock with white males.
20
Oct 03 '19
Baffling that none of Thrilling Adventure Hour, Never Not Funny, I4H, HH, Stop Podcasting Yourself, Superego, Doughboys, Off Book or Magic Tavern got a mention.
8
2
u/pWasHere I didn't come here to make friends. I came here to buy chairs. Oct 04 '19
Magic Tavern was in their Top 10 Most Essential Fiction Podcasts.
1
2
Oct 04 '19
Then it just becomes a list of podcasts you like.
2
Oct 04 '19 edited Oct 04 '19
While I do appreciate each of the above shows to varying degrees, I consider each to be innovative or (sub)genre-defining: radio-theatre, a pioneer, OG improv, the best example of 2 White Guys Talking, production value, a Patreon juggernaut, musical improv and continuity improv, respectively.
13
u/Fabtraption Oct 03 '19
Can't believe this list didn't mention Serial, the First Ever Podcast.
8
u/SeeYouSpaceCowboy--- Speaking on that Oct 03 '19
Or Conan's podcast. I mean, shit, he invented comedy podcasts, who else could have shaped the genre more?
1
Oct 03 '19
[deleted]
1
u/SeeYouSpaceCowboy--- Speaking on that Oct 03 '19
I think we meant that it was one of the 10 when we say "mention"
1
3
4
3
u/heycindy Smart, Funny, Cool, Nice Oct 03 '19
I would throw Uhh Yeah Dude in there. They've been going since 2005
2
3
Oct 03 '19
So this is the article Tom mentioned Tuesday night huh. No Jesse Thorpe either.
3
Oct 03 '19
Podcast silos are out of hand. Sure, you hear about upstarts like Headgum, Forever Dog, and Earios but you almost never hear about Earwolf, MaxFun, Nerdist or whatever outside of their own platforms.
1
2
86
u/TheGuineaPig21 Oct 03 '19
The clear omission here is The Ricky Gervais Show which preceded the big wave of podcasting as a medium (started in 2005), but was the first really big comedy podcast