What’s not to understand? Hit the jump, freaks.
1. Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
There are a ton of interview/comedy podcasts, but for my time Girl on Guy is decidedly more fun and interesting than most of those helmed by dude stand-up comics who seem to thrive on playing shrink and making everyone involved squirm for an hour. I do think the title and premise are pretty lame, because I’m a “girl” who loves comedy, Korean action films, swearing, embarrassing stories, food, booze, and swearing, and I know tons of ladies like me (including, uh, Aisha herself)! But annoying “things GUYS like” premise aside, Aisha is a fun interviewer and uses her extensive personal and career history and misfit blerd (black nerd) cred to bring out really fun sides of her guests and gets “How I Made It” stories you won’t hear anywhere else. I appreciate that she manages to get insightful and hilarious interviews while still being respectful of her guests’ boundaries. Occasionally she’ll probe at a sensitive spot with her guests and it may ride the line of discomfort, but it never feels like she’s doing it solely to watch someone squirm on her hook or inventing a problem in to make herself look insightful. She finishes each episode by asking all of her guest to tell an embarrassing story about themselves called Self-Inflicted Wounds (Aisha’s book of her own SIWs is out 7/9/2013). Many of these stories, told by some of the biggest names in entertainment, will leave you cackling.
Standout Episodes:
Episode 57 RuPaul
Episode 61 Shirley Manson
Episode 14 Questlove
Episode 45 Wayne Brady
Episode 99 Chef Edward Lee
2. Star Talk with Neil DeGrassse Tyson
Yeah, this is a really obvious choice, but obvious doesn’t mean it’s not a thoroughly fantastic choice and if there is even one person who hasn’t spent a day falling down a Star Talk K-hole, then I consider it my solemn nerd duty to fix that big-ass problem. As most of you know, NDT has more than his fair share of smarts and jokes and on Star Talk he doubles down on both by bringing in great, informative interviews with specialists on the topic of the week and by teaming up with some great comics, including unlikely pairings like Joan Rivers and Anthony Bourdain. Morgan Freeman has been on the show twice. And I just kind of want to disappear into the Alan Rickman two part episode. The truly wonderful thing about this show is that while each episode stands alone perfectly well, when listened to in its entirety, the knowledge and themes build upon each other with each episode. It’s like the best college course ever, without the term papers.
Standout Episodes:
Season 1, Episode 7: Travels in Time
Season 1, Episode 12: What’s Exploration Worth?
Season 2, Episode 7, The Physics of Football
Season 2, Episode 22, Time Travel at the Movies
(Yes, I have a thing for time travel.)
3. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
Continuing with my addiction to nerditry, if you have even the most passing interest in history and philosophy you will fall deeply in love with this podcast and once you start listening, we won’t hear from you for a couple weeks. If you hate history and philosophy but loved the movie 300 you will also get deeply lost in the minutely detailed exploits of the Mongols, the tail ends of the Roman Republic and Apache Nation, and the New World explorers. Dan Carlin (who also should top your HILF list), takes a refreshing psychological and philosophical look at some of the most astonishing and well-known and not-so-well-known periods of world history and delves deeply to try to point out that the more things change, the more they stay mostly and brutally the same. Each episode begins with a provocative, often disturbing or off-the-wall thesis, that after leading you through a brutal retelling of events, leaves you looking at our post-modern world through a thesis that now doesn’t seem quite so ridiculous.
Standout Episodes:
Wrath of the Kahns I-V
Globalization Unto Death
Created by comedian Elon James White, the Commander in Chief of TWiB nation, TWiB is the cure for what ails the progressive soul at the end of a long day of everyday racism, misogyny, and other Conservative hobbies. But don’t be scared white friends, this show is definitely for you too. Be prepared for some illuminating Real Talk when the brilliant hosts hilariously reframe discussions and current events in a way that may have never crossed your mind, but it’s done with so much mirth you’ll be laughing too hard you may not notice that your world just got rocked . This show operates under the mantra that when the oppressor tries to trip you up, make it a prat fall and take that motherfucker down with you. The TWiB radio channel live streams seven different shows (my other favorites on the channel are We Nerd Hard and Sportsball), but the original TWiB is the first and a great place to start if you are new to TWiB nation. Also of note is that the TWiB radio network is currently being featured on iTunes, where Elon reps his brand by proudly being the unhappiest negro in the land. Fist bump my brotha.
Standout Episodes:
The episodes are centered around to current events, so for newcomers, I suggest you just start with the most current episode and go from there.
5. Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast
Bill Burr does not give one single fuck. Or maybe he gives too many fucks. Or maybe, probably, it’s somewhere in the middle. The premise of this podcast sounds horrible. Guy records his Monday morning ramblings with his cell phone and then slaps it up online mainly to promote his stand-up. Sounds like the laziest shit ever and it totally is. But a Bill Burr ramble is a thing of beauty. It’s quick, incisive, and bounces wildly yet coherently from topic to topic and his Boston accent is the least horrible version of that horrible accent I’ve ever encountered and just works with his curmudgeonly stabs at pretty much everything you probably love. My favorite part of his show is the advice he gives to listeners who write in with their mostly relationship related problems. This podcast is not for people who are easily offended by a full (and I mean full) cursing vocabulary.
Standout Episodes:
Again this show is super topical, so I’d start from the most recent episode and then go from there.
