It’s been a little over a year since I wrote my first article about my top five podcasts for Her Campus. And with the craziness that the year has brought you best believe that my podcast listening has only gone up! But since I had so much fun writing that first article and I have lots more recommendations now, I think it is the perfect time for a follow-up. Just a reminder that I’m not a true-crime listener, I get enough of that overhearing my sister. So these podcasts are mostly comedy and talking based. But I love comedy and behind-the-scenes stuff, so if that sounds like something you might be interested in keep on reading.
- Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
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This podcast was my most listened to podcast of 2020. I went back and listened to the entire catalogue and now make sure to tune in the new episode every Monday. I don’t know if I can quite put my finger on it, but I love this podcast. I think it could be the combination of the banter between O’Brien, his assistant, Sona Movsesian, and producer, Matt Gourley and the absolutely amazing guests each podcast brings. O’Brien is oftentimes doing some bit or another, but he knows when it’s more appropriate to be serious. They get some great guests and I laugh every episode.
- SmartLess with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett
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Okay, I’ll admit it — I love Jason Bateman. So when I heard there was a podcast with him in it, I was immediately intrigued. The combination of these three actors, Bateman, Hayes and Arnett, is great. It is clear they are very familiar and care about each other. Each week one of them will bring in a guest that is a surprise to everyone else and everyone will ask questions. It’s lots of fun and their guests come from all sorts of backgrounds.
- Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out
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Mike Birbiglia is one of my favourite comedians so I try and stay up to date with what he does. And during COVID he has been extremely active. One thing Birbiglia started was his podcast Working It Out where he has comedians come on and work through new material and answer questions in what he calls “the slow round”. In particular, I recommend the episodes with Ira Glass, host of This American Life, who serves as a mentor to Birbiglia. Getting an inside look at their dynamic, as well as the editing process is amazing.
- Rabbit Hole
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I’ll admit that this podcast is the total outlier of the group. This podcast was actually recommended to me by a Prof after we had a long conversation about online discourse and the current political climate. She recommended the 8 part podcast series Rabbit Hole, by The New York Times, hosted by Kevin Roose. I’m only on episode two but I already feel super invested and want to know more!
I hope you check out these podcasts. Or if comedy is not your thing go googling for some others. Honestly, most of these podcasts have such amazing guests that there are episodes for everyone out there!