Funny Podcasts – The 15 Best Nonfiction Contenders You Need to Listen to Now

Last updated on January 7th, 2023

Funny podcasts are like analogies: there are a countless amount of them, not all of them are good, but the good ones are great.  If you’re here, it probably means you’re looking to freshen up your podcast feed with a splash of something fun. Maybe you want to learn something, or reflect on a piece of media with funny commentary. Maybe you want to lampoon the dire state of the world. Maybe you just want to hear some pals chat about things. Hopefully this list of comedy podcasts has something to help you scratch your funny bone!

While none of these shows are fiction shows, some of them do have a chronological order and need to be listened to from the first episode. However, most of them can just be jumped into wherever. 

Our Take on Funny Podcasts You Should Subscribe to

The Gargle

From the team that brought you the decade old audio newspaper for a visual world The Bugle, comes its glossy audio magazine counterpart, The Gargle. Every week Alice Fraser, the comedian behind The Last Post, frequent guest on The Bugle and several ground shaking standup specials, sits down with two comedians and talks about some of the weirder news stories out there. Each episode is only around a half hour long, making it a delightful treat of funny people talking about irrelevant news stories. 

Read More: The 10 Funniest Comedy Podcasts (You Might Not Be Listening To Yet)

BillBuds

Johnny O’Mara and John Patrick Coan are shameless pop music fans. On Billbuds, they go through pop albums song by song and pick out their favorite and least favorite tunes. At the end of each episode they determine if the album earns a spot on their personal billboard top 100.  I recommend listening to the album right before listening to the episode (or, if you want to be even more extra, each song before they talk about it) , so you can follow along with the hosts as they break down the vibes and fun facts of each song. Check out this podcast if you want to get caught up on the classics or see the best of what’s new. 

If I Were You

CollageHumor alumni and Headgum founders Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld have been hosting one of the best funny podcasts out there for the last nine years, and are still going strong. The flagship podcast of the Headgum podcast network features Jake and Amir giving advice to their listeners, often dating advice but sometimes some life stuff. As opposed to some other popular comedy advice podcasts, the advice they give is mostly genuine, but they do completely lampoon the situation the question askers find themselves in. If you were a fan of this comedy duo back in their sketch days and haven’t caught up with them recently, I implore you to check this show out. 

The Video Game Robot Show

Following the understandable and necessary end of Cool Games, Inc, there was a small vacuum for shows where people improvised making a thing. Other shows came in to fill that void. Some, such as Spiritual Successor,  followed CGI by making video games based on audience suggestions.

Others made different kinds of media, such as The Podcast Mines for podcasts. The Video Game Robot Show puts a unique spin on what I’ll call the “improvised product workshop” podcast.

Every week, hosts Nate Brandt and Kam Konek bring on a guest and generate suggestions from the Video Game Robot, an algorithm that takes a bunch of suggested attributes from the audience and generates game suggestions for them to work with. Currently the Video Game Robot can generate about 100 million games and counting, meaning this show can reliably be jumped into at any time!

Add to Cart

There’s something about the structure of shopping that feels satisfying, and this structure translates well to Add to Cart.  Every Tuesday, comedian-writer-director Kulap Vilaysack and veteran journalist SuChin Pak sit down to talk about the things they want to “add or remove ” from their cart.

These things can vary from products to ideas to emotions to experiences to just about anything they feel like. It’s fulfilling to listen to the host talk about how these things are important to them and why they want to keep or remove them from their lives. Funny podcasts with a different angle like this are what the medium is built for.

Aack Cast

Jamie Loftus keeps making hits with her limited run podcasts, from her high stress deep dive into the Mensa society in My Year In Mensa to her analysis of society’s perversion of a classic novel in Lolita Podcast.

Her most recent series, Aack Cast, dives into the cultural significance of the Cathy comic strip, as well as rexaming the situation of the working white women of the boomer generation. The reason this show is on a comedy list is that Loftus isn’t afraid to get as funny, blunt and weird as she can while diving deeping into any topic. It’s a deep and enjoyable listen, especially as a complete series. 

Also Read: I Want You to Listen to Lolita Podcast

Las Culturistas 

Love it or hate it, you can’t avoid culture,  so you might as well celebrate the good and the bad. Las Culturistas is a culture podcast hosted by Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang and comedian Matt Rogers.

Most episodes have them bring on a guest to talk about moments in culture that really spoke to them, be it from the last week or at some point in their lives.

The hosts are hilarious and have such a fun dynamic. You can jump into whatever episode you want to hear them talk about the culture that makes them go “I Don’t Think So, Honey!”

Conan O’Brian Needs A Friend

The flagship podcast of TeamCoco’s podcast network, Conan O’Brian Needs A Friend features the titular Conan O’Brian sitting down with a celebrity or person of note and talking to them about their careers or whatever else they want to talk about.

Conan cracking up is what Funny Podcasts are meant to be…

Conan has done interviews for years and this show proves that those conversational skills go well beyond the limited interviews he’s done on screen. Now that he’s stepped away from television entirely, we need funny podcasts like this more than ever.

This podcast is fun, playful and, when you least expect it, informative. Conan gets a lot of praise for making funny podcasts “relevant,” and while that claim can be disputed, he still puts on a pretty good show. 

Threedom

Comedy Bang Bang host Scott Aukerman has a great dynamic with all of his guests, but you always know you’re in for a treat when an episode features Paul F. Tompkins and/or Lauren Lapkus. On Threedom, these three come together as themselves, not as characters, to chat about things, goof around, and try to make each other laugh.

It’s a delight to listen to three people who have worked together for years sit down for an hour and have fun. Funny podcasts that are authentic, as this one is, draw an audience in and keep them thirsting for more. Any fans of Comedy Bang Bang or any of these three should check this show out.  

You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes is known for his warm, insightful and goofy comedy, like your weird but charming uncle or a youth minister without the religion. On his long running chat podcast You Made It Weird, Holmes goes into long, in-depth interviews with a variety of guests, talking about weird things he knows about them and just general loose things they want to talk about. Holmes has a relaxed and bubbly energy that makes each episode of the show a fun listen. 

Dead Eyes

Twenty years ago, actor/comedian Connor Ratliff was fired from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Tom Hanks for having “dead eyes”. A few weeks ago, Ratliff was trending on Twitter for sitting down with Hanks on Ratliff’s podcast to talk about what happened.

Dead Eyes chronicles Ratliff’s journey to explore this strange event and the experience of rejection in show business. Even though the show is about missed opportunities, it’s positive and comedic.

Despite what some headlines would like you to believe, Ratliff holds no ill will toward Hanks about the event. At the very least, it’s worth checking out this podcast to watch a man come closer and closer until finally getting a chance to sit down with Hanks himself. 

Anime Sickos

Anime Sickos is a podcast when hosts Tom Harrison and Joe Anderson only occasionally about anime. The show promotes itself about being about the four pillars of modern misery: anime, gaming, posting and jobs. Beyond all of this, it is a show that doesn’t shy away from how bad the world is, proudly proclaiming that things “suck.” Sometimes all it takes is a little contrarian viewpoint to drive home the premise of funny podcasts. This is one of those instances.

A lot of people, myself included, listen to funny podcasts as a bit of an escape from current events. Anime Sickos feels like a pressure valve being released letting out stress. 

Read more: 8 Great Podcasts for Anime Fans

Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan

Do you remember your first job? Mine was as a bagger at a grocery store walking distance from my high school. It was the first of many weird odd jobs. Entry Level is a show about the worst, weirdest jobs people have had to work.

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Brooks Wheelan often brings on celebrities, so these jobs are viewed as the worst stepping stones people have had to step on in order to get to where they are now. If you like hearing work horror stories, you’ll get a kick out of this show. 

The Friend Zone

The Friend Zone is a show about keeping your mind healthy, wherever that looks like for you. Hosts Dustin Ross, HeyFranHey & Assante talk about all things mental health, being blunt about their own histories with the topics they discuss.

While the content can get heavy, the hosts tackle the topics from a comedic standpoint. The show is well worth the listen for anyone who doesn’t want to feel alone with how they feel. When funny podcasts take on heavy issues, it can be difficult to navigate, but our three hosts do a killer job making sure these subjects are covered with humor and grace.

Asian Not Asian

Asian Not Asian is a podcast where Asian American comedians Fumi Abe and Mic Nguyen talk about American issues and culture from their perspective.

The show is hilarious and often deep as the duo tackles their experience of what people expect from them and how they and others have dealt with it. Asian Not Asian is another example of funny podcasts dealing with heavy issues in a light, approachable manner.

If you’re looking for a new podcast to tackle things a lot of other shows aren’t talking about, you should check out this show!

Bonus Funny Podcasts

Here are some bonus funny podcasts that we enjoy and are likely to crack you up. Sure what is funny is subjective, but c’mon, live a little.

(Editor’s Note: These bonus funny podcasts are from me, and not necessarily endorsed by Eddie.)

Smartless

Yeah, it’s another roundtable podcast with famous people who likely don’t need the money, the additional fame, or the notoriety. But, damned if these three haven’t created one of the best funny podcasts on the market.

I’m a fan of pretty much everything Will Arnett does, and I’m a big fan of Sean Hayes work, as well as Jason Bateman. So discovering these three are legitimate friends, and created this excellent podcast, well, it found its way into my regular rotation.

Now that they’ve settled into the interview format, I’m digging the cross pollination in the entertainment industry, and I think that’s mirrored in the podcast world generally.

Smodcast

Speaking of funny podcasts that start with “sm” and are deeply rooted in Hollywood, you’ve got Smodcast with Kevin Smith and his long time partner in whatever it is they do (make movies I guess), Scott Mosier.

Now, I hate to go on with another Hollywood podcast, but there’s a reason these guys are professionals. They’re excellent, hilarious storytellers. And, at the end of the day, that’s what you want in your funny podcasts… great, well done stories.

These stories are about their work and how the sausage gets made. So sometimes it’s a little wonky, but hearing how some of these comedy classics get done is fantastic. Seriously, the movie business is insane.

Parenting is a Joke

If you don’t approach parenting with some sense of irreverent lightheartedness, you’re going to end up going insane. We’ve talked about some of the best parenting podcasts to get you through that first year, but Ophira Eisenberg’s philosophy on parenting has to be one of the best approaches I’ve ever heard.

Each week, she sits down (or hides under a weighted blanket) with a different stand up comic to talk comedy and kids. And it makes for one of the best funny podcasts any parent will relate to. I absolutely love her and what she’s doing to make us maintain a semblance of sanity.

Funny Podcasts Are Keeping Us Sane

If you can’t laugh, you’re going to end up crying. We live in heady times and getting too wrapped up in all of the bad news just isn’t healthy. Now, comedy is subjective, and maybe we missed some of your favorite funny podcasts.

We can always use more. Let us know on twitter (yeah, I know), or sign up for our newsletter in the box to the left. As always, have a laugh, and don’t take anything too seriously.