This post was originally published on Audible.com.
When it comes to podcasts, there are literally thousands of options to choose from. If you don’t know where to begin, it’s hard to go wrong with a good comedy podcast. With good comedy, it’s all in the delivery: the tone of voice, the timing, that aptly placed pause. Podcasting is the perfect medium for carrying every punchline. From classic standup to scripted series to hilarious slice-of-life observations, there’s a comedy podcast for every taste.
Whether you're a fan of dry wit, slapstick shenanigans, or satire—or you're in the mood to kick back and laugh along with funny people talking about everything from pop culture to parenting to weird history—there's a comedy podcast out there to satisfy. Here are 30 of the best comedy podcasts to check out right now.
Best Standup Comedy Podcasts
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Hosted by Keegan-Michael Key of the legendary comedy duo Key & Peele, this podcast takes listeners on a fascinating, informative, and hilarious journey through the history of sketch comedy. From the most popular jokes of the Ancient World to the rise of modern standup in cities like Chicago and Detroit, Key explores the many people, places, ideas, and characters that define comedy as we know it today. Key's sparkling humor, profound knowledge, and personal stories make this podcast a must-listen for history and comedy fans alike.
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With several HBO and Netflix comedy specials under her belt, comedian Whitney Cummings knows how to make an audience laugh. On this weekly standup podcast, she interviews a range of guests, including other comedians, celebrities, and experts across many fields—two of her most recent guests include Paris Hilton and Ilana Glazer. Her questions—and the conversations they lead to—are rarely predictable but invariably hilarious.
Tune into this zany podcast to hear comics Zac Amico and Luis J. Gomez discuss their own shortcomings and obsessions, the weirdness of the world around us, and everything in between. They offer fresh perspectives on the odd stuff that happens every day, using the most mundane (and bizarre) happenings as fodder for jokes. Their honest banter will have you laughing one minute and grimacing the next.
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New York's Comedy Cellar is a legendary venue for standup. This podcast brings listeners right into the heart of the Cellar—not the main stage, but the table upstairs, where some of the world's greatest comics get together to discuss, debate, and yes, make jokes about what's going on in the world. As it turns out, the informal talking and teasing that happens at that table makes for some of the funniest standup around.
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Comedian Nicole Byer has just one question for just about everyone: On this hilarious but heartfelt podcast, she invites a range of guests, from other comedians to her exes, to help her get to the bottom of this mystery. While discussing their love lives (or lack thereof), Nicole and her guests offer some real advice—but they always keep things funny while they're at it.
Peter Sagal is proof that it's still possible to be a radio celebrity, even in this age of the internet. He's the host of NPR's famous weekly quiz show about current events, which debuted in 1998 and is still one of the funniest things on the airwaves. You can get in on the fun by catching the current season on Audible.
Actor and comedian Anna Faris may be unqualified to give advice, but she's definitely qualified to make her listeners laugh. For unqualified (but usually quite sound) advice and plenty of humor, tune into her weekly podcast where she tries to make sense of the world by talking it through with celebrity guests.
Macaulay Culkin became a comedy icon as the child star of Home Alone. Now all grown up, he's still got that signature humor and charm, and it's on full display in his latest project. Each week on Bunny Ears, Culkin and a guest talk about comedy, movies, pop culture, music, and more. No matter the conversation, it's guaranteed to be entertaining and amusing. Recent highlights include Culkin and Lizzo talking about Pokémon, and Culkin and Wil Wheaton geeking out over Star Trek.
Actor and comedian Chelsea Peretti, best known for her portrayal of Gina Linetti on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has a blast talking with callers on this interactive podcast. Each episode has its own theme, but whether Peretti and her callers are pondering travel, mental health, or show business, it's always sure to be a good time, with lots of laughs.
Veteran comedian Marc Maron blends humor with real insight and poignant conversations in this interview-style podcast. Each week, he invites a different guest to his home for in-depth talks about art, family, career, grief, and more. The podcast features artists, musicians, actors, writers, activists, and other notables. And while the tone is often serious, Maron never lets his listeners forget that he's a comic.
This fast-paced and hilarious mystery podcast is full of banter, plot twists, and jokes that anyone who spends any time on the internet will relate to. When Charlie Miller, a D-list reality TV star with an unusually avid fanbase, goes missing, two administrative employees of the police department, voiced by Zachary Quinto and Michelle Buteau, decide to pose as detectives to find her. In a flash, they're caught up in a world of vicious celebrity gossip, ever-more-complicated lies, and national media attention.
Most adults will agree that surviving the tween years is not easy. This heartfelt comedy gently pokes fun at the anxieties of that age. Told through a series of letters, the show follows middle-schooler Mookie Hooper as she attempts to survive summer camp. Mookie investigates the mysterious decades-old disappearance of a girl from camp, tries to make friends, and is generally awkward...in an all too familiar way. Oh, and it's the brainchild of Jamie Lee Curtis, who also joins the cast as Director Sue.
What could be more amusing than a podcast that makes fun of podcasts? When Katy Perry (the blogger, not the singer) gets fired from her job, she latches onto the idea of getting famous (and rich) via podcasting. So, she launches her very own podcast all about that one time, back in high school, when she told her classmate Kenny Daniels to "eat sh*t." The podcast doesn't make her rich, but it does lead her to a mystery that upends her life. This twisty, darkly funny story about internet fame (and revenge and love) will have you hanging on every word. As the voice of the dauntless yet often clueless heroine, Alicia Silverstone makes the incredible plot perfectly believable and great fun.
This story follows 30-year-old Allison, who moves in with her mother Sarah after losing her job. Told through alternating perspectives (voiced by creator Alison Stevenson as the daughter and Susie Essman as her mother), this Audible Original explores their contentious relationship as the two women try to figure out how to live together as adults. Poignantly funny and full of painfully relatable moments, this podcast will speak to parents and adult children alike.
This is the sci-fi, satire, Afrofuturist buddy comedy you didn't know you needed. Set in the future New America, it follows the adventures of two unlikely best friends: lonely grump IA and lesbian thief Simon. Together they traverse the dangerous landscape of New New York City, tackling a series of wild heists to raise money for IA's medical treatment, and battling vampires from outer space. It's a funny, bizarre, and always surprising ride.
Three BFFs take dark humor to another level in this morbidly funny and fascinating podcast about the many, many ways to die. In order to cope with their thoughts and feelings about their own mortality, Taylor, Nikka, and Gabbie take a deep dive into some of the most bizarre ways people have died throughout history, from flesh-eating bacteria to overheated bathwater. It's exactly as weird and wonderful as it sounds.
Looking for a history podcast that's the exact opposite of the dry, sleep-inducing textbook you were forced to read in high school? That Was Genius combines comedy and history by delving into untold stories from all over the world. History buffs Sam Datta-Paulin and Tom Berry seek out the strangest, most intriguing bits of history for their biweekly show, delivering these stories with their goofy humor and plenty of silly asides.
For history buffs with a fascination for the paranormal, here's another delightfully inventive and funny podcast, hosted by historian Kyna Leanne. Each week, she's joined by a different guest, and together they discuss weird, spooky, and fantastical historical happenings. Leanne usually explores a particular theme over a couple episodes, sharing a range of strange and funny stories that approach and probe it from various angles.
If you've ever been fascinated by an old postcard you found in a used book, this podcast is for you. In every episode, host Tom Jackson invites two guests to the show, each carrying an old postcard they can't bear to get rid of. Together, they delve into the mysteries and stories those postcards contain. Funny and often heartfelt, this quirky podcast isn't just about history itself—it's also about how we tell it.
Ever wondered what solar eclipses meant to ancient civilizations? How about the role that bullfrogs played in the history of a small town in Connecticut? Hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown explore these unusual questions and more in Ridiculous History. There is a lot of ridiculous history out there, and Bowlin and Brown are raring to share it all with you—along with their deadpan humor and real insight.
Sometimes listening to people chat about their obsessions, newest interests, and the weirdest and/or most exciting things they've learned recently can be pretty darn funny. That's exactly what this podcast is. Hosted by the writers of the BBC comedy show Quite Interesting, each episode is wildly funny and surprisingly informative, featuring far-ranging conversations among four very funny people about...well, everything.
Comedians Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams are one of the funniest best-friend duos out there. In this live comedy podcast, they chat about dating, sex, New York, friendship, race, and a whole lot more. Whether they're talking to each other or with a guest comedian, their conversations are sure to make you laugh out loud.
Actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett make for a truly hilarious trio in this weekly podcast that blends humor with thoughtful, in-depth conversation. The team hosts a different guest each week, with a twist: only one host knows the identity of that week's guest and reveals his mystery pick to the other two at the beginning of the show. What follows are off-the-cuff and often surprising conversations. It's a unique hybrid of improv comedy and genuinely honest interviews with people from a wide range of life experiences.
Bad jobs are a near universal experience: we've all had them. Luckily, comedian Brooks Wheelan knows how to take even the absolute worst job and turn it into a funny, relatable story. Each week, she speaks with a different guest about the worst jobs they've ever had, and the nonsense they had to put up with at work before finding stable, fulfilling careers.
Conversations with strangers are often the most fascinating and funniest! At least, that's what hosts Cole Hersch and Andrew Michaan think, and after listening to this podcast, you probably will too. Each week, they set up at a different outdoor space—a craft fair, a flea market, in front of a takeout sandwich shop, at a COVID-19 vaccination site—and strike up an interview with whoever wanders by. The results are unscripted and hilarious.
There's plenty of funny material in the current worlds of film, TV, music, and social media, and hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang know how to find it and use it. They discuss whatever's going on, sharing their opinions on what's hype and what's hot, riffing off each other (sometimes joined by a guest or two), and generally having a good time.
Parenting is not easy, which is why laughing about it is so necessary. Hosts Keri Setaro and Ashley Hearon-Smith know firsthand how stressful and challenging motherhood can be, which is exactly why they can talk about it with so much humor. They discuss everything from motherhood as it is portrayed by pop culture to dealing with returning to work, offering a lot of sound advice along with the jokes.
There's probably no one more qualified to host a hilarious podcast about parenting than married comedians Beth Newell and Peter McNerney. They know comedy and they know kids (well, they know their own kids, anyway). In this charming, irreverent podcast, they talk about their kids and offer plenty of decidedly non-expert advice and opinions on all things child-rearing.
You know a parenting podcast with a regular segment called "OMG I'm Freaking Out" is going to be funny. Cohosts and best friends Shanna Micko and Laura Birek found out they were pregnant at the same time. In this podcast, they document their week-by-week journey through pregnancy and new motherhood. Full of hilarious stories about the ups and downs of all things parenthood, it's sure to make parents nod along in recognition.
If you're looking for some relatable fun, this down-to-earth podcast is definitely for you. Comedians Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn are here to discuss the truly important issues facing parents today, like playdates and playground politics. They speak with parenting experts, authors, comedians, and other guests, and their conversations are always honest and funny. It's the perfect parenting podcast imperfect parents—that is, all parents.
