Even the most ambitious of social butterflies can attest that life outside the cozy cocoon can get hectic and filled with stress. We all have at least one place of solace we like go to when the world feels like its weighing heavy on our shoulders. For some, it is the warmth of their own home. For others, it is a state of tranquility in their mind in which they can drown out all the noise around them.
For me – It’s the Chinese takeaway with the funny name near where I live. However, we are not talking about “Soon Fatt” today or their delicious spring rolls.
Instead we are diving into the weird and wonderful world of podcasts! An entertaining solution to escaping the world around you by simply plugging in your earphones and hoping that the tipsy bloke with the mean looking scowl will go away if you ignore him hard enough. Forget tranquility! The best way to relieve stress is to deny you have any problems for a short while with some sweet audible whispers in your ear.
Today, I bring to you some of the best distractions of the mind straight from my weekly commute. These are the top podcasts I highly recommend you download and listen to whilst on the go!
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You Made It Weird
Hosted by Pete Holmes.
You Made It Weird is a long length interview style show that has a more relaxed approach than most others. Lovable Comedian Pete Holmes brings on fellow people of the funny variety to discuss comedy, sexuality and religion. These three talking points lend the show a relatable vibe of being among st friends as they freely discuss normally private details of their life. Where it excels is with Pete himself who offers up intimate experiences from his life in exchange for the same sentiment from his chosen guest. Additionally notable is Holmes laugh which you will either find incredibly annoying or immensely infectious. There is no in-between.
Recommended Episodes
http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-114-aziz-ansari/
Aziz Ansari comes across as a laid back performer who has gone through a lot of hurdles to get the fame and popularity he has now and so richly deserves judging by his character.
http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-215-sinbad/<
Sinbad shares stories from his career in comedy that are almost too mental to believe. This episode also features discussion of channeling spiritual powers and Pete Holmes being a fan boy to a person he considers a comedy idol.
http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-5-chelsea-peretti/
Chelsea and Pete are good friends and she has appeared on the show a few times. Essentially, Peretti is that one friend every person has that is can sting you with insults consistently and still be one of your favorite people. Peretti and Holmes episodes are the best.
The Bugle
Hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman
The Bugle proudly touts itself as an audio newspaper for a visual world. The show is helmed by an expert in creative metaphors Andy Zaltzman and his partner in crime, John Oliver. That is to say, if the crime at hand was a stabbing satirical commentary at the growing state of economic depression and disillusion with the government. John Oliver, who was quite good in that show Community, is brilliantly witty and bounces off Zaltzman’s dry delivery of the farcical stories that come from news media throughout the world. It’s the kind of show that makes me feel very clever when I know of the topic being discussed and simultaneously very ignorant on a lot of subjects they talk about. The logical explanation of this is that I am an uncultured eejit who isn’t used to the highbrow humor of the show. For those of you identify as a person who loves more love brow content; There is an episode where they talk about Napoleon’s Knob being found. Rib-tickling good humor!
Recommended Episodes
https://soundcloud.com/the-bugle/bugle-265-cup-em-and-cough
The Napoleon’s Knob episode. Enough said, just listen!
https://soundcloud.com/the-bugle/thebugle-review-of-the-year
A charm filled recap of the highlights from the headlines for the year 2013.
How Did This Get Made?
Hosted by Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael
How Did This Get Made? Is for those who appreciate a bad movie on the merits of its entertainment value. Paul Scheer leads discussions on typically well-known awful movies to find out exactly what has made them a failure. His critique is joined by the irreverent and jovial humour of Jason Mantzoukas and the often quotable queries spouted by June Diane Raphael. Most of their nit-picking comes from a place of admiration of the talent it takes to make a rewardingly entertaining bad movie. Each show has a special guest to bolster in their two cents on the film of the week.
Recommended Episodes
http://www.earwolf.com/episode/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash/
The bewilderment they have over what might be one of the worst Sci-Fi films ever made gives me great enjoyment.
http://www.earwolf.com/episode/road-house-live/
I love the movie and I fully understand why it is awful. This is just a pure hilarious ribbing of Patrick Swayze’s best film.
http://www.earwolf.com/episode/crocodile-dundee-in-los-angeles/
This one features the writer of the movie chiming in on exactly why he isn’t proud of the film and the controversy that surrounded it regarding Paul Hogan. A great listen!
Hollywood Babble-On
Hosted by Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith (Winner of the Best Entertainment and Pop Culture Podcast 2013)
Hollywood Babble-On is a cynical look at the groan worthy celebrity lifestyles of Hollywood and a candid honest view on the latest news to spew out of the rumor mills of the entertainment industry. It combines the great showmanship of Ralph Garman with the supremely chill personality of clerk’s director, Kevin Smith. The show is dotted with recurring segments that plays largely off Garman’s talent for impressions primarily. Smith’s contributions can’t be discounted either as he often brings to the table his knowledge of comic books, his honest insider knowledge from his directorial experiences in Hollywood and his dick humour. Hollywood Babble-on is crude, funny, and sincere and Ralph Garmans completely on point David Bowie impression may be the best reason I can give you to check it out.
Recommended Episodes
Truthfully, you can start with any episode as the formula is largely the same. Here are two to get the ball rolling
http://smodcast.com/episodes/june-13-2014/
Ralph Garman voices a famous scene from Taken as Pee Wee Herman.
http://smodcast.com/episodes/june-28-2014/
An episode on home soil. Live from Dublin’s Vicar St. just this year!
The Co-Optional Podcast
Hosted by Total Biscuit, Jesse Cox and Dodger
Cynical Brit Total Biscuit throws shade towards popular Lets Player Jesse Cox as they debate everything related to the world of gaming, whilst Press Heart to Continue Host Dodger pops in every now and then to keep them on track. Co-Optional is at its heart an informative show about the latest events in gaming, but often times it divulges into in-depth discussions of game mechanics when there is slow news periods. This is not a complaint as the episodes when they let loose their feelings on problems in gaming are some of the best they have on offer.
Recommended Episodes
http://podbay.fm/show/667537837/e/1375737096?autostart=1
Our three hosts bring the humble and talented Smooth McGroove on board to ramble about all things gaming.
http://podbay.fm/show/667537837/e/1407443429?autostart=1
Total Biscuit, Matt Lees and Jim Sterling riff on games for a while. The flow of this episode is great due to the similar witty humour shared by the three British YouTubers.
Ear Biscuits
Hosted by Rhett and Link
Ear Biscuits is a bite sized snack of insight into the lives of famous YouTube celebrities. Self-professed Internetainers Rhett and Link invite their friends from the YouTube community to come have a quick chat about the benefits and pitfalls to becoming a recognized popular internet personality. At its peak we get an interesting idea of the rigid schedule that the cream of the crop of the streaming site must keep to in order to maintain their audience. Its major appeal comes from the sheer chemistry of the two hosts who have known each other for an assuredly long amount of time.
Recommended Episodes
https://soundcloud.com/earbiscuits/ep-32-smosh-ear-biscuits
The pair known as Smosh from the massively successful sketch show of the same name greet Rhett and Link with the gift of a small glance into the inner workings of how they came to be.
https://soundcloud.com/earbiscuits/ep-40-john-green-ear-biscuits
Its John green. Download it.
https://soundcloud.com/earbiscuits/ep-43-devin-super-tramp-ear-biscuits
The most interesting episode in my view mainly down to the absurd trek Devin took the top with an utterly fascinating story of rising to fame on the internet.
The Irish Pubcast
Hosted by Wayne Talbot, Kim Brosnan, Darren Fahey and Ciarán Marcantonio
Coming straight from the pubs of Dublin, The Irish Pubcast is four nerds on a mission; to discuss, destroy an educate whoever will listen on the happenings in nerd culture. Occasionally a touch profane, always on point, the Pubcast delivers enthusiastic commentary on the latest in films/comics/TV/whatever-comes-to-mind, all with a drink in hand and an opinion to be shared. They make every convention (especially Arcade Con!) they’re at more exciting with their on-stage banter and off-stage enthusiasm! One of their numbers also does the 2DCast, a more comic-centric slice of Podcast gold! Have a look at The 2DCast for discussions of comic books and nerd news aplenty.
http://www.geekplanetonline.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=4727:the-pubcast-ritchie-you-b-stard&Itemid=213
X-Men Days of Future Past and a touching discussion of the late, great Rik Mayall.
http://www.geekplanetonline.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=4759:the-pubcast-arcadecast-2014&Itemid=213
Obviously we’ve got to include their ArcadeCast, but this is just a sample of the kind of shenanigans and coverage they provide for the conventions they attend!
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If you find yourself on YouTube you should also check out Arcadio — the podcast for our writing and editing team to talk freely about various aspects of running a geek website and speaking earnestly about nerd culture.
Thanks for reading folks! As always let us know your thoughts down in the comments.
What podcasts are you listening to right now?
