Comedy is one of the biggest genres in podcasting, making it both easy and difficult to find great new listens. Because comedy is the go-to category for “three guys just talking” podcasts–which can be funny, we’d never knock My Brother, My Brother and Me, but let’s be real, can also be terrible–it can be hard to weed through the bad to find the outstanding.

Luckily, I’ve weeded through the bad, and I’ve found some of the great gems out there you might not have discovered yet.

I’ve compiled ten of my favorite comedy podcasts with a specific edge: most of these comedy podcasts are independent, or at least not the most household names in comedy you might be used to. While there are some classics on this list, hopefully there are some that are ready to become your new favorites in humor.

As a note, this list has several audio dramas (or fiction podcasts). Make sure you start these all from the beginning! Each podcast that isn’t an audio drama has a recommended first episode or two linked in its blurb.

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1. The McElroys Will Be In “Trolls World Tour”

The McElroy brothers have become increasingly famous over the years between their terrible advice podcast, My Brother, My Brother and Me. which was made into a show for Seeso/VRV; their massively popular actual play podcast, The Adventure Zone, which is being adapted as graphic novels; or their successes over on YouTube. But did you know that they will be in Trolls World Tour, or, as they originally called it, Trolls 2? Neither did the creators of Trolls 2. This documentary follows the process of the brothers deciding that they want to be in the cinematic sequel to children’s movie Trolls, and then trying everything under the son to actually be cast. It’s a practice in absolute absurdity, especially for their poor, poor manager. Be sure to listen to this podcast in order for full dramatic effect.

Listen: Apple | Google | Spotify | Podchaser

2. Alba Salix, Royal Physician

Alba Salix, Royal Physician is a comedy audio drama about the eponymous royal physician and her plight to look after her patients: the rulers of a magical realm. Alba Salix is the perfect mix of comedy and plotting: it feels more comedy-forward than most current sitcoms without losing plot or character. It’s filled with rapidfire jokes and hijinks, mixing up Alba’s frustration and resignation (think Amy Sedaris as Bojack Horseman‘s Princess Carolyn) with the absolute ineptitude of her apprentice, Magnus, or most of her patients. Mix in high-fantasy political intrigue, inter-personal drama, and a good dose of fantasy, and you’ve got a serialized podcast that you’ll only stop binging because you’re laughing so hard you have to pause. For those who are interesting in Dungeons and Dragons podcasts like the aforementioned The Adventure Zone, be sure to check out this team’s The End of Time and Other Bothers, an actual play set in the same universe, too. Both of these projects are hilariously written and supported by incredible performances and sound design.

Listen: Apple | Stitcher | Podchaser

3. Spirits

Spirits is “a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and lore.” In each episode, hosts Julia and Amanda discuss a legend or story, whether it be about the Japanese story of the Yuki-onna, Hollywood urban legends, or the listeners’ stories about their local folklore and spooky encounters. While Spirits is fundamentally about the stories that matter to cultures, it’s also fundamentally about two hilarious lifelong friends getting tipsy and talking about things they love. Julia Schifini (also of What’s the Frequency, Tides, and others) plays the part of the expert with her encyclopedic knowledge of mythology and copious amounts of pre-recording research, her fortes both her knowledge and her dry, sardonic comedic timing; meanwhile, Amanda (also of Join the Party) plays the part of often-uninformed enthusiast, her fortes the giddily-delivered puns as well as her quick-witted connections between the discussion topic and modern life.

Listen: Apple | Stitcher | Podchaser

4. Punch Up the Jam

Hosted by two champions of Vine (rest in peace), Demi Adejuyigbe and Miel Breduow, Punch Up the Jam takes an iconic song, goes into its history, analyzes it moment by moment, and then aims to make something . . . “better.” Adejuyingbe and Breduow are shockingly impressive musicians, which makes their “punch ups,” the parodies and covers at the end of each episode, both more impressive and more ridiculous. Punch Up the Jam is best started by listening to an episode on a song you already know (but maybe not one you unironically love), but once you’re hooked, you’ll find yourself listening to the back catalog whether or not you’ve ever heard the original songs before.

Listen: Apple | Google | Spotify | Podchaser

5. Wooden Overcoats

If your preferred brand of humor is a little less The Office and a little more Blackadder, you may find your comedy podcast soulmate in Wooden Overcoats. This acclaimed comedy audio drama centers on the story of Rudyard and Antigone Funn, the owners of Funn Funerals, once the only funeral home in their small island town. When a competitor, Eric Chapman, opens a funeral home across the street, the Funn siblings hatch plan after plan to take him down–while Antigone tries to deny her attraction to him. Wooden Overcoats is the epitome of a podcast sitcom: it’s episodic, so each new chapter has its own story arc that’s started and completed within about half an hour, but it also has an overarching narrative that dives deeper into each character season by season.

Listen: Apple | Stitcher | Podchaser

6. Song Salad

In Song Salad, hosts Shannon and Scott pick one randomized musical genre and one random Wikipedia article. First, they go into the music genre, explaining its history, its key features, its most prominent musicians, and its place in the overall music landscape. Next, they read the Wikipedia article out loud, commenting along on the way. Then, they do the next natural step: they combine the two, making a short song in the randomized musical genre about that Wikipedia article. This results in some hilarious combinations like a jingle about a tree or an Austropop song about Jesus cleansing a leper. If the premise alone somehow isn’t enough to win you over, Song Salad isn’t just its setup: it’s also a funny podcast hosted by two of the most loveable, goofy hosts in the medium.

Listen: Apple | Stitcher | Podchaser

7. Gay Future

Gay Future is a fiction podcast mini-series inspired by the unrelased young adult fiction manuscript by Mike Pence–yes, Mike Pence–about a future in which everyone is gay, and the hero is straight. Gay Future parodies everything about this concept, turning it into a hyperbolic satire that’s hilarious and genuinely riveting. If the title and concept worries you, rest assured that the podcast parodies the concept and Mike Pence, not the actual LGBT+ community, and the jokes land so solidly that it’s not just funny, it’s also cathartic.

Listen: Apple | Google | Podchaser

8. HORSE

HORSE is the best basketball podcast about everything but the sport. I don’t know anything at basketball–I grew up in a family that was more stoked about operas than any sporting events–but HORSE is still one of the funniest podcasts I’ve ever heard, without ever making me feel lost in jargon or who’s who. HORSE focuses on the behind-the-scenes of the NBA and basketball culture, both of which are genuinely buckwild. Hosts Eric Silver (disclosure: Silver has written for Discover Pods) and Mike Schubert have an energetic, goofy dynamic that makes every episode as much about basketball as it is these two nerds riffing.

Listen: Apple | Google | Podchaser

9. StarTripper!!

When I sat down to talk with writer and creator Julian Mundy about his upcoming project StarTripper!!, I was already excited–but the early episodes have already more than exceeded my expectations. This sci-fi comedy audio drama follows Feston Pyxis, an excitable and impulsive once-was desk job worker, now intergalactic explorer. StarTripper!!feels like a combination of Futurama, Galaxy Quest, and Cowboy Bebop; it’s high-energy, hilarious, and feels like a fully-imagined world even with how ridiculous it is. If you like your sci-fi silly and your comedy whimsical, StarTripper!! is a great escape. Because it’s a newer release with just a few episodes out while writing this, it’s also easy to catch up on–but Mundy has also been sure to let prospective listeners know that they’ll be able to jump in at any point without having to worry about getting through the backlog to enjoy the most recent episodes.

Listen: Apple | Podchaser

10. Fall of the House of Sunshine

Fall of the House of Sunshine is a musical comedy horror audio drama about the ages-old war between a cult of dentists and their natural enemies, puppets, following the murder of a children’s TV show host via bullet shot through a rift in spacetime. All of those words were chosen on purpose and are accurate. It is the strangest thing I have ever listened to, and few things have made me laugh as hard or as often. If you’re looking for something off-the-wall and totally innovative, Fall of the House of Sunshine will deliver all of that and more–while also bringing character arcs, a shocking amount of cohesive world building, and killer songs along the way. You’ll want to listen to this many times over, both because you’ll want to hear all the jokes you missed the first time around and because it’s just that good.

Listen: Apple | Stitcher | Podchaser

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