WEIRD PODCASTS

Over the last decade, podcasts have emerged as a new medium for news and entertainment. Every week, millions of listeners download popular podcasts like Serial, WTF, Stuff You Should Know, and thousands more, including some really strange ones…like these.

The Worst Idea of All Time. New Zealand comedians Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery discuss movies…but it’s always the same movie. For the first year, the hosts watched Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups 2 once a week, and then talked about it every podcast as it slowly drove them mad. They repeated the yearlong experiment with Sex and the City 2, and then the Zac Efron electronic musical comedy We Are Your Friends.

My Dad Wrote a Porno. A man named “Rocky Flintstone” published six erotic novels about the sexy adventures of Belinda Blumenthal as she travels the world selling pots and pans. This podcast breaks down each and every chapter, with commentary from British comedian Jamie Morton, who claims to be the son of “Rocky Flintstone.”

Beautiful / Anonymous. Comedian Chris Gethard calls up random phone numbers and tries to engage whoever answers in a conversation. His goal: to persuade them to tell their life stories.

Pod Godz. Two guys talk about—and criticize—other podcasts.

Talking a Number 2: Forrest Gump 2. Host Dakota Martin spends each episode discussing the ins and outs of Forrest Gump 2…a movie that doesn’t exist.

Never Seen It. Each week, host Kyle Ayers assembles a group of friends (fellow Los Angeles comedians) who have never seen a famous movie (Dirty Dancing, Harry Potter, Fight Club, The Exorcist, etc.). And then they write and perform a new script approximating what they think the movie would be like.

Mike and Tom Eat Snacks. Remember the charming 2000s NBC dramedy Ed, about a guy who opens a law office in a bowling alley in a small town? It starred Tom Cavanaugh and Michael Ian Black, and on this podcast, the duo reunites to eat junk food and describe it to listeners.

Blastropodcast. In this parody of “interesting stuff” podcasts, comedian Mark Soloff portrays a time-traveling guy from the Italian Renaissance named Dottore Balordo who teaches listeners all about science…except that all of it is woefully incorrect.

8-Bit Book Club. Years ago, a cheap and easy-to-read “novelization” was part of every major movie’s marketing plan. Apparently, video game novelizations were also a thing, and on this podcast, the hosts read through “novels” such as Mega Man 2: The Novel and Sonic the Hedgehog: Fortress of Fear, cracking jokes as they do.

The technical name for a cardboard coffee sleeve is a zarf.