While its too early to crown The Indoor Kids my favorite, the newcomers out of Nerdist Industries have certainly made a case for themselves so far.

Similar to The Anytime Show With Dominic Dierkes, this is a relatively young podcast, still in the early evolutionary stages. So far there has already been a  hosting change as well as a decently sized format shift.

The hosts are both conversational and hilarious, not dissimilar to the Nerdist podcast that started off Nerdist Industries. Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, have succeeded thus far in having friends be the guests each week, and it results in a very relaxed feel, similar to being around a group of friends, rather than the “Inside the Actor’s Studio” feel given from podcasts such as WTF with Marc Maron.

Nanjiani has done something novel (at least to me) in the podcast world, attempting to guide each episode back to a central theme, while also allowing it to meander into the occasional hilarious offshoot. One episode, for instance, revolves around Nanjiani, Gordon, and (fellow favorite podcast host contestant) Dominic Dierkes discussing bigotry in games, and how it is being slowly but surely evolved out by constantly improving storytelling techniques.

In addition to the fantastic hosts, the guests are generally equally amazing. They span different careers, reviewers, TV personalities, comedians, etc, but all mesh perfectly with the hosts’ personalities. From Dominic Dierkes to Paul Scheer to Tom Lennon, there has yet to be a guest I’ve not enjoyed.

If you’ve never played videogames and have absolutely zero emotional attachment to any videogame ever made, I wouldn’t expect you to enjoy The Indoor Kids to the extent I do. If you have ever had any emotions evoked by a videogame, however, you will love this podcast, its just that consistently good.

Upon discovering the podcast, I spent every second of my free time  for the next 3 days huddled in my apartment, listening to  every episode of The Indoor Kids I could get my hands on. If there’s a higher praise I can give something, I don’t know what it is.

There are the same two people in both podcasts, so the overall mood should be identical in both, right? Wrong. The simple switch of putting Maron in the seat of captain turns the interview in the opposite direction.

In the Nerdist episode, the 4 people in the room spend the entire time laughing fairly whimsically, even when approaching serious topics. Maron puts forth the persona of an entertainer far more than he does when in the interviewer’s chair. Its obviously hard for him to leave the asking side of the interview entirely, as he occasionally asks Chris questions that fit the motif of an episode of WTF (due to the psychological analysis required to answer them).

If you’ve ever listened to an episode of Nerdist, you know Chris is an incredibly complimentary person, and his interview with Maron is no exception. When Maron is the one in the interview chair, however, he doesn’t insult his guests as much as he asks questions in a mildly offensive manner. He consistently will inquire upon their intentions, trying to find a selfish reason for the guest’s actions. The episode with Hardwick is no exception.

I found this to be one of the more intriguing episodes of WTF. While I’m a huge fan of the Nerdist podcast, I’d never heard this side of Hardwick before. Maron has a habit of putting guests through their entire lives as either victims or aggressors, an interesting method of interviewing which I think always ends up with more telling interviews than in a lighter hearted inquisition such as the Nerdist puts forth.

Overall, Nerdist has a far more lacksadaisical tone than WTF, and the machine ends up running differently, even when its made up of the same cogs. Both episodes are not only worth listening to, but I’d recommend them. When listened to adjacently to one another, its an incredibly interesting insight to both personalities.

If you’re a comedy nerd you’ll most likely know the host best from his work as part of the Derrick Comedy sketch group with Donald Glover and DC Pierson. Though if you’re incredibly observant, you’ll also notice him as an occasional character actor on the likes of shows such as Parks and Recreation and The Onion News Network.

But we’re not here to compare IMDB pages, we’re here to discuss the successes and failures of The Anytime Show! Thankfully there are more of the former than the latter.

The show is recorded in front of an audience each week, and each episode begins with a few minutes of standup by Dominic. He has a standup style I really connect with due to the fact that it primarily consists of stories or incredibly peculiar observations paired with fantastic analogies. Instead of stand-up he’ll occasionally read an excerpt from a book by his “favorite author,” a woman who’s made a name for herself writing incredibly convoluted teenage-supernatural-thriller-romances. However he opens, its always worth listening through. At the very least, you’ll grin throughout.

The first interview each week is with a random audience member. Occasionally the guest will be a dud, but for the most part the people who volunteer to get in front of the mic are people with peculiarities that define them, and hence make for an entertaining listening experience. (Highlights include a guest who makes ice cream flavors simply to name them after Keanu Reeves movies, also a guest who brought up the discussion over how different the movie “Billy Madison” would have been had it been called “O’Doyle Rules!”)

The show is still growing – its only 27 episodes old as I write this – and I can already direct you to points in which the format shifted. In the beginning episodes, each episode had a middle interview with a UCB friend of Dominic’s playing a character. This interview period was funny half the time, but dull the other half. As a result, Dominic decided to cut his losses and move on. Occasionally he’ll still have a character interview.

The final interview in each show is a celebrity guest. While his guest lists generally doesn’t boast huge names, he does have an interesting set of connections which result in continuously hilarious interviews. He has a good comedic voice for interviews, as he doesn’t trod over the guest’s stories, but rather extrapolates them further. All of his celebrity interviews are good, but if you want to hear some of my favorite interviews of all time, listen to any episode where he knows the guest quite well. His interview with UCB co-founder Matt Walsh is excellent, and his interviews with fellow Derrick members Donald Glover and DC Pierson are exquisite. He and Pierson, in particular, have a knack for building off one another’s jokes to a never ending extent, something that I’m certain is a side-effect of being roommates.

All in all, not every episode of The Anytime Show is as consistently good as some of the other podcasts, but its my personal feeling that when Dierkes does it well, he does it better than any of his competitors, as I can point out more specific great moments of this podcast than of any other. Keep your eye out, I’ll definitely be recommending specific episodes to download of this podcast.

If the title doesn’t tip you off, Hardwick is a nerd, and proud of it. Often times the “Hostful” episodes (episodes with no guest, but rather just conversations between the three hosts) will revolve around a particular nerdy topic for upwards of 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Even if you don’t understand all the references, you will enjoy the conversations if you have even a tinge of nerd to you, because they’re hilarious and cover the whole nerd spectrum.

If you’re not at all nerdy and you’re simply looking for a quality comedy interview podcast, you’ve found it. While some of their humor relies on nerdiness, the majority of the shows are just high quality interviews with high quality guests. As I said earlier, Hardwick creates a very colloquial interview environment. That, combined with the fact that he’s a very likeable personality who’s been around the comedy scene for a decent portion of time, makes for a consistent output of great episodes.

The guests include a wide range of people (generally comedians that are friends of his as well as actors), from the hilarious Danny Pudi (Community) all the way to Sir Patrick Stewart. In addition to the regular episodes, the show also features some panels Chris has moderated. The panels cover a range of topics, from Jimmy Fallon’s appearance at PaleyFest, to The Walking Dead panel at Comic Con.

When Hardwick and co. interview a comedian, they cover most aspects of the comedian’s life, from where they started, to random events that have propelled them to the point they are at now. Hardwick is an excellent host in that he doesn’t commandeer the interview, forcing the guest to talk about a specific subject. He allows the guest to meander and he’ll ask questions that go deeper into their personal story. That said, he doesn’t ever lose complete control of the interview, and never has to stop and think about what to ask the guest next.

The relationship between the three cohosts is obviously a warm one. Chris is the unquestioned leader of the trio, and Jonah and Matt have a very apparent best friendship, with all the mocking of one another that comes with it. Also, inside jokes between the hosts have arisen, including a pseudo “Team Edward/Jacob” rivalry between Matt and Jonah, as well as Hardwick being nicknamed “Big C” – much to his chagrin.

All in all this is about as good as interview podcasts get. A fantastic host, fantastic guests, and a fantastic format all help Nerdist tie with WTF With Marc Maron as my favorite podcast.

 WTF With Marc Maron

Marc Maron has a lot of negative personality traits. I mean a LOT of negative personality traits. He’s narcissistic, condescending, self obsessed, he lives much of his life in insane hypotheticals, and he constantly assumes the world is out to get him. Despite it all, he is simply a magnetic personality, and I think I know why: honesty. Marc Maron is nothing if not honest. He admits all his most abhorrent thoughts quite openly, taking equal disgust in them as the audience does.

Each episode of WTF begins with Marc taking you on a journey through whats been on his mind lately. You assume the role of the therapist, while he lays down on the proverbial couch and starts meandering through his shortfalls and accomplishments of late. During the first few of these you’re bored, even annoyed, as you simply long for the moment he begins the interview. If you listen to more than a few of the introductions, though, you begin to love Maron, you begin to take a personal stake in these stories because, for all his shortcomings, he’s honest, and he’s a good person attempting to become a better one all the time.

When the interview begins, generally about 10 minutes in, he becomes an excellent interviewer. He welcomes the guest to his garage, also known as “The Cat Ranch” and proceeds to dive into what makes them tick. He generally covers the basics of their comedic past first, delving into what about their childhood was so awful that they would later crave the attention of an entire audience. He then traces their rise to success, which is my favorite part, as I listen to the lore of the comedians that inspire me on a constant basis. At some point during the interview with nearly every guest he explains that he resented them in the past and apologizes for it, explaining it was his fault not theirs, its a rather entertaining motif, as it always seems to be for a ridiculous reason.

Maron makes his guests feel like they’re in a safe environment, as each guest seems incredibly willing to divulge even the bleakest parts of their past. One guest even takes Marc through his failed suicide attempt at the very hotel they’re doing the interview in. Its a somber and fascinating few moments.

Maron is most famous for his interviews with Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook, where he confronts them about the very topics that have had them ostracized from the comic community. Its obvious he doesn’t pull punches, as a common reaction to his interview with Dane Cook is that it “humanized” Cook, giving everyone a look into a side they rarely see.

The live episodes are also generally fascinating, as Maron varies the guest list between fellow comics, actors, and the occasional author. He has great chemistry with all his guests, even those he’s never met before. The live episodes generally don’t delve as deep, and are more hilarity-based, but are definitely worth the listen as well.

All in all, WTF With Marc Maron ties with Nerdist for my favorite podcast. The only downside is that you have to pay to hear any episode beyond the most recent 50. At first I was less than pleased with this realization. I then had the epiphany that I only had to pay a few dollars and in exchange I would get interviews with many of the people that have influenced me most in my life as done by one of my favorite interviewers. Well worth it.

You can watch some behind the scenes footage of Maron’s podcast as he interviews comedian Nick Kroll, courtesy of YouTube:

I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of Hard ‘n Phirm’s opening theme for the Doug Loves Movies podcast. Even after listening to all four of this week’s episodes in a 5 hour time period, it was still as catchy as ever. With four episodes to review and only 400 words to do it, I’ll point out some things to listen for in the plethura of movies being loved by Doug this week.

• The ENTIRE first episode posted this week. I don’t think I’ve heard a more engrossing episode of DLM before. The guests (Amy Schumer, Scott Aukerman, Rory Scovel, and Valient Himself) all provide dark hilarity throughout the entire podcast, with some surprise guests, including an infant, joining the stage. The point in the episode where my interest usually falters, The Leonard Maltin Game, had the opposite effect, as it was one of the most entertaining portions of podcasting I’ve heard.

• Kyle Kinane and Anthony Jeselnik, two of my favorite comedians working today, are in the same episode.

• Amy Schumer and Anthony Jeselnik are a couple. Listening to them riff in their respective episodes, I can see why.

• The one thing Anthony Jeselnik wasn’t allowed to touch in the Roast of Donald Trump. Its amazing.

Doug’s Bumbershoot lucidity. Doug is a self proclaimed “Horrible host,”  generally due to his inebriation. It definitely doesn’t generally harm the show at all, though podcast does have a slightly different feel when he seems less high.

• Eugene Mirman and Paul F. Tompkins, two comedians I feel are vastly underrated by the mainstream comedy community, make for excellent guests on the third Bumbershoot episode.

• Eugene Mirman’s synopsis of Colombiana.

• If theres one constant in podcastland, its that a Doug Loves Movies guest will be late to the UCB theater- this time: Adam Scott.

• Myq Kaplan. I’d never heard of him, after his appearance on DLM, I’m definitely going to look him up, he was funny in the classic awkward nerd way, which I always appreciate.

If you have the chance, I highly recommend listening to all the episodes from last week. However, if you’re a busy person with only so much time for podcasts, and you’re looking for the one essential episode you MUST listen to, download the first bumbershoot episode, with Scott Aukerman, Amy Schumer, etc.