On Comedy Podcasts

by Jessie Roberts

Marc Maron interviews Louis CK for his “WTF” podcast:

Cameron Tung explores the world of comedy podcasting:

Curiously, many comic-hosted podcasts are not shows that could be strictly defined as comedy. Instead, their salient features are often honest, uncensored, and insightful repartee between comedians. At times, podcasts function as salons where comics can gather to work out bits, exchange career advice, and engage in meaningful dialogue. The creative control that comics have over their podcasts allow them to do what they do best—talk—without restraints on time or content. The most skilled use this freedom to manufacture a unique, intimate product for a specific audience that is also a genuine reflection of the comic’s persona and artistic sensibility.

It is, perhaps, this sense of intimacy that producers and consumers of comedy podcasts find most captivating. Writing at Slate, Patton Oswalt asserted that the most remarkable quality of the standup Louis C.K.’s television series “Louie” is its ability to give “outsiders a clear and affectionate feeling for a world they might not inhabit.” This is the service that “WTF,” “You Had To Be There,” and a host of other comedy podcasts provide. Through millions of computers and smartphones, they offer audiences anywhere in the world an on-demand glimpse into a universe that’s normally curtained off from observation. And, it seems, a lot of people like what they hear.