For Your Listening Pleasure

A couple of years ago, I was no fan of podcasts. Much like with audiobooks, I think my problem with them was a lack of concentration-- I would always find myself zoning out, wanting to be multitasking or doing other things and losing track of whatever was being said.

It's an acquired taste, I think, because now much of my commute and a good portion of my workdays is spent listening to podcasts. I partially (begrudgingly? Nah, I'll cop to it-- they're pretty great) credit TT.TKO with this turnaround. But TT.TKO alone can't fill up my iPod, so I've had to look elsewhere for podcasty goodness.

Recently I discovered a new one-- Mike and Tom Eat Snacks. Six episodes in, this 30ish minute show is exactly what you'd imagine. Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanaugh eat, discuss and analyze a different snack each episode. Hilarity ensues. If you like the hosts and you like snacks, I don't see how you could go wrong. I devoured (get it??) the first five episodes in one day last week while working.

Other recent discoveries: You Had To Be There, wherein Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer talk to comedians and musicians and discuss things ranging in inappropriateness from mildly to very. It's rare, at least in my experience, to find podcasts hosted by women, but these ladies make me laugh as much as any of the dudes out there.

I think fans of TT.TKO would also like Ugly People Don't Have Feelings, hosted by Matt Harbert and Brian Ruppenkamp. They've got the banter down and their topics of conversation include the kind of pop culture nerdery that TT.TKO listeners have come to love.

And you can't forget about the big ones-- Comedy Death Ray with Scott Aukerman is often hliarious (though sometimes the impressions get a little tedious, in my not-often-shared opinion). Doug Loves Movies is cool, if you love movies. Even if you don't, Doug Benson's pretty funny. Even better, to me, is Chris Hardwick's The Nerdist, which is both intelligent and hilarious.

I mean, if you really want to be entertained, you can listen to the Amy Special episode of TT.TKO on repeat. But if that gets old (does it? Keep listening and let me know), the above are some sure things. At the very least these should make your morning commute just a little bit more tolerable.