Looking for amusing advice podcasts
June 25, 2016 10:52 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for podcasts where the host and/or guests take listener calls or letters and answer them, but in a funny way.
To be clear, I'm not talking about absurdist or humor podcasts that are only nominally advice podcasts (Judge John Hodgman or Me, My Brother and Me).
I'd like to find some podcasts or podcasts of radio shows where the hosts give real advice to real people, but also aim to amuse the audience. A couple of podcasts in this vein I've been listening to is Unqualified by Anna Faris and the J Train Podcast.
Thanks!
To be clear, I'm not talking about absurdist or humor podcasts that are only nominally advice podcasts (Judge John Hodgman or Me, My Brother and Me).
I'd like to find some podcasts or podcasts of radio shows where the hosts give real advice to real people, but also aim to amuse the audience. A couple of podcasts in this vein I've been listening to is Unqualified by Anna Faris and the J Train Podcast.
Thanks!
Answer Me This with Helen and Olly. Absolutely addictive.
posted by maudlin at 11:05 AM on June 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 11:05 AM on June 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
You want Ana Farris is Unqualified, where completely unqualified Hollywood people answer listeners' relationship questions. Also, Dinner Party Download has an etiquette segment. The answerers are sometimes the people from the Emily Post family/Post Institute and sometimes celebrities. (Note: Those same Emily Post people have their own podcast, Awesome Etiquette, where they answer listener questions, but somehow in that context it's less funny and much more boring, alas.) (Jeez sorry I just saw that you already listen to Ana Farris. Sorry.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:12 AM on June 25, 2016
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:12 AM on June 25, 2016
this describes part 3 on the read. part 1/2 is black excellence and then current events (focus is entertainment), part 3 is listener letters, and part 4 is the read.
posted by nadawi at 11:24 AM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nadawi at 11:24 AM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I really enjoy the Ask a Clean Person podcast by Jolie Kerr. If you've ever read her written work you'll know that she's quite entertaining. Each episode she has a guest and they answer reader questions. I've learned a ton and enjoyed all the conversations.
posted by radioamy at 1:02 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by radioamy at 1:02 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I truly enjoy Dear Hank and John: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dear-hank-and-john/id1002937870?mt=2
posted by heathrowga at 2:10 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by heathrowga at 2:10 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Judge John Hodgman usually focuses on one dispute/question per show, answering things like, "should this person try community theater" and "should we try to leash-train our cat" in absurd detail in the format of a courtroom show. Every so often there's an episode that deals with a larger number of more general questions like, "is chili a soup or a stew?"
To clarify, he does make a genuine attempt to resolve issues with reason and fairness, but the questions are usually inherently absurd, and he's a comedian, so...
posted by cmoj at 4:08 PM on June 25, 2016
To clarify, he does make a genuine attempt to resolve issues with reason and fairness, but the questions are usually inherently absurd, and he's a comedian, so...
posted by cmoj at 4:08 PM on June 25, 2016
Well, Car Talk fits this-- it's a car advice show, and people really do get mostly good car advice (and sometimes relationship advice when a car comes between people). It's all call-in, being a radio show, though they do get followup letters that they read on air from time to time.
The show ended not long ago as both Tom and Ray Magliozzi retired, followed too quickly by Ray's passing, and it still exists (and airs all over the country weekly) in a remixed form "The Best of Car Talk."
Also, don't worry if you don't give a shit about cars as a hobby or interest in genera-- you may still like it very much because car problems cause problems for people, and they solve the person's problem, which doesn't always involve fixing the car.
posted by Sunburnt at 4:49 PM on June 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
The show ended not long ago as both Tom and Ray Magliozzi retired, followed too quickly by Ray's passing, and it still exists (and airs all over the country weekly) in a remixed form "The Best of Car Talk."
Also, don't worry if you don't give a shit about cars as a hobby or interest in genera-- you may still like it very much because car problems cause problems for people, and they solve the person's problem, which doesn't always involve fixing the car.
posted by Sunburnt at 4:49 PM on June 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
How about my brother my brother and me? Just kidding I actually read your question.
Chris Gethards "beautiful anonymous" show takes 1 anonymous call per show. It can get deep.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:57 PM on June 25, 2016
Chris Gethards "beautiful anonymous" show takes 1 anonymous call per show. It can get deep.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:57 PM on June 25, 2016
"How To Do Everything" is just that. I recently enjoyed the episode titles "Your the man now, dog (Part II)," in which a woman calls to ask why her dog howls when she plays the flute. They spend the rest of the episode interviewing a man acting the role of her dog, DJ. DJ has really interesting thoughts about the Nixon era.
But most of the time they do answer the question, just in a funny way. Someone had overboiled eggs--to the point that they exploded and left egg residue on the ceiling. The caller wanted to know how to clean it off, so they called a woman who had been in charge of cleaning and restoring the Sistine Chapel.
posted by MrBobinski at 5:50 PM on June 25, 2016
But most of the time they do answer the question, just in a funny way. Someone had overboiled eggs--to the point that they exploded and left egg residue on the ceiling. The caller wanted to know how to clean it off, so they called a woman who had been in charge of cleaning and restoring the Sistine Chapel.
posted by MrBobinski at 5:50 PM on June 25, 2016
Nthing Dear Hank and John (or as John likes to think of it, Dear John and Hank). Two brothers, Hank and John Green, give dubious advice on their comedy podcast about death. I often laugh out loud, and it always makes me think.
posted by Barnifer at 8:17 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Barnifer at 8:17 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I haven't listened to it yet, but there's a new podcast version of Dear Prudence with Mallory Ortberg from The Toast. Given how entertaining her first couple of months of the written column have been, I'm betting the podcast is pretty great too.
posted by MsMolly at 10:39 PM on June 25, 2016
posted by MsMolly at 10:39 PM on June 25, 2016
Another vote for Dear Hank and John. Their dubious advice makes my week. Plus, on top of that dubious advice, you get all the week's news from Mars (a cold dead rock) and AFC Wimbledon (a newly-promoted third tier English football team)!
posted by guster4lovers at 12:14 AM on June 26, 2016
posted by guster4lovers at 12:14 AM on June 26, 2016
The Savage Lovecast by Dan Savage has an advice segment where people call in and leave him messages and he responds. If he's able to get them live on the phone, sometimes it's even an advice response in real time.
Also, The Read is a (kind of long but) HILARIOUS podcast that has an advice column segment, but usually there is a long pop culture discussion first, so you'd either have to fast forward or just listen to that bit first. But it is often a delight.
posted by helloimjennsco at 10:43 AM on June 27, 2016
Also, The Read is a (kind of long but) HILARIOUS podcast that has an advice column segment, but usually there is a long pop culture discussion first, so you'd either have to fast forward or just listen to that bit first. But it is often a delight.
posted by helloimjennsco at 10:43 AM on June 27, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by raisindebt at 10:53 AM on June 25, 2016