Paul F. Tompkins is, these days, pretty much renowned as the patron saint of comedy podcasting. He'll show up on pretty much any podcast, be charming and funny as hell, and leave you wanting more. His original podcast started 5 years ago as maybe one of the most ambitious comedy podcast projects yet created. Each episode involves a recorded sketch from his variety show in LA, a conversation between some of his ridiculous stable of improv characters, and a phone call to his good friend Jen Kirkman, all of which are strung together by his trademark hilarious stream-of-consciousness ramblings scored by Eban Schletter (who is only the best.) Though the podcast has been defunct for 2 years now, after the end of its second season, it still stands as a great piece of entertainment and, hey, the fact that it has an end might be a bonus- it's not a permanent commitment.
Comedy Bang! Bang! regular Lauren Lapkus presents a idea for a podcast that ends up being a bit too risky to always pay off. Known for her absurd characters on CBB, she ran with that idea into make a podcast where she's always playing a new different character as a guest, while a new person each week is the host of the show. As a result, each episode is only as strong as her guest. She needs someone and a premise to play off of so if her guest(host) isn't up to par, the entire episode falls flat. That said, if the guest(host) is up to snuff, it wildly succeeds, especially when seasoned podcast veterans or her friends in the Wild Horses UCB improv group are in charge.
Janet Varney is a comedian and actress of some note (and the voice of Korra in Legend of Korra!) but she shines particularly brightly as a podcast host. The JV Club invites women of Hollywood onto the show to discuss their childhoods, school, and lives before they because famous. Varney pulls it off with wit and a friendliness that seems to set her guests immediately at ease and creates fun, funny personal conversations. Each episode ends with a game of MASH, a uniquely clever way to dig a bit deeper and learn more about each person. It's breezy, but very entertaining,
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