In a year where people have come to expect the unexpected, comedy podcasts can provide a welcome respite with laughter and lighthearted listening.
Spotify has three new podcasts for those looking for their next dose of humor. Read on for a little about each one, as well as a short Q&A with the creators, guests, and hosts who are responsible for the laughs. Get ready to chuckle.
The Sketch Factor is a scripted sketch comedy podcast produced by Radio Point, and hosted by Fred Armisen, who's known for his work on the television shows Portlandia and Documentary Now! In this series, Armisen plays Xandor Szavost, an inventor, philanthropist, and billionaire who is using his fortune to finance a sketch comedy competition for his own amusement. At three to five minutes each, episodes are short and perfect for a quick comedy hit. For the Record caught up with the show's cast member and comedian, Seaton Smith.
What's the best April Fools' prank you've ever been a part of? Seaton: God, I hate pranks. One time I was late to a show, and my friend and his girl got there early and were bored. So, as a prank, he had his girlfriend call me and tell me that he started a fight with the bouncer and the police were there holding him down, and I had to hurry up and get there. It WAS funny. It just wasn't the easiest thing to laugh at.
What would you say is the main difference between audio-only comedy, like what's in this podcast, and comedy with a visual component? Seaton: Comedy you just listen to is fun because it hits you differently. Visually, I need all of your attention, and if I lose your attention for a second, then the comedy is hurt. But with audio, you can go do other things and still be all into it. It's like we're in your mind as you go about your day.
The podcast Flameout, produced by Treefort Media, brings together comedians to unravel the biggest business success stories gone wrong. The stories feature insider interviews and juicy revelations that include comedic and unfiltered opinions on the business flameouts. We chatted with Michael Ian Black, Baron Vaughn, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Abbi Crutchfield, who all take a turn as show hosts.
Why do you think comedy has been so important over the last year? Abbi: Comedy has been a release valve for all of my pent-up frustration-fear, anger, despair-during the past year. It wasn't easy to adjust to virtual performances, but it was always a relief to do a show and connect with people. I thought it might be the new way for everyone to enjoy comedy (So convenient! No commute! No drunken fights!), but now with the vaccine, it seems more like a dystopian version of comedy. There is no substitute for live performance, as Milli Vanilli will tell you.
What's the best April Fools' prank you've ever been a part of? Michael: I faked my own death for 10 years, April 1, 2003 to April 1, 2013. Joke ended up being on me, though, because my wife remarried and started a new family in my absence. So that was kind of a bummer.
Atsuko: I've never been a part of an April Fools' prank because that would insinuate I had friends. Ha-it's okay I've coped with it. Instead, I've been the subject of an April Fools' prank, where a bunch of rich popular girls from school put shaving cream all over my car and wrapped it up with toilet paper. My car was parked in front of my uncle's house. Because I was living in his garage. As an undocumented kid. Yay America!
What would you say is the main difference between audio-only comedy, like what's in this podcast, and comedy with a visual component? Baron: Listening to someone without seeing the speaker or any other visual component requires an entirely different level of focus. Not relying on visual cues means tuning into things like tone, inflection, and rhythm. You get a different sense of how someone talks. Those are things that are usually natural, but there are ways to play with that with intention. That, however, is for another April Fools'.
Nosy Neighbors is a new podcast featuring comedians Candice Thompson (previously a writer/correspondent on Lights Out with David Spade) and Chinedu Unaka (who will be featured on the upcoming season of Insecure). In each episode, the cohosts highlight the wildest neighbor stories of the week, dissecting and analyzing those involved, settling disputes, unpacking petty posts on local forums, and celebrating good neighborly behavior. The series includes call-ins from fellow comedians who share their own tales of notable neighbors. Both Candice and Chinedu answered a few questions for us.
Why do you think comedy has been so important over the last year? Candice: Man . . . comedy should've made it onto Time Magazine's Most Influential People of the Year list for 2020. We all would have lost our minds without it. Every comedian was an essential worker last year. Putting out online content became something I know I started doing more of to entertain other people, because I know they were looking for literally any reason to laugh, but I also did it for my own sanity. I had always thought of comedy as a career, but last year it felt like it became a charitable donation. I'm going to see if I can write it off on my taxes.
What's the best April Fools' prank you've ever been a part of? Candice: I've never been a huge prank person, but I do recall being on the receiving end of a prank in college when my best friend told me he'd gotten someone pregnant. We were so ride or die I was mentally preparing to drop out of college to help him raise the baby. I was like, I can learn to breastfeed. How hard can it be? That prank was stressful.
Chinedu: Me and my college friend Anthony bought a bunch of bike locks and locked everyone in our dormitory's bikes together early morning
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
In a year where people have come to expect the unexpected, comedy podcasts can provide a welcome respite with laughter and lighthearted listening. 
