Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Laugh Along to Three New Comedy Podcasts Coming to Spotify

01/04/2021

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
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-04-01/laugh-along-to-three-new-comed...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

24/07/2026

Mediagenix To Feature 'Real-Time Media Enterprise Platform At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/07/2026

Peacock Posts First Profits, Adds 2 Million Subs in Q2 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/07/2026

Edward F. OKeefe Named President and CEO of The WNET Group

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/07/2026

TiVo Ads, OpenGlass Launch Programmatic Access to the TV Homescreen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/07/2026

Digital Alert Systems DASDEC Platform Supports FCCs New P...

Current DASDEC software enables customers to comply with the FCC's new 15-character password mandate without requiring updates LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. July 23,...

24/07/2026

SDVI to Showcase Next-Generation Rally Platform and New T...

At the IBC2026 Show, SDVI will give European media organizations their first hands-on look at the next-generation Rally media supply chain management platform f...

24/07/2026

Sonnet Technologies at IBC2026

Sonnet Technologies at IBC2026 Brie Clayton July 23, 2026 0 Comments Hero image: Sonnet Twin25G T5 Thunderbolt 5 Adapter At this year's IBC Sho...

24/07/2026

Musora Enhances Online Music Lessons with Blackmagic Design

Musora Enhances Online Music Lessons with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton July 23, 2026 0 Comments Director of Production Josh Holliday details workflo...

23/07/2026

Record-breaking World Cup has advertisers cheering

Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...

23/07/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Shansley Glenn, University of Oklahoma

This Spring 2026 graduate from Honolulu found a home at SoonerVision as a live-production star and is ready to enter the industry as a replay op on Prime Video&...

23/07/2026

Miked Up Is an Everyday Deal for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League

As the AUSL postseason begins tonight, listening in to players during games enhances fan engagement for the young organization Ballplayers chatting with announ...

23/07/2026

Snap Announces AR and Creator Activations at Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris

Snap Inc. and the Esports Foundation have announced Snap's activations at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, running July 6 through August 23. For the fir...

23/07/2026

Sony Introduces FX5 Full-Frame Cinema Line Camera

Sony has announced the FX5, a full-frame Cinema Line camera built around a newly developed fully stacked Exmor RS CMOS image sensor and BIONZ XR2 image processi...

23/07/2026

TNDV Powers Pickleball Slam 4 Broadcast for Ohlmeyer Kusserow Group

TNDV (a division of Live Media Group) provided technical production support for the Pickleball Slam 4 live broadcast from Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, ...

23/07/2026

LTN Surpasses 3,000 Satellite-to-IP Migrations as FCC Approves Upper C-Band Auction Rules

LTN has announced it has completed satellite-to-IP migrations for more than 3,00...

23/07/2026

Daktronics Announces 2026 DakClassroom Student Showcase Winners

Daktronics has announced the winners of the 2026 DakClassroom Student Showcase, a national competition recognizing student work in media production, storytellin...

23/07/2026

beIN Sports Extends Exclusive Roland-Garros Rights Across 10 Asian Markets Through 2031

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) and beIN Media Group have announced a five-ye...

23/07/2026

Clear-Com Provides Intercom System for Fryderyk Awards Gala at Tauron Arena Krakw

Clear-Com provided the communications infrastructure for the Fryderyk Awards Gal...

23/07/2026

How the FIFA World Cup's Record Revenue Masks a Structural Market Contraction

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is, on paper, an unparalleled financial success. Total t...

23/07/2026

From Green Screen to LED: How BBC Sport's World Cup Studio Became the Blueprint for Match of the Day

Standing inside HQ3 at MediaCity Studios during the FIFA World Cup 2026, it quic...

23/07/2026

How the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tightened the Bond Between the FOX Sports Digital, Linear Teams

Having attracted upwards of 17 billion views throughout the tourney, the broadca...

23/07/2026

Low End Candy release Preverb

Quickly creates reverse reverb effects Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...

23/07/2026

Expressive E Noisy 2.6 arrives

New engines, resonators, effects & more Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...

23/07/2026

SGL Carbon expands photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site

SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...

23/07/2026

NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance

NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance 23 July, 2026 Media releases National Indigenous Television (NITV) has launched ...

23/07/2026

Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO series oscilloscopes

Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...

23/07/2026

Why The Next Big Opportunity in Sports Lies Outside the Stadium

In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...

23/07/2026

Scaling Smart with Vivid Broadcast

Download Now! To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details: -- First Name* First Name ...

23/07/2026

Sony Unveils FX5 Full-Frame Camera

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

Sachtler To Show Akti8T Fluid Head, Flowtech75 Tripod At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

NextGen TV Launches in Cleveland

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

Yospace Stitched 11.57 Billion Ads into Live Streams During World Cup

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

At IBC2026 Witbe Will Showcase Tests That Build Themselve...

Witbe brings its AI-native testing and monitoring infrastructure to Amsterdam: demonstrations on real devices, a peer-reviewed technical paper in the conference...

23/07/2026

Quickplay Caretta Research Evergent and Yospace Announce...

Quickplay, Caretta Research, Evergent, and Yospace have announced that the renowned IBC Pride Happy Hour will once again bring the vibe and fun back to IBC on F...

23/07/2026

IBC2026 Interra Systems Brings Trusted Media Intelligence...

At IBC2026, Interra Systems will present this year's focus: operational AI at scale for QC, monitoring, and captioning workflows. The industry has moved pas...

23/07/2026

Illusionfx is finally coming!

Illusionfx is finally coming! Alex Perea July 23, 2026 0 Comments The new website is now live to mark the occasion. Since the last update, feedback h...

23/07/2026

Evergent showcases AI agents for streaming retention at I...

Evergent (5.A86) will showcase its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform for streaming services, sports leagues, pay-TV operators at IBC2026 (RAI Amsterdam, 11...

23/07/2026

Brian Jones Named NCTCs New CFO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

Scripps Unites TV Operations Under Dean Littleton's Leadership

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/07/2026

2D House is First North American Rental Facility to Offer...

David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...

23/07/2026

Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program

Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026 Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...

23/07/2026

At AI Summit, South Korea Outlines Its AI Future With NVIDIA and Partners

At this week's AI Summit in San Francisco, South Korean President Jae Myung Lee and some of the country's top business leaders and researchers are meeti...

23/07/2026

X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digital Color Education

X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...

23/07/2026

New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile

Thursday 23 July 2026 New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...

23/07/2026

Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailer

Thursday 23 July 2026 Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...

23/07/2026

Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time at an International Soccer Match

Wuppertal July 23, 2026 Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...