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Guardian Top Ten Podcasts

Top 10 comedy podcasts

From Adam & Joe to Harry 'Mr Burns' Shearer, here's our pick of the comedy podcasts

G2 special: your complete guide to finding the funny

* Leo Benedictus
* The Guardian, Monday 27 July 2009
* Article history

Adam & Joe

Froo-fras and fripperies … 6Music's Adam & Joe. Photograph: BBC

1 Adam and Joe

Chatty highlights from the duo's BBC 6Music show, peppered with jingles, songs, listener-generated stuff and countless other fripperies, which are more than enough to make up for the perpetual irony in their voices.

2 Answer Me This!

Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann answer listeners' questions with nerdish enthusiasm. Immensely likable and always interesting, even in its unfunnier spells.

3 The Ricky Gervais Show

Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais bully their friend Karl Pilkington for your amusement. The undisputed, though intermittent, champion of the podosphere – so successful that you now have to pay for some of the recordings.

www.rickygervais.com/podcast.php

4 The Onion Radio News

Short, slick radio reports from the US's favourite spoof newspaper. "Prematurely born-again Christian suffers complications" and the like.

5 David Mitchell's Soapbox (video)

That nice man off the telly reads out a series of pedantic, banterish columns on themes such as Gaelic, lorry drivers and spelling. A bit stagey and cerebral, but popular and sensible.

6 Radio 4 Friday Night Comedy

Sandi Toksvig, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis bring you Radio 4's The News Quiz and The Now Show. It makes a pleasant break from the usual two-blokes-in-a-room format.

7 The Collings and Herrin Podcast

Comedian Richard Herring and jobbing journo Andrew Collins meet once a week to quarrel obscenely about the contents of newspapers and their flagging careers. A gathering cult.

8 KCRW's Le Show

Highlights of the long-running US radio show from Harry Shearer of Simpsons fame. Dry-as-a-bone satire ideal for people familiar with the intricacies of US politics, or who want to be.

9 Marsha Meets . . .

Students of laughcraft will enjoy these interviews with standups conducted by Xfm's Marsha Shandur. Subjects so far include Chris Addison, Brendon Burns and Laura Solon.

10 Frank Skinner on Absolute Radio

Affable chat from Skinner and his young helpers, Emily and Gareth. Phone-ins and celebrity guests break up the usual breakfast radio joke-joust.