Top 7 Comedy Podcasts That Will Make You Smile On Your Way To Work

Some of the funniest conversations begin with a fact that sounds too ridiculous to be true. No Such Thing As A Fish brings together researchers from the television show QI to share the fascinating, bizarre and frequently hilarious discoveries they have made during the week. One story might concern an extraordinary animal, another an obscure historical incident, and another a scientific detail that makes you question everything you thought you knew. The presenters are knowledgeable without being stuffy, and their enthusiasm for unusual information is infectious. It is the ideal podcast for anyone who enjoys learning something genuinely surprising while having a laugh at the same time. You will almost certainly arrive at work with at least one fact nobody asked you to know.

Conan O’Brien has spent decades making people laugh on television, but this podcast gives him room to follow a conversation wherever his curiosity takes it. Joined by co-hosts Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, he interviews actors, musicians, comedians and other familiar faces, often abandoning the expected questions in favour of wonderfully unpredictable detours. Conan's talent is not simply telling jokes; it is making other people funny, drawing out their eccentricities and finding comedy in the smallest conversational details. The relationship between the hosts adds another layer, with Sona particularly happy to puncture Conan's grander claims. The result feels less like a formal celebrity interview and more like being invited into a very funny, occasionally chaotic conversation.

Handsome brings together comedians Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin, who take turns inviting a guest to answer a question. That simple format gives the show plenty of room to wander, with the hosts adding their own stories, disagreements and wonderfully different perspectives along the way. The chemistry between the three presenters is central to its appeal: they are accomplished comedians, but the conversations also have the warmth and ease of friends enjoying each other's company. Guests are encouraged to be themselves rather than deliver a polished promotional interview, and the best moments often emerge from the unexpected directions a seemingly ordinary question can take. It is relaxed, playful comedy that makes a crowded morning journey feel a little more companionable.

Australian duo Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon bring an almost unreasonable amount of enthusiasm to the business of making each other laugh. Toni and Ryan is built around everyday observations, ridiculous stories, listener contributions and the sort of conversations that can turn a minor inconvenience into an elaborate comic event. Their contrasting personalities and easy rapport give the show a lively, spontaneous feel, while the regular involvement of listeners makes it feel like a community of people sharing in the joke. You do not need to know anything about Australia or follow a complicated running storyline to enjoy it. The appeal is much simpler: two entertaining people finding extraordinary amusement in ordinary life. It is particularly good when you need a cheerful distraction from the morning routine.

The premise of The Worst Idea of All Time sounds like a punishment devised by someone with a very particular sense of humour. New Zealand comedians Guy Montgomery and Tim Batt choose a film and watch it repeatedly, returning to discuss the experience as their relationship with the movie changes over time. What begins as a deliberately ridiculous experiment becomes an extended study in repetition, obsession and the strange things that happen when two people spend far too much time thinking about the same piece of entertainment. The comedy comes from their reactions, their increasingly detailed observations and the sheer absurdity of the undertaking. It is not a conventional film podcast or a straightforward review show. It is an unusually committed comic experiment, and the commitment is precisely what makes it so funny.

Comedy Bang! Bang! is what happens when a conventional interview podcast loses interest in behaving like a conventional interview podcast. Hosted by Scott Aukerman, the show combines conversations with comedians and performers with improvised characters, absurd scenarios and increasingly elaborate comic detours. A guest might arrive as themselves, only for the discussion to be interrupted by a completely fictional character with an extraordinary backstory. The format gives some of the best improvisers in comedy room to play, and the results can be wonderfully unpredictable. It is not always the easiest show to explain to someone who has never heard it, which is part of its charm. If you enjoy surreal humour, strange characters and jokes that build into elaborate nonsense, this is one of the most distinctive comedy podcasts around.