Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast

Comedy Bang Bang is the show that basically built the modern comedy podcast landscape. Scott Aukerman has been hosting since 2009, and with over 800 episodes, it's one of the longest-running and most influential improv comedy podcasts out there. The format hasn't changed much, and that's a compliment — Aukerman interviews a celebrity guest in the first segment, then after each ad break, a comedian arrives in character, and things go gloriously off the rails. Those characters are what set CBB apart from everything else. Paul F. Tompkins alone has appeared in over 240 episodes, playing everyone from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Werner Herzog. Lauren Lapkus, Andy Daly, and Ben Schwartz are regular contributors who've built recurring personas with long-running story arcs that span years. Schwartz has an annual tradition of being the first guest every January, and in 2026 he joined the show's exclusive "40 timer's club." The improvisation is almost entirely unscripted, and the willingness to commit to absurd premises for extended stretches is genuinely remarkable. Each episode closes with the "Plug Bag" segment, where guests promote their projects over a listener-submitted theme song remix — it's become a beloved ritual with its own mythology. The show spawned an IFC television series, a New York Times best-selling book, and dozens of spin-off podcasts. Fans vote for their favorite episodes each December in the annual "Best of" countdown. If you appreciate long-form improv and don't mind jokes that occasionally require a wiki to fully appreciate, CBB rewards dedicated listeners like almost nothing else in podcasting.