The Read

Kid Fury and Crissle have been hosting The Read since 2013, making it one of the longest-running and most beloved podcasts in the pop culture and hip-hop commentary space. The format is loose and conversational: the two New York City-based hosts spend about two hours each week throwing shade, spilling tea, and offering brutally honest takes on entertainment news, celebrity behavior, and cultural moments. The only sacred ground is Beyonce -- she is off-limits for criticism, which has become a running joke and a genuine rule of the show. With 648 episodes and a near-perfect 4.9-star rating from over 27,000 reviews, The Read has one of the most passionate fanbases in podcasting. What makes it special is the chemistry between Kid Fury and Crissle. They are genuinely funny, not in a scripted way but in the way your funniest friends are funny -- quick, observational, and willing to take a joke further than anyone expected. The show also functions as what the hosts call an "on-air therapy session," with segments about their personal lives navigating New York City, relationships, and career changes. Recent episodes have kept the same energy that made the show a hit over a decade ago. The Read is not trying to be objective or journalistic. It is two smart, hilarious people giving you their unfiltered opinions on the culture, and after all these years, they are still better at it than almost anyone else doing something similar.