Podcasts Hitting Their Prime

If video killed the radio star, podcasting is killing the talk show.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, podcasts have certainly gotten on your radar in the past few years. The wildly diverse community covers a wide range of audio art from the real life drama of This American Life’s “Serial” to several hot comedy podcasts to the surreal goings-on at “Welcome to Night Vale.”

Earlier this year, the medium even earned its first documentary with “Ear Buds,” a new film produced by comedian and filmmakers Chris Mancini and Graham Elwood from “Comedy Film Nerds.” The film, which debuted at this year’s L.A. Podcast Festival, captures some of the best comedy podcasters at their best, featuring big names like Marc Maron, Doug Benson, Jimmy Pardo and the creators of “Welcome to Night Vale,” Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.

“Chris and I found the podcast fans to be the most involved and loyal people ever,” said Elwood. “Because your voice is literally in their ears and we talk about personal things, the listener feels like they know you. And in many ways they do. Still, 70 percent of Americans have no idea what a podcast is. So when that number decreases, podcasting will become mainstream. Showing ‘Ear Buds’ at this year’s L.A. Podfest was such a cool moment for us at Comedy Film Nerds, and myself as a director. The Podfest fan response was overwhelmingly positive. This film has been a great experience and will hopefully be a gateway drug to podcasting for all those who don’t know what it is.”

The guests are getting bigger, too. Ask Marc Maron, whose podcast “WTF With Marc Maron” recently hosted President Obama, in Maron’s garage studio, no less, and a chat with Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards.

Comedian Chris Hardwick is building a media empire off of his Nerdist network of podcasts, where he’s hosted Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston among a host of actors, comedians, and musicians. Others take a more personal approach. Joe Rogan, who was recently profiled in Rolling Stone magazine, balances his affection for UFC fighters with his enthusiasm for mind-opening psychedelics.

One podcast host who balances celebrity profiles with clever insights is Paul Mecurio, a comedian and writer for “The Daily Show” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He’s parlayed his podcasting success with guests like Colbert, Kristen Chenoweth and Sugar Ray Leonard into a new podcast, “2 Chairs and a Microphone,” on Adam Carolla’s growing media network.

“I kind of fell in love with the format instantly because it was a way to have these long-form conversations and ask the questions I wanted to ask,” Mecurio said from backstage at “The Late Show.”

“On a pure creative level, it makes me a better performer. But I’m also fascinated by people’s processes. It allows me to showcase people I am genuinely interested in. There are sides of people that you aren’t going to see in five minutes on a talk show,” he said. “I think podcasting opens up artists to the world, but also offers the world to the artist. I think it’s great for these artists to be able to spread their wings and say what they want to say.”

Mecurio’s instincts served him well when he bumped into Paul McCartney backstage at his day job and invited the legendary Beatle to do his podcast.

“We just started talking in the hallway and we hit it off,” Mecurio said. “I just started blurting out stuff like, ‘I’ll come to London. I’ll connect with your agent.’ He just goes, ‘Nah, they’ll just screw it up.’ We literally exchanged numbers in the hall, and an hour later my phone rings and we did the podcast. We talked about process and how the Beatles were able to change their sound over and over again. It was really talking shop and I really appreciated it.”

Inherent freedom definitely extends to the “colorful language” of the medium, since podcasts aren’t subject to network dictates, 7-second delays, or rules of conduct. That means that while Tom Hanks might be scandalized for uttering an expletive on “Good Morning America,” on podcasts the audience gets to see people they idolize open up and have real conversations that reveal more of who they really are.

Other podcasters have experienced not only a career boost, but also a kind of reinvigoration from diving into the new medium.

Comedian Jay Mohr is well-known to his audience for his appearances in films like “Jerry Maguire” and “Suicide Kings,” television shows “Last Comic Standing” and “Gary Unmarried,” and his frequent appearances on talk radio. But doing his podcast “Mohr Stories,” the comic gets very personal at times with episodes featuring his wife, actress Nikki Cox, and his influential manager Barry Katz, as well as fellow raconteurs like Steve-O and Henry Rollins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APb6X23bLNs

“For me it’s a true joy,” Mohr said from Fake Moustache Studios, conveniently based out of his garage in Southern California. “I mean, it’s only talking. If you were in the car with a buddy on a cross-country drive, what would you be talking about after seven hours of driving? Certainly your guard would be down. Maybe you’d be singing? A great guest is a guest that wants to have fun, who surrenders and goofs off. That’s where I want the conversation to be on ‘Mohr Stories.’”

Both Mecurio and Mohr say podcasting also sharpens them as comics, ultimately proving that a truly funny podcast monetizes itself by creating more demand for the best comedians.

“I think it’s because comedians have so many stories that when a guest tells you something crazy, you have something to follow it up,” Mohr said. “We obviously like to talk, so it becomes an extension of our stand-up. The podcast has been a really great outlet for me. I get to tell all those stand-up stories and bits that are ‘on the bubble.’ The people that subscribe to ‘Mohr Stories’ already have my sense of humor, so when I go out on the road, the audience is already on the same page with me before I even walk out on the stage.”