Welcome! To a new column series currently, tentatively, entitled: Renaissances, Returns and New ‘Rrivals! Wherein we will discuss a few of the podcasts who’ve either had a massive upturn in quality, made a gleeful return, or have been borne since the turn of the year. This week we focus on the podcasts whose fame, or more importantly: excellence, has risen massively since the turn of the year. I’m also certain there are others, but it’s subjective, and I’m the subjector.
The Growing Behemoth: You Made it Weird, with Pete Holmes!
This is Mr Pete Holmes, at rest.
Crown prince amongst these rising monarchs is a venture by a certain larger than larger than life character by the unassuming name of Pete Holmes. It’s called You Made it Weird, because guess what? He makes stuff all kinds of weird, and encourages his guests to join in. Behaving like the love child of some combination of Robin Williams, Marc Maron and Steve Martin, Holmes hosts with a sensitivity, utter ebullience and an energy so piqued that has almost the entire podcast-iverse in raptures. Hilarious, a little confused and with a disgusting amount of charm, an endless intrigue about the human condition, he asks questions a lot of the audience would like to ask, to people whose answers always at least raise debate. His pretty intense upload schedule, uploading around three episodes every seven days, means you rarely have time to exhaust his commitment to this show. On occasion Pete does tend to repeat himself, yet this owes as much to his honesty and desire for community knowledge as it does to an obsession with topics which are almost inescapably interesting anyway. Having already pulled in much of the massed ranks of LA podcast denizens, it will be interesting to see how Holmes cultivates his roster of guests for the future. But if he does so with a percent of the charm, wit, spirit of revelation and intrepidity, well, the guests will hardly matter.
The Coming Shadow: Walking the Room, with Dave Anthony and Greg Behrendt!
One of the podcasts unfortunate enough to be an early victim of my reviews, Walking the Room has experienced something of a growth in audience recently, but has really exploded in terms of content and quality. Funnier by the week, but always with a proper heartbeat of real emotional truth, Anthony and Behrendt seem increasingly at ease with the medium, quickly becoming two of the most amazingly humorous, open and honest co-hosts around. 
This has lead to the self-revelatory segments, almost always rounding back to the subject of interpersonal conflict, and the comedic contributions increasing dramatically, meaning that the show becomes more essential listening by the week. Dave and Greg’s bromance continues to brew unabated too, their delectable love-hate dynamic catching the ear far more than it has any earthly right to. Their cajoling, congratulating, shared fears and constant tales of battles with the public make the podcast an insightful, uproarious and exceptional joy. Anthony has also branched out a little further into the pod-gazing community, founding and forging the ‘LA Podfest’ with other scene luminaries, as an attempt to raise the profile and boost the coffers of the podcast world, whilst also giving the audience a real reason and place to come together. One hopes that this can be the first majorly successful mass-podcast event, further launching the whole medium, alongside this remarkable sleeping giant, into an ever greater level of fame.
You can get tickets for the LA Podcast Festival at http://lapodfest.eventbrite.com/
The Creeping Tiger: Improv4Humans, with Matt Besser!
There is a very distinct and euphoric magic in great live improv, the spectacle of off-the-cuff hilarity being utterly imaginable for most humans, and it is this very distinct sparkle that Improv4Humans is doing an incredible job of bottling. An awesome blend of tiny anecdotes, mind-blending improv and intern bashing, Besser finds three other talented improvisers and creates a sheer hour of awesome. Never waiting on an idea, Besser leads and follows ever more ludicrous scenes with a consummate ease and simple joy in the art of improvisation.
Matt Besser makes face.
As such, he is a constant beacon for the show, keeping it fresh, clever and most keenly of all: unpredictable. Sourcing suggestions from the twitter lines, conversations with forum bait and the interviews of an occasional Eric the intern, the jumping off points are kept green and unusual, meaning scenes are distinctly different, steadfastly avoiding the occasionally repetitive nature of improv. Arm this with a guest pool that is as varied as it is talented, an impeccable sense of humour and a charming giddiness and it’s no wonder that this podcast is quickly becoming the best show on the Earwolf network. It’s also a great place to hear a lot of ‘non-podcast’ voices, which is just another in the list of ways they keep the show alive. Lively, engaging, one of the funniest podcasts available, Improv4Humans deserves an ever blooming fame and success to match it’s quality.
Honorable mentions go to The Long Shot, whose core remains one of the most hilarious podcasts around; Doug Loves Movies, whose Pete Holmes/TJ Miller/Jeff Garlin joint was mind-boggling; and the always astounding Risk, still the best story-telling podcast you’ll find.
All these podcasts are on iTunes or on their respective websites. You can also tweet at the various hosts @MattBesser, @daveanthony, @GregBehrendt and @peteholmez, so go ahead.
Did I miss something? Am I not nearly wordy enough? Do I even know about more than six podcasts? Tell me about it! Maybe I’ll review it, or at least listen to it. Don’t be mean though, nobody needs that.