Podcast Corner: Blindboy, Wilmore, and Klein among top 'smart-guy' hosts

It's a special skill to take lofty ideas and turn them into something accessible and entertaining

Tue, 06 Dec, 2022 - 08:02

Eoghan O’Sullivan

Bill Simmons, head of global sports content at Spotify and founder of the Ringer pop culture website and podcast network, calls them ‘smart-guy pods’ — shows that take in lofty ideas, dealt with in layman terms, and leave the listener ready to drop nuggets to their friends about such big topics the next time they meet up. They’re podcasts for people who wouldn’t dare touch the Joe Rogan Experience. And yes, there are many smart women also hosting wonderful podcasts.

The Ringer podcast network has a couple of ‘smart-guy pods’ of its own, of course. Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air has been running since 2017 and finds the former Daily Show correspondent (back in its heyday when it was helmed by Jon Stewart) and Emmy Award-winning producer and comedian weighing in on the big issues of a given week alongside entertainment-skewing interviews with the likes of Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph. ‘The US and the Holocaust’ and ‘The Republican Road to Hell’ are recent topics that make Wilmore stand out from the crowd.