Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Okay, okay, I’m joking. It’s just that talking about my favorite podcast in the entire universe gets me SO FREAKIN’ HYPED! Seriously, Smartless inspires the bad b***h energy that I want to channel for the rest of my life. I listen to this podcast every Monday morning after I sleepwalk out of bed and into my running clothes and tennis shoes, cursing my fall resolution to exercise before class until WAIT I remember that it’s a MONDAY and a new episode of Smartless has come out! I fumble for my earbuds and burst out the door into the biting air, taking a deep breath as the familiar jingle signaling the start of an episode begins to play in my ears.
Here’s the rundown of Smartless. In each episode, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two, and what ensues is an hour of story swapping, self-reflections and laughs–lots of laughs. It’s important to note that the “mystery guest” is only a mystery to two of the three hosts during the first five or so minutes–we as listeners can read the title of each episode to uncover the guest’s identity, should we be wary of going into it blindly. But I should back up–who are the hosts, you ask? And what sort of “mystery guests” are we talking about?
Jason Bateman (best known for his roles in Arrested Development and Ozark), Will Arnett (Arrested Development and Bojack Horseman), and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) are the hosts, and their chemistry together–how they build off of each other’s jokes–is what makes the podcast stand out. Their interactions are casual and comfortable enough to make viewers feel like they are “one of the gang,” zooming with some of their best buddies and bouncing ideas and witticisms off one another.
As for mystery guests… there’s a celebrity for everyone. I am always drawn to the interviews with well-known comedians like Melissa McCarthy and Fred Armisen, but there are also frequent interviews with movie stars (think George Clooney and Reese Witherspoon), singers/songwriters (Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell), and TV personalities (James Corden and Stephen Colbert). Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson even comes on for an episode to explain the concepts of infinity and parallel universes.
Ultimately, I hope I’ve convinced you to give this podcast a try. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, I’d say the beginning isn’t a bad place–their first-ever episode with mystery guest Dax Shepard is one of my favorites. I highly recommend listening to (and laughing at) this podcast while you exercise or walk between classes during the cold winter months. It has brightened many of my days, and I’m sure it will do the same for you!