You may be asking, “What’s a pod?” Is it a vessel holding 2 peas? A container where an alien resides like in the movies Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and Cocoon? Good guesses, but no. A pod is just a lazy man’s way of saying podcast. A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the internet. (Thank you Google.) The word podcast is a combination of “iPod” and “broadcast” and believe it or not has been in existence since 2004, with its concept established in 2000. (Thank you Wikipedia.) I view my favorite pods via YouTube on my computer screen, so I can have the visual contents in addition to the audio.

I discovered pods a couple years back when I was browsing the web looking for a little extra help in making my excellent fantasy football team even better. Low and behold, I quickly came across The Fantasy Footballers podcast, and it has been a favorite ever since. Andy Holloway, Mike Wright, and Jason Moore co-host the informative and entertaining show. The trio are a hoot and claim to be besties – which seems obvious by the way they’re willing to publicly make fun of one another on a regular basis. The Fantasy Footballers pod airs all year long with increased episodes (and intensity) ramping up the closer it gets to the actual NFL season.

By religiously watching The Fantasy Footballers pod, I eventually was led to a much different type of podcast that I certainly had not been looking for. Come to find out, the same three amigos have another show called the Spitballers Comedy Podcast, and instantly it became another favorite pod of mine. You get an idea, yet not to the full extent, of what you’re getting yourself into when you click on any one of their hundreds of episodes and you hear the announcer say, “What happens when three buffoons give life advice, explore unrealistic situations, and give random topics more thought than they probably deserve? It’s the Spitballers podcast with Andy, Mike, and Jason.”

The 3 peas in a pod (pun intended) are all in their early forties, married, and have three kids apiece. Besides their entrepreneurial spirit, and their love for fantasy football, pickleball, and bidets (yes, bidets) Andy, Mike, and Jason really aren’t that much alike once you get to know them. From their physical appearances (lanky, intimidating, plump) to their personalities (old soul, introvert, attention whore) the trio in actuality are as different as morning, noon, and night. (Relax – they know who and what they are – and I’m sure they’d all agree my descriptions of them are spot on.) The contrast in personalities is probably why the Spitballers pod works so well.

It’s both unbelievable and fascinating the length of discussion that can be had during a “Life Advice” segment on the Spitballers Comedy Podcast. An introverted listener recently asked the gentlemen what the best way might be to refuse full-on hugs at her husband’s large family gatherings. She has tried to tell her husband’s clan how she feels, but they’re big huggers and ignore her pleas. After much contemplation, the show’s “counselors” ultimately agreed there was really only one obvious piece of advice to give. And that advice was to show up in a wheelchair. Their thoughtful reasoning was that it’s very awkward to give a full-on hug to someone sitting down; however, they did warn her that she should probably brace herself for a lot of head pats, and maybe a few shoulder rubs from behind, in its place.

The deepest discussions on the Spitballers pod most often occur during the “Would You Rather?” segment of the hourish-long show. For example, “Would you rather always sound like you’re going through puberty, or always walk like you are in the marching band?” This is some serious stuff, folks. The Spitballers Comedy Podcast always concludes with a “Draft.” Taking turns, each fellow submits his four best answers (no duplicates allowed) to the question at hand. Their last draft was titled, “Gifts to give your enemies kids,” and some of the picks were a drumkit, glitter bomb, talking parrot, and pogo stick.

The rationale behind giving a child a pogo stick as a gift was that the kid would truly love the present, but the parents would not love the probable trip to the hospital and the ensuing medical bills. Maybe a disturbing thought process, but as Jason Moore reminds us, “A friend of my enemy is my enemy.” (I guess children are not excluded – they’re just collateral damage.) Other draft topics on the weekly pod have been “Things we miss from our childhood,” “Songs we are embarrassed to like,” “Best ways to cover up a fart,” and “Worst places to be when you need to poop.” Classy! The Spitballers show is mostly G-rated, but there is an ample amount of fart and poop talk on this comical podcast.

Shout out to one other pod in which I frequently dabble in and thoroughly enjoy. Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend admittedly is my guilty pleasure because the captivating show can become R-rated in an instant with a plethora of coarse language. These days foul language makes me cringe, but when Conan speaks it’s hard to look away. His brand of comedy is brilliantly outlandish. And he doesn’t need to perpetually go after certain politicians in order to get a cheap laugh – like so many others do. Conan’s two sidekicks, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, are very amusing in their own right, and anytime Conan does anything with Jordan Schlansky – it’s GOLD! For my money, Conan O’Brien and David Letterman are by far the best late night television hosts in my lifetime.

You may be wondering where I find the time to watch so many podcasts. Well, most days the television isn’t even turned on until late afternoon, and some days literally not at all. Have you seen some of the stuff on the boob tube that’s supposedly entertainment? If it’s not an old movie (preferably in black and white) or Seinfeld reruns, I’m most-likely not interested. But I do have to fill my days with something, so enter the world of pods.