Category: Worldwide

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but even hell hasn’t seen the likes of Natalie Maines. Infamously political for denouncing the actions of former President Bush back in the early 2000s — and punished extensively by a Conservative fanbase for breaking rank — Maines and her Chicks are back, with a new name, and this time they’ve got yet another bad man in their sights.

The premise of their new album Gaslighter feels eerily political in the era when essays accusing the president of this psychological manipulation tactic have gone viral, but at its core, this album is decidedly a personal one. For the last several years, Maines has been undergoing a messy, public divorce from Adrian Pasdar, her now-former husband of almost two decades. After meeting at the wedding of fellow Chicks member Emily Strayer (now Robison), Maines and Pasdar were married until 2017, when Maines filed for divorce citing the old standby, “irreconcilable differences.”

In the ensuing two-year battle, Pasdar infamously tried to invalidate the couple’s pre-nup agreement, openly admitted that Maines paid for nearly everything during the family’s tenure, attempted to get his hands on any and all new Chicks music — in case it validated a confidentiality clause in the pre-nup he was trying to nullify — and asked for up to $60,000 a month from Maines in spousal support. Whew. Throughout it all, Maines has been relatively silent about the proceedings, but that dam has broken on Gaslighter.

Pasdar’s instincts that the new album might have a thing or two to do with his behavior were spot on, as the album opens with the title track “Gaslighter” — also the lead single for this cycle — and embarks on a hero’s journey that is Maines’ grappling with his betrayal and the unraveling of her family. Gaslighter is a story that flips the script on Tammy Wynette’s steadfast, grin-and-bear-it “Stand By Your Man” and lands much more firmly in the camp of The Chicks’ recent collaborator, Beyonce, whose scorched earth excoriation of her husband’s infidelity on the towering record Lemonade become a new standard for long-suffering wives taking their power back.

Similar contemporaries like Bjork, and perhaps a bit closer to home, Miranda Lambert have written openly about the dissolutions of their long-term romantic partnerships and marriages in recent years, blowing the door wide open for contemporary women to discuss what it feels like to be single again in middle age. But, even with the high-water mark of Lemonade, the rarer infidelity story that ends in reconciliation, it’s unlikely that any albums before or after Gaslighter will stand as more of a landmark on the subject matter. It is, in a word, monumental.

Considering this is The Chicks’ first album in fourteen years, and Maines’ marriage lasted for seventeen, it’s almost a summary of her entire relationship — and what she’s been through in the aftermath. And since it is their first new material in a decade and a half, the anticipation from fans who have stayed loyal through political turmoil and the advent of the social media era is palpable. From the searing opener, the record segues into “Sleep At Night,” where Maines gets into the nitty-gritty details of hearing about the infidelity from her “husband’s girlfriend’s husband” and considers the implications her ex’s behavior will have on their two young sons. It’s the kind of barn-burner that would be heavy-handed or too depressing in a weaker songwriter’s hands, but buoyed by signature Chicks harmonies, and flexing between beat-driven bombast and sweeping balladry, it’s actually one of the album’s strongest tracks.

Like anyone returning to the realm of singledom after thinking that chapter had been closed forever, Maines and company muse through new possibilities and reawakened desires on “Texas Man,” a much-needed, light-hearted charmer to bring some light and heat to an often dark record. This trio have always deftly balanced difficult, heavy subjects and warmer, sweeter ones, and more grace appears later on the album for “Hope It’s Something Good,” with Maines wishing her ex the best, with a tad more compassion than many listeners will probably feel.

The album really hits its stride on the two core tracks “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “Tights On My Boat.” The former lays out the whole story of Maines meeting her husband and moving on from the relationship, the latter gets into the kind of iconic kiss-off specifics that we all want to hear, while sticking to a finger-picked, rollicking sweetness to make the lyrical punches connect all the harder. Within the specifics of her own betrayal, Maines has crafted a kind of universal anthem that is easily one of the best songs released in 2020.

Later, “Julianna Calm Down” directly addresses the emotional undertaking of getting divorced in public, and keeping a brave face in spite of internal emotional turmoil, and “Young Man” considers how her sons will rebuild their idea of not just their father, but manhood itself. Another standout, “March March” is one of the few tracks to focus on subject matter outside the divorce, considering how Maines and The Chicks have carved a path for themselves that falls far outside the bounds of what most musicians, and arguably, most people, would undertake. But even if it’s a slightly different topic, the track fits seamlessly with the themes of independence, resilience, and compassion that the album ultimately embraces.

Longtime fans will not be disappointed in this towering, feisty comeback, which combines all the elements of The Chicks past, and culminates in an epic coming-of-age story that sees this group shedding not just the “Dixie” in their name, but other more personal toxic patterns and beliefs. Without pulling any punches, Maines, along with Robison and her sister Martie Maguire, have crafted an album that digs deep into the grief and loss of divorce, and comes out the other side with electricity, grace, and ultimately, a sense of hope. After the hellfire and the fury, after the gaslighting, the pain, and the whole damn thing, this album yields something pure and uncompromising: A group of women who won’t back down, who continue to live and sing their truth, whether it comes to an entire industry, or a cheating husband.

Gaslighter is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.

On the outside, Henry Cavill looks every bit as ripped as one would expect from the Man of Steel in the flesh, but his hardore nerdery knows no bounds. He tears into source material to prepare for roles with a vengeance. That includes video games and graphic novels; you name it, he’ll put his hands (and mind) all over it. And with a month or so left to kill before The Witcher resumes production, he’s using that time to get things done around the house — in between workouts, naturally — and these things just happen to include building a PC.

Watching him do so (and yes, he kindly provided a visual) is… something to behold. It’s certainly more entertaining than Joss Whedon’s version of Justice League that landed in theaters. Yes, I said it! Feel free to argue that point all day long, but the jury will (of course) remain out on the Snyder Cut’s quality until it arrives in 2021. For now, consider yourself forewarned by Cavill himself. In a video that gets down to Barry White tunes, Cavill is showing off “All The Parts.” Oh boy: “This kind of material isn’t for everyone…. viewer direction is advised. You may see a lot of parts that you haven’t seen before.”

As one top commenter notes, “He’s good with his hands.” They’re not wrong.

Tekashi 69 has been on house arrest after being released from prison due to coronavirus concerns. Almost immediately after his release, Tekashi began releasing new music, even linking up with Nicki Minaj and scoring a No. 1 for their collaboration “Trollz.” While the rapper is finding success in his career, he’s still dealing with familial issues since his release from prison. Back in January, it was reported that his ex-girlfriend was barring him from seeing their daughter due to safety concerns, and now reports indicate Tekashi is seeking resolution in court.

According to TMZ, Tekashi’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, said the rapper is seeking a way to see his four-year-old daughter after being released from house arrest, one way or another. Despite pushback from his ex Sara Molina, Lazzaro says the rapper wants to hammer out custody details in court.

Lazzaro claims Tekashi hasn’t reached out to his daughter since being released from court for the same reason he recently went dark on social media. The rapper aims to protect himself and his family from danger at the hands of the Nine Trey Bloods gang, who he testified against in court last year.

Per TMZ’s report, Molina said if Tekashi wants his daughter back in his life, he has to do it on her terms. Molina doesn’t mind if Tekashi’s mother visits his daughter, though, which she has many times in the past.

News of Tekashi seeking custody of his daughter arrives shortly after he detailed his plans following his release from house arrest. According to Lazzaro, Tekashi plans on releasing an entire album as well as making public appearances. “It’s his intent to appear in public,” Lazzaro said. “He’s got a security team made up of former FBI agents and NYPD detectives, so he’s going to be well-protected when he does step out into the public eye, and he does plan on doing that.”

After a delay in traveling to Orlando to join the Houston Rockets ahead of the NBA restart, All-NBA guard James Harden will reportedly participate in his first practice of minicamp today, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

Both Harden and backcourt mate Russell Westbrook did not join the Rockets en route to Orlando initially, but had always planned to join their teammates prior to the restart of the NBA season. Harden’s presence will be a welcome addition for a team that operates so fully around him on offense. Westbrook, on the other hand, remains in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

To be fair to Harden, if there is any player in the NBA who you can trust to do his thing after missing practice time, it’s probably him. Harden can roll the ball out and manage his drive-and-shoot game, but Houston’s aim is still a Finals berth, so they’ll need all the time to gel that they can get.

Expect a lot of talk about Harden’s physical fitness and additions to his game once he’s back on the court for the Rockets, as his hiatus workouts in Arizona have already become folkloric. Let’s hope whatever caused a delay in travel for Harden does not affect his game and the fascinating small-ball Rockets can pick up where they left off in March.

Saying there are a lot of comedy podcasts out there would be a massive understatement. There are thousands of active comedy podcasts to choose from across Luminary, Castbox, Supercast, iTunes, Spotify, and their ilk. The internet is littered with them. And hey, there’s really only so much time in a day (lockdown or not) that you can listen to a bunch of clever people riffing. Plus, a lot of amazing comedy podcasts have already come and gone. Meaning you have deep archives to consider, too.

All of that makes it damn near impossible to know where to start if you’re looking for a few auditory laughs. So today we’re highlighting classic comedy podcasts we love and some smaller, independent podcasts that always deliver on the laughs. We’ve also cut this list down considerably from its last iteration — as several of those podcasts are no longer active (basically, if they haven’t posted an episode in 2020, they got cut).

Let’s dive into some of the best comedy podcasts to listen to right now. Shout out your current favorites in the comments!

Fox Mulder Is A Maniac — Gamefully Unemployed

The Show:

Tom Reimann and David Bell of the podcast and gaming network Gamefully Unemployed churn out some of the best and funniest pop-cultural podcasts out there. One of their best — and maybe weirdest — shows is their newly minted Fox Mulder is a Maniac.

If you’re even tangentially aware of the hit 90s FOX sci-fi procedural, The X-Files, this show is essential listening. Reimann and Bell take a look back at Fox Mulder’s shenanigans and acts insanity with fresh eyes. The results are comedy gold and often disturbing in retrospect. Though most episodes are behind a Patreon wall, several are free on Gamefully Unemployed’s free podcast account Story Mode (where you can listen to great free movies-themed shows like Hypecast and We Just Watched…).

Suggested Listening: Fox Mulder Is A Maniac – S04E02 – “Home”

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Castbox, Patreon

Best Friends — Earwolf

The Show:

Friends Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata started a comedy podcast about being friends, talking to friends, and talking shit about friends. The heart of Best Friends is about friends being there for each other with real support. It’s also incredibly funny.

Byer and Zamata are pros when it comes to comedy and they rarely hold back from cutting to the core of an issue and giving their best advice. Life, death, sex, food, and the brilliance and mundanity of the human experience is all on the table. It’s refreshing, hilarious, and well worth a listen.

Suggested Listening: Nicole and Sasheer Remember Juneteenth

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

You Don’t Even Like Sports — Unpops Network

The Show:

Adam Tod Brown’s Unpops podcast network is brimming with great shows co-hosted and individually hosted by one of the most culturally diverse sets of comedy podcast hosts in the game. 12 Questions with Anna Valenzuela and CelebriTragic with Kari Martin are two unique highlights from the network.

One of our favorite anthology series is You Don’t Even Like Sports, co-hosted with L.A. comedian Jeff May. The show grew out of a mini-series about infamous Oakland A’s baseballer Jose Canseco (definitely worth a listen). And, most recently, the show is wrapping up a series about Dennis Rodman. It’s like Adam Tod Brown and Jeff May’s version of The Last Dance — if it were focused on Rodman instead of Michael Jordan and a whole lot funnier. It’s a rollercoaster of a listen.

Suggested Listening: Dennis Rodman Pt. 1: The Oldest of 47 Kids

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Supercast

Las Culturistas — iHeartRadio

The Show:

Matt Rogers (Gayme Show) and Bowen Yang (SNL) co-host the “CULTURE” podcast about, well, culture. But the show is so much more than its logline. Rogers and Yang bring on guests to break down modern pop culture while also taking deep dives into their guests’ storied careers.

The real heart of the show is the fun Rogers and Bowen have fun with their guests. The ease of the interviews truly shines through, especially in a recent episode with another SNL alum, Will Ferrell cutting it up about Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga.

Suggested Listening: “Family Style” (w/ Will Ferrell)

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Bonanas for Bonanza — Earwolf

The Show:

Bonanas for Bonanza might be the funniest podcast streaming right now. Hosts Dalton Wilcox (Andy Daly), Mutt Taylor (Matt Gourley), and Amy Sleeverson (an incredible Maria Bamford) flip the old-TV-show-rewatch theme on its head with this podcast. The three hosts have developed fictional characters of such hilarious depths that you’ll find yourself binging through every available episode.

And seriously, Bamford’s Amy Sleeverson — a bible-thumping home and garden guru — is the show’s shining star as they stay in character and earnestly re-watch an archaic and often very problematic Western TV show from the 1960s.

Suggested Listening: Season 1, Episode 7: The Saga Of Annie O’Toole

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Sooo Many White Guys — WYNC Studios

The Show:

After 2 Dope Queens ended, Phoebe Robinson branched out and started her own equally dope podcast. Sooo Many White Guys is a critique of the ridiculous amount of mediocre white guys podcasting (and in every other form of comedy). The idea of the show is to highlight the voices of BIPOC in the music, film, TV, and comedy scene. Robinson’s show doesn’t exclude people because they’re white guys, though — Adam Scott was just on as a guest.

The show works well as an interview podcast with Robinson leading great convos. And once in a while, the show’s executive producer, Broad City’s Ilana Glazer, drops in for some great comedy bits.

Suggested Listening: Phoebe and Padma Lakshmi Swim Through a Lake of Shit

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend — Earwolf

The Show:

Conan O’Brien’s contribution to comedy is massive. If you simply look at his comedic writing credits (from SNL to The Simpsons), it’s already legendary. Then, of course, there are the decades O’Brien spent re-shaping the way we all watch late-night TV. Oh, and he’s also one of the best stand-ups out there.

The original conceit of Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend was to explore whether O’Brien and his guests can be or are friends, even though they work in the same industry and are around each other professionally, seemingly, all the time. Gradually, the show morphed into more of a straightforward interview show — with some of the biggest names in the business (who also happen to be O’Brien’s friends) dropping by.

Suggested Listening: Adam Sandler

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Comedy Bang Bang — Earwolf

The Show:

Comedy Bang Bang has become the gold standard of great comedy pod. The guest lists for the show is one of the most stacked in the game. The overall premise is kind of a hybrid between late-night talk show and sketch comedy.

The show had been imitated many times over the years. Yet the podcast still remains one of the best places for your favorite people in comedy (and entertainment in general) to stretch their legs in the improv world while chatting it up.

Suggested Listening: 660. Judy Greer, Shaun Diston, Will Hines

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Yo, Is This Racist? — Earwolf

The Show:

The conceit here is simple. Hosts Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome answer emails and voicemails on whether something is racist. Every week the duo welcomes guests (usually comedians) to parse the world we live in and all the metaphoric speed bumps, roadblocks, and death traps by examining how we deal with race as a society.

Enlightenment and hilarity ensue.

Suggested Listening: Fun Only with Ashley Nicole Black

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Anna Faris Is Unqualified

The Show:

Anna Faris is one of the great comedic actors working today. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Unqualified — a pseudo-advice podcast — offers an often hilarious listen that’s legitimately insightful. A big part of the laughs come from Faris’s interviewing style. Each week or so, she invites a celebrity on to talk about the industry, how weird it is living in said industry and the ticks that seem to become universal once you’re in it. Then they call up someone with a problem and try to solve it. It’s funny, poignant, and useful all at the same time.

Suggested Listening: Episode 114 with Macaulay Culkin

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

How Did This Get Made? — Earwolf

The Show:

How Did This Get Made? is the best bad-movie-rewatch podcast ever (which is saying something, considering the imitators it’s spawned). Hosts Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas have built a brilliant playlist of some of the worst movies ever made with hilarious commentary from the hosts plus a long list of special guests.

The thrust of the show is to figure out how or why these bad movies exist. But really, we all show up for the analysis from Sheer, Raphael, and Mantzoukas alongside their friends in the comedy world.

Suggested listening: Ninja III: The Domination

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

You Made It Weird

The Show:

Pete Holmes’ interview show is another classic on this list. The show has been around long enough to feel like its own genre. The original conceit was to parse weird tidbits about people in the world of comedy. Nearly a decade later, the show still has unique interviews with the biggest names in comedy but has also branched out to interviewing people from every walk of life while still maintaining its comedic and weirdness core.

Suggested listening: Will Forte

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Monday Morning Podcast — All Things Comedy

The Show:

Bill Burr’s All Things Comedy podcast network has a deep roster of comedian-led shows to choose from. But for our money, we have to go with Burr’s weekly solo podcast.

The show is about an hour of Burr riffing on the news of the day/week or just pondering things that are eating at his psyche. It’s a bit of a stream-of-consciousness mixed with Burr reacting to fan mail. That may sound boring to some but Burr’s comedic chops are ever sharpening, and it makes for easy podcast listening.

Suggested Listening: Monday Morning Podcast 7-13-20

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Uhh Yeah Dude

The Show:

Uhh Yeah Dude remains one of the best two-friends-talk-shit-out shows there is. Over 800 episodes in, the show’s hosts, Seth Romatelli and Jonathan Larroquette, have a truly deep rapport that allows them to riff, rant, and rave over the weirder (and dumber) news stories from the POV of “two American Americans.”

While the show is very topical to the present, it’s definitely worth queueing up a few episodes from their Patreon archives to get a sense of the show from stabler times. Still, you can jump right into the most recent episode and feel like you’re at home with Seth and Jonathan (and Jeff) right now.

Suggested listening: Episode 805 Jul 1st 2020

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Patreon

The Thrilling Adventure Hour — Forever Dog

The Show:

Do you love old-timey radio broadcasts in the mold of Orson Welles (or that one episode of Frasier where they did an old-timey radio show)? Then this is the show for you. All joking aside, The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a faithful and funny recreation of those old radio broadcasts that pre-date television, and it’s an absolute delight.

The live shows are a raucous stage plays that bring the laughs with killer performances all around. There are few podcasts that are better at creating a palpable sense of atmosphere and place than this loving throwback to an almost dead artform.

Suggested listening: Wondery presents Murder in Hollywoodland

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

The Dollop — All Things Comedy

The Show:

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds tackle American history with a heavy comedic edge. Their famous and hilarious podcast is a great way to parse some of the more curious and hilarious corners of our collective past.

It’s learning through laughter, if you will, that’s not afraid to go dark or absurd in its examination of America and Americans.

Suggested Listening: Episode 300 A & B, The Life of Donald Trump

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

No Such Thing As A Fish

The Show:

Over in the U.K., the game quiz show QI is an institution. No Such Thing As A Fish is a roundtable of the researchers and writers who have to find the trivia for the show. It’s a fantastically funny look at comedic writers who spend their lives looking up insanely absurd facts about, well, everything.

The show is a really fun listen that often manages to teach you something really cool. Plus, it’s got a mellow vibe — like you’re at a pub chatting about the crazy shit you read about that day. Give it a listen. You’ll be surprised at what you might learn and how much you’ll laugh.

Suggested listening: No Such Thing As A Lobster War

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Fake The Nation — Earwolf

The Show:

Fake The Nation’s host Negin Farsad walks a fine line of talking politics by not making it all that political. Farsad and her rotating roster of co-hosts breakdown the political and cultural headlines of the week and figure out what the hell is going on with plenty of jokes and laughs throughout. That last bit makes this one a nice palate cleanser to the usual supercharged banter that fills the political podcast world.

While this show isn’t a straight comedic podcast, it’s a current issues podcast with funny people who break down what’s happening and feels like the perfect, light-hearted fit for a newsy podcast queue that needs a little levity.

Suggested listening: “Colombused” As A Verb (w/ Elie Mystal, Justin Krebs)

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Duncan Trussell Family Hour — Starburns Audio

The Show:

If you seen comedian and psychonaut Duncan Trussell’s Netflix show The Midnight Gospel, this will be a must-listen podcast. Trussell isn’t reinventing the podcast wheel in any way with his interview podcast. Mostly, it’s the quality of guests that Trussell sits down with for chats who make the day. There’s always a deep conversation lurking around the laughs. And sometimes, Trussell and guest go very deep into psychedelic experiences that make for a great listens… if you’re into that sort of thing.

Suggested listening: 382: Joe Wong

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Patreon

WTF with Marc Maron

The Show:

WTF with Marc Maron is one of the most iconic comedy podcasts around — right up there with Uhh Yeah Dude. Maron helped refine the medium with his intro banter followed by in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in… just about everything. It’s not hyperbole to say that this is the gold standard of comedy and entertainment podcasting with deep heart and lots of soul.

If you don’t dig Maron’s style of comedy self-loathing, we’d still recommend giving this one a try. Maron is an expert interviewer and draws out a certain vulnerable humanity from every interview subject that makes this show shine.

Suggested Listening: Episode 1130 – Stacey Abrams

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Citation Needed

The Show:

Wikipedia is a great resource for some things. For others, it’s a bit, let’s just say, hit and miss. Taken on the whole, it’s rife for riffing and that’s what Citation Needed is all about.

Each episode finds hosts Cecil, Eli, Heath, Noah, and Tom digging deep into a Wikipedia post and tearing it apart for laughs. Where this show transcends is its ability to be both hilarious and still be informative and, dare we say, educational. It’s an impressive tightrope balancing act and 100 percent worth a listen.

Suggested Listening: The Hitler Diaries

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Patreon

Doug Loves Movies

The Show:

Cannabis aficionado Doug Benson has been taking on movies in all their ridiculousness and/or brilliance for years now. Benson’s live show (now Zoom), Doug Loves Movies, is a movie comedy podcast that brings in heavy-hitting comedians, actors, directors, and film lovers to take deep dives on movies they love and, maybe, hate. It’s a raucous and hilarious look at movies in a carefree setting that’ll pull you in instantly.

Suggested Listening: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kim Congdon and Chris Cubas guest

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

The Read — Loud Speakers Network

The Show:

Bloggers Kid Fury and Crissle spend their hilarious podcast throwing shade at every aspect of hip-hop culture, pop culture, New York, and all the people operating in those worlds — basically, giving their “read” on those topics.

The Read is the perfect balance of hip-hop, comedy, and insight from a young, cool perspective that doesn’t worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. Kid Curry and Crissle offer deep takes that have heart and aim to enlighten as much as make you laugh. It’s a great show that needs to be on everyone’s feed, especially if you want a non-fawning take on hip-hop culture that’s still deeply in love with said culture.

Suggested Listening: Nike and the Big White Mad

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

My Dad Wrote A Porno

The Show:

Sometimes everything you need to know about a show is right there in the title. My Dad Wrote A Porno is about a Jamie Morton finding out his dad wrote pornography as a hobby his whole life. Morton is joined by James Cooper and Alice Levine to parse — line-by-line — Morton’s father’s erotic fiction.

This show is hilarious, cutting, awkward, and a delight. Luckily, Morton doesn’t take that awkwardness too seriously and instead mines it for comedy gold with Levine and Cooper. Each episode takes on another of the senior Morton’s writings, meaning you can dive in anywhere and get the gist with a million laughs — seriously, this is the sort of podcast that’ll have you laughing out loud while walking down the street.

Suggested Listening: My Dad Wrote A Christmas Porno

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

Office Ladies — Earwolf

The Show:

The resurgence of The Office cannot be denied. And one of the best ways to celebrate the show’s staying power is to listen to every episode of Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey’s hybrid rewatch and interview show. Former castmates usually drop in for the rewatch and analysis of the episodes via a 2020 lens.

If you need that “Office” fix and you’re not at home in front of your TV, this is the show for you.

Suggested Listening: Diwali w/ Mindy Kaling

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox

FilmDrunk Frotcast

The Show:

Uproxx’s own Vince Mancini’s Frotcast is a rollicking listen that touches on current pop cultural touchstones alongside current events with young San Francisco (now L.A.) comics ready to riff deep on every movie, TV show, and issue. Each episode is a pretty straightforward examination of a few topics, selected by Mancini, that the comedians break down in a way that’s brutally honest and, yes, hilarious. Plus, you’ll often get a great coming-of-age story from co-host Matt Lieb that’s part John Hughes 80s teen melodrama and part 70s dirty New York streets hardcore porn.

What makes the Frotcast endlessly fun and listenable is Vince Mancini and co-host Matt Lieb’s (shout out to L.A. Matt and Bat Chapo) ease of banter. You really feel like you’re on the couch with two dudes, drinking whiskey, and ruffling little bags of chips into the mic while you riff on how brilliant or stupid some movie, actor, or politician is. It’s chilling out with a couple of friends for an hour or two and shooting the shit with a healthy modicum of bullshit and plenty of laughs.

Suggested listening: Frotcast 443: The Thing About Hamilton, With Francesca Fiorentini And Andrew Law

Subscribe Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Patreon

Believe it or not, it’s been almost 10 years since Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik formed One Direction as part of the television series The X Factor. The boyband took the world by storm before parting ways in 2015 to focus on solo careers, a few of which have been distinctly successful. Next week marks the official 10-year anniversary and fans have been buzzing about a possible reunion for months. Now, the band has finally appeased their fanbase and revealed exactly what they have in store to celebrate a decade of One Direction.

According to the group’s PR firm, Simon Jones PR, One Direction is observing the major milestone with a 10-year celebration video made especially for fans. This commemorative video will take a look back on One Direction’s career — from their The X Factor debut to selling out the world’s biggest stadiums — and include clips, highlights, performances, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Along with the special video, One Direction is launching a website dedicated to their anniversary. According to the PR firm, the website “will be an immersive and exciting interactive fan experience” in the form of a timeline charting the group’s history. The timeline will act as an archive for music videos, artwork, TV performances, and exclusive content. The company added that there will be a special mixtape feature, which will curate a shareable playlist based on how fans have interacted with the site’s content and which era of One Direction they spend the most time exploring.

One Direction’s 10-year celebration kicks of 7/23.

Lil Xan may need to look into that name change soon. The San Bernardino rapper has long struggled with addiction but used the opportunity provided by COVID-19 to get sober after a health scare involving seizures, a white knuckle cold turkey session, and an ultimate second chance at life.

The “Betrayed” rapper posted a new photo with a long caption to his Instagram profile after taking a two-month hiatus from social media. His last major update was that he hospitalized in April after having a panic attack brought on by the pressure of quarantine. However, he says in the new post and in an interview with TMZ he managed to turn the curse of quarantine into a blessing, as he couldn’t get into too much trouble while on lockdown.

In the post’s caption, he recalls suffering from “multiple seizures.” “This was my second time in the last year I’ve been hospitalized for having seizures,” he admits. “I decided it was best for me, my friend’s, family and supporters that I quit all prescriptions pills.” He decided the best way to accomplish this was by quitting cold turkey, despite his doctor’s advice to wean him off the drugs slowly. Now, Xan is “happy to say that I’ve been sober from all prescription pills since the scare. This is the first time in along time that I have felt alive.”

He told TMZ that because he had nowhere to go, no shows, and limited access to his vices, he was able to focus completely on his recovery. He says that being clean allows his anti-drug messages to more thoroughly resonate because he’s now a living example instead of a contradiction. He’s now working on new music and looking forward to sharing it with fans.

Read Xan’s full caption explaining his sobriety above.

After abruptly retiring in May following his knock-out victory over Dominick Cruz, Henry Cejudo hasn’t completely shut the door on a UFC return. While he’s made an appearance in pro wrestling’s AEW and continues to tease a future in the sport, Cejudo, a former two-division champion, only seems interested in stepping back into the Octagon if the bout adds to his legacy. And that fight appears to be a showdown with featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who is coming off his second-consecutive win against former champion Max Holloway.

“I feel like me winning a third belt in the UFC would cement me as the greatest fighter of all-time in the sport of mixed martial arts, because nobody will be able to do that but ‘Triple C,’” Cejudo told Adam Glyn. (H/T MMA Junkie)

An Olympic gold medalist, Cejudo successfully won and defended both the flyweight and bantamweight titles during his UFC tenure. He was only the fourth UFC fighter in the organization’s history to win belts in two divisions and feels adding a third belt to his collection could ultimately separate him from the pack.

Cejudo has publicly dismissed an opportunity to battle Petr Yan after his dominant win over Jose Aldo, instead targeting an opportunity to “save” the 145-pound division. Cejudo said he hasn’t had any conversations with the UFC about returning as of now, but they know he’s interested.

Outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are villains out there that are no less devastating than, say, the Chitauri or Ultron when it comes to wreaking havoc on life as we know it. Even closer to home, threats to life and limb arrive on a daily basis, and only true heroes will come to the rescue. That was the case — as recognized by Chris Evans while channeling Captain America — of a six-year-old boy named Bridger, who saved his sister’s life from a dog attack but walked away with 90 stitches in the process. Now, Chris Hemsworth is pulling out his mightiest Thor presence to send a message to the boy as well.

Evans previously vowed to send Bridger his own authentic Captain America shield while praising the young boy as “so brave and so selfless,” and on Hemsworth’s Instagram stories, via ComicBook, Hemsworth recognized that Bridger did something that few people would do for anyone else. And he extended the virtual Thor hammer to invite Bridger as an honorary Avenger:

“I just want to say, mate, you’re an absolute inspiration. Your courage is beyond belief and we are all so impressed by you, and we’re thinking of you. I know you’re an Avengers fan and so myself and all the team, we’d be honored to have you on the team, and we love you and we’re sending you our support. Stay strong and we’ll talk to you soon, mate.”

Bridger might be the most powerful Avenger of all. Watch Hemsworth’s message below.

With just two weeks until the 2019-20 NBA season is scheduled to resume in Orlando, teams are beginning to ramp up activities, with practices underway and scrimmages scheduled within the campus environment. As a result, anticipation is high for competitive basketball action but, in terms of importance, the on-court action feels secondary to many things happening in and around Orlando, with a reminder arriving on Thursday morning. The New Orleans Pelicans announced that star rookie and No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson left the bubble in order to attend an “urgent family medical matter.”

“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” said Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”

The Pelicans did indicate that Williamson plans to return to Orlando “at a later date,” although it is unclear when exactly he’ll return. With that said, Williamson will have to quarantine again upon re-entry and, with New Orleans scheduled to open its resumed season with a July 30 match-up against the Utah Jazz, it may be likely that the talented forward could miss at least a portion of his team’s schedule.