Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Traveling America's backroads, history and road trip enthusiasts - Noah and Noodles - unearth fascinating locations overlooked while traveling.
Living out of a van, they research and visit each story location to share the (often shocking) secrets held within.
If you love travel, history and thoughtful storytelling - join us on the road!
Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Van Life Diaries - 3 Essential Comedy Podcasts
We're about to make those long drives a laugh-filled adventure with our all time TOP COMEDY podcast picks.
We do the work for you and unpack our recommendations WITH specific episodes to get you into each show.
As always we’ll take listener questions at the end.
Here are links to each episode recommendation (see episode for thoughts and descriptions) :
Show One - Comedy Bang-Bang
Episode - https://youtu.be/INI7Pwg8Cjs?si=SUIVHQ6GbqgLkmnZ
Show Two - Conan O'Brian Needs A Friend
Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/id1438054347?i=1000437939159
Show Three - We're Here to Help
Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-here-to-help/id1702753838?i=1000625229471
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
Follow each adventure visually at:
https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Cruisin' down the street. I wonder where this road would lead. So many possibilities. Care to share what you think. Oh, noodle Dolls, what do you see? Back Road Odyssey. Van Life Diaries three essential comedy podcasts. Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
Speaker 1:My name is Noah, your host, and Noodles, my Dog, is sitting in my van. We're here to talk today. No edits, no scripts. Today we unpack our recommendations for comedy podcasts that liven up those tedious stretches on road trips. After many, many hours on the road, we've narrowed down our favorite shows and specific episodes that will help you get started with those shows. As always, we'll take listener questions at the end.
Speaker 1:I'm hanging out somewhere in Indiana and, as we're getting deep into spooky season, I've got myself an apple cider. Grab a drink if you wish. Let's hang out, let's talk. Comedy podcasts. Some of the shows I'm about to recommend are well known. Some are not. Our very first recommendation today has been around for over 15 years, went through a five-year run as a TV show and tours around the US and beyond.
Speaker 1:I, of course, am talking about the absolute classic comedy Bang Bang the podcast. If you're not familiar, here's the premise Host Scott Ackerman interviews celebrities and friends and has what is called an open-door policy so any time during each seemingly normal conversation, characters played by improvisers and comedians stop by and create chaotic situations for over an hour. One time each week, scott and each guest are left at the mercy of whatever the improviser decides on the day. Like I said, shows are generally over an hour, are released weekly and usually feature four people interacting by the end of each episode. Practically, I'll be honest, it's a bit of a slow burn. Sometimes Guests, like I said, enter gradually throughout the hour. You get to know the guests, their quirks, but at the end, usually when they all interact, it's comedy gold. Stick with it and listen. If you're on a long road trip, it's a great way to section off parts of the drive by these longer episodes. Five hour drive listen to five episodes of Comedy Bang Bang Sometimes. That's how I map out my routes.
Speaker 1:For my episode recommendation I'll recommend something quote off the feed. The show has been going so long that the host deletes episodes off the free podcast feed after a bit. My episode recommendation, recorded August 29th 2011, was so popular it was later turned into a vinyl and features two writers from the then-running show Parks and Recreation Chelsea Peretti, a great comedian, and Harris Whittles. They are both joined by Adam Scott, who played Ben Wyatt on the show of the same name. All you have to do to access my recommendation is YouTube and stick with me. Youtube quote farts and procreation, part one, cbb end quote. Or farts and procreation by itself should do the job, but be careful with your search, with your searches, for that it is absolutely worth it. The entire episode is Just so listenable and such a classic Puts you in a great mood. On to our next recommendation. You probably have heard of our next show recommendation.
Speaker 1:Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. I have to be honest, I almost did not put this on my list because of its popularity, but its consistency was hard to pass up. If, by chance, you're not familiar, that's all right. Conan O'Brien interviews celebrities after talking with two co-hosts for a bit of a cold open at the start of each episode. Here's why I think this podcast should be on the list. For many years, conan's interviews were cut short by cable regulations, commercials and the format of the show that he put on. But now Conan has much more time and freedom to crack jokes and talk to each guest in a way that's more deep. It feels much more like freeform 90s Conan, which is a good thing in my opinion. I'll say this Scroll through the Needs a Friend feed, find a guest, you'll enjoy.
Speaker 1:An actor you like. A singer you enjoy and listen to that. But if you're looking for an absolute classic, an absolute banger, go all the way back to the very first Bill Hader episode. I did the work for you. The episodes aren't numbered, so you need to go all the way back to May 12th 2019 in your pod feed and see Bill Hader by that date. Also, the Dana Carvey series is a gem as well. It started Monday, august 5th 2019. Just follow the dates all the way back and give them a listen. Well worth your time.
Speaker 1:Great conversations and speaking of great combos, that brings us to our next recommendation. And speaking of great combos, that brings us to our next recommendation. We're bringing out a relatively new show for our last recommendation, called we're here to Help, which, at its core, is a lighthearted advice call-in show hosted by New Girls' Jack Johnson and comedian and co-host of the Dollop, gareth Reynolds. They freely admit that the advice might not be fantastic, but that nonchalant approach to giving advice gives a lighthearted to the show that you don't get with a lot of Colin shows. For me it's fun to think about what advice you would have given. Listen to what advice they do give and see if you're like, wait, that's good advice, that's bad advice, or just don't think at all and listen to the conversation because it's funny and you'll have a laugh At the end of the day. It's just fun to listen to two funny people interact with people and give advice.
Speaker 1:I've got two episode recommendations for this, one for you. First recommendation the Quest of Vilamina, september 22nd 2023. And the second is wait is the caller the villain, may 30th 2024. Both are good places to start but they're all pretty fun. And here's a pro tip for this show specifically Skip ahead five minutes on almost every episode. They do a lot of front ads so it's worth it just to get into it, particularly with the quest of Vilamina.
Speaker 1:We've got some honorable mentions for funny shows. For you I'll put all of the episodes, everything in the show notes. Here we go. Hollywood Handbook is good for a very, very dry-humored person. The Dollop is great. The Last Podcast on the left for true crime and very crude humor. The Sloppy Boys is a pod by the comedy rock band of the same name who try review different cocktails each week. It's fun watching them talk about that. I'll include links to each one of these, like I said.
Speaker 1:With that said, let's get to listener questions Always love a van life question. Is van life cheaper than renting? Short answer is yes, but it fluctuates depending on how much you travel. Gas is far and away the highest cost of van life, so it could get expensive if you're going all around the place and it wouldn't be cheaper than renting. But if you live smartly in a van, it will be very hard to match how much it would be for renting, particularly if you're living around. You know San Diego and really condensed places like that. So no, my electricity is solar, the biggest cost is gas and I try my best to be smart about that.
Speaker 1:Where would you most like to go that you have not yet? I've been trying to go to Alaska for a long time. The problem is it's such a short window when the weather would be good enough to camp and I just haven't had a July free, so in the future I'd love to go there. Also, baja, mexico, is a place that people in vans go to all the time that I have not been to, so I'd really like to check that out.
Speaker 1:Would you ever van life with a cat? That is a great question. My first thought is it would be really really hard with noodles to also have a cat unless they were really good friends. And there's no way to find that out other than just doing it, which I don't think would be smart, because I want both of them to have a quality of life that's worth how awesome they are. Whatever my cat would be, my imaginary cat would be I love following van accounts where cats are on the road and on leashes and exploring and stuff. I think you can make a case that you can make a cat really happy on the road if you're smart about it. But personally it's just not in the cards with noodles. I would say it's Noah here.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this week's Van Life Diaries. I appreciate your time. If you find value in Van Life Diaries for Back Road Odyssey, the work that we put in, tell a friend about us. It goes such a long way to help the show grow, to help us continue to do what we are doing. But thank you for listening. Be good to each other. Where to next?
