Comedy Bang! Bang!

Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio) is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009. Popularly known as Humanity and the Animal Kingdom's Podcast, it is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, creating and hosting the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV series, and co-founding the weekly Comedy Death-Ray stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood.
Comedy Death-Ray Radio was formerly broadcast from Southern California's Indie 103 studios, but since the summer of 2010 has been broadcast as part of the Earwolf comedy podcasting network, being recorded in studios owned by the company.
Comedy Bang! Bang! was also a television series on IFC hosted by Scott Aukerman and featuring in different seasons bandleaders Reggie Watts, Kid Cudi, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
In 2021, Aukerman and producer Brett Morris launched Comedy Bang Bang World, a website and subscription platform offering the back catalog of the podcast alongside dozens of new spin-off shows and related content.
Comedy Death-Ray Radio first aired May 1, 2009, after Aukerman gained permission from Indie 103 to conduct a "one-month tryout". The first episode's guests were Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon. During occasions when Aukerman has been unable to host, Paul F. Tompkins, Chris Hardwick, Jimmy Pardo or Jerry Minor (in character as "Cyberthug") have guest hosted. Although normally produced in Los Angeles, the show has also been taped in Vancouver, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Austin.
On the May 15, 2011 "Two-year Anniversary" podcast, Aukerman announced that the show's name was changing to Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast. He went on to say that the show had evolved a great deal in its first two years, and he credited his wife Kulap Vilaysack with coming up with the new name.
In episode 204 (which aired on March 4, 2013), "The Pepper Men," guests Jon Daly and Zach Galifianakis professed their love for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both claimed to be "huge Pepper Men" and had written a song in tribute to the band titled "Abracadabralifornia", which Daly sang using his best Anthony Kiedis imitation.
On January 29, 2014, a very official-looking website called www.RHCP2014.com appeared online claiming to have the brand-new Chili Peppers song, "Abracadabralifornia". The song even featured a layout for the band's upcoming Super Bowl appearance, complete with sponsors' logos. Various people through websites including Twitter and Facebook at first were fooled by the song, although many quickly realized that it was a parody. The song was written and performed by Daly and musician Cyrus Ghahremani. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith Tweeted his approval of the song.
In 2021, Aukerman tapped Brett Morris, longtime engineer, creative, and senior production manager of Earwolf to help create a new independent platform for the Comedy Bang Bang archive as well as launch new like-minded podcasts with their comedy friends.
On October 1, 2021 they launched Comedy Bang Bang World, offering exclusive Discord access, ad-free back episodes of CBB, CBB Live, and fan favorite Earwolf podcasts like Affirmation Nation with Bob Ducca, Mike Detective, and Bonanas For Bonanza. Premium "Maximus" subscribers got brand new shows like Scott Hasn't Seen, The Andy Daly Podcast Project, CBB-FM, College Town, We Have To Stop Talkin’ TMNT On CBB, and the rotating concept feed of CBB Presents, where comedy friends and recurring CBB characters host their own spin-off podcasts.
CBB Presents recurring podcasts have included Hey Randy (Tim Baltz), WHO ME? An Extremely True Crime Podcast with The Batmin (Bobby Moynihan), This Book Changed My Life (Lily Sullivan), Full Throttle with Bob Ducca (Seth Morris), Eat Pray Dunk with Bill Walton (Dan Lippert), Hi(Nes)! I’m Prov To Meet You (Will Hines), Entreè PeeE Neur's Entrepreneur Tour (Ego Nwodim), and various one-offs and specials.
Since launching, Andy Daly took his podcasts to his own Patreon channel, and CBB World has expanded its lineup to include the popular podcasts Threedom, The Neighborhood Listen, Womp It Up!, Going Deep, and The Gino Lombardo Show.
The podcast begins with a theme song composed and performed by Reggie Watts, followed by the reading of a listener-submitted catchphrase, under the pretense that one will eventually replace the show's original catchphrase, "What's up, hot dog?"
The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests with comedy songs and occasionally game segments. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode.
For the first few months of the program, comedian Doug Benson would semi-regularly call the program and give several "8 Words or Less Movie Reviews".
Occasionally the podcast is taped with a live audience, usually at comedy shows or at festival events.
In the last third of the show, Aukerman and his guests will sometimes play one of several improv-style games. Examples of games played include:
The following games have been played on the podcast in the past, but not recently:
Occasionally, guests will present their own features on the show. Examples include:
"Often strange, consistently hilarious, always unpredictable." – Entertainment Weekly
"One of the 10 Best Comedy Podcasts Of The Moment...never strays far from a laugh." – Rolling Stone
GQ has praised the show, calling it in 2010 "one of the preeminent places to hear not only the stalwarts of stand-up... but also lesser known comics, like Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti, and Brett Gelman."
The A.V. Club says "The guests are routinely top-notch, the show has a de facto company of ace improvisers enlivening each episode, and Scott Aukerman is a gleefully indulgent host", also saying "For comedy fans, Comedy Bang Bang is essential listening." It frequently appears in the Podmass column, highlighting the best podcasts of each week, and the website named Comedy Bang! Bang! the best podcast of 2013.
"It's perhaps the easiest show to single out as a juggernaut; the podcast is ten years in with over 600 episodes, a testament to creator Scott Aukerman's unparalleled collaboration prowess." — Vulture
The show won in the Comedy category at the 2015 and 2017 Academy of Podcasters Awards.