Everybody has a podcast these days to where there are far too many to catch up on. However, there are a few which I refuse to miss as they lighten up my day which usually has me wondering how I can continue to survive in an insanely cruel world. Considering that I spend a good portion of the day in my car, they are my go-to whenever I go place to place, and these are the ones I am always determined to be up to date on.

The Ralph Report

Created and hosted by actor, podcaster and voiceover artist Ralph Garman, “The Ralph Report” is the first podcast I listen to each day. This podcast came about after Garman was unceremoniously laid off from the “Kevin & Bean Show” on the KROQ-FM after 18 years, and you can find it on the Patreon platform. It’s never political, and Garman is just aiming to take you away from your daily troubles for an hour and change.

Garman is joined by his “vice host,” standup comedian Eddie Pence who was a classmate of mine at Second City in Los Angeles and has quite the reserved palate when it comes to food, resulting in a daily segment where a certain food is talked about and whether or not Eddie will eat it. Also on the show is Garman’s wife, Jen Stewart (a.k.a. Queen J) who helps run on the visual part of the podcast known as “Garmyvision,” and she also has the most infectious laugh of any human being I have ever met.

Among my favorite segments on “The Ralph Report” include one-hit wonders where Garman talks about a band or a singer who reached the top just once and never experienced the same level of success ever again (the episode on Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” is classic). Others include “Sex U” which discusses sexual practices in ways that are both informative and educational to where I wonder if other sex education classes offered anywhere could ever be this informative. And there is the “Video Vault” segment on Fridays where Garman and Pence recommend movies many people have not seen or heard about. Garman always has the classiest of choices, while Pence tends to recommend those which only he seems to enjoy. Still, maybe Pence is right to find the good in such films as “Megaforce” and “Leprechaun 4: In Space.”

WTF with Marc Maron

Now granted, this one just came to an end, but there are still 16 years of episodes for you and I to catch up on. Hosted by stand-up comedian and actor Marc Maron, “WTF” is not so much an interview show as it is a conversation between him and his guest. What started as a simple podcast, back when the term was in its infancy, turned into one of the biggest as Maron got to have great talks with such people like Jodie Foster, Spike Lee, Louis C.K. and even President Barack Obama who came back to do the final “WTF” episode. We also got to hear Maron deal with his sobriety and daily anxieties which have resulted in crippling emotions and catastrophic thinking for him, something I can very much relate to as anxiety has been the bane of my existence.

Fresh Air

If there is a single person who has come to influence the way I interview actors and filmmakers about their projects, it is most definitely Terry Gross. Few other people can ask such intelligent questions about the arts, movies, politics and sports than her, and that’s the reason why she has remained so popular for the past few decades. In the past few years, “Fresh Air,” which airs from WHYY in Philadelphia, has brought other hosts who occasionally sit in for Terry like Dave Davies, Tonya Mosley and David Bianculli who, like me, has a great love for the classic television series, “Homicide: Life on the Street.”

Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum

Actor Michael Rosenbaum, best known for playing Lex Luthor on the TV series “Smallville,” started his podcast “Inside of You” back in 2018, and it has talking with fellow celebrities he has worked with as well as those he admires. He has made it clear to all that this podcast is no way political, and much of his questions deal with mental health which makes it a must for people like me. I also like how he talks with people who usually don’t get to appear on other big-time podcasts like Gates McFadden, Barbara Crampton or Jonathan Frakes to name a few. I especially liked his talk with Gates as she took the time to discuss her role on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

The Everything Sequel Podcast

If there is any kind movie which is especially difficult to make, it is the sequel as it more than likely to pale in comparison to the original. But perhaps there a few sequels which can improve upon their predecessors, and that’s where “The Everything Sequel Podcast” comes in. Hosted by Michael Christopher Shantz, a classmate of mine from my UC Irvine days, and Tom Steward, they thoroughly dissect every follow-up to an original film we know and love to where nary a single detail is left out.

Recently, both Michael and Tom took great delight in dissecting the sequels to Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and they came to agree that “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” was the best of the bunch (of course they didn’t).

The Sackhoff Show

I have had an enormous affection for Katee Sackhoff ever since she portrayed Starbuck on SyFy’s “Battlestar Galactica,” and I have followed her career from there and continue to do so. Like “Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum,” Katee uses her podcast to talk with those actors she has worked with on different projects as well as those she has a deep admiration for. Her interviews with her fellow “Battlestar Galactica” actors like Jamie Bamber, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Mary McDonnell and James Callis prove to be endlessly fascinating as they discuss not just how their brilliant remake of a classic science fiction show stands on its own, but of how they continue to deal with the fame it all brought them.

But in addition to all of that, Katee talks about her struggles and adventures at being a wife and mother of two children, and of how she continues to rise above her circumstances to be the best person she can be in all the madness life has to offer.

Homicide: Life on the Set/Homicide: Life on Repeat

As I said earlier, I am as big a fan of “Homicide: Life on the Street” as David Bianculli is. With the classic show having finally arrived on the streaming services Peacock and Tubi, a couple of podcasts have emerged to look at what went on in front of and behind the camera, and both have proven to be deeply informative and enthralling in equal measure.

“Homicide: Life on the Set” is a largely look at what went on behind the scenes of the Baltimore cop show, and it is hosted by Susan C. Ingram, a camera assistant on the show for six years, and Chris Carr who is a director and podcaster based in London. So far, they have had great interviews with the show’s assorted editors, directors of photography, and actors like Melissa Leo, Reed Diamond and Daniel Baldwin, the latter of which proved to be incredibly lively and exceptionally entertaining.

“Homicide: Life on Repeat” features two actors from the show: Kyle Secor who played Tim Bayliss, and Reed Diamond who played Mike Kellerman. So far, they have covered “Homicide’s” first season which lasted nine episodes which Secor starred in, and which sparked Diamond’s intense desire to get a role on this show. They have also taken the time to interview key figures involved in the show’s creation such as Paul Attanasio and Tom Fontana who executive produced this show along with Barry Levinson.

Now if there are any other podcasts I can possibly add to this list, I will do so at a near or future date. I shudder to think at what I could have left out.