The Best Show with Tom Scharpling

Phones ring on the topic: THE CRAP YOU LOVE! You know it's really objectively horrible, but you love it anyway! We hear from callers both familiar and new about their favorite bad things! Author, archivist and friend of the show ANDREW SANDOVAL returns to talk about his brand new book THE KINKS – ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT: The Day-By-Day Story Pt 1: 1940-1971. Tom and Andrew go deep into Kinks trivia, discuss Andrew's p...

BEST SHOW BESTS! In this classic clip, Tom gets a call from his high school bully, TROY DERSHMANN! (Originally aired August 14th, 2001)

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IT'S OUR FIRST EPISODE OF 2026! After a stellar 25th Anniversary year, we move forward into new territory! We ask callers what their 2026 predictions are! The amazing band AUTOMATIC perform a killer set of live music in the Best Show Theater! Tom checks in with AP Mike, with a wide range of discussion including a trip into Fast Food History! Plus, Tom gets a call from DARREN FROM WORK! A hell of a way to start 2026 on the ...

BEST SHOW BESTS! This week's more than just a classic clip. It's one of the most infamous nights in the show's history. It’s the entire 2010 Best Show Holiday Party! Tom is joined in the studio by JOHN HODGMAN and many other friends, and all the Four Loko they can drink! Mike dances! Tom giggles! AIMEE MANN calls in! So does 80s Rick! Happy Holidays to all! (Originally aired on WFMU on December 14th, 2010)

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IT'S THE END OF YEAR/HOLIDAY PARTY ON THE BEST SHOW! Once again, The Best Show invites all the FOTs to the studio to hang out with Tom! KYLE MOONEY & BECK BENNETT kick off the show, chatting to Tom about their new podcast, SNL and more! TIM HEIDECKER joins Tom and JON WURSTER to talk about their long history together, movies, celebrities and more! SAL VULCANO zooms in to chat with Tom! JASON "DUDIO" GORE comes in to th...

BEST SHOW BESTS! In these classic clips, Tom gets a series of calls from his younger brother's old childhood friend KEVIN! (Andrew Earles)

(Originally Aired September 3rd, September 10th, and October 22nd 2002)

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SEDONA comes through the Best Show Forever Dog Theater to play some songs from her album Getting Into Heaven, and to chat with Tom about her life in music! Actor and musician Paul Grimstad (Frownland, One Battle After Another) Zooms in to chat with Tom about his career as a musician and actor! They discuss Steely Dan, Paul Thomas Anderson, and much else! Tom puts the word out about a DOG ADOPTION! If you want to foster a c...

BEST SHOW BESTS! In this classic clip, Tom is joined in studio by comedian CHRIS FLEMING!

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This week on the show, we want to switch things up by talking about NICE THINGS for once! Favorite places, holidays, heartwarming stories. It's all feel-good over here. Plus, Tom chats with film director and author ALEX R. JOHNSON about his new retro noir novel BROOKLYN MOTTO (available now!), among other things! Checking in with AP Mike about WAWA's Gobbler, hearing from an INTERNATIONAL collection of callers. All in all ...

BEST SHOW BESTS! These classic clips are from one of the Best Show's all time great villains... SPIKE (featuring a cameo from MC Steinberg) (Originally aired on September 5, 2006, November 21, 2006, and February 20, 2007

New to the Best Show? Check out Best Show Bests, the greatest hits of The Best Show! Available every Friday on your podcast app.

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VISH KHANNA, host of the Kreative Kontrol podcast, comes in to chat with Tom! Vish is celebrating 20 years of broadcasting this year. He and Tom reminisce on some of their best moments as broadcasters, favorite interviews, and discuss late greats David Berman and Steve Albini. Also, it's list time! We count down the 50 LUCKIEST PEOPLE! Some are talentless coattail riders! Others were in the right place at the right time! W...

BEST SHOW BESTS! This week, we're sharing a classic episode of our Patreon show OUTGROWN, where Julia Vickerman and Tom Scharpling talk to guests about something from popular culture that they used to profoundly identify with and once thought would define them forever and eventually outgrew.

Usually, Outgrown deals with a piece of media someone was into, this is about a show that our guest was a part of. From 1991 to 1999, ...

It's a call-heavy show this week! The topic is, would you rather be Lost at Sea or Lost In Space? This one has legs! There are some pretty amazing calls mixed in, including one Tom calls a top ten of all time! Divergences from the topic abound, Mike grills Tom on Ken Burns, new Springsteen film, and even brings us all back to our favorite childhood TV show, Lost In Space. All in all a great episode of classic Best Show!&nb...

Best Show Bests! In this classic clip, Tom gets a call from BIG BILL & LITTLE BILL! (Originally aired on November 25th, 2008)

New to the Best Show? Check out Best Show Bests, the greatest hits of The Best Show! Available every Friday on your podcast app.

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Director MARY BRONSTEIN zooms into the Best Show to talk to Tom about her new film If I Had Legs I'd Kick You! They discuss the new film, Mary's next moves, and much else! LAEL NEALE performs a killer set of live music at the Forever Dog Theater, promoting her latest album Altogether Stranger (out now on Sub Pop)! Phones ring on the topic: Worst 20 movies to see in IMAX! Plus, Tom gets a call from DYLAN ALBO...

BEST SHOW BESTS! In this classic clip, Tom gets a call from BILL AT CONSOLIDATED CARDBOARD! (Originally Aired May 13th, 2008)

New to the Best Show? Check out Best Show Bests, the greatest hits of The Best Show! Available every Friday on your podcast app.

SUPPORT THE BEST SHOW ON PATREON! WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES & VIDEO EPISODES!

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Callers ring on the topic of "Oh Wait, I Was Wrong!" When have you ever realized you had the wrong impression or idea of something? See what Tom and the callers find out. NATHAN GELGUD comes in to talk to Tom about the release of his graphic novel REEL POLITIK, out now via Drawn and Quarterly! They discuss, well, just about everything! Plus, Tom gets a call from WILL I. KILIA IN SCAREBRIDGE! 

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BEST SHOW BESTS! In this classic, The Four Horsemen (Tom Scharpling, "AP" Mike Lisk, Pat Byrne, and Jason "Dudio" Gore) are joined by pianist Brian Heveron-Smith, who they've recruited for a songwriting session. The goal is to beat Billy Joel to the punch by writing a song with the same title as his upcoming song "Turn The Lights Back On" three days before his song's official release. The results go further than anyone cou...

It's been 25 years here at the Best Show! And this culminates our celebration! Tom, Mike, Pat, the callers, and YOU take a stroll through memory lane, talking about all the best moments on the Best Show! JOHN OLIVER zooms in to chat with Tom about all manner of things! FRANKIE COSMOS perform a terrific set of live music in the Forever Dog Theater, and lead singer/songwriter GRETA KLINE chats with Tom about her an...