According to the latest Podcast Trends Report, comedy podcasts rank third just behind society & culture and true crime podcasts. In short, people love to be entertained and laugh when they listen to podcasts. But the term “comedy podcasts” is relatively vague and encompasses a lot of different formats. There are the comedic interview-type podcasts, funny audio dramas, improv, and much more. Not until listening to Paperweight, did I find a podcast that artfully crafts all these different comedy micro-genres together in a seamless podcast.

Because of the fluidity of humor, it’s tough to even describe what Paperweight is. It’s partially scripted, part fiction, and part improv with four hosts and guests.

Their inaugural season recently wrapped up with a quick 3-episode (plus multiple teasers) run. They’re currently thinking about what season two may bring. We were fortunate enough to catch up with Sarah, host and producer of Paperweight, to discuss the podcast and their future plans. See below for our Q&A.

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Discover Pods: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to Paperweight?

SARAH: When I started thinking about what kind of show I wanted to make, it seemed to me that comedy podcasts fell into a couple of categories: long, not-super-edited chatty ones, recordings of live standup shows, and fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of those shows, but I wanted to do something different. Paperweight is short and tightly edited, but we do record with an audience, so we have that live-show energy. It’s also comedy writing-focused, which I think is pretty unique. So instead of standup, you get people who write for places like Shouts and Murmurs or Reductress performing their work. My co-hosts (Emilie Pass, Keelin Ryan, and Paul McCallion) and I are mostly women and mostly queer, which is cool, and I think we have great chemistry, no offense. But the main reason to tune in is to hear Ziwe Fumudoh play an attribute-that-quote game called “Scientology Propaganda or Steve Jobs’ Keynote Address for the iPhone 4?” I mean!!!

DP: How do you balance scripted comedy with improv in your show?

SARAH: Each episode has a super timely, relevant theme like Maritime, and each of us (and our guest) writes a piece based on the theme. So, for Maritime, we had a rewrite of Moby Dick as a YA film franchise, something called “The Sea Is My Mistress. Please Don’t Tell My Wife”…you get the idea. We start the show by chatting with the guest about their work and the theme (i.e. we asked Maeve Higgins what she was like as a teenager and she said “highly sexual”), and we keep making jokes and telling stories in between people’s pieces. I promise it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

DP: Where do you want to take your podcast?

SARAH: Season 2, baby! Assuming we get a good response to our mini-season, we’ll make a second (hopefully full-length) season. We have a lot of amazing guests in mind that I cannot reveal on pain of death, but what I can say is that my co-hosts are pushing for not one but two Sex and the City-themed episodes, which…we’ll see, guys.

DP: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

SARAH: I am deeply obsessed with Forever Dog’s new show, Seek Treatment, and have already demanded that all my friends listen to it and alter their conversational styles to be more like Catherine Cohen and Pat Regan’s.

DP: Anything else you’d like to add?

SARAH: Subscribe, rate, review, live, laugh, love, and follow us on Twitter at @paperweightpod!