Judge John Hodgman
Judge John Hodgman is a weekly, comedic court show podcast hosted by John Hodgman and Jesse Thorn. The show is distributed online by Maximum Fun.[1]
Judge John Hodgman
Weekly (Wednesdays)
30–60 min.
603 (as of 2023)
November 1, 2010
The program features host John Hodgman acting as a judge (with Jesse Thorn as bailiff) adjudicating real-life disputes within a fictional courtroom setting. The cases answer low-stakes questions like, "Should the kitchen sink's built-in dispenser be filled with dish soap or hand soap?" and "Can you stop family members from using your childhood nickname?"[2]
Newspaper column[edit]
Since October 2015, Judge John Hodgman has appeared as a newspaper column in The New York Times Magazine every Sunday, in which Hodgman settles disputes in a similar fashion.[43] Topics range from appropriate household toilet paper quotas[44] to the proper way to wear a wedding band.[45][46]
Live Show[edit]
Judge John Hodgman has held live recordings on numerous occasions in the US and UK. In the U.S. the show has been held in venues ranging from 1000-1400 seats, including Boston's Wilbur Theatre,[47] San Francisco's Castro Theatre,[48] Seattle's Neptune Theatre[49] and Brooklyn's Murmrr Theatre.[50] In September 2017 two shows were held live at the London Podcast Festival at Kings Place, London, England.[51]
Reception[edit]
Judge John Hodgman has received critical praise in the media, from outlets including Rolling Stone,[52] NPR's All Things Considered,[2] HuffPost,[53] Vox,[54] Splendry,[55] BoingBoing[56] and Boston Magazine.[57]
In November 2010, Boing Boing's Mark Frauenfelder wrote "Only three episodes of the Judge John Hodgman podcast have been produced, but I know that it's going to be one of my favorites."[56] Boston's Thomas Lewis called Judge John Hodgman a "hilarious podcast".[57] A 2017 review on Splendry wrote, "Yes, these are silly disputes. And while there is much laughter, there is also much wisdom. I have found myself laughing uproariously and nodding thoughtfully in the same episode."[55]
In 2013, Arizona muralist Joe Pagac created art for Judge John Hodgman entitled "Sexy Justice".[58][59] "Sexy Justice" has since been made available via online retailer TopatoCo as prints.[60]
In 2014, Rolling Stone ranked Judge John Hodgman #15 in their list "The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now".[52]
Judge John Hodgman won the 2020 Webby Award for Comedy in the category Podcasts.[61]