Top 15 'Friendly-Argument-Starting' Podcasts to play with friends for settling the great debates of your group chat
We’ve all been there. The group chat notification buzzes, not with a funny meme or weekend plans, but with the resurgence of a debate as old as your friendship. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Was Ross really on a break? These are the foundational arguments that our social circles are built upon, the low-stakes feuds that are less about being right and more about the sheer, unadulterated fun of arguing with the people you know best.
But what happens when you’ve exhausted every possible angle? When you’ve heard Dave’s flimsy pro-pineapple-on-pizza argument for the fifteenth time? You need new material. You need a referee. You need an instigator. You need a podcast. Podcasts are the ultimate third-party tool for settling—or, more accurately, reigniting—these timeless debates. They provide fresh evidence, hilarious new perspectives, and a structured format to make your friendly arguments feel just a little more official.
Whether you’re looking for a definitive ruling on a trivial matter, a deep dive into a beloved movie to pick apart, or just a dose of bizarre trivia to weaponize later, there’s a podcast for it. This list is your new arsenal. These are the top 15 friendly-argument-starting podcasts guaranteed to bring new life to your group chat’s greatest hits and introduce a whole new generation of glorious, pointless debates.
1. Judge John Hodgman
The Gist: Comedian and "Famous Minor Television Personality" John Hodgman presides over a fake internet court, settling real-life, low-stakes disputes between friends, family, and couples. With the help of his affable Bailiff Jesse Thorn, Hodgman hears cases on everything from the proper way to load a dishwasher to whether one should be allowed to wear a full wizard costume in public.
Why It Starts Arguments: This podcast is the platonic ideal of structured, good-natured bickering. It teaches you how to have a great friendly argument by modeling it. Hodgman’s rulings are often less about pure logic and more about the spirit of the relationship, providing a perfect framework for your own disputes. It's the ultimate tool for when a friend’s weird habit has gone from quirky to genuinely debatable.
How to Use It: Find an episode that mirrors a disagreement within your friend group (trust me, there will be one). Listen to it together or send it to the chat, then hold your own "court session" where you apply Hodgman’s logic to your own situation. Better yet, submit your group's dumbest, most persistent argument to the show itself and get a binding ruling from the Judge himself.
2. We Got This with Mark and Hal
The Gist: Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin take on the great debates of our time and settle them once and for all, so you don't have to. Best sandwich? Best '80s cartoon? Best way to hang toilet paper? They break down every topic with absurdly detailed criteria, hilarious personal anecdotes, and a genuine love for all things nerdy and trivial.
Why It Starts Arguments: This show is a weapon. The hosts’ entire goal is to create a definitive, final answer to subjective questions. This, of course, is impossible and infuriatingly fun to argue with. Their methodical process gives their often-ridiculous conclusions a veneer of authority that is just begging to be challenged by your friends.
How to Use It: The next time the "Best Fast Food Fries" debate inevitably erupts, stop everyone. Announce that the matter has already been officially settled. Play the clip of Mark and Hal's final ruling from their episode on the topic and declare the case closed. Then, sit back and watch the beautiful, beautiful chaos unfold.
3. The Rewatchables
The Gist: From The Ringer, a rotating cast of hosts (led by Bill Simmons) gets together to talk about classic, highly "rewatchable" movies. They don't just review the film; they break it down with a set of recurring awards and categories like "What's Aged the Best?", "The Dion Waiters Award" for the best heat-check performance, and "Joey Pants Award" for the best character actor appearance.
Why It Starts Arguments: This podcast gives you a whole new language for debating movies. It moves beyond "Was it good?" and into much more interesting territory. You'll find yourselves arguing not just about the movie, but about who really won the movie, which scene was the most quotable, and whether the hosts' casting what-ifs would have been a disaster or a stroke of genius.
How to Use It: Plan a movie night around an episode. Watch a classic like The Dark Knight, Jaws, or When Harry Met Sally..., then immediately listen to the corresponding podcast episode together. Pause it after each category and have your own vote before you hear their takes.
4. How Did This Get Made?
The Gist: Three hilarious comedians—Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas—watch a terrible movie and then try to figure out, well, how it got made. From baffling blockbusters like F9: The Fast Saga to incomprehensible cult "classics" like The Room, they dissect absurd plot points and nonsensical character motivations with infectious glee.
Why It Starts Arguments: The core debate here is simple: is the movie actually that bad, or is it a misunderstood work of genius? This show is perfect for the friend who loves to play devil's advocate or the one who unironically loves the Fast & Furious franchise. It creates a space where you can champion a "bad" movie or double down on its awfulness.
How to Use It: Find an episode about a movie at least one person in your group genuinely loves. The episode on Face/Off is a classic example. Let the debate rage: is it a nonsensical mess, or is it a perfect, high-concept action masterpiece?
5. You're Wrong About
The Gist: This podcast revisits historical events, figures, and phenomena that have been miscast in the public imagination. Hosted by Sarah Marshall, the show takes a compassionate and deeply researched look at everything from the O.J. Simpson trial and the Challenger disaster to Tonya Harding and the Satanic Panic.
Why It Starts Arguments: This one is for the slightly more intellectual, "actually..." part of your group chat. It directly challenges long-held beliefs and "common knowledge." I was recently recommending this show to Goh Ling Yong, explaining that it's the perfect podcast for gently (or not-so-gently) correcting a friend who confidently misremembers a major cultural moment from the '90s.
How to Use It: The next time someone brings up a cliché about a historical event, find the You're Wrong About episode on it. Send it to them with a simple, "You might find this interesting." It’s a polite, passive-aggressive, and highly effective way to start a debate grounded in actual facts and sources.
6. Punch Up the Jam
The Gist: Comedians Miel Bredouw and Demi Adejuyigbe (and later, a rotating guest) take a well-known pop song, break it down line by cringey line, and then "fix" it by creating a "punched up" version. It’s a hilarious and surprisingly insightful look at the mechanics of songwriting and the absurdity of some of our favorite tunes.
Why It Starts Arguments: Music taste is one of the most personal and fiercely defended opinions. This show gleefully tramples all over that sacred ground. Hearing a beloved song from your youth get methodically dismantled is a perfect catalyst for an argument. Is "All Star" by Smash Mouth lyrical genius or utter nonsense? The debate starts here.
How to Use It: Pick an episode about a song you and your friends all know by heart—Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" is a great one. Listen to the breakdown, then listen to the final "punched up" version. The ensuing argument over whether they improved it or committed a musical crime will last for days.
7. My Brother, My Brother and Me
The Gist: Three brothers—Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy—bill themselves as "an advice podcast for the modern era." They take bizarre questions from listeners and even stranger ones from the depths of Yahoo! Answers, and then spin them into absurdist, hilarious conversational gold.
Why It Starts Arguments: While it's a comedy show, the questions they tackle are often ridiculous ethical dilemmas. For example, "Is it okay to secretly live in the walls of a stranger's house?" or "What do I do if I think my cat is a financial genius?" Their terrible advice is the starting point for your group to debate what the actual right course of action would be in these impossible scenarios.
How to Use It: Take a question from a recent episode and pose it to your group chat completely out of context. Let your friends spin their wheels trying to come up with a serious answer before you reveal the source. It’s a fantastic way to kick off a completely surreal and hilarious ethical debate.
8. Ridiculous History
The Gist: Hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown dive into the weirdest, most obscure, and downright ridiculous stories from throughout human history. They explore everything from the Great Emu War in Australia to the time a pope put his predecessor's corpse on trial. It's history class, but only the parts the teacher was definitely not allowed to tell you.
Why It Starts Arguments: The facts presented are so outlandish they often sound fake. This leads to the classic "There's no way that's true!" argument, followed by a frantic group Google session to verify the information. It arms you with an endless supply of bizarre trivia to drop into conversation and challenge your friends' understanding of the past.
How to Use It: Casually drop a fact from the show into conversation. "Hey guys, did you know there was once a professional 'Groom of the Stool' whose job was to help the King of England on the toilet?" When they inevitably accuse you of making it up, you have an entire podcast episode to back you up.
9. Blank Check with Griffin & David
The Gist: This podcast reviews the filmographies of directors who have had massive success and are then given a series of "blank checks" to make whatever passion projects they want. From James Cameron to Nora Ephron, hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims provide encyclopedic context and hilarious commentary on a director's entire career arc.
Why It Starts Arguments: It's the ultimate podcast for film nerds. It sparks passionate debates about a director's best vs. worst film, their most ambitious success vs. their most spectacular failure. The hosts' deeply held (and sometimes contrarian) opinions on beloved filmmakers are perfect fuel for a cinematic showdown.
How to Use It: Find their series on a director your group loves (or loves to hate), like M. Night Shyamalan. Listen to the episodes and then hold a "draft" of the director's films from best to worst. The disagreements will be immediate and intense.
10. Stuff You Should Know
The Gist: Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant have been explaining literally everything since 2008. From champagne and satanism to chaos theory and the Cabbage Patch Kids, each episode is a calm, well-researched, and charming deep dive into a single topic.
Why It Starts Arguments: "SYSK" is the ultimate fact-checker. While the tone is gentle, the information is solid. It's the perfect resource for settling a debate that has devolved into "I think I heard somewhere that..." You can use their episodes to definitively prove your point, making you the most informed (and potentially most annoying) person in the group chat.
How to Use It: The next time a factual dispute arises, see if there's an SYSK episode on it. Send a link with the timestamp of the relevant fact. It’s the podcast equivalent of dropping a dictionary on the table. Mic drop.
11. The Great Debates
The Gist: The title says it all. This is a classic debate-format podcast where hosts Steve Hely and Dave King, along with a guest, tackle the big questions: Ranch vs. Blue Cheese, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Calling vs. Texting. They make their cases with passion, humor, and an utter refusal to concede.
Why It Starts Arguments: The show is pure, uncut debate fuel. The topics are universally relatable, and the hosts' arguments are designed to be picked apart and countered. It's a masterclass in the art of defending a completely trivial position with the passion of a seasoned lawyer.
How to Use It: Assign a debate topic from the show to two of your friends. Have them listen to the episode separately and "steal" the best arguments for their side. Then, have them face off over text or voice notes.
12. Binge Mode
The Gist: In its classic run, hosts Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion provided absurdly deep, chapter-by-chapter, scene-by-scene dives into massive pop culture franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars. Their analysis is a brilliant mix of academic rigor and pure, unadulterated fandom.
Why It Starts Arguments: This is the podcast for settling (or starting) the most granular and nerdy fandom debates. Was Snape a hero or a villain? Who had the best claim to the Iron Throne? The hosts' meticulous analysis provides mountains of evidence for every conceivable side of a fan theory or character debate.
How to Use It: When a debate about a specific plot point in a major franchise comes up, find the exact Binge Mode episode covering it. The hosts will have likely dedicated at least 15 minutes to that exact question, and their analysis will either settle the score or add a dozen new layers to the argument.
13. No Such Thing As A Fish
The Gist: This podcast features the "QI Elves," the researchers behind the popular British panel show QI. Each week, the four hosts share the single most interesting, bizarre, and hilarious fact they've discovered that week, and then they riff on each other's findings.
Why It Starts Arguments: It's an engine for producing "well, actually..." moments. The facts are so obscure and specific that they're perfect for derailing a conversation and making you sound like a genius. It also sparks debates about which of the four facts presented each week was truly the "best" or most interesting.
How to Use It: Start a weekly tradition. Everyone listens to the new episode, and then each person in the group chat has to champion one of the four facts as the best of the week, defending their choice to the bitter end.
14. Decoder Ring
The Gist: Slate's Willa Paskin investigates and decodes cultural mysteries. Why did the mullet become a thing? What was the deal with the "Baby Shark" phenomenon? How did "chucking a sickie" (calling in sick when you're not) become a cultural institution? It's a fascinating look at the "why" behind pop culture trends.
Why It Starts Arguments: It provides the definitive history of cultural phenomena your friends probably have half-baked theories about. It’s a great way to challenge someone's memory of "how things were" by presenting a deeply researched historical narrative. The episode on the laugh track is a perfect example that will change how you watch old sitcoms forever.
How to Use It: The next time a friend gets nostalgic for a weird trend from the past, send them the Decoder Ring episode about it. It adds a fascinating layer of context that can spark a whole new conversation about shared cultural memories.
15. Every Little Thing
The Gist: A call-in show where listeners submit their small, burning questions and host Flora Lichtman finds an expert to answer them. Questions range from "How do mattress stores stay in business?" to "Why do we get 'hangry'?" The show celebrates curiosity and the joy of finding answers to life's little mysteries.
Why It Starts Arguments: Before playing the expert's answer, you can pose the question to your friends. Everyone loves to speculate and offer their own folk wisdom or pseudo-scientific theory. The show gives you an endless supply of fun, low-stakes questions and then provides a definitive answer to measure your friends' guesses against.
How to Use It: Pause an episode right after the question is asked. Send the question to your group chat and have everyone submit their best guess. Then, play the rest of the episode and see who came the closest to the real answer. Award bragging rights accordingly.
Let the Games Begin
A great friendly argument is a sign of a healthy friendship. It’s a way to engage, to laugh, and to connect over shared passions and ridiculous opinions. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that podcasts are one of the best modern tools for sparking these essential conversations. They arm you with new facts, new perspectives, and a nearly infinite supply of silly things to care deeply about for a few hours.
So, the next time your group chat falls silent, don't just send another meme. Pick a podcast from this list, find an episode that speaks to your group's unique brand of nonsense, and light the fuse. You might not settle any debates for good, but you’re guaranteed to start some fantastic new ones.
Now it's your turn. What's your go-to podcast for starting a friendly war of words? Did we miss a classic? Share your favorites in the comments below and pass this list on to your group chat to prepare for the next great debate!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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