''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' (formerly ''The Nerdist Podcast'', until February 2018) is a weekly

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

"about what it really means to be a

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

" hosted by

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

. From its launch in 2010 until 2018,

Jonah Ray Jonah Ray Rodrigues (born August 3, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and writer from Los Angeles. He stars as Jonah Heston, one of the primary hosts of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. He is a former host of '' The Nerdist Podcast'' and was ...

and Matt Mira were usual co-hosts, after which Hardwick hosted alone. , the most recent episode was published on 22 March 2022; no announcement has been made as to whether more will follow.

Format

The audio podcasts were typically an hour in length and include conversations with notable comedians or entertainers, sometimes at their own home. Guests typically relate to either stand-up comedy,

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

and

culture, or both. Occasional "hostful" episodes featured solely Hardwick, Ray and Mira.

History

The show launched February 8, 2010. It served as the flagship podcast for

Nerdist Industries Nerdist Industries, LLC (also simply known as Nerdist) is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast ( The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a net ...

, which was founded in 2012 after the success of ''The Nerdist Podcast''. The show's theme song was "Hero of Time" by the analog synthesizer band Fartbarf. Prior to the February 2018 name change, the theme song was "Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues" by

Anamanaguchi Anamanaguchi is an American chiptune-based pop and rock band from New York City. The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas. Anamanaguchi combines digit ...

. In 2012 Hardwick sold the Nerdist brand to the

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Entertainment, LLC (also known as Legendary Pictures or simply Legendary) is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull. The company has often collaborated with the major stu ...

, but remained as chief director of Nerdist. Hardwick's contract with Legendary Network ended at the end of 2017, and the podcast separated from Legendary-owned Nerdist Industries; in February 2018, the podcast was re-branded as ''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' and moved to

Cadence13 Cadence13 (formerly DGital Media Inc.) was a media company based in New York City that created, distributed, and monetized audio content, primarily podcasts. The company was founded in 2015 and was a division of Audacy, Inc. The company was hel ...

. Hardwick changed the name after he moved it to become a part of his own ID10T merchandise and festival company. The podcast itself continued to operate under the same premise, with Hardwick, Mira, and Ray serving as hosts and Katie Levine serving as producer, although by this point other professional commitments had already meant Mira and Ray appeared increasingly infrequently on the show. The phrase ID10T is technical error code for a computer malfunction caused by the human user. The podcast went on a hiatus in June 2018 after Hardwick was accused of sexual assault and controlling behaviour by ex-partner

Chloe Dykstra Chloe Frances Dykstra (born September 15, 1988) is an American cosplayer, model and actress. She produced and co-hosted the web series ''Just Cos'' for the Nerdist Industries' YouTube channel and is a cast member of the SYFY show '' Heroes of Cos ...

; Hardwick denied the allegations. Following its return in November 2018, Mira and Ray did not appear on the podcast. Hardwick published "Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?" the first episode in three years on 3 June 2025, where Chris outlined the reasons for the pod's absence over the past few years. The episode announced a return of the show in June 2025 and a new direction for it. He will be focusing on the concepts of starting new endeavors, hobbies, and other activities in middle age. Parenthood, picking up an instrument, getting out of one's own way, etc. The first episode will be with Ben Schwartz "Improv Master", talking about over-thinking things and how not to do so. The podcast will be renamed "I Think You're Overthinking it Podcast". He said several episodes have already been produced and that the episodes will drop every other week.

Live recordings

The first live recording of the show was on April 5, 2010, at the Largo in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with guest

Adam Savage Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and manufacturer, fabricator, actor, educator, television personality, and producer, best known as the former co-host, with Jamie Hyneman, of the Discovery Channe ...

of ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

'', and has since been recorded live a number of other times. In July 2011 the show was recorded live, at midnight, at the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

comedy festival Just for Laughs.

TV show

In 2011 the pilot and a Christmas Eve special aired, with Hardwick, Ray and Mira hosting.

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

aired six more 'specials' throughout 2012. Beginning with episode 4 the show moved from a half-hour format to an hour. A 10-episode second season aired in 2013.

Reception

The podcast was ranked #3 in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s "The 10 Best

Comedy Podcasts Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

of the Moment", published April 6, 2011 and #7 in ''Rolling Stones "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment", published May 8, 2014.

References

External links

*{{Official website Nerdist Industries Comedy podcasts 2011 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings 2010 podcast debuts Interview podcasts Audio podcasts