The Mega podcast draws mega laughs

Mega is an improvised comedy podcast that pretends to be a podcast created by a mega­church called Twin Hills. The two cohosts, Hally Labonte (Holly Laurent) and Gray Hoss (Greg Hess), riff about their lives and spiritual struggles before introducing another member of the Twin Hills staff or community, who is played each week by a different comedian guest.

The satire builds slowly over many episodes. It is sharp and sometimes un­sparing, but also tempered by a humane understanding of what pulls people into white evangelical culture and how deeply it forms people even after they leave it. If you’ve ever found yourself almost cracking a biblical joke at a party only to realize no one will understand you, this podcast is for you.

The character of Hally is the heart of the show, not least because Laurent grew up in white evangelical culture and her biblical recall could give any seminarian a run for their money. She transitions every segment with a biblical zinger: “Just like King Xerxes picked Queen Esther after a solid year of beauty treatments, we’ve picked a beauty of a guest today.”