
Show overview
SmartLess Presents ClueLess has been publishing since 2024, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 110 episodes, alongside 3 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 30 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run ten to twenty minutes — most land between 14 min and 19 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Leisure show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 4 days ago, with 19 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 76 episodes published. Published by SiriusXM | SmartLess Media.
From the publisher
SmartLess Presents ClueLess is a bite-sized, biweekly podcast (10-12 minutes an episode), in which our host, Emmy-winning writer Elliott Kalan, guides the listener through different puzzles, brainteasers, & conundrums to see if they’re faster than this season's contestant Sean Hayes!
Latest Episodes
View all 110 episodesRe-release: 211 - Breaking The Law/Linkuistics (w/ Janet Varney and Neil Patrick Harris)
Re-release: 210 - Take A Wild Guess/Tone Note (w/ Janet Varney and John Hodgman)
Re-release: 209 - A Hello To Arms/Odd One Out (w/ Janet Varney and John Hodgman)
Re-release: 208 - The Sort ‘Em Consortium (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
Re-release: 206 - This Or That? (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
Re-release: 205 - Bizarro Movie Guide (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
While our host Elliott Kalan is otherwise engaged this week, putting the finishing touches on his 10-part documentary series New Jersey: Jewel Of The Americas, please enjoy another brain-twisting re-release! On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes back his friends, the hilarious Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman (married comedians and hosts of the podcast Couples Therapy) to flip through the uncanny pages of the Bizarro Movie Guide! A copy of the TV listings has fallen into Elliott’s possession from an alternate universe where things are pretty opposite, can you make heads or tails of the titles in their RomComs section, and translate them back into our world? Keep track of your answers, you’ll need them to solve the MegaClue! And before that: PHOBIAS. Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Re-release: 204 - Word Centipede (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
While our host Elliott Kalan is busy this week preparing his one-man performance of The Taking Of Pelham 123, please enjoy another hilarious re-release! On this episode of ClueLess, Elliott invites his friends Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman, married couple and hosts of the podcast Couples Therapy, to contend with the many limbs of our old foe, the Word Centipede! Elliott will give you three words, and you have to figure out which new word can be added either in front of or behind them to create three new compound words! Can you do it faster than Naomi and Andy? And can you keep track of your answers to defeat the MegaClue?! Puzzles in this episode are by Kevin Leman and Matt Pack. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Re-release: 203: Bot Bops (w/ Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman)
While our host Elliott Kalan is busy this week completing his scholarly tome on the social history of the chicken tender, please enjoy another repeat performance! On this episode of ClueLess, Elliott welcomes back comedians, best friends, and co-hosts of I Need You Guys, Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman, to attend another infernal recital of Bot Bops! Elliott’s non-branded digital assistant will regale you with five classic songs in its own cold, inhuman style, name the song for one point and the artist for another point! Keep track of your answers in order to solve the MegaClue! Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Re-release: 202 - Word Workout (w/ Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman)
While Elliott is otherwise engaged this week cataloguing his Oingo Boingo B-sides, please enjoy a repeat performance of this Season 2 episode featuring the hilarious Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman from the SmartLess Media show I Need You Guys! In this episode, Max and Gabe will tackle some out-of-this-world questions about astronaut movies, and then they'll help words get very slightly smaller in another round of Word Workout! Puzzles in this episode are by Josh Richmond and Brock Mahan. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 97217 - Take A Wild Guess/Tone Note (w/ Kristen Schaal and Matt Oberg)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes back his hilarious pals Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers, What We Do In The Shadows, The Last Man On Earth) and Matt Oberg (Abbott Elementary, The Real O’Neals, Harley Quinn) to get into the ballpark and Take A Wild Guess about the popularity of English words! Then, it’s a return of our old friend Tone Note, Elliott will give you a clue and the answer is a two word phrase where the words are anagrams of each other, just like the game’s name, Tone Note! The MegaClue will ask you for a monstrously complex anagram! Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 96216 - Word Sandwich/Word Centipede (w/ Kristen Schaal and Matt Oberg)
On this episode of ClueLess, it’s like a dang dictionary in here with all these words! Host Elliott Kalan invites his hilarious friends Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers, What We Do In The Shadows, The Last Man On Earth) and Matt Oberg (Abbott Elementary, The Real O’Neals, Harley Quinn) to contend with both a sandwich made out of words and then, incredibly, a centipede also made out of words! Get your brain limber, get a pen and paper, and settle in for a hilarious bonus-length episode testing your word recall! Kristen would really like you to know: cigarettes are NOT cool. New episodes every Monday. Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Re-release: 201 - State Of Confusion (w/ Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman)
While Elliott is away this week constructing a life-sized butter sculpture of President Rutherford B Hayes, please enjoy a repeat performance of our Season 2 premiere episode, featuring the hilarious Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman from the SmartLess Media show I Need You Guys! In this episode, Max and Gabe will be put through their paces with an opening game about the periodic table of the elements (meet us on row 5), and then they’ll get the rambling bug with a return of our game State Of Confusion! Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich and Brock Mahan. Script by Elliott Kalan. Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE. Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 95215 - Take A Wild Guess/This Or That (w/ Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan invites married comedians Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero (co-hosts of The Endless Honeymoon podcast) to get into the ballpark with our game Take A Wild Guess! You don’t need to actually know the answer, just estimate what you think it might be, and try to get as close as you can! Then, after a bit of friction about whether DJ’ing is actually playing a musical instrument or not, we’ll put them through their paces with a round of This Or That in which Elliott asks who said a famous quote: Yoda, or Yogi Berra! Follow Moshe @moshekasher on InstaFollow Natasha @natashaleggero on InstaListen to The Endless Honeymoon anywhere you get your podcasts! New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich and Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant.Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 94214 - Odd Throuples/Bot Bops (w/ Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes back comedians and married couple Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero (co-hosts of The Endless Honeymoon podcast) to explore the intersection of pop culture and Presidents with another round of Odd Throuples. Then, it’s the return of our favorite non-branded digital assistant in Bot Bops - name the song title for one point, and the artist for another! Keep track of your answers, you’ll need them to defeat the MegaClue! Follow Moshe @moshekasher on InstaFollow Natasha @natashaleggero on InstaListen to The Endless Honeymoon anywhere you get your podcasts! New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich and Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 93213 - Odd Throuples/Coupled Up (w/ Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan invites the hilarious married couple (and co-hosts of The Endless Honeymoon podcast) Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero to contend with two new Valentine’s-themed games: first up is Odd Throuples, where you’ll get clues to two celebrity names which, when combined, reveal a third celebrity in the middle. Then, our new game Coupled Up, which we promise isn’t complicated, we’ll give you a clue and the answer is a two word phrase where the second word starts with the last letter of the first word. The MegaClue will reveal the secret to a happy relationship! Follow Moshe @moshekasher on InstaFollow Natasha @natashaleggero on InstaListen to The Endless Honeymoon anywhere you get your podcasts! New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich and Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 92212 - Leg Day/This Or That (w/ Janet Varney and Neil Patrick Harris)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliot Kalan welcomes back the highly entertaining duo of Janet Varney (SF Sketchfest, Avatar: Braving The Elements, Stan Against Evil) and her good friend Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Starship Troopers) to take a couple reps of a new game: Leg Day (ClueLess fans will pick this one up right away). Then, it’s a return of a new favorite, This Or That: Elliott will provide a series of clues, and on this occasion you must answer if they refer to a designer perfume or a Swedish black metal band. A knowledge of contemporary pop stars is needed for the MegaClue! Visit SFSketchfest.com for tickets and more information!Listen to Janet’s podcast E Pluribus Motto with John Hodgman!Follow Neil Patrick Harris @nph on Insta! New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich and Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan, additional material by Maddie McCann.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 91211 - Breaking The Law/Linkuistics (w/ Janet Varney and Neil Patrick Harris)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes back the hilarious Janet Varney (SF Sketchfest, Avatar: Braving The Elements, Stan Against Evil), only this time she’s brought along her wonderful friend Neil Patrick Harris (Doctor Who: The Giggle, Gone Girl, Neil’s Puppet Dreams)! First up is a very relaxed game about bizarre state laws (do NOT overthink this one), and then we’ll have a return of an old favorite: Linkuistics! Elliott will give you a word and the starting letter of a second word that completes a well-known phrase, guess what the phrase is and try to keep your word chain going longer than your opponent! In the MegaClue, we’ll ask you to come up with your own connections between given words! Visit SFSketchfest.com for tickets and more information!Listen to Janet’s podcast E Pluribus Motto with John Hodgman!Follow Neil Patrick Harris @nph on Insta New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Josh Richmond and Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 90210 - Take A Wild Guess/Tone Note (w/ Janet Varney and John Hodgman)
On this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes back his pals Janet Varney (SF Sketchfest, Avatar: Braving The Elements, Stan Against Evil) and John Hodgman (Dicktown, The Daily Show, The Areas Of My Expertise) to get into the ballpark for a new game called Take A Wild Guess! Then, it’s the return of an old favorite, Tone Note! Elliott will give you a clue, and the answer will always be a two-word phrase where the words are anagrams of each other. You’ll have to assemble your own for the MegaClue! Visit SFSketchfest.com for tickets and more information!Listen to Janet & John’s podcast E Pluribus Motto!New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 89209 - A Hello To Arms/Odd One Out (w/ Janet Varney and John Hodgman)
On this bonus size episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan invites his friends Janet Varney (SF Sketchfest, Avatar: Braving The Elements, Stan Against Evil) and John Hodgman (Dicktown, The Daily Show, Judge John Hodgman) to go sifting for letters in a new game called A Hello To Arms! Then, they’ll check in with an old favorite and see if they can identify the Odd One Out! Visit SFSketchfest.com for tickets and more information! Listen to Janet & John’s podcast E Pluribus Motto!New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Jason Reich.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ep 88208 - The Sort ‘Em Consortium (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
EOn this episode of ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan invites married podcasters Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman (co-hosts of Couples Therapy) to get organized with another round of The Sort ‘Em Consortium! As you may recall, in this game Elliott gives you all the answers first, and then gives you a series of clues where each answer relates to one clue only. This time: colors! And before that, a game about directions, and cities with the same names! New episodes every Monday.Puzzles in this episode are by Brock Mahan.Script by Elliott Kalan.Music and sound effects by Devon Torrey Bryant. Buy Elliott’s book Joke Farming: How To Write Comedy And Other Nonsense HERE.Buy Devon’s album Blame It On My Zodiac HERE or stream it anywhere you listen to records. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.