# Ben Kissel
**Ben Kissel** is an American podcaster, comedian, and political commentator best known as a co-creator and co-host of the dark-comedy true-crime podcast *[The Last Podcast on the Left](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-last-podcast-on-the-left)*, which he hosted alongside Marcus Parks and [Henry Zebrowski](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-zebrowski) from its premiere in 2011 until his departure in 2023.[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/) He also hosted the political comedy podcast *Abe Lincoln's Top Hat*, co-authored the New York Times best-selling book *The Last Book on the Left*, and twice ran unsuccessfully for public office in New York City.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ben Kissel, American podcaster, comedian, and political pundit[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5) |
| Signature work | Co-creator and co-host of *The Last Podcast on the Left* (from 2011), a darkly comic true-crime and paranormal podcast[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/) |
| Show recognition | *Last Podcast on the Left* won a Webby Award and was listed among iTunes' top 10 most downloaded comedy podcasts of 2017, with over a million subscribers[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5) |
| Audience size | Over a million listeners a week as of a 2017 interview[3](https://reason.com/podcast/2017/06/07/ben-kissel-reason-podcast/) |
| Education | Degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee; grew up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin[4](https://milwaukeerecord.com/comedy/uw-milwaukee-alum-ben-kissel-combines-killers-and-comedy-on-last-podcast-on-the-left/) |
| Book | Co-author of the New York Times best seller *The Last Book on the Left* (with Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski)[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5) • [1](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/) |
| Departure | Absent from *Last Podcast on the Left* from around September 2023 following abuse allegations; co-hosts stated they were unaware of any alleged abusive behavior[5](https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-ben-kissel) • [6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/why-ben-kissel-no-longer-181130692.html) |
| Current work | Host of the political news podcast *Ben Kissel Politics*, 132 episodes listed for 2025–2026[7](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-kissel-politics/id1822082027) |
## Early life and education
Kissel has strong Wisconsin roots. He grew up in Stevens Point before attending the [University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-wisconsin-milwaukee), where he graduated with a degree in political science, and later moved to New York.[4](https://milwaukeerecord.com/comedy/uw-milwaukee-alum-ben-kissel-combines-killers-and-comedy-on-last-podcast-on-the-left/) In a 2017 interview with *Reason*, he described his father as an immigrant truck driver and said he approached podcasting the same way, working for free for years until the show started a Patreon page that funded merchandise and touring.[3](https://reason.com/podcast/2017/06/07/ben-kissel-reason-podcast/)
## The Last Podcast on the Left
*The Last Podcast on the Left* premiered in 2011, created by three friends with a shared love of horror movies and careers in comedy and entertainment: Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ben Kissel. The show covers serial killers, occult rituals, cults, cryptids, and dark history, blending research with humor.[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/) Within the trio's division of labor, Parks wrote the research backbone of each episode, Zebrowski performed character work, and Kissel, in his own description, filled the role of one-liners and questions as a kind of straight man.[3](https://reason.com/podcast/2017/06/07/ben-kissel-reason-podcast/)
The show began, by Kissel's account, with zero listeners and grew organically, adding roughly 20 listeners per week before reaching well over a million listeners a week by 2017.[3](https://reason.com/podcast/2017/06/07/ben-kissel-reason-podcast/) It won a Webby Award and appeared in the top 10 of iTunes' most downloaded comedy podcasts in 2017.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5) A *Los Angeles Times* profile in 2019 described the show as a pioneer of true-crime and horror-comedy podcasting, noting its coverage of conspiracy-theory subjects ranging from intelligence failures around 9/11 to [Jeffrey Epstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-epstein).[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-07-19/last-podcast-on-the-left-conspiracy-trump-epstein)
## Other podcasts and writing
Kissel hosted several other shows. From 2014 to 2016 he ran *The Ben Kissel Show*, 63 episodes of life discussion, current events, and guest interviews with producer Mike Coscarelli, released under the same podcast network as his other programs.[9](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-kissel-show/id952471644) On *Abe Lincoln's Top Hat*, which he created with Marcus Parks after their work on the *Roundtable of Gentlemen*, he covered politics.[10](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/10-questions-with-ben-kissel/) In 2019 he served as a host of the television series *Paranormal Caught on Camera*.[11](https://watch.plex.tv/pl/person/ben-kissel)
In 2020 the three hosts published their first book, *The Last Book on the Left*, on serial killers, published by [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt](https://www.edgepedia.org/houghton-mifflin-harcourt); it became a New York Times best seller.[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5)
## Politics and activism
Kissel has twice sought elective office. In October 2016 he announced, describing it as practically by accident, a candidacy for [Mayor of New York City](https://www.edgepedia.org/mayor-of-new-york-city).[9](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-kissel-show/id952471644) In 2017 he ran for Brooklyn Borough President with the Reform Party and did not win.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5) He has also worked as a political pundit with appearances on CNN, Fox News, and HLN, and as a radio host on Sirius Radio and Fox News Radio; his biography credits him with overturning an anti-cross-dressing law in New Jersey in 2015 as a political activist.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5)
## Departure from Last Podcast on the Left
Kissel has been absent from *The Last Podcast on the Left* since around September 2023. His departure followed allegations made online by one of his former partners, known in online communities as @booboobirdie, of abusive behavior.[5](https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-ben-kissel) • [12](https://www.mynewsgh.com/what-happened-to-last-podcast-on-the-left-host-ben-kissel/) In late October 2023, his former co-hosts Parks and Zebrowski posted a statement to Instagram saying they were unaware of any alleged abusive behavior.[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/why-ben-kissel-no-longer-181130692.html) Kissel himself did not make a public statement at the time of the announcements; on December 30, 2023, he shared an Instagram post acknowledging the completion of what the report described as a self-help course.[5](https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-ben-kissel)
Following his departure, Ed Larson, already a host on the network, joined Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski as a co-host of *The Last Podcast on the Left*, and the show's official site now lists Parks, Larson, and Zebrowski as its hosts.[13](https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/about/)
## Later work
Kissel returned to political commentary with *Ben Kissel Politics*, a podcast in which he discusses the political news of the week, with new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays; the Apple Podcasts listing shows 132 episodes active across 2025 and 2026.[7](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-kissel-politics/id1822082027)
## References
1. [Last Book on the Left interview, Den of Geek (April 23, 2020)](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/last-book-on-the-left-marcus-parks-ben-kissel-henry-zebrowski-interview/)
2. [Ben Kissel biography, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ben-kissel/umc.cpc.4pqv4j1vje9s7sbgn8z63oyk5)
3. [Podcasting Star Ben Kissel Is Running For Brooklyn Borough President, Reason (June 7, 2017)](https://reason.com/podcast/2017/06/07/ben-kissel-reason-podcast/)
4. [UW-Milwaukee alum Ben Kissel combines killers and comedy on Last Podcast On The Left, Milwaukee Record (June 27, 2017)](https://milwaukeerecord.com/comedy/uw-milwaukee-alum-ben-kissel-combines-killers-and-comedy-on-last-podcast-on-the-left/)
5. [What Happened to Ben Kissel From Last Podcast on the Left?, Distractify](https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-ben-kissel)
6. [Why is Ben Kissel no longer hosting 'Last Podcast on the Left'?, Yahoo Entertainment (October 27, 2023)](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/why-ben-kissel-no-longer-181130692.html)
7. [Ben Kissel Politics, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-kissel-politics/id1822082027)
8. [In the Trump era, a comedy podcast about conspiracy theories finds a home in the mainstream, Los Angeles Times (July 19, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-07-19/last-podcast-on-the-left-conspiracy-trump-epstein)
9. [The Ben Kissel Show, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-kissel-show/id952471644)
10. [10 Questions with Ben Kissel, First Order Historians (September 23, 2015)](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/10-questions-with-ben-kissel/)
11. [Ben Kissel, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/pl/person/ben-kissel)
12. [What Happened to Last Podcast on the Left Host Ben Kissel?, MyNewsGh](https://www.mynewsgh.com/what-happened-to-last-podcast-on-the-left-host-ben-kissel/)
13. [About, Last Podcast on the Left official site](https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/about/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Online creators and internet personalities › Podcasters and podcasts*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license