Draft:The Basement Yard

The Basement Yard is a podcast hosted by Joe Santagato and Frank Alvarez. Originally, the podcast was hosted only by Santagato, then with comedian Danny LoPriore with Alvarez occasionally coming on as a guest, and in 2020, Alvarez became a permanent co-host.^[1][2] As of May 2026, The Basement Yard show has 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube.^[3]

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The podcast began in 2015, with Santagato recording in his mother's basement.^[4][5] Santagato's mother called their childhood basement "the basement yard" when encouraging her children to play inside instead of the front yard, and she suggested the title when Santagato started the podcast.^[6] The podcast gained significant following in 2022, when Santagato and Alvarez debated over the best kind of Pop-Tart and Alvarez picked a limited edition Spider-Man flavor.^[7][8] The show has been popularized for its memorable humor, authentic nature, and lack of structure or direction as "just two guys talking."^[5][9] The co-hosts met in preschool and grew up together in Queens, and they reference childhood memories and other moments in their 30-year friendship on the show.^[5][9][6] In more recent episodes, producer Ant Prisco co-hosts as well.

The duo appeared on the ShxtsnGigs podcast on November 6, 2023 and returned in 2025.^[10][11]

Santagato and Alvarez appeared on Chicago's WGN9 News on July 18, 2024 where they participated in the Morning News' 'Best Friends Quiz.' against WGN-TV's co-anchor Robin Baumgarten and weather anchor Paul Konrad.^{[12][13][14][15]} In October 2024, The Basement Yard sold out a show Radio City Music Hall.^[1][16][2] By that time, they had the 7th most popular podcast on Patreon.^[2]

In early February of 2025, The Basement Yard performed a live show at Pennsylvania State University.^[17]

On March 15, 2025, the duo appeared on Derek Gerard's That Library Show.^[18] On April 9, 2025, they appeared next on the GK Barry's podcast Saving Grace.^[19] In May 2025, Santagato and Alvarez starred in a Bonobos menswear spring campaign.^{[20][21][22][23]} In May, the Golden Globes announced a new category for Best Podcast, which both Santagato and Alvarez spoke on while the nominations had yet to be announced and The Basement Yard was in the running.^[24] In particular, Alvarez stated the new category "was a good idea, but it raise[d] more questions than anything else. Comedy is subjective. News is structured. So, how do you judge them against each other fairly?"^[24]

On July 9, 2025, Santagato and Alvarez threw the ceremonial first pitch at a San Diego Padres game.^[25] On July 20, 2025, the show started their tour at Balboa Theatre in San Diego and stopped in over a dozen cities.^[26][27] In November, they ended their From the Basement to the World Tour with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City as part of the New York Comedy Festival.^[1][28]

On August 27, 2025, Santagato and Alvarez appeared on an episode of Rhett & Link's Good Mythical Morning where they gambled on which best-friend duo knew each other better.^[29]

The Basement Yard appeared in a First We Feast YouTube video where they played Hot Ones Wing Pong.^[30] The following day, the duo appeared on Two Hot Takes, hosted by Morgan Ashley Absher, where they discussed strange Reddit stories.^[31]

In March 11, 2026, Santagato and Alvarez appeared on talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers and spoke about their experience at Madison Square Garden, winning the PEOPLE's Sexiest Podcaster award, and starting the show.^[6] On May 10, the duo appeared on Doctor Mike's channel where they shared viral protein snacks with the host.^[32]