My guess is that Stephen is an *beep* but Ricky actually Likes Karl...

I completely agree with you. I listen to the podcasts all the time, and I get the very strong impression that while Karl and Ricky are good friends, Steve despises Karl, or at the very least genuinely thinks he's a useless idiot whose only purpose is to be mocked. It's subtle, but it's definitely there. Ricky is of course more vocal about mocking Karl's stupidity, but it's also very clear that Ricky loves Karl as a friend and also loves his comic persona -- Ricky's laughter at Karl's thoughts is quite infectious, and makes it clear that Ricky's comments are very tongue-in-cheek and that he thinks Karl is the funniest person he's ever met. The relationship between the two is almost brotherly.

Steve, on the other hand, is much more condescending of Karl than Ricky is, and often says things to Karl that are extremely cruel and much harsher than the things Ricky says. Ricky's comments are generally good-natured and non-serious things like simply calling Karl an idiot for saying something stupid, while Steve tends to respond to Karl's musings and ideas with comments that seem more genuinely motivated by contempt for Karl. Some examples of Steve's cruel comments include, "I'm just resting easy knowing he's not trying to breed." (the first time he said this it was mildly funny, but he repeats this comment quite often, to the point where you can tell that he really means it). He also often responds to Karl's odd stories by asking him in a very patronizing tone, "Do you live in Narnia?" or "Karl, were you created by the Brothers Grimm?"

I realize that it's a comedy show and that they tend to exaggerate things for comic effect, but if you are observational and good at reading between the lines it seems clear that Steve, at the very least, genuinely disrespects Karl and considers him an idiot, and that he puts up with him for the sake of milking this cash cow of a show. Furthermore, I think that Karl reciprocates this feeling, since it seems equally obvious that he dislikes Steve as well. Karl has never really made fun of Ricky, but he NEVER misses an opportunity to insult Steve (the most common insult being about how Steve looks like a freak). I, for one, love these moments of the show, because Karl takes a LOT of abuse from Steve, and he takes it in stride. But at the same time, Karl will shoot back at Steve with a crippling insult that is not only much funnier than any insult that Steve hurls at him, but is made even better because Steve reacts with such anger and hostility at any insult aimed at him.

But I think when Stephen wants to let Karl speak it's more along the lines of giving him enough rope so he can hang himself. Ricky interrupts Karl a lot when he says something stupid but Stephen knows that letting Karl say stupid things is satisfying for people to feel superior to him and is good for the show. It even comes across in the animation for the show. When Karl speaks, Stephen has his arms crossed and is looking at him smugly while Ricky gets a kick of out him.

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

Karl puts up with a lot from both of them though, how he hasn't blown up at the both of them is beyond me. I mean, how many times could you be called "orange headed mank" or have your head paid out every single time.

Karl deserves to give a little I reckon. But I find that for the most part Ricky seems to get far too serious about things.

I'd buy that for a dollar!