The Dead Authors Podcast
The Dead Authors Podcast is an improvised comedy and faux-historical podcast hosted by Paul F. Tompkins in character as H.G. Wells, with special written material provided by Ben Zelevansky.[1][2] The show ran from 2011 until 2015. In each episode, Wells collects a deceased author via his "time machine" to discuss his or her life and work. The podcast was created in support of 826LA, and all proceeds from the show are donated to the organization.[3][4]
| The Dead Authors Podcast | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Paul F. Tompkins (as H.G. Wells) |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Language | English |
| Updates | Monthly |
| Length | 60 minutes |
| Production | |
| Production | Paul F. Tompkins & Ben Zelevansky |
| Theme music composed by | Eban Schletter |
| Audio format | MP3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | September 20, 2011 – December 31, 2015 |
| Related | |
| Website | thedeadauthorspodcast |
History
The podcast was recorded live on a monthly basis at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles.[5]
When Chapter 39 was released in 2014, Tompkins announced that the podcast would be ending with Chapter 50 the following year.[4] Tompkins commented on the show's ending in an interview with Vulture:
Yes, for a while I was able to feel like I had the energy to do several projects at once. Ultimately, some of these things I did not get paid for, they did not further my career, they were done just for fun. I suddenly remembered my career was supposed to be fun by itself. It would probably be better if I focused on my main sources of income and made those as good as I could possibly make them. It felt as if all of my projects were suffering in that I couldn't give them the time and attention that I wanted. I had to make some tough decisions and really pare it down, which would also leave room to participate in other people's things and not be having to beg off because I've over-committed myself to projects that I have created.[6]
Episode list
| No. | Title | Special guest | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter 1: Emily Dickinson" | Andy Richter | September 20, 2011 |
| 2 | "Chapter 3: Dorothy Parker" | Jen Kirkman | November 8, 2011 |
| 3 | "Chapter 4: Benjamin Franklin" | Scott Aukerman | December 6, 2011 |
| 4 | "Appendix A: Charles Dickens and O.Henry" | Hal Lublin / Marc Evan Jackson | December 20, 2011 |
| 5 | "Chapter 5: Carl Sagan" | Matt Gourley | January 17, 2012 |
| 6 | "Chapter 6: Gertrude Stein" | John Ross Bowie | February 14, 2012 |
| 7 | "Chapter 7: P.G. Wodehouse" | Brian Stack | March 20, 2012 |
| 8 | "Appendix B: Friederich Nietzsche and H.P. Lovecraft" | James Adomian / Paul Scheer | May 1, 2012 |
| 9 | "Chapter 8: Aesop" | Mark McConville | May 29, 2012 |
| 10 | "Chapter 9: Jorge Luis Borges" | Nick Kroll | July 24, 2012 |
| 11 | "Chapter 10: Arthur Conan Doyle" | Chris Tallman | October 12, 2012 |
| 12 | "Chapter 11: J.R.R. Tolkien" | Matt Walsh | October 23, 2012 |
| 13 | "Chapter 12: Mary Shelley" | Laraine Newman | October 31, 2012 |
| 14 | "Chapter 19: The Authors of the Gospels" | Craig Cackowski / Mark Gagliardi Hal Lublin / Matt Gourley | December 24, 2012 |
| 15 | "Chapter 13: The Brothers Grimm" | Jeremy Carter / Matt Gourley | December 31, 2012 |
| 16 | "Chapter 14: Abbie Hoffman" | Jen Kirkman | January 22, 2013 |
| 17 | "Chapter 15: The Marquis de Sade" | Andy Daly | March 25, 2013 |
| 18 | "Chapter 16: Gore Vidal" | Marc Evan Jackson | April 2, 2013 |
| 19 | "Chapter 17: Agatha Christie" | Jessica Chaffin | April 16, 2013 |
| 20 | "Chapter 18: Brendan Behan" | Brian Stack | May 1, 2013 |
| 21 | "Chapter 2: Robert Louis Stevenson" | Andy Daly | May 13, 2013 |
| 22 | "Chapter 20: Ayn Rand" | John Hodgman | June 20, 2013 |
| 23 | "Chapter 21: Joseph Campbell" | Jeremy Carter | October 15, 2013 |
| 24 | "Chapter 22: Edgar Rice Burroughs" | Chris Tallman | October 22, 2013 |
| 25 | "Chapter 23: Charlotte Brontë" | Jessica St. Clair | October 29, 2013 |
| 26 | "Chapter 24: Plato" | Jason Mantzoukas | November 5, 2013 |
| 27 | "Chapter 25: Shel Silverstein" | Mark McConville | November 12, 2013 |
| 28 | "Chapter 26: William S. Burroughs" | Kurt Braunohler | November 19, 2013 |
| 29 | "Chapter 27: Tennessee Williams" | Kristen Schaal | November 26, 2013 |
| 30 | "Chapter 28: Walt Whitman" | James Adomian | December 3, 2013 |
| 31 | "Chapter 29: Clement Clarke Moore and Irving Berlin" | Scott Aukerman / Neil Campbell | December 17, 2013 |
| 32 | "Chapter 31: Anne Frank" | Jamie Denbo | February 18, 2014 |
| 33 | "Chapter 32: E. Gary Gygax" | Chris Tallman | March 19, 2014 |
| 34 | "Chapter 33: Rod Serling" | John Ross Bowie | April 15, 2014 |
| 35 | "Chapter 30: William Faulkner" | Thomas Lennon | May 13, 2014 |
| 36 | "Chapter 34: Roald Dahl" | Ben Schwartz | May 29, 2014 |
| 37 | "Chapter 35: Oscar Wilde" | Jon Daly | June 17, 2014 |
| 38 | "Chapter 36: Ralph Ellison" | DeMorge Brown | July 29, 2014 |
| 39 | "Appendix C: Edgar Allan Poe and J.D. Salinger" | Craig Cackowski / Marc Evan Jackson | August 5, 2014 |
| 40 | "Chapter 37: Truman Capote" | Jessica Chaffin | August 14, 2014 |
| 41 | "Appendix D: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Erma Bombeck" | Seth Morris / Brian Huskey | September 25, 2014 |
| 42 | "Appendix E: Lord Byron and Norman Mailer" | Dana Gould / Frank Conniff | October 3, 2014 |
| 43 | "Chapter 38: Ian Fleming" | Matt Gourley | October 9, 2014 |
| 44 | "Chapter 39: Flannery O'Connor" | Lennon Parham | October 21, 2014 |
| 45 | "Appendix F: Ernest Hemingway and Sun Tzu" | Josh Fadem / Fred Armisen | November 7, 2014 |
| 46 | "Chapter 40: Virginia Woolf" | Mary Holland | November 20, 2014 |
| 47 | "Appendix G: F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce" | Andy Daly, Sean Conroy | December 5, 2014 |
| 48 | "Chapter 41: Dr. Seuss" | Hal Lublin | December 24, 2014 |
| 49 | "Appendix H: Hunter S. Thompson and Philip K. Dick" | James Adomian / Matt Besser | January 16, 2015 |
| 50 | "Chapter 42: Miguel de Cervantes" | Horatio Sanz | January 27, 2015 |
| 51 | "Chapter 43: Iceberg Slim" | Ron Funches | February 26, 2015 |
| 52 | "Chapter 44: Confucius" | Eugene Cordero | March 16, 2015 |
| 53 | "Chapter 45 [Part 1]: L. Ron Hubbard" | Andy Daly | April 14, 2015 |
| 54 | "Chapter 46: Hans Christian Andersen" | Joe Wengert | May 19, 2015 |
| 55 | "Chapter 47: Mark Twain*" | Matt Gourley | June 23, 2015 |
| 56 | "Chapter 45 [Part 2]: L. Ron Hubbard" | Andy Daly | June 30, 2015 |
| 57 | "Addendum i: Lewis Carroll" | Rory Scovel | July 10, 2015 |
| 58 | "Chapter 48: Maya Angelou" | Tymberlee Hill | July 14, 2015 |
| 59 | "Addendum ii: Christopher Marlowe" | Matt Gourley | July 17, 2015 |
| 60 | "Addendum iii: Aleister Crowley" | Matt Gourley | July 24, 2015 |
| 61 | "Addendum iv: Lucy Maud Montgomery" | Ryan Beil | July 31, 2015 |
| 62 | "Addendum v: William Butler Yeats" | David Rees | August 7, 2015 |
| 63 | "Addendum vi: Beatrix Potter" | Lauren Lapkus | August 14, 2015 |
| 64 | "Chapter 49: Albert Camus" | Steve Agee | August 18, 2015 |
| 65 | "Preface: Henry Miller and Sylvia Plath" | Eddie Pepitone / Jen Kirkman | December 28, 2015 |
| 66 | "Chapter 50: L. Frank Baum" | Chris Tallman | December 31, 2015 |
*Episode 55 marks the only episode where Paul F. Tompkins does not appear as H.G. Wells, appearing instead as the guest Mark Twain while Matt Gourley hosts the show as Carl Sagan.
Recurring guests
Several comedians made numerous appearances on the podcast, playing multiple characters.
- Matt Gourley (7 episodes)
- Andy Daly (5 episodes)
- Chris Tallman (4 episodes)
- Hal Lublin (3 episodes)
- Jen Kirkman (3 episodes)
- Marc Evan Jackson (3 episodes)
- Brian Stack (2 episodes)
- Craig Cackowski (2 episodes)
- James Adomian (3 episodes)
- Jessica Chaffin (2 episodes)
- John Ross Bowie (2 episodes)
- Mark McConville (2 episodes)
- Scott Aukerman (2 episodes)
References
- Hardwick, Robin (April 21, 2015). "Best Podcasts of the Week". Entertainment Weekly.
- McWeeny, Drew (July 19, 2015). "'Battlefield Earth' is no longer the funniest thing to result from Scientology". Hitfix.
- "UCB Theater - Dead Authors".
- Rabin, Nathan (July 13, 2015). "How Andy Daly's L. Ron Hubbard Raised the Ridiculousness of Scientology to Hilarious New Heights". Splitsider.
- "Bringing 'Dead Authors' To Life For Book-Smart Comedy". NPR. January 11, 2014.
- Fox, Jesse David (July 30, 2015). "Paul F. Tompkins and Andy Daly Discuss Review, Podcasts, and Having a Career That's Supposed to Be Fun in and of Itself". Vulture.