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 their 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 byPaul F. Tompkins
(as H.G. Wells)
GenreComedy
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesMonthly
Length60 minutes
Production
ProductionPaul F. Tompkins & Ben Zelevansky
Theme music composed byEban Schletter
Audio formatMP3
No. of episodes66
Publication
Original releaseSeptember 20, 2011 –
December 31, 2015
Related
Websitethedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com

History

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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

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No.TitleSpecial guestOriginal air date
1"Chapter 1: Emily Dickinson"Andy RichterSeptember 20, 2011 (September 20, 2011)
2"Chapter 3: Dorothy Parker"Jen KirkmanNovember 8, 2011 (November 8, 2011)
3"Chapter 4: Benjamin Franklin"Scott AukermanDecember 6, 2011 (December 6, 2011)
4"Appendix A: Charles Dickens and O.Henry"Hal Lublin / Marc Evan JacksonDecember 20, 2011 (December 20, 2011)
5"Chapter 5: Carl Sagan"Matt GourleyJanuary 17, 2012 (January 17, 2012)
6"Chapter 6: Gertrude Stein"John Ross BowieFebruary 14, 2012 (February 14, 2012)
7"Chapter 7: P.G. Wodehouse"Brian StackMarch 20, 2012 (March 20, 2012)
8"Appendix B: Friederich Nietzsche and H.P. Lovecraft"James Adomian / Paul ScheerMay 1, 2012 (May 1, 2012)
9"Chapter 8: Aesop"Mark McConvilleMay 29, 2012 (May 29, 2012)
10"Chapter 9: Jorge Luis Borges"Nick KrollJuly 24, 2012 (July 24, 2012)
11"Chapter 10: Arthur Conan Doyle"Chris TallmanOctober 12, 2012 (October 12, 2012)
12"Chapter 11: J.R.R. Tolkien"Matt WalshOctober 23, 2012 (October 23, 2012)
13"Chapter 12: Mary Shelley"Laraine NewmanOctober 31, 2012 (October 31, 2012)
14"Chapter 19: The Authors of the Gospels"Craig Cackowski / Mark Gagliardi
Hal Lublin / Matt Gourley
December 24, 2012 (December 24, 2012)
15"Chapter 13: The Brothers Grimm"Jeremy Carter / Matt GourleyDecember 31, 2012 (December 31, 2012)
16"Chapter 14: Abbie Hoffman"Jen KirkmanJanuary 22, 2013 (January 22, 2013)
17"Chapter 15: The Marquis de Sade"Andy DalyMarch 25, 2013 (March 25, 2013)
18"Chapter 16: Gore Vidal"Marc Evan JacksonApril 2, 2013 (April 2, 2013)
19"Chapter 17: Agatha Christie"Jessica ChaffinApril 16, 2013 (April 16, 2013)
20"Chapter 18: Brendan Behan"Brian StackMay 1, 2013 (May 1, 2013)
21"Chapter 2: Robert Louis Stevenson"Andy DalyMay 13, 2013 (May 13, 2013)
22"Chapter 20: Ayn Rand"John HodgmanJune 20, 2013 (June 20, 2013)
23"Chapter 21: Joseph Campbell"Jeremy CarterOctober 15, 2013 (October 15, 2013)
24"Chapter 22: Edgar Rice Burroughs"Chris TallmanOctober 22, 2013 (October 22, 2013)
25"Chapter 23: Charlotte Brontë"Jessica St. ClairOctober 29, 2013 (October 29, 2013)
26"Chapter 24: Plato"Jason MantzoukasNovember 5, 2013 (November 5, 2013)
27"Chapter 25: Shel Silverstein"Mark McConvilleNovember 12, 2013 (November 12, 2013)
28"Chapter 26: William S. Burroughs"Kurt BraunohlerNovember 19, 2013 (November 19, 2013)
29"Chapter 27: Tennessee Williams"Kristen SchaalNovember 26, 2013 (November 26, 2013)
30"Chapter 28: Walt Whitman"James AdomianDecember 3, 2013 (December 3, 2013)
31"Chapter 29: Clement Clarke Moore and Irving Berlin"Scott Aukerman / Neil CampbellDecember 17, 2013 (December 17, 2013)
32"Chapter 31: Anne Frank"Jamie DenboFebruary 18, 2014 (February 18, 2014)
33"Chapter 32: E. Gary Gygax"Chris TallmanMarch 19, 2014 (March 19, 2014)
34"Chapter 33: Rod Serling"John Ross BowieApril 15, 2014 (April 15, 2014)
35"Chapter 30: William Faulkner"Thomas LennonMay 13, 2014 (May 13, 2014)
36"Chapter 34: Roald Dahl"Ben SchwartzMay 29, 2014 (May 29, 2014)
37"Chapter 35: Oscar Wilde"Jon DalyJune 17, 2014 (June 17, 2014)
38"Chapter 36: Ralph Ellison"DeMorge BrownJuly 29, 2014 (July 29, 2014)
39"Appendix C: Edgar Allan Poe and J.D. Salinger"Craig Cackowski / Marc Evan JacksonAugust 5, 2014 (August 5, 2014)
40"Chapter 37: Truman Capote"Jessica ChaffinAugust 14, 2014 (August 14, 2014)
41"Appendix D: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Erma Bombeck"Seth Morris / Brian HuskeySeptember 25, 2014 (September 25, 2014)
42"Appendix E: Lord Byron and Norman Mailer"Dana Gould / Frank ConniffOctober 3, 2014 (October 3, 2014)
43"Chapter 38: Ian Fleming"Matt GourleyOctober 9, 2014 (October 9, 2014)
44"Chapter 39: Flannery O'Connor"Lennon ParhamOctober 21, 2014 (October 21, 2014)
45"Appendix F: Ernest Hemingway and Sun Tzu"Josh Fadem / Fred ArmisenNovember 7, 2014 (November 7, 2014)
46"Chapter 40: Virginia Woolf"Mary HollandNovember 20, 2014 (November 20, 2014)
47"Appendix G: F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce"Andy Daly, Sean ConroyDecember 5, 2014 (December 5, 2014)
48"Chapter 41: Dr. Seuss"Hal LublinDecember 24, 2014 (December 24, 2014)
49"Appendix H: Hunter S. Thompson and Philip K. Dick"James Adomian / Matt BesserJanuary 16, 2015 (January 16, 2015)
50"Chapter 42: Miguel de Cervantes"Horatio SanzJanuary 27, 2015 (January 27, 2015)
51"Chapter 43: Iceberg Slim"Ron FunchesFebruary 26, 2015 (February 26, 2015)
52"Chapter 44: Confucius"Eugene CorderoMarch 16, 2015 (March 16, 2015)
53"Chapter 45 [Part 1]: L. Ron Hubbard"Andy DalyApril 14, 2015 (April 14, 2015)
54"Chapter 46: Hans Christian Andersen"Joe WengertMay 19, 2015 (May 19, 2015)
55"Chapter 47: Mark Twain*"Matt GourleyJune 23, 2015 (June 23, 2015)
56"Chapter 45 [Part 2]: L. Ron Hubbard"Andy DalyJune 30, 2015 (June 30, 2015)
57"Addendum i: Lewis Carroll"Rory ScovelJuly 10, 2015 (July 10, 2015)
58"Chapter 48: Maya Angelou"Tymberlee HillJuly 14, 2015 (July 14, 2015)
59"Addendum ii: Christopher Marlowe"Matt GourleyJuly 17, 2015 (July 17, 2015)
60"Addendum iii: Aleister Crowley"Matt GourleyJuly 24, 2015 (July 24, 2015)
61"Addendum iv: Lucy Maud Montgomery"Ryan BeilJuly 31, 2015 (July 31, 2015)
62"Addendum v: William Butler Yeats"David ReesAugust 7, 2015 (August 7, 2015)
63"Addendum vi: Beatrix Potter"Lauren LapkusAugust 14, 2015 (August 14, 2015)
64"Chapter 49: Albert Camus"Steve AgeeAugust 18, 2015 (August 18, 2015)
65"Preface: Henry Miller and Sylvia Plath"Eddie Pepitone / Jen KirkmanDecember 28, 2015 (December 28, 2015)
66"Chapter 50: L. Frank Baum"Chris TallmanDecember 31, 2015 (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

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Several comedians made numerous appearances on the podcast, playing multiple characters.

References

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  1. ^ Hardwick, Robin (April 21, 2015). "Best Podcasts of the Week". Entertainment Weekly.
  2. ^ McWeeny, Drew (July 19, 2015). "'Battlefield Earth' is no longer the funniest thing to result from Scientology". Hitfix.
  3. ^ "UCB Theater - Dead Authors".
  4. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (July 13, 2015). "How Andy Daly's L. Ron Hubbard Raised the Ridiculousness of Scientology to Hilarious New Heights". Splitsider.
  5. ^ "Bringing 'Dead Authors' To Life For Book-Smart Comedy". NPR. January 11, 2014.
  6. ^ 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.