The Dead Authors Podcast

Last updated
The Dead Authors Podcast
Dead Authors Podcast.jpeg
Presentation
Hosted by Paul F. Tompkins
(as H.G. Wells)
GenreComedy
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesMonthly
Length60 minutes
Production
Production Paul F. Tompkins & Ben Zelevansky
Theme music composed byEban Schletter
Audio format MP3
No. of episodes66
Publication
Original releaseSeptember 20, 2011 
December 31, 2015
Related
Website thedeadauthorspodcast.libsyn.com

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]

Contents

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.TitleSpecial guestOriginal air date
1"Chapter 1: Emily Dickinson" Andy Richter September 20, 2011 (September 20, 2011)
2"Chapter 3: Dorothy Parker" Jen Kirkman November 8, 2011 (November 8, 2011)
3"Chapter 4: Benjamin Franklin" Scott Aukerman December 6, 2011 (December 6, 2011)
4"Appendix A: Charles Dickens and O.Henry" Hal Lublin / Marc Evan Jackson December 20, 2011 (December 20, 2011)
5"Chapter 5: Carl Sagan" Matt Gourley January 17, 2012 (January 17, 2012)
6"Chapter 6: Gertrude Stein" John Ross Bowie February 14, 2012 (February 14, 2012)
7"Chapter 7: P.G. Wodehouse" Brian Stack March 20, 2012 (March 20, 2012)
8"Appendix B: Friederich Nietzsche and H.P. Lovecraft" James Adomian / Paul Scheer May 1, 2012 (May 1, 2012)
9"Chapter 8: Aesop" Mark McConville May 29, 2012 (May 29, 2012)
10"Chapter 9: Jorge Luis Borges" Nick Kroll July 24, 2012 (July 24, 2012)
11"Chapter 10: Arthur Conan Doyle" Chris Tallman October 12, 2012 (October 12, 2012)
12"Chapter 11: J.R.R. Tolkien" Matt Walsh October 23, 2012 (October 23, 2012)
13"Chapter 12: Mary Shelley" Laraine Newman October 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 Gourley December 31, 2012 (December 31, 2012)
16"Chapter 14: Abbie Hoffman" Jen Kirkman January 22, 2013 (January 22, 2013)
17"Chapter 15: The Marquis de Sade" Andy Daly March 25, 2013 (March 25, 2013)
18"Chapter 16: Gore Vidal" Marc Evan Jackson April 2, 2013 (April 2, 2013)
19"Chapter 17: Agatha Christie" Jessica Chaffin April 16, 2013 (April 16, 2013)
20"Chapter 18: Brendan Behan" Brian Stack May 1, 2013 (May 1, 2013)
21"Chapter 2: Robert Louis Stevenson" Andy Daly May 13, 2013 (May 13, 2013)
22"Chapter 20: Ayn Rand" John Hodgman June 20, 2013 (June 20, 2013)
23"Chapter 21: Joseph Campbell"Jeremy CarterOctober 15, 2013 (October 15, 2013)
24"Chapter 22: Edgar Rice Burroughs" Chris Tallman October 22, 2013 (October 22, 2013)
25"Chapter 23: Charlotte Brontë" Jessica St. Clair October 29, 2013 (October 29, 2013)
26"Chapter 24: Plato" Jason Mantzoukas November 5, 2013 (November 5, 2013)
27"Chapter 25: Shel Silverstein" Mark McConville November 12, 2013 (November 12, 2013)
28"Chapter 26: William S. Burroughs" Kurt Braunohler November 19, 2013 (November 19, 2013)
29"Chapter 27: Tennessee Williams" Kristen Schaal November 26, 2013 (November 26, 2013)
30"Chapter 28: Walt Whitman" James Adomian December 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 Denbo February 18, 2014 (February 18, 2014)
33"Chapter 32: E. Gary Gygax" Chris Tallman March 19, 2014 (March 19, 2014)
34"Chapter 33: Rod Serling" John Ross Bowie April 15, 2014 (April 15, 2014)
35"Chapter 30: William Faulkner" Thomas Lennon May 13, 2014 (May 13, 2014)
36"Chapter 34: Roald Dahl" Ben Schwartz May 29, 2014 (May 29, 2014)
37"Chapter 35: Oscar Wilde" Jon Daly June 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 Jackson August 5, 2014 (August 5, 2014)
40"Chapter 37: Truman Capote" Jessica Chaffin August 14, 2014 (August 14, 2014)
41"Appendix D: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Erma Bombeck" Seth Morris / Brian Huskey September 25, 2014 (September 25, 2014)
42"Appendix E: Lord Byron and Norman Mailer" Dana Gould / Frank Conniff October 3, 2014 (October 3, 2014)
43"Chapter 38: Ian Fleming" Matt Gourley October 9, 2014 (October 9, 2014)
44"Chapter 39: Flannery O'Connor" Lennon Parham October 21, 2014 (October 21, 2014)
45"Appendix F: Ernest Hemingway and Sun Tzu"Josh Fadem / Fred Armisen November 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 Lublin December 24, 2014 (December 24, 2014)
49"Appendix H: Hunter S. Thompson and Philip K. Dick" James Adomian / Matt Besser January 16, 2015 (January 16, 2015)
50"Chapter 42: Miguel de Cervantes" Horatio Sanz January 27, 2015 (January 27, 2015)
51"Chapter 43: Iceberg Slim" Ron Funches February 26, 2015 (February 26, 2015)
52"Chapter 44: Confucius" Eugene Cordero March 16, 2015 (March 16, 2015)
53"Chapter 45 [Part 1]: L. Ron Hubbard" Andy Daly April 14, 2015 (April 14, 2015)
54"Chapter 46: Hans Christian Andersen"Joe WengertMay 19, 2015 (May 19, 2015)
55"Chapter 47: Mark Twain*" Matt Gourley June 23, 2015 (June 23, 2015)
56"Chapter 45 [Part 2]: L. Ron Hubbard" Andy Daly June 30, 2015 (June 30, 2015)
57"Addendum i: Lewis Carroll" Rory Scovel July 10, 2015 (July 10, 2015)
58"Chapter 48: Maya Angelou" Tymberlee Hill July 14, 2015 (July 14, 2015)
59"Addendum ii: Christopher Marlowe" Matt Gourley July 17, 2015 (July 17, 2015)
60"Addendum iii: Aleister Crowley" Matt Gourley July 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 Rees August 7, 2015 (August 7, 2015)
63"Addendum vi: Beatrix Potter" Lauren Lapkus August 14, 2015 (August 14, 2015)
64"Chapter 49: Albert Camus" Steve Agee August 18, 2015 (August 18, 2015)
65"Preface: Henry Miller and Sylvia Plath" Eddie Pepitone / Jen Kirkman December 28, 2015 (December 28, 2015)
66"Chapter 50: L. Frank Baum" Chris Tallman December 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

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

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