The Dead Authors Podcast
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''The Dead Authors Podcast'' is an improvised comedy and faux-historical
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
hosted by Paul F. Tompkins in character as H.G. Wells, with special written material provided by Ben Zelevansky. The show ran from 2011 until 2015. In each episode, Wells collects a deceased author via his "
time machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
" to discuss his or her life and work. The podcast was created in support of
826LA 826LA is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6–18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Programs are structured around the beliefs th ...
, and all proceeds from the show are donated to the organization.


History

The podcast was recorded live on a monthly basis at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles. When Chapter 39 was released in 2014, Tompkins announced that the podcast would be ending with Chapter 50 the following year. 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.


Episode list

''*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 (comedian), 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Authors Podcast Audio podcasts Comedy and humor podcasts 2011 podcast debuts Cultural depictions of H. G. Wells 2015 podcast endings Improvisational podcasts American podcasts