''The Dead Authors Podcast'' is an improvised comedy and faux-historical

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

hosted by Paul F. Tompkins in character as

H.G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, 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" 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.

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 Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...

.''

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 Marc Evan Jackson (born August 21, 1970) is an American comedian and actor. Some of his roles include Sparks Nevada in the '' Thrilling Adventure Hour'', Kevin Cozner in ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (he also hosts a podcast based on the sitcom, titled ...

(3 episodes) * Brian Stack (2 episodes) * Craig Cackowski (2 episodes) *

James Adomian James Adomian is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'', ''Chapo Trap House'', ''Last Comic Standing'', ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' where he Impressionist ...

(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 podcasts 2011 podcast debuts Cultural depictions of H. G. Wells 2015 podcast endings Improvisational podcasts American podcasts