Wednesday, 19 December 2018

The Dollop – 12 Days of Podmas



Originally published on Set The Tape

Podcasts’ can be fun, and they can tackle important issues and be education, but podcasts’ are at their best when they combine the two, and The Dollop is one of the best that does this.

Hosted by American writer and comedian Dave Anthony and his friend, stand up comic Garteh Reynolds, The Dollop takes listeners through the bizarre world of American history.

Whilst this may not immediately sound like an area that lends itself well to being entertaining, with history often making people think of stuff academics and remembering lists of dates, The Dollop brings to light events that you’ve not only never heard of, but you’ll be hard pressed to believe actually happened.

Whether it’s the disaster that was Balloonfest, Tong Wars on American soil, the Hippo Bill that tried to introduce hippos to the US, or the unbelievable life of Donald Trump, this show has a little of everything. It trawls through the forgotten parts of America’s past to bring you the unbelievable.

What makes The Dollop stand out, however, is that whilst Dave has gone and researched these topics Gareth has no idea what it’s going to be each week. He goes in as blind as the audience, with hilarious results. He reacts the way we do, calling out the unbelievable, condemning the awful, and breaking down laughing at the ridiculous. Combined with some great comic timing and improv that sometimes goes to crazy places the show never has a dull moment as the two hosts clearly have a lot of fun with each topic.

With over 5 million downloads a week the show has attracted a huge audience, and as such has a number of live shows mixed into their feed, including trips to Australia, where they will go through some crazy Australian history too.

It might be it’s two comedian hosts, it might be that because America is such a young country it’s really trying hard to make up for a lack of history, but every single episode is a laugh out loud tour through the past. If you love history then the show is ideal for you, and if you don’t you should still give it a go because it will blow your mind and show you that there’s more to learning about history than what you were taught in school.

A warning, however, it might not be the best show to listen to whilst driving, as I once almost had an accident from laughing too hard when The Dollop taught me that Tommy Cooper once almost decapitated Michael Parkinson live on television; so always listen to The Dollop responsibly.


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