The 10 Best Dollop Episodes
The Dollop podcast is a delightful blend of comedy and American history, covering everything from eccentric baseball player The Rube to the deadly story of Action Park. In each episode, comedian and history buff Dave Anthony tells his co-host Gareth Reynolds a different tale from history, but there’s a catch: Gareth has no idea what the episode is about. Hilarity ensues as Dave starts the story and listeners wait for Gareth to finally understand what the episode topic is. What makes this one of the best history podcasts out there is the impressive amount of research Dave puts into each episode, as well as the great chemistry Dave and Gareth have together (along with the comedian guests they sometimes have on, including the hilarious Patton Oswald). With help from Podyssey’s Dollop fans, we’ve compiled some of the best Dollop episodes of all time while highlighting some of the funniest and most ridiculous parts of each.
Last Updated: Mar 18th, 2022
1) 271 - Uber
Whether you love or hate Uber, this is a must-listen Dollop episode about the ubiquitous app that’s changed how we travel. Go on a wild ride with Dave and Gareth as they navigate through the history of this now multi-billion dollar ride-hailing company. From its man cave origins as a black car service to the development of its creepy tracking software and the eventual ouster of its infamous founder, your jaw is guaranteed to drop a few times by the end of this episode from utter shock and laughter.
2) 12 - The Rube
Described by fans as The Dollop “at their very best”, this top episode about the Major League Baseball star, Rube Waddell, will have you rolling on the floor laughing. Learn about Rube’s odd childhood, a bizarre and distracting fascination with fire trucks, and the countless number of women he married but somehow lost count of. Baseball fan or not, Rube is definitely a character to know in sports history!
3) 46 - The Cereal Men - Live w/ Patton Oswalt
You probably don’t often wonder about the origins of cereal, but if you knew it had something to do with masturbation and theological cults, you might do a double take. In this live episode of The Dollop, Dave and Gareth will give you the dibs on how the American diet has changed from too much pork to the grainy breakfast foods we love today. Comedian Patton Oswalt is the special guest on this episode who will add some extra hilarity to one of the funniest Dollop episodes of all time.
4) 418 - Doug Evans and Juicero (live)
Entrepreneur Doug Evans invented a machine that will change the world — the Juicero — a wifi-connected juice presser that had the minimal aesthetics of an iPhone. With investment from Google’s venture capital arm and a snazzy commercial to pair, Juicero was destined to become a billion dollar unicorn until it wasn’t. Dave and Gareth poke fun at this overhyped startup and its equally eccentric founder that became the mockery of Silicon Valley.
5) 68 - Centralia, Pennsylvania
This seemingly innocuous Dollop episode will light up your mind and a fire in your anger...literally. Centralia, a quaint little town in Pennsylvania is the site of the longest burning underground fire that has been burning for — wait for it — forty years! From hellish sinkholes to carbon monoxide poisonings, this unbelievable episode will have you shaking your head on everything that’s wrong with bureaucracy. Keep with this episode as Dave and Gareth set up the scene for Centralia at the episode, because you’ll be rewarded with one of The Dollop’s best episodes of all time.
6) 231 - The Siamese Twins - Chang and Eng
Meet the Siamese twins Chang and Eng, or rather — Left and Right. These Chinese twins born in Siam (modern day Thailand) were the world’s first famous conjoined twins. In the 19th century, they were a curiosity that were shown-off by Siam royalty then brought to the US to a touring “freak show” exhibition that made them incredibly wealthy. But, their story doesn’t end at the circus. In this best Dollop episode, hear Dave and Gareth describe the wild lives of the conjoined twins who gave rise to the synonymous term “Siamese twins.”
7) 400 - Ronald Reagan w/ guest Patton Oswalt (Part 1)
How much do you know about Ronald Reagan before he was president? In this two-part series, Dave and Gareth are joined by legendary comedian Patten Oswalt to talk about how Reagan got his start as a sportscaster and broke into the Hollywood B-movie scene. As an actor, Reagan apparently loved to talk about politics, to the annoyance of everyone around him. Other topics the guys talk about include: Reagan’s first marriage to Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman and what he was doing during the war (hint: he never left the US). The guys’ chemistry with Patten is always epic, and there’s a reason fans love hearing him join The Dollop for some of the funniest episodes, including this one!
8) 396 - the Donner Party
This hilarious and educational live episode in Sacremento starts with a family in Prussia in the 1840s who decided to emigrate to the US. Dave recounts their journey across America on the Oregon Trail, joined by many others including the Donner family. This ragtag group of over 70 people soon became the infamous Donner Party, known for getting stuck in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter and resorting to cannibalism to survive. This is a wild, eventful journey full of strange characters and inter-family tensions that Dave and Gareth have a lot of fun recounting.
9) 2 - Purity Balls
Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine purity balls.Tour DatesSources Dollop MerchPatreon
10) 160 - Fed Ex Fight 705
Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine Fed Ex Flight 705. SOURCESTOUR DATES REDBUBBLE MERCH