Investigate the History
a Patreon-exclusive deep dive into lore
Carolyn, Rev, and Ruth delve into each of the major adventures of The Other Side of the Coin and explore all the monsters, magic, and mythology featured in the stories, from ancient texts to popular culture. Rev gives insight into how the games, stories, and characters are uniquely constructed for the Critshow, Carolyn makes multiple failed attempts to get Rev to give up spoilers, and Ruth is thrilled that she now has an excuse to listen to the Critshow like it’s her job… because it is!
Rev and Carolyn have a friendship that goes back to 1999, when they met in a college theatre class. Much of the professional theatre work Carolyn has done since has been as a dramaturg (she emphatically clarifies that it is not dramaturd), a researcher typically employed by theatre companies.
Dramaturgs dive deep into everything about a play: historical context, playwright, production history, and so forth. The dramaturg serves as an advocate for the audience, to provide them context and connections and help them understand where the play fits in the world.
Carolyn approaches Investigate the History with the same type of research and the same desire for audience accessibility she employs in her theatre work. Through seasons 1-3, her engaging monthly conversations with Rev provide a different layer of context for listeners who like to nerd out on multiple levels – not just the game play, but also the mythology and fantasy and history.
And their easy, longtime friendship is as engaging as the stories they tell. Even if Rev does leave in more bloopers than Carolyn would like.
Beginning with season 4, Ruth takes the reins from Carolyn and slides up to the mic to continue the deep dives. Another college classmate of Rev’s – this time from a graduate acting program – Ruth began listening to the show a year or so in and, as she tells it, “I quickly became… I believe the word my husband would use is ‘obsessed’.”
Ruth found solace in binging the show through a particularly challenging medical episode, and considered that immersion in laughter and story to be such a blessing at the time that she longed for a way to give back. When she learned that a new host for ItH was being sought, she couldn’t believe an opportunity had come along so perfectly suited to her skills. A dramaturg, research nerd, and author herself, she sent in her audition video and the rest is… well, you know.
Listen to the first episode of Investigate the History for free below – and for more deep dive goodness, join us on Patreon at the $5 level or above!