The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds

Episode 140: The Past Times with Corey Ryan Forrester

Date: August 29, 2025
Guest: Corey Ryan Forrester

Episode Overview

In this "Past Times" installment, comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds are joined by returning guest Corey Ryan Forrester—a self-dubbed "Tom Hanks of the show"—to riff through an 1892 issue of The Philadelphia Times. True to The Dollop's signature style, the episode blends historical headlines with unfiltered humor, frequent tangents, and a healthy disrespect for both the past and present. Expect recurring jabs at Philadelphia, irreverent discussions about bodily functions, Southern stereotypes, and playful but pointed commentary on everything from sobriety to American education.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Guest Introduction and Banter

• Corey Ryan Forrester is introduced with jokes about his many appearances, a missing "fart files" saga, and his status as a prolific podcaster (Public Domain Sleepy Time Theater, WellRED Podcast, Putting On Airs, etc.).
• Opening exchange sets the tone: a rapid-fire, confessional, and often self-deprecating style.

  "I'm in the only career path that accepts a person's brain to be broken like mine."
  — Corey (04:31)

Timestamps: 02:33–06:43

2. Sobriety, Therapy, and Life Changes

• Corey shares he’s six weeks sober and gives a bleak-funny take on not feeling any better ("I hate being so aware of everything all the time." – 07:07).
• Jokes and asides poke fun at therapeutic advice and the lack of immediate life improvements post-sobriety.

  "I was inarguably more fun of a piece of sh*t when I was drunk.”
  — Corey (07:35)

Timestamps: 06:43–08:54

3. Podcast Plugs & Running Gags

• Corey promotes his new podcast Public Domain Sleepy Time Theater (reading bedtime stories, with irreverent comments about avoiding racist terms in Tom Sawyer), and jokes about inventing podcasts as a cover for escaping the family to drink in the attic.
• Banter about frequency of podcasts becomes meta-commentary on the proliferation of comedy pods.

  "You are the buckshot of broadcasting. You’re like Dick Cheney hunting with podcasts."
  — Gareth (08:56)

Timestamps: 08:54–09:17

4. Fecal Transplants, Cows, and British Violence

• The trio riff on the concept of fecal transplants—a real procedure, but also fodder for a series of increasingly wild jokes about doctors, therapy, and Britishness.
• The first newspaper story: A cow in London attacks a man, its hide and head fetching high market prices due to its infamous behavior.

  “Violence against the English is always funnier, especially in this time—just monocles and caps dropping out of them.”
  — Gareth (17:56)

Timestamps: 09:17–21:26

5. Human-Animal Interactions

• Discussion of animal-on-human attacks as a nostalgic, restorative balance to human harm of nature ("I pine for a time when animal on human murders happen this frequently." – Gareth, 46:50).
• Corey details inappropriately graphic animal husbandry practices for comic effect, leading to exclaimed exoduses of various audience groups.

Timestamps: 21:26–22:37 / 46:30–47:12

6. Historical Grifts and Magistrate Embarrassment

• Story about a swindler forging letters to extract cash, successfully duping the local magistrate.
• The team envisions the embarrassment and ineptitude of 1890s officials, lampooning both scammer and scammed.

  "I'd be so embarrassed to be that magistrate that I would not have brought that up. I'd have just let that one go."
  — Corey (36:13)

Timestamps: 22:37–37:15

7. Political Detour: Lizzie Borden & Listener Critiques

• Coverage of Lizzie Borden’s jail status and the infamous rhyme. Dave reiterates he’s no Biden supporter, parrying accusations of past political bias.
• Corey: "I've never met a person who hates Joe Biden, even on the Republican side, more than probably Dave." (38:56)

Timestamps: 37:15–40:16

8. Colorful News Items and Local Philly Digs

• Fishbone incident: Three-year-old John Calvin admits to hospital with a fishbone; speculation on 19th-century childrearing.
• Cholera scare debunked: A Russian immigrant is thought to have cholera, but was just overfed after starvation.
• Unrestrained horses cause death: The dangers of not tying up your horses and resulting tragicomic rationalizations.
• Baseball pitcher riot: Mark Baldwin, a pitcher, is arrested for alleged rioting and providing arms to strikers, bailed out, and immediately re-signed with the Pittsburgh club.

Timestamps: 40:16–54:06

9. Gender Takes in Literature

• They lampoon a sexist article positing women write better female characters because of their attention to dresses.
• Mock rewrites of female character descriptions and James Bond’s hypothetical costume changes.

Timestamps: 54:47–58:03

10. Philly at the 1893 World’s Fair

• A Philadelphia home is being built at the Chicago Exposition, prompting ridicule at the city's attempt to stand out for having "lots of houses."
• Repeated running joke: the city’s (alleged) illiteracy, poor hygiene, and general inferiority compared to other American cities.

Timestamps: 58:44–61:17

11. Tarantula in the Grocery Store

• A giant tarantula is discovered among bananas, leading to more slapstick imagining ("Your tarantulaship" – 67:58).
• 19th-century pest control techniques discussed (needle on a broom handle).

Timestamps: 63:37–69:14

12. Listener Q&A and Plugs

• Corey shares his website (coreyryanforrester.com) and plugs his op-ed writing, bonus content, and contact info for anyone with "the fart files."
• Tongue-in-cheek suggestion for a "Dave Watches Corey Talk" podcast.

Timestamps: 70:22–72:26

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On taking compliments poorly:
  "My therapist actually did tell me that I don't take compliments well. And I think when you were like, 'this guy's like the Tom Hanks of the show,' I'm like, burn it down. Alienate everyone." — Corey (05:10)

• On 19th-century crime:
  "Set me down in front of the TV for some magistrate swindling." — Corey (22:46)

• On Philly’s historic homes:
  "This is the worst exhibit I've seen. So it's a house?" — Gareth (61:27)

• On animal mishaps:
  "I pine for a time when animal on human murders happen this frequently." — Gareth (46:50)

• On gender and writing:
  "There's always like, 'her breasts were breasting breastily beneath her neck, which was only there to accentuate the space between her face and her breast.'" — Corey (56:19)

• On burying tarantulas:
  "The ashes were given to its tarantula wife, and she will spread it where she must." — Gareth (69:43)

Memorable Bits

• “Your tarantulaship”: Running joke once a tarantula is discovered at a grocery, culminating in ridiculous mock formality and a faux funeral (67:58–69:51).
• Philly Illiteracy: Corey’s ongoing roast of Philadelphia’s intelligence and hygiene (13:29, throughout).
• Podcast proliferation: Corey’s endless podcasts as a cover for “drinking in the attic” (06:43–08:54).

Structure of Core Segments

• 00:00–02:33: Ad reads (skipped)
• 02:33–06:43: Introductions, lost fart files, podcast plugs
• 06:43–09:17: Personal updates, sobriety, more podcast gags
• 09:17–21:26: Fecal transplants, cows, first newspaper story
• 21:26–54:06: Reading and riffing on historic headlines (cows, swindlers, baseball riots, Philly digs)
• 54:06–61:17: Gendered writing, Philly World’s Fair
• 61:17–70:19: More Philly jokes, tarantula story
• 70:19–72:59: Outro, guest plugs, wrap-up

Conclusion

This episode delivers on The Dollop’s promise: oddball American history filtered through the irreverent wit of its hosts and guest. Listeners get a unique window into 1892’s weirdness, relentless Philly slander, and the comedic alchemy that comes from never letting facts—or decorum—get in the way of a good bit.

For more from Corey Ryan Forrester:
coreyryanforrester.com
Contact: buttercreamcor@gmail.com
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