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OUR LITTLE PODCAST was conceived in much the same way as an illegitimate child; someone scribbled something to someone on a cocktail napkin and a few months later a baby was born. It was late 2005 and we named it Superego, and though it’s a little odd and walks with a shimmy, we love it very much. More than just a fledgling show, Superego became a chance for Jeremy and Matt to work together again after their Channel 101 collaboration, Ultraforce. It was a return to form in the sense that, growing up, none of us ever had any fancy video cameras or home studios and could only record our ramblings on a cheap tape deck. The limitations of audio recording can be a tremendous asset; It allows one to create ridiculous characters and multiple locations while the listener’s own brain provides the blockbuster production values.
The making of episode 1 of Superego in 2006 wasn’t too far off from our younger days. It was recorded and edited on a Roland 8 track and uploaded in full analog glory. After we settled on the name Superego and the format of psychological case studies, we began pressing the little red button and improvising stupid characters. With the exception of some of the music segments, all of the Superego sessions are improvised and edited down to a tidy 3-5 minutes.
When Mark McConville coincidentally wound up on the first few episodes, we made it a rule to include him on every show. Since then, he hasn’t missed an episode and joined us as a permanent member of the group for season 2. In 2008, we also started dabbling in video ‘Supershorts.’ Jeff Crocker came on board as our video genius.
Season 3 was an outright audio adventure, allowing us to work with way too many guests that we admire. It also saw the introduction of some of our most popular case studies, such as The Family Feud, H.R. Giger, Brown X-Wing Squadron, M, Buffum’s Fragrance Counter, God’s Crazy Monsters, and more. Toward the end of Season 3, Jeff Crocker took his leave of Superego but we still see him all the time.
Season 4 was short but sporadic. Still, though, wasn’t it sexy? Paul F. Tompkins joined us as a regular doctor of The Superego Clinic and we couldn’t be happier. Neko Case accompanied Shunt for some sing-alongs and then we took a long winter’s break.
Since Superego Season 5 and 6, we’ve been featured multiple times on the iTunes main podcast page, performed at numerous festivals across the country, partnered with AdultSwim.com, Nerdist.com, Earwolf and Stitcher and garnered over five million downloads.
Superego boasts an impressive roster of guest specialists, including Patton Oswalt, Neko Case, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Daly, Kumail Nanjiani, Kristen Schaal, Tawny Newsom, Rob Delaney, Dan Harmon, Thomas Lennon, and John Hodgman. Since 2006, The Superego Clinic For Analytical Pscience™ has been helping scores of unfortunate case studies get the exploitation they desperately deserve.
Ever Yours,
Drs. Gourley, Carter, McConville, and Tompkins
Meet The Doctors
DR. MATT GOURLEY, PyT does some podcasts. For starters, he's the creator of the I Was There Too podcast and the co-creator of the Superego, James Bonding, and Pistol Shrimps Radio podcasts as well as sidekick to Andy Daly on The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project and producer and co-host of the Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast. He’s also been seen or heard on Community, Adventure Time, Kidding, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Blindspot, Another Period, and has been featured on Comedy Central’s Drunk History, slurring his way through thoughtful retellings of Watergate, the Alamo, and the life of Wernher von Braun. In his down time though, Matt plays music with his band Townland and works on design and renovation projects at home, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and plus-sized model cat.
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DR. PAUL F. TOMPKINS, PhD is a comedian, improvisor and actor. He hosts the stage variety show Varietopia and co-hosts the Threedom podcast with Scott Aukerman and Lauren Lapkus and the Stay F. Homekins podcast with his wife, Janie Haddad Tompkins. For a full list of Mr. Tompkins’ stage, television and film credits, hold a seashell to your ear.
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