Citation Needed is a comedy podcast for lovers of useless trivia. The podcast has several cohosts. First is Noah Lugeons, a self-described "scathing atheist." Then there is Eli Bosnick, a New Jersey-based comedian and podcaster. Cecil is an additional host who has two loves-baking and philosophy, sometimes at the same time. Another host is Tom, who is a poetry and pizza enthusiast. Finally, there's Heath Enwright. The others keep him around because of his squeaky laugh.
Every week, one of the podcast cohosts picks a topic. He looks up the Wikipedia entry for that topic and shares it with the others. As they discover more facts, the conversation devolves, and hilarity ensues. The Citation Needed title comes from an expression on Wikipedia where the source is not included.
There is no logic to what Wikipedia entry gets selected here. So listeners are sure to learn something new about any given topic. They discover that Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle holds a mass grave. Inside it are the remains of people who drowned when the USS Valencia sank.
Listeners hear about some of the most expensive foods in the world. They include Beluga caviar and potatoes that only grow on the French island of Noirmoutier. Along the way, they discover the existence of the website potatoreview.com.
In the episode "Bill Belichick and the Art of The Loophole," the cohosts question his legacy. Is he the greatest football coach of all time, or a dirty rotten cheater? In one of the more gruesome episodes of the podcast, the featured entry is about unusual deaths. There is plenty for the hosts to talk about there. A man died by accidentally ingesting molten lead. In Boston, a giant vat of beer flooded a neighborhood, drowning several people.
Other topics include Christian video games, British playwright Ben Jonson, and mass hysteria. Additional discussions include weird cars, controversial modern art, and millionaire Charles Bedaux.
Citation Needed might appeal to the brainier comedy podcast lovers. It's a lighthearted and entertaining listen.
Episodes