Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you find your favorite podcasts!

Game Changer with Kyle Olson

This week on Make Me a Nerd, Mandy Kaplan welcomes back certified nerd-whisperer Kyle Olson—creator of The Swashbuckling Ladies Debate Society and co-host of Craft and Chaos—to induct her into the gloriously absurd and deeply inventive world of Game Changer on Dropout TV. And if you’ve never heard of Game Changer, think of it as Whose Line Is It Anyway? if it were run by a slightly deranged Willy Wonka with a subscription model and a vendetta against YouTube algorithms. And also: there’s a lot of butthole jokes.

Kyle walks Mandy through the origin story of Dropout—the phoenix that rose from the ashes of CollegeHumor—and how Sam Reich, comedy’s least threatening puppet master, created a game show format where the rules change every single episode.¹ We start with Sam Says, where Mandy finds herself increasingly charmed by the players, increasingly unnerved by the absence of a studio audience, and deeply offended by a COVID gag that hits a little too close to home. But then we get to Original Cast Recording, where Mandy goes full musical nerd as Zach and Jess (of Off Book fame) improvise an entire musical that’s so good you’ll want to buy the cast recording and name your next child Mountport. And finally: we Beat the Buzzer in a full-blown improv escape room where contestants sprint through studios, flirt with witches, and try not to break into someone’s bedroom to slam a buzzer.

Along the way, we talk about pandemic-era creativity, low-budget brilliance, the science of contagious yawns, the economics of performer equity, and how Kyle’s daughter Zoe is singlehandedly enriching the family’s streaming diet. Kyle also reveals which Game Changer episode was his gateway drug (thanks, Zoe!), which one he’d totally fail at (spoiler: Sam Says), and which cast members he’d happily run from studio to sidewalk for. And Mandy? She makes a strong case for climbing into bed with two strangers in the name of game show victory. Naturally.

Whether you’re already deep in the Dropout fandom or just learning what a “game samer” is, this episode will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe—just maybe—subscribe. No cap. Low key. We have the riz.

Links & Notes

Make Me a Nerd

¹ Yes, Sam Reich is the son of economist and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich. So while his father spent a career fighting corporate greed and income inequality, Sam opted to fight butthole jokes and buzzer-based chaos. Honestly? Same energy.

Ask Your Questions!
Make Me a Nerd is a podcast for full-blown nerds and those who are nerd-curious. Its host, Mandy Kaplan, is a mainstream middle-aged mom who loves all things Football, Taylor Swift, and Housewives. Each week, she will be introduced to some form of nerdery way outside her comfort zone. By who, you ask? (we know it’s whom, that was a “nerd test,” and you passed it) A full-blown sci-fi/D&D/Ren Fair-loving geek guest determined to expand her horizons and recruit her to nerd-dom. You know what they say: “May the forest be with you”!