The self described “bi-weekly American History podcast, once a week,” is bloody brilliant – if that’s your brand of humour.

If you’re not a podcast buff, don’t worry – I couldn’t see the appeal either, until a family member strongly encouraged (bullied) me into giving it a crack.

I was not disappointed. 

Hosts Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds are by turns funny, informative and highly distractable – picture American Hamish and Andy giving a history lesson.

Some episodes are about obscure people and moments, others are in-depth explorations of famous individuals and events, interspersed with brief sojourns into the histories of other nations.

If you like collecting odd facts (did you know that the word ‘cajun’ comes from ‘Acadian’ – French colonisers who intermarried with local Indian tribes, and attempted, unsuccessfully, to resist British occupation), a good yarn, and a sprinkling of schoolyard humour, you’ll love The Dollop.

If you have delicate ears, or are in any way easily offended, you probably won’t.

After all, history can be raw – as the show’s hosts point out, if an episode is set earlier than the 1900s, it’s unlikely the protagonists siblings (or parents) will survive long.

And people, in all places and times, can be just a tad odd – raucous lesbians rioting in Tasmania’s Cascades Female Factory, covered in one episode, come irresistibly to mind.

For those with serious historic sensibilities, each episode is fully referenced online, providing a treasure-trove of documents to dive into. It’s also helpful for determining which comments are tongue-in-cheek comedic breaks, and which are legitimate episodes in history. It can be difficult to tell – mostly because so many real events and conversations are completely preposterous.

For example, (did you know) Danish adventurer Jorgen Jorgenson founded Hobart, declared himself king of Iceland, was recruited into the intelligence service, all while remaining very committed to his favourite pastimes of drinking and gambling. 

Download or stream episodes from iTunes, Spotify or SoundCloud.