International Waters (podcast)

International Waters was a comedy podcast hosted by Dave Holmes since renamed as Troubled Waters and distributed by the Maximum Fun network. The show pits teams of comedians from the United States and the United Kingdom against each other in a panel game format.

This article is about the comedy podcast. For the waters outside national jurisdictions, see International waters.
International Waters
International Waters logo
Presentation
Hosted byDave Holmes
GenreComedy, Panel game.
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesBimonthly
LengthAbout an hour
Production
ProductionJennifer Marmor, Laura Swisher, Christian Duenas
No. of episodes95 as of April 6, 2017
Publication
Original releaseMarch 18, 2012 – present
ProviderMaximum Fun
Websitemaximumfun.org/shows/international-waters

History
International Waters host Dave Holmes (photo by Caryn Leigh Posnansky)

The first episode of International Waters was released on March 18, 2012.[1] The show was hosted by public radio producer and Maximum Fun founder Jesse Thorn until September 2013, with guest hosts Jordan Morris and Dave Holmes occasionally filling in. After a break in the show in late 2013, Holmes took over as full-time host on January 15, 2014, with episode 18.[2] In February 2019, the show underwent a format and title change, and became "Troubled Waters," in which two teams, each taking one side of a common disagreement, compete in a trivia contest over "the right to be right."

Format

The podcast features two competing teams of comedians who must answer questions about pop culture to earn points. One team consists of two comedians from the USA, and the other team consists of two comedians from the UK (with Canada occasionally used as an alternative competing nation).[3] The opening round consists of questions based on current affairs, followed by a second round in which the American contestants answer questions about a topic from British pop-culture, and vice versa. The host awards points for correct answers and for answers that are "wrong, but funny."[4] The final round, usually worth a game-winning '1 million points',[4] typically asks contestants to construct an argument about or pitch an idea for a chosen topic, with Holmes adjudicating on the funniest or most creative answer.

The show is written by Riley Silverman and John-Luke Roberts and is produced by Jennifer Marmor, Laura Swisher and Christian Duenas.[5]

Guests

International Waters has featured several notable guests, including Fergus Craig, Starlee Kine, Josie Long, Susan Orlean, Paul F. Tompkins, and Janet Varney[6]

Reception

The Daily Dot listed International Waters at #6 on its roundup of the ten best podcasts of 2012. It said of the show, "You may not learn much, but you’ll laugh... a lot."[3] Pete Naughton of The Daily Telegraph put the show on his list of best podcasts in October 2014, saying it "makes for some good (and often strongly worded) transatlantic banter."[7]

References
  1. "Pilot". libsyn. March 18, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  2. "Ep 18: The Dave Holmes Era". libsyn. January 15, 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  3. "The 10 best new podcasts of 2012". The Daily Dot. December 31, 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. "Ep 36: MaxFunWeek Special". libsyn. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  5. "International Waters Ep 95: Psychics and Brussels Sprouts". MaximumFun.org. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  6. "International Waters". libsyn. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  7. "The best comedy podcasts". The Daily Telegraph. October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
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