Doodie Calls is a podcast about poop. Hosted by a man utterly fascinated by this in Doug Mand, alongside a man who seems rather less obsessed, but nonetheless interested, in Jack Dolgen, this particular podcast revolves around the various bowel disasters of their guest. Coming in at only half an hour most weeks, this show is short, sharp, and to the point, much unlike the excrement it is focused upon, which is instead given time to spread, ripen and be thoroughly analysed. Rather more about awful situations than specifically about defecation, this is a surprisingly hilarious, dedicated and fascinating look at a decidedly lowbrow and under discussed subject.
Doug loves to dig deep into these stories, attempting to reason out the bizarre actions that happen when you shit yourself, struggling and sympathising with the complete lack of perspective that is forced upon you when your bowels go horribly awry, and the hilarity that ensues. Both he and Jack embrace the fear of the catstrophic turd with all the hearty affection that one might for a close friend, fearlessly broaching the topic, examining it and happily getting their own hands dirty as a result. This twins with Mand’s love of breaking down the shame of the event instantly, encouraging and admiring every awful detail, specifically fascinated by the emotions and motives in each scenario. In fact it is not all that infrequent that the show almost breaks down into tears of happiness because of the overwhelming nature of a story; it’s crushing brutality and excruciating hilarity combining in this beautiful synchronisation of emotions. Doug has no shame in confronting the collective squeamishness and embarrassment of these moral-less fables, almost endorsing the disasters and never finding one that is too disgusting for his ears. His sharing, loving nature allows the storytellers to truly be themselves, and become ever more ribald, unleashing strange details with minimal self-defence, wondering why they took any of the actions they did, and agreeing with Mand’s assertion that in these situations, you simply aren’t yourself. The frequent tales of Doug’s own mischievous bowels are actually often the highlight of the show too, as he tells them with this animation and curiosity that combines to make for amazing revelations. These are tales that are amazing on their own, but combined with such an excited and revelrous fervour it makes for very silly, very funny and sometimes mildly affecting podcasting.
A constant theme to the show is just how intrinsically personal and unique to the teller all the stories are, yet manage to develop in ways that are entirely relatable. More than being merely about the occasional difficulties of bodily function, it is too about the innate humanity that is so true to shitting. It quickly becomes about the ability to deal with crisis, the desperate and illogical measures you take once the problem is way too far gone to solve and almost about the horrendous confrontation of the disgusting mortality of human existence. There is this ‘universality’ to the whole subject that grants it far more of an impact than you might think, and also ties it in perfectly with Mand’s mantra that ‘everyone has a poo story’ and that the show is simply here to broadcast it. This ideology is so true, so simple and so affecting that it grants itself an unreasonable power, saying more than that everyone has a story where there bowels betrayed them, but that everybody has a body that is a disaster zone and is only ever in a state of decay. This podcast has such a weird sway over this concept of ‘shared humanity’ that, to me, makes it a strangely powerful show that is almost unaware of it’s grand impact, instead grounding itself in the horrible realities that make up unfortunate days. And it is in this that Doodie Calls finds it’s truest glory. Doug Mand, having realised his fascination with the subject, knowing his humour and understanding that everybody has a story of a terrible bathroom time they’ve had has created a show in the mould of the internet age, in an internet medium and in a terrifically internet way.
Admirably lead by the exemplary host Doug Mand and his glamorous assistant Mr Jack Dolgen, this is more than a show that merely laughs at poop, Doodie Calls instead offers healthy doses of humanity, crushing honesty and pools of joyous hilarity that make it a podcast which is, above all, terrifically human.
You can find the show on iTunes, or via searching it on Google. You can also find the pair of hosts @thedougmand and @jackdolgen