A comedy interview podcast where guests chat about how they would rule their own island as a tyrannical dictator

I'm a screenwriter and podcaster and a boring office day job-er from Limerick, Ireland. The Tyrant In Training podcast is a comedy podcast where each week I chat to a guest to find out how they would like to rule their own island. They could be malevolent or benevolent or anything in between and my job is to always be the host and sycophantic supporter of the guests' wishes. It's a silly podcast with silly guests for silly listeners who enjoy this part improv, part roleplay, part delusional ramblings of comedians, podcasters and anyone else creative that appears on the show. The Tyrant In Training podcast is a sort of parlour game that brings out the silliest versions of guests.
 

I started this podcast and am spending some time using zoom to network with other writers. The conversations we were having were very structured and full of closed-ended questions. Around the same time, a friend of mine who is an actress also noted that a lot of podcasts she was appearing on had her answering the same questions again and again and she was finding it hard to think of new ways to answer the same question. So, with a love of D&D, Whose Line Is It Anyway and Taskmaster and Off Menu Podcast and more, I started this podcast with the aim of making it fun to create, fun to be a guest on and fun to listen to. The more and more episodes I recorded and released, I started reaching out to more comedians and performers that I really like and have been inspired by like Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from Whose Line Is It Anyway and it's been great to talk to new discovered comedians too and become new fans of theirs.
 

I used to record a series of ten episodes and after releasing them take a break but since the start of 2025 I've been doing this weekly with a new episode every Thursday. My day job is 12 hours a day with 3 days on, 2 days off so It's a bit of a commitment to organize the recording, editing and releasing of episodes. Everything about the podcast, the marketing and funding as well as the production of it is done by myself.
 

I'm a little reluctant to put ads on my podcast and I would much prefer to not do that and just rely on a Patreon account for supporters to give what they can for some bonus content. So right now I don't include ads and don't plan to include them (it would probably help but I prefer to think of what I would like as a listener.)

If there is work from a guest or friend I can help promote then I will do that and I have thought of ways to incorporate sponsors into the podcast premise itself if I do bring on sponsors so they don't stop the flow of the interviews.

The podcast itself is a brilliant way to interview these really talented people. I've met comedians and podcasters and filmmakers I've admired and had a great time laughing with them. I've spoken to people I wasn't familiar with and bonded over laughing at this silly premise and became friends with them afterwards. For example, because of this podcast I've gotten myself some comedic friends performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that I will be going to see their shows at.
 

Most of my guests are people I haven't spoken to besides a few emails to set up the recording. I look through social media and get suggestions from people about who would be a good guest for the podcast. I reach out to them, mostly through email and organize the recording from there. The podcast is recorded over zoom and edited on Audacity.

I work on episodes at least a month before release which is actually great because it allows me to have fun on the recording and then after a few weeks have passed, I get to sit down to edit the silly conversation with almost fresh ears. I'm really proud that the podcast doesn't require any prep from guests. It's up to them how they want to show up. Some come as they are and know nothing about the premise other than the brief explanation I give in an email. Some have their own notes and plans and schemes prepared and some are in between. It doesn't affect my hosting of the podcast at all and I'm happy to role with whatever mad ideas the guests answer my questions with.

I've always been good with talking to strangers so it's easy to dive into that "host mode". I have a list of questions for myself to ask each guest but they are never followed exactly as each conversation veers into its own world. This is where playing D&D is helpful because I'm not reliant on those questions if a guest takes the podcast in a different direction.
 

I think like a lot of podcasters, especially ones doing this solo, marketing is the unknown point where we are just guessing we are doing it right. I market the podcast on IG, Bluesky and Threads with mocked up Out of Context quotes and images of each guest along with reels from each episode. If guests have fan pages on Reddit I will also add to these pages which is hel
 

I'd say when starting, try to get at least 6 episodes recorded and edited before releasing. Especially if you plan on releasing a weekly podcast. This is great so you won't feel pressured with no new episode ready for next week or week after.

My biggest takeaway from podcasting is you have to love it. There's plenty of times when something will go wrong whether its equipment or bookings or anything else. For me, podcasting is a lot of fun, editing is a lot of fun, marketing isn't. If you're not enjoying your own work then it's extra hard to keep doing it especially in the moments when it doesn't feel like it's taking off like you wanted.

Also, reach out to other podcasters. Make friends with people in the podcast world. They'll be your best supporter, advertiser, commiserate, mentor and anything else.
 

You can find the Tyrant In Training podcast on Instagram, Threads and Bluesky @tyrantpodcast
Podlink has a handy page with all the links to podcast listening platforms

https://pod.link/1611976417

The Tyrant In Training website is https://tyrant-in-training.podcastpage.io

Also, feel free to follow and say hi to me on my own social media on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads @kevryanperson