The “extinct hockey” episode was the most boring thing I’ve ever heard. I tried to hang in there for several episodes.

Bring it back and if the hosts don’t want to do then I’m more than happy to host! Bring it back!!!

So in the beginning this was a really promising show full of fun episodes! Then the told us that two hosts were quitting and Rachel was going on hiatus over winter. They come back two months late saying they will continue making episodes then come back and tell us that the last host is leaving TOO!! They tell us they will continue with a new host and by april they finally tell us they are stopping surprisingly awesome. the Adams did a greta job of hosting, and they took truly noting topics like mild pigeons and cement and made it into an interesting, marketable episode! Rachel did the best she could with the resources that she was given but the newest host before they quit the show just didn’t make the cut. A total disappointment

Loved he first few episodes, didn’t care for the newer format.

This podcast had so much potential. Turning everyday things into fascinating objects is a fabulous task. But Adam Davidson seems like a terrible person. In addition to constantly defending capitalism, which seems like his sole aim in life (as in Planet Money), he ruins truly great concepts. For example, he thinks that rationality is basically siwndling other people or acting in one's own interest regardless of whether or not it affects others negatively. This might be the crudest, most selfish account of rationality I have ever heard, and runs in direct contradistinction to every satisfying account of reason that I know. Rationality is not about me, it is not harming others to my advantage. It is aligning oneself with the internal reason of the world, the cosmological reason that articulates the overall rational organization of everything. Rationality if about considering how everything is organized in a relatively harmonious way. It is irrational to abstract myself from this and consider only my personal interests. To swap a sort of instrumental reason for true reason, and to try to convince listeners of this, is so dangerous and morally problematic that I will never listen to a word this immoral person ever says. NPR should never allow him on the radio again. To my ears, there is not much difference between the disgusting virtiol that Sean Hannity spews as Adam Davidson tries to hide in his seemingly less offensive tone of voice.

It is golden. My favorite episode I've ever listened to of any podcast ever.

I am randomly giving you 5 stars but I have never heard a single moment. My intuition says I am making the right move.

Bring it back

I loved the Broccoli episode, completely flipped my perspective on broccoli, vegetables, and parenting. The free throw episode was also interesting from a non-sportsman perspective. Love this type of podcast, and I'm also a big Adam Davidson fan from the Planet Money days. Sad to see it go, but my rating stands!

I have listened to quite a few other Gimlet Media offerings, and love them all very much, but Surprisingly Awesome really stands out. I have learned so many new things that I quote from the show all the time. Best episodes (or at least the ones that I quote from the most) so far: The ones on interest, broccoli, boredom, and pigeons.

It has that gimlet sound. If you like NPR you will like it.

Surprisingly Awesome has joined Mystery Show and Undone in the "Podcasts I find and love, only to discover they are being or have been canceled." As someone who enjoys pulling random facts into creative endeavors in real life, this is a great listen. I will fully admit the first couple of episodes took me a while to get into. However, I have laughed plenty of times outloud at work and will savor the few remaining episodes that are left.

Love the Adams and Rachel. Such a fun listen, and I always find something in each episode of which I was previously unaware. And, no, I do not floss

I was a bit hesitant to listen to the first episode because really, mold? But at the end of the show I said to myself "wow, that really was surprisingly awesome!" However, my interest began to decline and I found myself moving on to other podcasts.

These podcasts are enjoyable to listen and learn however there are some topics that still don't seem often after the show ends. With that being said, a little disappointed the shows been discontinued.

This podcast is fun. I enjoy the variety of subjects it covers. Usually I end up learning something too!

Great topics covered by excellent hosts. Learning a lot by listening to these programs.

Haven't been able to make it through a full episode.

I now have interesting things to say to humans. Thanks, Gimlet!

Neat concept, but this show has gone through so many hosts that it's been wildly inconsistent. (Frankly, it's improved since Adam McKay left.) I'd love for this podcast to find its footing.

Good show

When this podcast first came out it was fascinating! Adam Davidson and Adam McKay had a great chemistry, and the topics that were chosen were truly fascinating (i.e. broccoli and pigeons). Then, Rachel Ward took over. Not only do I have a dislike for her voice (which I realize is a personal gripe), but she says nothing of value during the podcasts. The topics are SO mundane and they stay that way. Take the wedding episode. I don't really think it's that surprising that weddings are awesome, and what's worse, Ward didn't make it awesome. I've unsubsribed because I listen and just get frustrated. Not worth it.

You guys should realize that the host matters. You can't just start with two hosts, eliminate one, then add one, then eliminate the last of the originals and then eliminate the newest host and tell us to just wait. Just cancel the podcast. This is what happens when podcasts start being mass produced. I was excited about how Gimlet Media would transform the medium. Now I'm sad for the transformation I suspect they will bring.

Loved this podcast at first...Adam and Adam were interesting hosts with good chemistry and some great topics. Then they left and not only did the hosts change but the topics went a bit blah...I mean wedding planning??? I think back to the Concrete episode or Tubthumping and they hooked me in, but wedding planning? I listened and kept waiting for the awesome fact or history of wedding planning that would get my attention but it never came because this episode was as if it was an entirely different podcast...semi-funny hipsters plan a barn wedding...yuck. I'll hang in and hope the next host(s) and topics get back to the original premise of finding the awesome in the ordinary and mundane.

I liked the first host better. Now it sounds like the hosts are just rambling and sharing their own personal experiences for companies on the topic when they are really just straying. I liked how the old hosts stayed on topic and did research. These new ones just act silly and annoying. Bring the old style back please?

This show frequently fails at its central premise. Occasionally an episode will have some nice moments but mostly it is excruciatingly dull and the hosts are twisting into pretzels trying to convince us/each other that they've found anything remotely awesome.

Davidson seemed to bring some passion to this show early on, McKay felt busy promoting his (surprisingly awesome) movie. I would agree with reviews that noted the odd chemistry between Adams-something that adding new hosts only seemed to reaffirm. Topics were hit or miss, then the regular hosts faded out - maybe I missed the episode that explained where they went - and the producer Rachel Ward and whoever they could rope in to help her just couldn't pull it off. Gimlet does well when it creates shows that are a forum for the hosts (and producers/team I'd imagine) to explore what they love. We as listeners come to love it too and we build a real human connection with the show. When we are dragged through a trivia fest by unnaturally exuberant but (not personally engaged) hosts, we listeners hang out for a while, then depart. If you're tired of Surprises, try the work of another Gimlet producer who appears on Reply All: Sruthi Pinnamaneni

even the most boring topics are made interesting here

I really do!

The podcast started out very well and was quite interesting. But as soon as one of the hosts started to drop out due to his commitments, the quality of the show started dropping. It felt like a bait and switch. When the other original host also dropped out, that was it.

For me the best podcasts tell some kind of story. This particular podcast never really did that, but at least they had a premise and it was mildly interesting. Then they started in with the substitute hosts, and the premise went completely out the window -- starting with the dentist episode I think, where never once did they explain why going to the dentist was boring or how instead it was secretly awesome -- they just said, "I don't like to go to the dentist, but we're going to record this person going to the dentist and explain some reasons it's good to do so." Not only were they not telling a story but they we're even attempting to fit their own original theme/premise. All the shows after that point also failed to follow the premise -- and were hosted by a variety of people that I didn't know. I have to say, a show that wasn't all that interesting to begin with became a lot less interesting, and since it no longer has a theme or premise that they pay attention to, I'm not sure why they seem intent on continuing it.

I've been listening to the podcast a couple of times now. Love it

!!!

It only took about 10 episodes to progress from something obscure like mold to the mainstream fare of wedding planning. And the third stream bench took over for McKay et al. I know concepts are often harder in execution than planning but the program's failure to acknowledge this diminishment undercuts its appeal.

You can't go wrong with any Gimlet show, they are now the HBO of podcasts.

Loved the broccoli episode.

Bad. Just bad

Easy to listen to, and I can let my kids who are 6 and 8 listen and learn as well.

This show is bringing down the brand. It's almost as bad as the very forgettable Starly hosted pod......see I already forgot!!!!

The initial concept and episodes seemed promising, but with the new format and hosts it is boring. Also, it would be great if gimlet had more diverse hosts with different perspectives on these topics

good

This is a well-produced program that provides interesting information. However, the absence of the 2 Adams leaves a hole. Absent their personalities, which informed (I think) the choice of topic and the focus of the argument - how Adam 1 can personally convince Adam 2 that subject x IS awesome - the show, while interesting, does not stand out. Sometimes i confuse it with Planet Money. The wedding episodes for example, while interesting, left me curious about what was being considered boring or awesome. Was the subject the effort, the cost, the effervescent joy of actually celebrating your marriage? Was this a history lesson on weddings? If so, Why limit it to European history? For those of us who have been married, We can relate but may miss the "surprisingly awesome" point. I miss the vulnerability and personal connections of the Early shows, particularly Mold and Free Throws, or even the commitment to convince someone of awesomeness, as in the Concrete episode.

Some episodes a bit less interesting. Missing Adam McKay.

This podcast is about taking a subject that is usually of interest only to specialilsts and demonstating that the subject can be of general interest. It was inspired by the making of the movie 'The Big Short'; It was ended by the movies success. 'The Big Short' tackled a topic inaccesible to most people and turned it mainstream. 'Surprisingly Awesome' takes a topic that we normally would not be interested in and makes it interesting to us. If you are not already a fan of 'wedding' podcasts, don't bother listening to the last two episodes. They did not find anyone who is not interested in weddings and they did not challenge them selves to make it interesting to him. They simply broke the formula. It's not surprisingly awesome.

Loved the early episodes of this one. Played the Chumbawamba episode for all my friends. But this has really jumped the shark. Wedding planning? Really? Listened, tried to like it, unsubscribed

I love this. There are some episodes that just don't catch me but most of the time I'm a huge fan. It seems to be going in a new direction that I am a fan of. Give it a try and stick it out.

A really stellar investigative show, showcasing all the working parts of the supposedly mundane. Fantastic stuff. Keep it up! Love Rachel Ward! A show for those people who just love absorbing all the tidbits of everything out there.

Information with a fun twist. I really enjoy this podcast.

I humbly request a show about reverb. The history of reverb, both natural and made by humans. Its awesome, but why?

Show was barely holding my attention but now the two guy hosts have been replaced and it is so much better!