Dan Cummins certainly has his hands full with a number of irons in the podcast fire, but he’s hoping his latest venture will not only inspire in these uneasy times, but also uplift.
With Incredible Feats, Cummins has partnered with Parcast and Spotify to deliver tales of inspiration and historic achievements in a highly digestible format. While the Idaho native has seemingly dug into every topic imaginable over the last few years with his other podcasts like Timesuck, Scared To Death and Is We Dumb?, his ever burning curiosity has brought him back to a long-standing passion for delving into, well, incredible feats in history.
“I always loved the Guinness Book of World Records as a kid, and I’ve done some jokes about crazy records and things over the years, so it’s been really fun to do a podcast that was so different for me, in a few different ways,” Cummins tells Vanyaland. “It’s also something that’s not dark like the other podcasts I have, which is a nice balance for me. While talking about serial killers and cults is fun and interesting, it’s nice to balance that out with some fun, inspirational tales.”
While it may not be what his fans are generally used to hearing from the comedy vet, Cummins is happy that the show, which he hopes can serve as something of a “palate cleanser” for people looking for a breather from whatever it is they might be stressing over, has been met with such a positive response from those both in and outside of the cult of the curious. Not to mention, the shake-up has Cummins excited to deliver a less tedious alternative to the more lengthy analysis he’s become better known for.
“It’s a very different process from what I’m used to, and I really like that. It’s nice to have a balance and not dive so deep on some things, because I don’t always want that as a consumer myself,” says Cummins. “Sometimes, I want a book on something, and other times, I’ll go on YouTube and look for the two-minute summary, and that’s all I need.”
With more than a day’s workload packed into the three other podcasts he hosts on a weekly basis, Cummins is not only grateful for the ability to wander outside the bounds of the usually dark and profane nature of his other projects to deliver this family-friendly offering, but the short duration of each story — clocking in at less than 10 minutes per episode — and the well-sculpted scriptwriting is also a source of relief.
“I’ll add my humor into it here and there, but we pump out so much content over here in our studio, that I can indulge my creative whims plenty on a weekly basis in more dark and profane ways,” he says. “I enjoy having a podcast now that is easier for people to recommend to maybe their more socially conservative friends and family, and that kids can listen to and not have parents worry about it at all.”
With this latest venture of curiosity, Cummins is looking forward to not only entertaining and helping to take people away from the vicious daily news cycle, which he feels this podcast can serve to be somewhat of an antidote for. He’s also hoping that the stories provide the necessary boost to help listeners power through stress, anxiety and the all-around tough times and hopefully inspire people to go out and make a little bit of their own heartwarming history in the process.
“My favorite part of this project, much like I hope listeners get out of it, is just learning about amazing achievements, and really cool records set, and obstacles that people have overcome. I definitely take away that kind of inspiration in my own life when I’m tired or frustrated or feeling off, and these kinds of stories reinvigorate me, and I hope listeners can do the same, and in the process possibly achieve their own incredible feats.”