On March 27th, 2024, Elon Musk was deposed in a defamation lawsuit filed by Ben Brody, who Musk twote about speculating Brody was a disguised federal agent in a “false flag” situation (he was not, obviously). Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, attempted to retroactively make the deposition confidential. It was not.
It is, though, extremely funny. The Deposition, a new podcast by Hug House Productions, uses the transcript of the deposition in full as its script. Part reenactment, part reaction, the direction given to the actors is simple: Play your parts as seriously as you can until you absolutely cannot. The Deposition keeps in all of the character breaks, laughs, and incredulity the actors experience while reading – while also making sure the audience knows what this case is about and what was actually said.
Cast
Elena Fernández Collins – Mark Bankston
Ely (they/them) is a podcast critic and forensic sociolinguist living in Portland, OR with one cat and one ongoing Master’s thesis, in an apartment that ain’t big enough for all three of them. Ely is the They write about podcasts for their own website, outlets like The A.V. Club’s Podmass, The Bello Collective, and Discover Pods, and curate their own newsletter about fiction podcasts, Audio Dramatic, and also host the Radio Drama Revival podcast.
Anne Baird – Alex Spiro
Anne (they/them) is a certified mathematics nerd and business enthusiast and the Chief Operating Officer of Tink Media, a podcast growth and ideas company that specializes in creative partnerships and out-of-the-box marketing strategies to help podcasters expand their audience and grow their numbers. As the CFOO of Hug House, Anne handles all of the financial and operational decision as well as serving as a co-host on Scoring Magic, the producer of VALENCE, the showrunner for How to Act Fereldan, and the marketing manager and line producer for Radio Drama Revival. When Anne isn’t being consumed by work, you can find them listening to musical soundtracks and podcasts or frolicking in a field of horses.
Josh Rubino – Elon Musk
Josh (he/him) is a Boston-based voice and character actor who loves talking but hates writing about himself. You can hear him as Father Klem in Forgive Me, Bernie the mailman in Greater Boston, as Telesphore Winterlich in The Kingmaker Histories, Liam Alden in VALENCE, and really any place where fine audio dramas are made. Since portraying Elon Musk he has been in the shower… we’re hoping he comes out soon.
Wil Williams – The Court Reporter, showrunner, editor
Wil (they/them) is a podcast does-everything-er who loves snails and deeply upsetting media. They are the CEO of Hug House Productions, where they’ve been the showrunner for VALENCE, Scoring Magic, Nevermorphed, and The Deposition.
C. N. Josephs – The Videographer
C.N. (he/they) is a transsexual writer and artist from the rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest. His work as a freelancer has included pieces for Tor.com, Simplecast, and the print anthology Stories of Autistic Joy. Outside of work, C.N. enjoys drawing, crafting, and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Zach Orsulak – Mr. Grant
Zach (he/him) is Wil’s husband, a nice sweet guy, and the funniest person alive.