The Challenge Historian

They actually showed the cast having fun! Plus: oil wrestling always works, Michaela is too logical and correct for everyone else, no one wants to get the vets out except for the one logical and correct person, and perpetually targeted Chris is targeted again and now has Four elimination wins in one season! Look out Sarah Greyson, Wes & Casey, and Horacio you may soon be joined in the record books! It’s the Challenge USA 2 Episode 11 Recap (which I guess wasn’t the penultimate episode after all), topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro & Programming Notes (00:50)

Cory Takes Center Stage (05:10)

Daily Challenge Recap (07:10)

Michaela is Smart, Cory is Not, Cassidy is Fun (13:48)

Elimination Game, Chris Chasing History (21:25)

Awards Best Quote, Moment, MVP (26:40)

Power Rankings and Predictions (28:50)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh 

Down goes a legend and this Historian just officially cried over a Challenge elimination… Plus: Michaela overcomes, Faysal keeps jumping to victory, Josh wants to be a threat so bad, Tyler and Alyssa are the cutest, Cassidy is spitting fire, and Chris stays true to his word and comes back yet again! It’s The Challenge USA 2 Episode 10 recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro & Programming Notes (00:40)

Let Wes Run in Peace (05:40)

Faysal and Michaela Dominate the Daily (08:29)

Nominations, Chris Gets Psyched, Josh Gets Emotional (15:15)

Cassidy on Fire, Chris Huge Win, Saying Goodbye to Wes (22:17)

Awards Best Quote, Moment and Episode MVP (34:09)

Power Rankings and Predictions for Next Week (37:36)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh 

A new season of Survivor is upon us and with it comes a new version of this podcast! We are officially taking on a new show here at Challenge Historian, and will be transforming into Survivor Historian every week throughout Survivor 45s run. And for the first time in the history of this podcast Jacob will be joined by a permanent co-host, the one and only Tony Lantz!

You may recognize Tony from The Challenge Fandom podcast where he co-hosts on all of their incredible Challenge coverage. Being the lifelong Survivor fan and all around wonderful human that he is, Jacob just knew Tony would be the perfect co-host to bring in for the season to fill the role of a true Historian of the franchise. 

In this inaugural episode, Tony and Jacob start by going over their individual histories with the Survivor franchise, then cover some thoughts on the biggest changes that have come with the modern Survivor game, before doing a cast member by cast member breakdown of Season 45, high level thoughts and hopes for the season, and finishing it out with a whole bunch of predictions.

Yes, it’s nearly three hours long, but it’s three hours well worth it if you are a Survivor die hard like us. We will be back every week of Season 45 to break it all down, so make sure to subscribe or follow so you don’t miss an episode (and no, the recaps won’t be three hours long lol)!

If you want to read the Entertainment Weekly Cast Bios that we are working off of, you can find it here.

Chapters:

Intro (00:00)

History of our Survivor Fandom (02:20)

Thoughts on Modern Survivor: 39 Days to 26 Days (14:10)

Thoughts on Modern Survivor: Fiji Every Season (23:30)

Thoughts on Modern Survivor: Idols and Twists (31:10)

Survivor 45 Cast Breakdown (40:05)

Austin Li Coon (46:47)

Dee Valladares (52:48)

Brandon Donjon (56:26)

Emily Flippen (01:01:42)

Brando Meyer (01:05:00)

Hannah Rose (01:10:35)

Bruce Perreault (01:13:05)

Janani Krishnan-Jha (01:19:55)

Drew Basile (01:26:33)

Julie Alley (01:30:18)

Jake O’Kane (01:36:00)

Katurah Topps (01:39:15)

Kaleb Gebrewold (01:46:16)

Kellie Nalbandian (01:50:05)

Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup (01:53:20)

Kendra McQuarrie (01:57:50)

Sean Edwards (02:03:20)

Sabiyah Broderick (02:10:50)

90 Minute Episodes and the Need for a Villain (02:15:30)

Season Predictions (02:36:40)

#Survivor #Survivor45 #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #TheChallengeHistorian #SurvivorHistorian #SurvivorPodcast 

My boy is a Slamball stand out for a reason! Plus: Michaela out here playing chess while other Survivor folks are clearly playing checkers, Sebastian is so woo’d by Tori that he’ll claim Cory is the big dog of the house and not her bestie Bananas, speaking of Tori, Sebastian better be giving you one hell of a back rub after that fall, and Chris unravels - kind of, I guess, but did he really - the debate is on! It’s the Challenge USA 2 Episode 9 Recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro & Programming Notes (00:40)

Thoughts on S39 / AS4 Timing and Promotion (06:30)

Michaela is Wes 2.0 (15:10)

Daily Challenge Thoughts (18:12)

Did Chris Really Spiral? (22:30)

Polarizing Elimination Games and Chris Gets a W (29:38)

Awards for Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (35:11)

Power Rankings and Predictions (38:02)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh

TJ how long are you going to let them go? Plus: Michaela finds a friend, trust is tested at the daily challenge, two love birds stay behind to bang, while the other two love birds fight for their lives in the game, and in the end Tyler and Monte go three hours long on the elimination from hell. It’s the Challenge USA 2 Episode 8 recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro & Programming Notes (00:37)

Survivor Splits in Two, Bananas & Michaela Link Up (03:08)

Daily Challenge Recap (09:15)

New Female Alliance, Bar Night Hookups (15:50)

Tornanas Outfit, Wes’ Vote, and the Game That Wouldn’t End (19:32)

Awards for Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (23:31)

Power Rankings and Predictions (25:50)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh 

Michaela shoots and scores! Plus: Wes and Bananas play producer in the field, a fantastic daily challenge, Tyler and Alyssa finally make out, the secret garden is losing trust, and TJ once again is here to turn the whole game on it’s head! It’s The Challenge USA 2 Episode 7 Recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Programming Notes and Challenge Mania Review (00:34)

Wes’ Speech and Michaela’s Spotlight (05:42)

Daily Challenge Thoughts (12:42)

Josh is Calling Shots, Vets Make Easy Nomination (15:38)

Club Night Cupid Session (20:17)

Tiffany Tells Josh Off and Michaela Sinks the Shots (24:31)

Awards for Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (32:27)

Power Rankings and Predictions (34:15)

Thoughts on all the Wes Related Chatter on Social Media (37:37)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh 

One of the greatest to ever play looks to be down and out… until he’s not! Plus: Dusty blows up on all the wrong people, Tiffany makes her play for confessional queen, Cassidy is out for revenge, the CBS folks regain the power, and we get a fantastic version of the best game known to The Challenge: TRIVIA BABY! It’s The Challenge USA 2 episode 6 recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro and Programming Notes (00:41)

Dusty Goes Off, Wes Calls Home (04:34)

Trivia Time (09:24)

Wes’ Swan Song (12:21)

Tiffany Confessional Queen, Wes Wins? (17:40)

Awards Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (25:17)

Power Rankings and Predictions (28:51)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh

The Challenge cast went to a bar AND WE GOT TO SEE IT!?!?! HALLELUJAH! Plus: Chris talks shit… slowly, Wes harkens back to his Fresh Meat roots to lead green to a win, Big Brother and Survivor decide to leave the vets alone for a bit, the vets reciprocate with a wild and maybe pointless plan, some people get flirty, some people get mad, a great elimination is played, and Cassidy’s confessional count blows the f up! It’s the Challenge USA 2 Episode 5 recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro and Programming Notes (00:45)

Chris Talks Shit, Cassidy Backstory, Wes Gets Naked (03:25)

Daily Challenge (10:22)

Nominations, Michaela and Wes Relationship (14:15)

They Went to a Bar and Had Fun (17:51)

Is This Vet Plan Actually Smart (19:56)

Alyssa Gets Screwed by the Hopper and Cassidy Gets a Big Win (24:36)

Awards Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (29:30)

Power Rankings and Predictions (32:39)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh

What is Josh even doing but also how in the world is it so effective? Plus: Bananas leaves red then finally helps them get a win, no one wants to talk to anyone so Josh fills the silence, the Secret Garden may already be in shambles, Dusty has moved beyond a stan to a new level of fandom never before known, Wes is left in the dark, and Desi is feeling down on herself but gets the ultimate pick me up of a pole wrestle style elimination! It’s the Challenge USA 2, Episode 4 recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro and Programming Notes (00:45)

Bananas Goes Blue (03:09)

Josh Goes Off Part 1 (05:28)

Great Daily; Blue Throws It (08:25)

Josh Goes Off Part 2 Nominations Edition (13:29)

Voting Breakdown and Pole Wrestle (20:04)

Awards Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (25:22)

Power Rankings and Predictions (29:07)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh 

The heavyweight elimination matchups continue! Plus: Alyssa bodies Tori, The Secret Garden continues running the game, boats are capsized, allegiances are questioned, vets yell at vets who yell at other vets, and Bananas gets the CBS spotlight he’s always wanted but maybe not in the way he always thought! It’s The Challenge USA 2 Episode 3 Recap, topics include:

Cold Open (00:00)

Intro and Programming Notes (00:32)

The Secret Garden and Alyssa Dominate (03:40)

Vets Yelling at Vets and Bananas Spotlight (10:30)

Paulie’s Arc and the Elimination (23:20)

Awards Best Quote, Moment, Episode MVP (36:28)

Power Rankings and Predictions (38:54)

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeUSA2 #TheChallengePodcast #RealityTV #RealityTVPodcast #JacobHollabaugh