A few of you have asked why #YoureDeadToMe takes so long to make, when other podcasts go out every week. In part, it's the tricky scheduling of getting very busy comedians and historians together, but the main reason is because of the depth of historical research. Let me explain

On any given episode of YDTM, we've spent between 2 hours and 3 weeks looking for perfect historian to join us. It's so important that they are experts, are good communicators, and will enjoy chatting to a comedian. So, that takes time to get right.

Choosing a subject is also based on a complex set of decisions, and we spend a long time on building a balanced series that covers global history, different historical eras, and has a variety of themes. We like to challenge listeners sometimes, and sometimes we want easy laughs!

Sometimes we find a great subject, but we can't find the right historian (our guests must have a PhD or be a curator), or they aren't available. So yeah, some episodes get pulled or postponed, meaning we have to look for a replacement

But the main thing to say is that every episode is carefully researched. Once we've picked our historian, we speak to them on Zoom for a couple of hours to find out what we should be covering. This call is between me, the guest expert, our writer @ejnagouse and our PhD researcher

Since series 1, when @ejnagouse joined us as our PhD student researcher - funded by the AHRC - we've had brilliant young scholars doing the background research. We have six PhD students on the team this series: Lloyd, Hannah, Jess, Harry, Tim & Charlotte.

Each PhD student is tasked with researching three historical subjects, and producing detailed notes for me and Emma to use in scripting the episode. Each research intern also gets the chance to co-write an episode with Emma.

Those notes are then shown to the expert historian guest, who adds/corrects anything. Once we book our comedian, Emma then does a draft script for the episode, and I do the second pass. We then record the podcast (the comedian has no idea what is in the script) for 90 minutes

While we're recording the podcast, Emma and the researchers will be listening along and fact-checking as we go. They'll flag up anything we got wrong or need to add back in.

The 90 minute recording (we've started hitting 2 hours due to recoding over Zoom, which takes longer) is then edited down to an hour by our producer, @ConMend, then I take out another 8-10 minutes using audio transcribing & editing software called Sonix.

Producer Con then makes the final edits, cleans it up, adds the sound effects, and then begins loads of technical checks with the BBC to ensure we meet all the broadcasting standards. Finally, its's ready to release!

We do this 15 times per series. All the while, Emma and the researchers are juggling their PhD studies, while I'm writing 2 books, making other podcasts, and trying to figure out how to be a new dad to a teething baby. So, in short, that's why we take so long to make a series!

One of my fave things is when people say You're Dead To Me sounds relaxed and off the cuff. That's what we're aiming for, but to do that we need to be very well prepared. I think of it like being in a jazz band; loose improv requires years of rehearsal

Anyway, the reason the podcast works is because the team are amazing, @BBCSounds & @Rhiroberts are super supportive, and because we get the best guests. But, above all, it's built with real care and attention to detail, and that's something I cherish the most. Thanks for reading!