By Chelsie Derman
Arts & Entertainment Editor
“Udderly Opinionated” is a podcast brought to you by two College roommates — where all they do is talk about milk. Full of puns, debates and taste tests, the podcast is not short on content. Each episode fresh and hilarious, the podcast keeps the topic of milk flowing.
“I would say that our podcast — and feel free to disagree with me — is almost like satire,” said Rich Miller, a junior communication studies major and one of the hosts of “Udderly Opinionated,” in an interview with The Signal. “It’s like us taking the format of a podcast and just talking about milk, which is so random. It is informational, but we generally do it to make people laugh. It’s a comedy podcast.”
His co-host, Gabe Caruso, a junior finance major added on: “It’s just making it about something so arbitrary.”
The podcast currently has seven episodes, all available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Overcast. Each episode runs about twenty minutes, some even around a half an hour.
Caruso, a big fan of milk, and Miller, not as much of a milk lover, created the podcast for the mere reason they thought the topic of milk would simply amuse the audience — and because of their diverse opinions on milk.
“I saw [Gabe] drinking a gallon of milk. It was at an odd hour of day,” Miller said in the pilot episode of “Udderly Opinionated,” released Nov. 10, 2019. And thus, the idea of the podcast was born — all derived from the debate of what is the “right” time to drink milk.
“I don’t think it’s something anyone’s doing,” Miller added in the pilot, in terms of the milk podcast idea.
Innovative, creative and funny, the hosts often banter back and forth during their podcast, creating a highly-energetic atmosphere.
In the pilot, Caruso said, “I adore milk. Everything I do revolves around milk. I drink milk day in and day out. I go through about a gallon in two days.”
After Caruso’s confession of how much he loves milk, Miller said he rarely drinks milk, except in his cereal and milkshakes.
This “authentic” feel, as Miller and Caruso both put it, mainly has to do with the fact they record an episode in one sitting.
“We are famously a one-take podcast,” Miller said. “We record one time, we get our authentic reactions, and then we just post whatever comes out.”
Miller and Caruso talked a little about their friendship and how that played a huge role in launching the podcast.
“I listen to a lot of podcasts, so I kind of just knew, some of them are more informational, some are just conversational, a lot of them have segments and bits in them, and really the idea just really came from (how) me and Rich have good chemistry,” Caruso said.
Although the podcast centers on milk, neither would say they have a “real passion for milk,” according to Miller. While Caruso loves milk, the topic is not something he would often research.
“We just do it to make people laugh,” Miller said.
By taste-testing oat milk, goat milk, condensed milk, different brands of milk, Miller and Caruso take listeners on every step of their thoughts — sharing their opinions on milk’s consistency to its taste and smell. The podcast also brings in guests, as well as talking about recent milk-related headlines.
However, the podcast is not solely milk-related — one episode featured Miller and Caruso playing an online game that resembles “Big Brother,” the reality TV show that is full of houseguests and competitions. According to Caruso, the “Big Brother” episode — titled “Udderly Opinionated: The Relaunch – Stan Brother Recap,” was their most listened-to episode. The non-milk episode did however end with a great milk debate.
Miller and Caruso both shared the most fun part about doing this podcast.
“I would say the most fun part would probably just be, either coming up with the ideas for the podcast, or just recording it and being stupid funny,” Miller said. Caruso, on the other hand, said he enjoys picking out the milk for the week and going to the store. Caruso also loves doing the actual recording part, how the duo just does one take, and then bouncing off of each other during the podcast.
From the original tune at the beginning of each podcast that has the lyrics “Milk-ing around with Gabe and Rich, we’re udderly opinionated,” to the frequent instrumental introduction and breaks that tie the episodes together (apart from the milk), the podcasts hold a consistent theme. However, listeners enjoy the podcast most for the sheer humor.
“I have been looking for a good Milk-related talk show/podcast for the entire 56-Year duration of my life,” said an anonymous reviewer on Apple Podcasts. “Two hilarious young gents talking about milk is something that finally exists for all to enjoy.”
The “Udderly Opinionated” podcast certainly has a lot in store for the future. In their most-recent episodes, the last one released Feb. 27, the two have been promoting the “chocolate milk bracket” — which should happen soon. For this tournament, the audience gets to decide what brands of chocolate milk make the brackets. When the brackets are finalized, Miller and Caruso will record themselves taste-testing all of the options and ranking each milk like usual. When this chocolate milk bracket tournament should begin, it is uncertain — however, Miller and Caruso believe their next podcast episode will be released by the end of this month.
“Udderly Opinionated” is a podcast catered to make people smile.
“Our podcast is supposed to be stupid, it’s supposed to make you laugh, it’s supposed to be a joke on a podcast, including the theme,” Miller said.
