TFIA #30 - Respectful Interrogation and the Art of Great Podcast Interviewing

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What gets covered in this episode:

  • The problem with underperforming Podcast Guests, it's not what you think.

  • Defining Respectful Interrogation in Podcasting.

  • Focus on your Guest, not the questions list.

  • What are spark moments in Podcast Interviews?

  • Curiosity is the single most important factor in creating memorable and unique Podcast interviews.

.... 

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #28 - Even Avengers: Endgame Needed a Press Tour (Human Stories About Human-made Things)

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Even Avengers: Endgame needed a press tour (AI is an Absolute Yawnfest):

Part of what makes Art meaningful (and why it touches people) is the Creative Risk the person (or persons) making it took to create it. That's the one aspect of entirely AI-generated things that I still haven't heard a satisfactory answer for: "How do you tell a compelling story about a thing that has no story?"

If you remove the making (struggle and toil) and the triumph (actually getting the thing out the door), how do you talk about the thing you've made?

Remember, even Avengers: Endgame needed a press tour, panel show appearances, and gripping storytelling around the making of the film to get people to turn up and watch it.

Much of the lore around great things, is the making of those great things.

.... 

This episode was recorded using the following kit and workflow: Røde Wireless Micro >> iPhone Voice Memos App >> Auphonic's web service (for Levelling, Voice EQ and De-Noise) >> Adobe Audition (+ iZotope de-Reverb and Waves X-Crackle) >> mp3 encoding.

.... 

Email the show: josh@jcaldigital.org

TFIA #27 - How to Name Your Podcast (7 questions to help you pick the perfect name)

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7 questions to help you pick the perfect Podcast name:

  1. Is the name available?

  2. What names are common in the genre of show you’re considering entering with your show?

  3. Do you feel more comfortable fitting in with genre conventions? Or do you want to push back against them with a more differentiated show name?

  4. Does the name you have in mind sound good when you say it out loud?

  5. Does it feel good to say out loud? Is there an energy to it?

  6. Is the name easy to understand, spell and remember?

  7. Is the point of your show name to make the topic of your show obvious, or it designed to create a little mystery in the minds of potential Listeners/Viewers?

.... 

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #26 - 3 (Entirely Selfish) Features I'd Love to See Added to My Podcast Media Hosting

3 (Entirely Selfish) Features I'd Love to See Added to My Podcast Media Hosting:

1. RSS +1. For shows where the back-catalogue has been hidden or the feed is being re-used for a new show, when new episodes are being added to the public feed, I wish I didn't have to go in and expand my RSS by 1 episode each time. If I could turn on a RSS +1, it would save me from having to manually expand the public RSS with each new release (read: help me NOT forget to do this). Just give me a global ON/OFF and also a pop up at Publishing with a RSS+1 Yes/No. (This function would need to be toggled ON, to avoid all regular Hosting Users having to navigate the extra Yes/No publishing step). 

2. Automatic Gap Finder. When the Hosting processes the episode, if the system sees a gap of no audio or super low audio greater than a chosen length, it flags the section for review. Perhaps the gap is an Artistic choice, but perhaps I had left space at the end of export for no reason (besides being a dope).

3. YouTube Title Length Warning. For show's that have been sent via RSS to YouTube a character limit warning that the title you're considering in your main RSS Feed is likely to be truncated by YouTube in the future. Just a warning is enough.

.... 

josh@jcaldigital.org

TFIA #25 - 3 Things I Hope Podcasting Leaves Behind, Back in 2025

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3 Things I Hope Podcasting Leaves Behind, Back in 2025:

  1. Excessive Feed drops, and "You Might Also Like" Promo drops. (The intentions of these two types of drops are very different, but the annoyance remains the same).

  2. Shows trying to sound, look, and feel like "Dairy of a CEO."

  3. Clips and Reels where the Hosts and Guests are 2 inches from their cameras. Ease up on the zoom. If I find myself thinking "why is this giant forehead speaking right now?" ..you're too freakin' close to the camera.

….

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #24 - My Top 5 (New) Podcasts of 2025: incl. Lehto's Law, Monday Match Analysis, and ReDriven

Josh discovered several new Podcasts in 2025 on YouTube and then quickly migrated over the being a fan of the show(s) via audio RSS.

1) Lehto’s Law - with Steve Lehto. https://lehtoslaw.com/

2) The ReDriven Podcast. https://theredrivenpodcast.podbean.com/

3) Monday Match Analysis - with Gill Gross. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/monday-match-analysis/id1432259450

4) Scratch Track - with Chris Robley. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scratch-track-build-a-fearless-music-career/id1830015934

5) Geologic Podcast - with George Hrab. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/geologic-podcast/id213468056

....

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

Get 'The Future IS Audio' Newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-is-audio-7283949012901076992/

TFIA #21 - Inception Point or Rejection Point? (AI Podcasts Are Even More Low Effort Than You Think).

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Inception Point AI are pumping out entirely AI-generated "Podcasts" at scale, but are they any good? In this episode, Josh listens to three random Podcast episodes from Inception Point AI and shares his thoughts on their quality.

Spoiler: Quality is not the metric Josh should have used when reviewing these episodes, "Can low effort work as a corporate mission statement?" would have been a much better approach to this listening session.

Shows in Review:

  • Weather in New York City.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Audio Biography.

  • Serial Killer: The True Crime Podcast.

....

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #20 - 8 Things to Add to Your Podcasting Go-Bag.

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If you record your Podcast on-location, or you're travelling and need to record outside of your normal recording environment, make sure you have the following 8 items in your Podcasting Go-Bag wherever possible:

  1. A roll of good quality Gaffer Tape.

  2. A small Phillips Head Screwdriver, and a small Flat-head Screwdriver.

  3. A spare Mic Clip.

  4. A spare basic Mic Stand.

  5. A spare XLR Cable and/or a spare USB Cable.

  6. A spare mini-SD Card.

  7. Anti-bacterial wipes.

  8. Chewing Gum - it's great for your breath and to get your instrument moving and working.

....

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #18. - TIME Magazine's "The Best 100 Podcasts of All Time" List - 10 Shows That Absolutely Should've Made the Cut

10 Podcasts that absolutely should've made TIME Magazine's "The Best 100 Podcasts of All Time" List. https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts

1. Joe Rogan Experience.

2. Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast.

3. Cordkillers.

4. The Bugle.

5. Making Sense.

6. Your Mom's House.

7. Abroad in Japan.

8. Crime Junkies.

9. Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum.

10. Roderick on the Line.

Instagram: @futureisaudio

....

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #16 - 7 Ways to Support Your Favourite Podcasters (without spending money).

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7 Ways to Support Your Favourite Podcasters (without spending money).

  1. SHARE their posts.

  2. LIKE/HEART their posts.

  3. Tag a Friend that might love the show.

  4. Comment Nice Things.

  5. Rate & Review the show.

  6. Keep Listening.

  7. Post a Pic or Story featuring the show.

If Books Could Kill: https://www.ifbookspod.com/

....

The Original Article (in-full).

If you ever find yourself feeling down about your show, or wondering if making a Podcast is really worth the effort, I recommend spending a week or two focussing your energies on the shows that you love most as a Podcast Fan, instead of obsessing over your own show and its current successes, or lack thereof.

If you reverse your creative focus from outside-in (what can the medium do for me?) to inside-out (what can I do for the medium?), you will feel better about Podcasting as a creative medium, and that will help get you feel better about Podcasting as a creative outlet for yourself. I'm confident that you will go back to your show with renewed focus, positivity, and excitement.

It all sounds a bit woo-woo, right? But it works, trust me! These periods of inside-out focus have saved both my Podcasts and also me as a Podcaster many times over the past 13 years - I've felt like quitting a lot, and haven't thanks to getting-over-myself and being a better Podcast Fan.

I trust that giving some more love to the space always brings me closer to reason I first started making shows, I Freakin' Love Podcasting.

7 Ways to Support Your Favourite Podcasters (without spending money).

  1. SHARE their posts.

  2. LIKE/HEART their posts.

  3. Tag a Friend that might love the show.

  4. Comment Nice Things.

  5. Rate & Review the show.

  6. Keep Listening.

  7. Post a Pic or Story featuring the show.

....

What do you do when you're feeling a little lost or down as a Podcaster?

....

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #15 - Mics in the Wild: The RODE Wireless Micro in the Car, Carpark, Kitchen and Bathroom.

Mics in the Wild: The RODE Wireless Micro in the Car, Carpark, Kitchen and Bathroom.

Recordings Notes.

  • Correction: the iPhone app displaying "Audio Session. Unable to connect to audio. Please try again or restart the application" was the Rode Capture App (not the Rode Central app). Rode Central was used on my Macbook to update the devices/hardware.

  • Clarification: The episode was recorded in one continuous take, but the finalised episode was in fact not "One Take" as edits were made, to cut down on long gaps negotiating gates, and neighbours.

  • Production: +12db of amplification was added to the RAW audio track in Audition, and a Hard Limiter was added (set to -3db) to catch 4-5 extreme peaks in the recording. Much of the raw recording (pre-amplification) was coming in around -23 to -18db.

  • Edits: 1. Some loud breaths were reduced during the inside-spaces on the recording, as those loud-loud breaths served no purpose other than to make the audio less pleasant when in the Kitchen and Lounge spaces. 2. The only other major edit was made in the carpark as the gate (that I had left open) had been closed by a neighbour, so some of the time taken reopening and closing the gate was cut out.

Instagram: @futureisaudio

Em: josh@jcalmediagroup.com.au

TFIA #14 - The 4 Reasons I’m Going Back to Handwritten Prep Notes

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The 4 Reasons I’m Going Back to Handwritten Prep Notes:

  1. It was harder to get distracted by formatting and perfectionism when I was sketching out episodes by hand, in particularly when one has my scribble-level handwriting.

  2. I rarely had to use my notes after handwriting them out. (The ideas were just there in my brain, ready to go).

  3. The Mind Map style layout on the A3 Pad, were much easier to read from and flow with than a typed out list - when I did have to look at my notes. (The way I sketched out the Mind Maps mirrored how my mind works - wonky bubbles and wobbly arrows all over the place).

  4. The Mind Maps acted as interesting Marketing Assets in-and-of-themselves that I could post.

....

Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #13 - A Case for Editing Your Podcast (from Howard Fine and Roman Mars).

TFIA Newsletter - A Case for Editing Your Show (from Howard Fine and Roman Mars).

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-editing-your-show-from-howard-fine-roman-mars-josh-liston-jjvtc

Unless you have a really compelling reason not to do at least a little editing on your show, do a little editing on your show.

To paraphrase celebrity Acting Coach, Author and Broadway Director, Howard Fine, if you think editing doesn't matter, then go find your favourite Speech, TED Talk, Joke, etc. and start adding ums, ahs, likes and you knows back into the dialogue, and see if it makes it better. Hot Tip: It Doesn't.

Further, to paraphrase Roman Mars of 99% Invisible fame, if you have 500 listeners, and you cut out a minute of fluff from your Podcast, you’re not just saving one minute, you’re saving the collective, 500 minutes.

....

Do you edit your show? If yes, why? If no, also why?

Email Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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TFIA #12 - What's the Best Podcast Media Hosting in 2025?

Please Note: Josh has no professional relationship (financial or otherwise) with the company/companies mentioned in this episode - beyond being a paying Customer of the service(s).

Question: What's the Best Podcast Media Hosting in 2025?

Answer: Captivate.fm

Why Captivate?

  • Their technology is pretty, easy, and reliable.

  • Their audio downloads are super fast for Listeners.

  • The Team are both incredibly helpful in Podcasting, and non-jaded about Podcasting.

  • Captivate don't push AI and Ad Tech down your throat every single chance they get.

....

Email Josh Your Podcasting Questions: josh@jcaldigital.org

Happy Podcasting!

TFIA #11 - Avoid Saying The Following in Your Podcast: "This Is A True Story", "This Really Happened", and "To Be Completely Honest With You"

https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

For better communication in your Podcast, avoid using the following phrases in your show.

  • Avoid "This Is A True Story".

  • Avoid "This Really Happened".

  • Avoid "To Be Completely Honest With You".

Email: josh@jcaldigital.org

The Future IS Audio newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-is-audio-7283949012901076992/