Podcast Spotlight: Cryptic

This narrative podcast follows siblings Cole and Julie Kurtz through their hometown as they track down paranormal activities and unexplained sightings. Set in Ohio, Cole and Julie take their us through a day in their life – they host their own radio show where local listeners call in with cryptic leads for them to investigate. Other characters reference Cole and Julie’s father often, who hosted his own radio show and tracked his own leads before he passed. Cole and Julie talk about his passing, still coming to grips with it, and share their own stories of monsters in the woods from childhood. The soundtrack is phenomenal. Eerie sound effects and background music transport listeners within the story, from the radio studio to the car driving down a dirt road to the woods filled with fog. Cryptic calls on listeners to use context clues to follow along, so it is best to listen when you can give it the majority of your attention. But don’t worry, each episode is on the shorter side.

We were fortunate to talk with Isley about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Podchaser

Discover Pods: How’d you get into podcasting?

Isley: Podcasting became a natural progression for me as a professional audio engineer and sound designer. I’ve worked in the recorded, live concert and theatrical production industry for over 20 years now. So I was naturally drawn to podcasting, I produce and edit for a few clients from time to time over the last 4-5 years. But I finally tackled an audio drama project in 2019 with Cryptic. Audio drama seemed like (and truly is) a natural fit for me especially because of my long history of working in the theatre.

Discover Pods: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to Cryptic?

Isley: The show gets a lot of attention because of the mythical creatures that the characters are constantly bumping into, and let me tell you, if monsters/creatures/weird stuff happening is your thing, come on in, we’ve got plenty of that. But the show is really about the people. The Kurtz twins, Cole and Julie, who have been thrust to the forefront of running the family business and let’s just be honest for a moment, it isn’t going well. Folks who have gotten close to the show say it’s a mix between X-files, and Stranger Things set in the cozy mid-western state of Ohio. I tend to agree.

Discover Pods: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

Isley: This has been the most exciting thing for me so far. When folks write the show, or call the hotline, or comment on social media it’s like we have a party over here! I just recently saw a post come through on our Facebook page and the listener said he was listening while taking a hike, and kept looking behind him to see who or what was there, and there was nothing!! Ha! As a sound designer this made me SOOO happy, I’m out here making folks paranoid enough to turn around to see if what they are hearing is real or not, wow, I’m truly and deeply flattered! Other listeners have really dug into the characters, the sibling rivalry between Cole and Julie, there are so many layers to the show, and different folks are tuning in for different reasons, it’s been great!

Discover Pods: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

Isley: I had a lot of fun developing the sound design for Cryptic. Instead of just grabbing my trusty AT BP40 for a talk show podcast setup, I had multiple setups for the show depending (mainly) on the setting that the script called for. Cole and Julie are hosting their dearly departed dad’s podcast, so yes, I did grab my BP40, and an RE20, and an SM-58 for Chuck their producer.When they’re off air, or driving to investigate the next report of weirdness, or walking out in the woods somewhere, I have an Audio Technica 8022, a stereo mic which allowed me to move actors in relation to the mic which acted as the listener during those setups. It allowed me to create depth, dimension and a nice stereo field organically and not try to manufacture it in post-production. For tracking with the actors, we recorded in three different locations, which allowed me to capture natural room tone, and have larger or smaller spaces to work in depending on the setting for each scene. I also have an Audio Technica 4050 that I use for some foley work, and a Tascam DR-40 that I take out for field recording, all of the footsteps, car interior, etc. was recorded for the show using the DR-40. All of those setups (except the DR-40) are run through a Focusrite Scarlett Interface into my Macbook Pro which captures everything via Adobe Audition. I also can’t stress enough how a good set of headphones can really help during tracking and mixing, I’ve had a pair of Ultrasone Proline 550 headphones for over a decade now, and they have saved my life more times than I can count (ok, that might be hyperbole, but they are great for this sort of thing)!

Discover Pods: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

Isley: Honestly, I think it’s what a lot of indie podcasters would say: Finding the audience. Or maybe better yet, letting your audience know that you exist. Which I guess boils down to marketing. There are like 742 million podcasts out there (that’s a made up number), so being able to A: Let someone know that yours is out there. And B: Get them to listen to yours when they fire up their podcatcher is a great challenge. Cryptic’s numbers have been really solid so far (about halfway through the first season) and I feel very fortunate, but there’s always room to grow, and that uphill climb is laborious.

Discover Pods: Where do you want to take your podcast?

Isley: Honestly. It may not be where I want to take my podcast, it may be where I want it to take me. I have 2 other shows in the works (early pre-production) and a third and fourth concept just brewing way off in the background, not to mention season 2 of Cryptic (which we’re already in pre-production for!!). Someone once said the reward for doing good work, is the opportunity to do more work. I’m hoping that myself and the team of folks who contributed to Cryptic have done good enough work to earn the opportunity to do more.

Discover Pods: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

Isley: I’m a big fan of The Phenomenon, great storyline, excellent production, just a top notch, entertaining show. Also Girl in Space, just a really well written show. I’ve also been enjoying Max and Ivan: Fugitives which is a hilarious action comedy with witty writing and again outstanding production. Also, Super Ordinary, Project Nova, Windfall, Splintered Caravan, The Amelia Project, The White Vault, Mission: Rejected, and the list goes on. There’s a lot of really good Audio Drama/Fiction out there!!

Discover Pods: Anything else you’d like to add?

Isley: I would just like to thank anyone in the past present or future who has/or will have taken the time to listen to Cryptic. Time is so precious, and the fact that there are thousands of folks who have given the show a few minutes of their time is so humbling and greatly appreciated. I work super hard to make Cryptic the best it can be, I hope you enjoy it!