Let’s get started. 

Podcast #1: Honeypot Chats

Podcast description: “Breaking down cybersecurity concepts and information in ways that people can understand.” Yeah, you and I will both discover that this very professional description does not even remotely encompass the exuberant personalities of the podcast co-hosts. It does adequately summarize the content but not the feel of the podcast.

How did I find this podcast?

For this podcast, I searched for technology podcasts in the African Podcast Database, created by the Africa Podfest folks. Africa Podfest is a groundbreaking podcast conference that highlights podcasts and podcasters on the African continent. The database is one of the valuable resources that they’ve created out of this community of podcasters. You can search for podcasts by topic, location and other factors.

Why did I pick this podcast? 

I scanned the 17 podcasts that came up in a “technology” search in the database. I was curious how the name “Honeypots” connected to technology, so I followed their link in the database over to Instagram. There I saw a more catchy description of the podcast that pulled me in:

“Two Zambian chicks simplifying Cybersecurity one listener at a time ” 

This image in their Instagram grid also caught my eye. 

It felt like these were two no nonsense and friendly women who wanted to help me understand cybersecurity. For me, a host’s personality and voice are really important. All the information and episode scripting won’t help if I don’t emotionally click with a host. Trust me, I’ve tried to force it. In this case, I felt like there was a personality match. So I started by listening.

What did I listen to? What did I hear? 

I usually start listening to the most recent episode with a new podcast. Exceptions, for obvious reasons, are audio dramas and other series that make more sense listening to in order. With Honeypots, I could have started with the most recent episode but I was on a search for the podcast name information. So instead, I dug back into the earlier episodes and started with their first episode. 

This introductory episode started with a bit of music and then they dove into the podcast why immediately. This was great. No time was wasted wondering why this podcast exists. Brenda and Tambi, the Co-Hosts, both work in cybersecurity and explained how often they needed to explain these concepts to people. They also said that they want to highlight women in cybersecurity because these are lesser heard voices in the field. The conversation flowed really naturally between them and I felt like I was listening to two friends geek out over a tech topic that they were passionate about. And, of course, they shared why the podcast had this name. No, I’m not going to spoil that for you!

Read more: Upgrade Your Writing Business in 2021 with These Podcasts

Podcast name satisfied, I dug into a more recent season of the podcast. I listened to season 3, episode 9 from August 2021. This episode, as you can see from the title above, was about working from home. Almost immediately I learned the term “cyber pandemic”, which was the increase in cyber attacks at the beginning of the work from home trend at the beginning of the pandemic. Hackers apparently took advantage of these work from home folks who weren’t diligent in protecting company data on their company devices.

It’s been almost two years since the pandemic started but this is the first time I’ve heard this phrase. That feels weird. Did I miss it? Or are these two women that far ahead of the curve? Don’t get me wrong, this was not a fear inducing episode. Instead, they spent the time giving practical tips on what we should be doing to protect that company data as well as our own when working from home. This is not just interesting content, it’s really valuable for individuals and companies globally. 

These two episodes are a small part of what Brenda and Tambi are doing on Honeypot Chats. They also have episodes with news, more tips and interviews with a specific focus mostly but not entirely on Zambia and Zambians. But as you can see from this episode 9 example, a lot of the information is relevant to those of us outside of Zambia as well. 

What did I think? 

In English language Western media, I don’t often read or hear about technology on the African continent in general, let alone in Zambia, so this podcast really excited me. The fact that the information is also really practical to those of us outside of Zambia is a plus as well. But honestly, I would keep listening either way.  Finally, as a woman that studied technology in college, I love that they’ve interviewed so many women in the space. Overall, I clicked hard with their content. I followed/subscribed to the podcast and their social media channels. I want to know both what episodes come out and what they have to say about them and other technology issues. I’m invested in this duo!

Podcast #2: Aswatona Podcast

Description: “Our voices is a project that aims to connect and support podcasters within the WANA (North Africa and West Asia) region and Germany. Together we will produce 12 podcasts in Arabic, English and German around the topics environment, gender and power dynamics.”

How did I find this podcast?

Aswatona Podcast hosted a live event recently where they chatted with some of their creators. 

Why did I pick this podcast? 

I lived in Germany for most of 2020 and learned a lot about the Arabic speaking population living in Berlin while I was there. Podcasts are a very real way that I like to build on prior knowledge so this podcast appealed to me on this level. Additionally, multilingual podcasts are something I’m very intrigued with. The time, energy and sensitivity that goes into doing this is nothing less than heroic. 

What did I listen to? What did I hear? 

First I listened to this climate related episode:

There were two main male narrators for this episode and many guest voices as well. The guests talked about environmental issues in their region or country. The mix of people and places was really interesting but the music, if I’m completely honest, was very distracting. It was hard to hear the people talking sometimes. Also, I’m not sure what the call-to-action was. It could have gotten drowned out in the music but I don’t remember them proposing a solution to these issues. I’m drawn to shows that not only show a problem but suggest at least the beginning of a solution, no matter how small that step may be. 

To get a sample of the different categories of shows on this podcast, I then listened to this gender episode: 

This episode started out with a male narrative, Sadeq, asking, 

“Do women own their bodies? Being a man, I completely own my body, my freedom. As a guy, do I have the right to talk about their bodies, their stories?

The women in this episode were honest and bold. They shared their body shame in very tender yet, for obvious reasons, painful details. “It’s not only about bodies,” one of the women went on to describe, it’s also about their emotional and mental health. There were many stories of the emotional and intellectual struggles that women in the Arab world face because of the tradition of their father and then their husband “owning” their bodies: “9 out of 10 women said that ‘marital rape’ does not exist.” This statement, this statistic will stick with me for a while.

What did I think? 

With regards to the body narrative episode, I’m having a strong reaction to a male voice introducing and wrapping up the episode. These women have very strong, sad stories of patriarchal attitudes in their culture. So why is a man the one to shepherd the stories in? This was a reaction I could not shake. 

But another part of me knows that many men won’t listen to these stories unless they’re introduced by a man. This is almost as sad as the stories themselves but also a powerful storytelling choice. I got very invested in this episode. Many of these stories are unfortunately not unique to Arab culture but I tried my best to listen. Saying that these attitudes are globally dominant distracts from these women’s admissions. Their trust in our ears. Their faith that things can change if they are talked about. I’m skeptical, jaded and now that I’ve experienced their voices, their stories, I’m also protective of these women that shared a piece of themselves. 

I would listen to more of this podcast for sure. I might lean more towards listening to the gender episodes since I connected with these more but I might venture to the other topics of environment and power dynamics if the title or episode description was appealing to me at that point. Overall, I’m very glad that podcasts like this exist. Hearing about a culture from within that culture, instead of as reported by someone from the outside, feels more powerful, more authentic, more nuanced. It’s naturally hard to get this level of nuance unless you’re swimming in the culture.  

It was a lot of fun to track my own listening journey while meeting these two podcasts. I’m sure that your listening journey may differ from mine but one thing is certain: podcasts are personal, powerful and intimate. They affect us more than other mediums for these very reasons and that’s a wonderful thing indeed. 

The post How Do Podcast Listeners Meet A New Podcast appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

Hi Nay: A Tale of Two Supernatural Stories

If you’re anything like me, you spent your childhood glued to the screen when any ghostly horror movie or tv show was on regardless of the massive nightmares that they inevitably caused. I never actually saw The Night of the Living Dead movie but had nightmares about the preview for weeks after seeing it. My love of horror movies was further flamed by The Amityville Horror house being just a ten minute car drive away from where I grew up in Long Island, New York. In short, I grew up with creep all around me and I loved it. But it wasn’t just terrifying horror and ghost stories that kept my attention. I adored the funnier horror moments like in the children’s tv show Scooby-Doo. Except the Scrappy period, of course. 

Scooby-Doo and Hi Nay Podcast Too

Scooby-Doo was special because it wasn’t just a spooky story where everyone died due to an evil curse or something similar. Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne were a cohesive group of friends that were super fun to watch. They were, in cartoon form, Friends before the Friends tv show existed, only with a kind of supernatural focus. They solved spooky mysteries, kind of, but I would have watched them do anything or nothing at all: they were that relatable and entertaining. Recently I’ve been enjoying the Hi Nay podcast and the oddest thing started to happen. I found myself humming the Scooby-Doo theme song after I listened to an episode. It surprised me at first because I haven’t watched Scooby-Doo in years. But after thinking about its likeness to Hi Nay, it started to make sense. 

Both the Scooby-Doo tv show and Hi Nay podcast have:

• a group of loveable misfits that get themselves into supernatural messes
• a main lesson in every episode is in conquering their own fears
• teasings of romantic relationships that build tension and keeps you guessing
• sarcasm, inside jokes and characters with a sense of humor that makes the less scary moments really enjoyable

What’s Hi Nay Podcast About? 

But I’m getting ahead of myself. You need to know what Hi Nay is about for this comparison to be fully comprehensible. Hi Nay, which means hi mom in Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, is “a supernatural horror fiction podcast about a Filipina immigrant Mari Datuin, whose babaylan (shaman) family background accidentally gets her involved in stopping dangerous supernatural events in Toronto.” As we learned in a background episode, Mari’s mother and aunt started teaching her their magic skills when she was 7 years old. “I’m human but with extra bits” is how she describes her abilities early on in the story. 

Read more: A Case for the Mundane

The Creators

The Creators of Scooby-Doo were Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, they were working for Hanna-Barbera in the 1960’s but from different locations. And that’s how they met. Similarly, the Hi Nay Creators are also in different locations now but they grew up together in the Philippines. Motzie Dapul is a queer Writer, Artist, and Animator and Reg Geli is a Medical Student. Motzie, like the Hi Nay main character Mari, moved to Canada but kept strong ties with her Filipino roots. In fact, Motzie moved to Toronto at the end of August 2018. A fun fact is that even though Joe and Ken started Scooby-Doo, they only worked on it for the original 25 episodes but the Hi Nay podcast is already on episode 16 with the end nowhere in sight. 

Two Creepy Locations

But that’s where the comparison ends because now we’re going to focus on a few of Motzie and Reg’s favorite supernatural moments in Hi Nay. It’s important to note that there are two spooky places often referenced in the podcast: Toronto, Canada and various locations in the Philippines. There is a very special episode of Hi Nay that takes place at the University of Toronto where the character Evelyn encounters more than she expected. And although this side of Hi Nay is very interesting, we’re instead going to focus exclusively on the Filipino cultural moments from the podcast. Even so, you should check out University of Toronto haunting websites, like this one. They’re creepy!

Favorite Supernatural Moments 

(Editor’s note: The following segments contain horror media appropriate spooky scary topics. Tread with caution! Specific content warning for infanticide in the first segment.)

I had the pleasure of chatting with Motzie and Reg about some of their favorite supernatural moments from the podcast recently and am delighted to share these moments with you.  

Tiktik, The Bloosucking Sound Manipulator (A Reg Favorite)

“Anytime there’s an opportunity to reference something from our own culture, even in like a tiny little way, we always take the opportunity for that.” Reg admits. And this is apparent in her favorite supernatural episode, episode 3. In this episode Mari rescues her neighbor Laura from a time loop. During this adventure, Mari is reminded of Tiktik. 

“Back home, there’s a thing, a creature. It makes this creepy ticking noise. When it’s far away it’s louder but when it’s closer, it gets real quiet. Also, it eats small animals and has a thin, long tongue.” Mari explains to Laura when they were debating what the ticking sound in the room they were in was. 

Tiktik is also known for hunting down and eating unborn babies. “We have a lot of monsters that like unborn babies.” Reg added. A quick Google search reveals creatures such as Mananangga, Aswang and Tiyanak (that eat newborn babies not fetuses, but still). Reg goes on, “but tiktik is different because of the sound thing.” Contrary to normal sound behavior, Tiktik’s back of the throat clicking sound gets quieter as it gets closer, not louder. Motzie chimed in, adding that “it’s popular because in the mountains, sound is odd. Sound is a little weird depending on where you are.” This legend probably originated in a mountainous area where sound seems to play tricks on the local population. They shared that Tiktik is a popular tale that’s told to children to scare them into going to sleep. It sounded like the Bogeyman to me. But Reg and Motzie grew up in a city of 3 million people on the Guadalupe Plateau, just northeast of Manila, where sound behaved itself. Needless to say, they weren’t scared by the Tiktik story, they just thought it was cool. 

Episode 3 is special for Reg because Motzie and her not only drew from their own experiences but also from Filipino folklore to connect the character Mari to a supernatural memory from home in a time of crisis. I can’t reveal if the ticking in that room with Mari and Laura was Tiktik or something else because that would ruin the fun of you listening to it! But this Mari reflecting on the Tiktik legend during this stressful moment made me think about how we cope with stress. Sometimes familiar things from home help us feel better, safer, etc, even if they’re scary things in and of themselves. And there’s no quicker way to reflect and learn more about your own culture than to share it with others so I understand exactly what Reg is saying here. In that episode Mari mentioned that she sensed that “something bigger was at play” than just one ghostly or supernatural encounter. 

And this was an understatement!

The outward and inward horror story layers are complex. Inwardly, early in the episode Mari calls her mom and talks about her homesickness. Outwardly Mari and Laura encounter not one but two ghosts when they wrestle with a time loop. Impactful supernatural stories often have this internal/external conflict to connect us to the other worlds explored in them. And the possibility that Tiktik’s clicking sound is, as Reg put it, “messing with you because what you think it’s farther away, it’s actually very close by” fits this horror story criteria perfectly.Yet in some wa, I lost track, is she talking about Tiktik’s sound or Mari’s identity struggles? 

Episode recommendation for more Tiktik stories:

If Tiktik’s story is up your alley, then you’ll want to dive into episode 13.5 also. This is where Mari shares the experiences of her cousin Nia and her fiancé Nigel when they went back to the Philippines to take care of Nia’s mother’s home while she cared for her ailing grandmother. Just don’t, you know, listen with the lights off. 

Motzie’s Favorite Supernatural Moment: “A Man and A Painting…..Melting”

The painting dripping madness of Hi Nay’s episode 6, Larawan (Portrait), is one of Motzie’s favorite supernatural episodes of Hi Nay. They wanted to do something different for this episode, so they incorporated the languages of the Philippines in a really interesting way. Motzie asked many people who could speak different Filipino languages to translate a chant that she had written down in English.There are over 165 Filipino languages, not dialects, but actual languages there, so she had quite a few to choose from for this task!

To set the scene of when Mari, the Babaylan (shaman) main character, had to use this chant/spell, it’s important to know that after Mari rescued Laura in episode 3, they became friends. Laura loved shopping for items in antique stores in Toronto because the city’s long and complicated past bled over into its artifacts. This excited Laura’s adventurous side. And after Laura learned about Mari’s abilities, she invited Mari along often. While shopping in one of these types of shops, they came across a ring that was not activated yet. Mari secured the ring but then had to “use it” (and the spirit in it) when they were then attacked by a, let’s call them a person in a painting in the same store. That’s when Mari uses the chant. 

Motzie and Reg decided to combine different parts of the chant as one language, and other parts as other languages. “If you asked any single Filipino what it meant, it’s highly doubtful that they would know,” Motzie admitted. And that point, that Mari is channeling her culture and her people during many dangerous moments in the Hi Nay story, is a beautiful thread that runs throughout. The community aspect of Hi Nay is not just in the gang of spooky investigators but in Mari’s larger cultural community as well. Mari even tells Detective Donner at one point that she realized early on that she could not fight off these demons on her own. She had to call in backup. And this back up are her ancestors, gods, and so on from her Filipino family, culture and connections. In essence, the combined languages of Mari’s culture created a protective shield for her new friend family. 

There are other ways that language is skillfully added to Hi Nay. One of the most obvious but easily overlooked ways are the episode names. They are all in Tagalog, with an English translation after them. WIth other podcasts I usually read episode titles and then quickly forget them once I start listening. But with Hi Nay, I pay more attention to them because they share not just a hint as to what will happen in the story but because the words used give a language feel for the episode. The sounds of the Tagalog words said at the beginning of the episode add to the atmosphere of that part of the story. It’s an auditory moment of Filipino culture at the very beginning of the episode. The sound of a language is powerful and I feel like these moments are very strategically placed, similar to setting an elegant dinner table before an important meal. Here are a few episode titles for the first few episodes to give you a nibble:

Episode 1: Bulok (Rot)

Episode 2: Ginaw (Cold)

Episode 3: Oras (Time)

Episode 4: Multo (Apparation)

Lighthearted bonus moment from episode 6:

It’s also worth mentioning that this episode has a fan favorite scene where Detective Murphy and Ashvin, an “Indian”guru (who’s really from Mauritius) meet in person for the first time in a bar and flirt extravagantly. 

Laced With Cultural Goodness

These are but two moments in this delicate and heart warming yet sometimes scary tale. I’ve listened to all 16 episodes twice now and can safely say that there are many more cultural moments carefully placed into the podcast. I’d like to leave you with one more such moment, if I may. 

While I was writing this piece I started to wonder about the intro music to the podcast. It’s a short, one instrument clip that hints at contemplation and groundedness. I began to think that this music might be from the Philippines as well, so I emailed Motzie and asked. Spoiler: it is. 

Motzie and Reg commissioned Monching Carpio, a well-respected classical guitarist from the Philippines, to write the intro and outro music for Hi Nay.  “It was the first bit of money we spent on the podcast other than the Podbean subscription.” Motzie admitted. She also mentioned that the song is a folk song called “ili-ili tulog anay”, a Bisaya lullaby about a mother being away. Monchng did the opening on a kalimba and the ending on guitar.

This attention to detail is a large reason why Hi Nay is an amazing supernatural story/podcast that you need to add to your cue immediately. 

More Filipino Supernatural Recommendations:

Motzie and Reg also were kind enough to recommend other Filipino supernatural podcasts, movies, etc for you. 

• Trese (graphic novel, tv show), In Manila, where dark supernatural forces pervade the criminal underworld, it’s up to Alexandra Trese to keep the peace — but there’s a storm brewing.
• The Graveyard Shift, (graphic novel) a supernatural-adventure series following two characters as they defend their town from supernatural chaos!
• Stories With Sapphire, (podcast) Sapphire shares her supernatural experiences via stories, interviews and poems. 
• Lost Shaman (podcast): 

Happy Halloween!

The post Hi Nay: Filipino Horror Meets Scooby-Doo appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

I found a few online spaces where I could share podcasts. Not only could I share the ones that I desperately wanted to tell someone about but I also learned about podcasts that were well beyond what I would have discovered on my own. It’s rather magical actually, our collective podminds helped me learn more than I could have with just my own listening experiences. I socially stumbled upon lesser known stories, communities and experiences with this collective podcast sharing. 

This all transpired years ago for me. So now when I see people online asking for podcast recommendations, I want to send them ideas for podcast listening communities instead. One podcast will not satiate you, I want to say. In lieu of doing that individually online, I’ll share a few of my favorite ways to find your podcast listening communities. 

Searching for a new listening community

Now I’ll guess that most of you are thinking that I’m going to spend time talking about the obvious podcast listening communities like Podcast Brunch Club. This was one of my first podcast listening communities and I’m still active in the group some 4 years later. But since you’re reading this post on Discover Pods, I’m guessing that you’re quite podcast sophisticated and thus already aware of this wonderful community. What’s needed is something more. 

With that in mind, I want to highlight 3 online spaces where you can find podcast listening and sharing communities that are very active. Participation in all of these 3 spaces requires what I recently learned is called “social listening.” This is a term used for when we listen, or said another way, pay attention to what you’re reading online. Really take it in, not just scan it quickly so you can leave a comment. 

Podyssey: A podcast app with listening community built in

When I first started getting social with my podcast listening shares, the podcast apps were not very flexible. Back then we had to walk 20 miles to download a podcast. Oh, wrong story, sorry. You searched for a podcast, you subscribed (that’s what we called it back then) and you listened. End of experience. Things have changed a lot with this listening workflow in the past couple of years, and Podyssey has played a huge part in shaping this change. 

I first heard about Podyssey from a podcast guest of mine. He was the kind of super listener who used a few different podcast apps. You know the type: they’re smart, creative, curious. In this multi-app experience, Podyssey was his discoverability tool. I remember him excitedly describing the follow your friends feature.This is similar to following your friends on other social media apps except that in this case you see the podcasts that your friends are listening to, not the photos or videos that they post. 

And he was excited for very good reasons. The app’s listening community features are very easy to set up and use. In fact, the first tab at the bottom left of the screen is “community,” where you can see what your friends are listening to as well as some of Podyssey’s recommendations based on the interest profile that you fill out. But not only can you see what your friends are listening to, you can see their episode comments. These aren’t stereotypical reviews, which I admit, can be long winded. The comments you see here are quick hurrah comments, questions about the episode content, quick complaints or compliments about how good/bad an episode is and literally anything that is a reaction to the episode. You know how some people write in the margins of a book? I do that, don’t judge me. Well, Podyssey’s comments feel like you’re privy to that kind of creator-consumer dialogue. 

And I’m not the only who’s keen on these joyous listening community aspects of the app. Melody Ma, Co-Founder of Podyssey said, “The most surprising aspect of the listener community is the serendipitous and rich discussions that happen in the app among listening community members that are sparked by podcast episodes. Also, the amazing breath of less known podcasts that podcast fans listen to that are absolute gems.”

Another nice feature that scratches the listening community itch perfectly are the categories. There are regular categories like Comedy, Economics, etc but then there are ones that will help us find lesser heard voices easier (and the listening communities that are talking about them) like LGBTQ+ Pride, Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories, RPGs, Women Supporting Women and so on.

As with all socially driven content, it takes time to build up who you follow so if you try this app to expand your podcast listener community, be sure to give it some time. 

#podsincolor hashtag on Twitter

The #podsincolor hashtag on Twitter functions quite a bit like the Podyssey community function but for a very specific group of podcasts: podcasts of people of color. Berry runs this hashtag as well as the #podin hashtag via the Podcasts in Color Twitter account. The pinned tweet on the account shares that in 2015 she was “unemployed, loved podcasts and decided to create a space to find the POC podcasts that I rarely saw other places back then.” And in 2021 the #podsincolor hashtag is very busy, so Berry was definitely onto something. 

Probably the most popular types of posts on the #podsincolor hashtag are new episode posts from POC podcasters. The podcasters reading this just started to tune out because new episode tweets have a high potential to be very boring and non-descriptive. DON’T. This group of folks know how to self promote. There are some amazingly creative, funny and informative new episode posts here. I found a few new podcasts to listen to myself while scanning the tag to write this very post. Like this funny tweet from the Black Me Up Podcast and this multi-post example from Afropolitan. I wish all episode drop posts on Twitter were this engaging! 

But this hashtag has much more than just new episodes. What kind of listener community would it be if it didn’t have engagement? You’ll also see collaboration requests and connections happening on this hashtag. One of my favorite community moments is this before and after Podcast Movement tweet from Stephen A. Heart from earlier this month. 

I know what you’re thinking: how do all of these podcaster tweets make a podcast listener community? 

Easy. Podcasters may be writing the majority of these tweets but this hashtag is packed with podcasts that listeners can scan, listen to and comment on. And this IS done. Spaces like Berry’s  #podsincolor are a prime example of an open space where creators and listeners can both benefit from sharing episodes, announcements and such. If you scan this hashtag and don’t find a podcast that fits what you’re looking for, then you’re just not pod hungry. It’s that simple. 

Some other hashtags I noticed while perusing through the #podsincolor one that I thought would help you find more podcast listening communities on Twitter are:

• #podcastingwhileblack
• #dopeblackpods
• #blackpodcasters

Lastly, Berry has also created a Podcasts In Color database that can help you discover new POC podcasts by category on their website. 

Find That Pod: Podcast Review Newsletter

We’re all keenly aware of the EarBuds Podcast Collective’s weekly podcast recommendations newsletter. However, did you know that there are now a plethora of podcast recommendation newsletters available, all with their unique personality? And like many of the above mentioned podcast listener communities, the Find That Pod podcast review newsletter created by Sebastian Arciszewski, exists on a few platforms. Probably most obvious to start with is the newsletter itself. Once a week they publish a newsletter that has 5 podcasts to listen to. 

How can a newsletter be a podcast listener community? That’s where we need to jump platforms a bit. There’s usually a CTA (call-to-action) that brings the listeners in closer. Like in the August 6th, 2021 issue, they asked “a very important question on Twitter.” It’s a survey asking for podcast recommendations but not the kind you’re thinking of.

And this isn’t the only CTA. At the end of every newsletter they remind us “Know Some Podcasts I Should Recommend” and add an email address. And they do incorporate these recommendations into the newsletter. Sebastian mentioned that this is how they discovered Nerds Amalgamated. 

There’s more than that. He selects podcasts for the newsletter that you don’t read about in many other places. And I know that we’re talking about listening communities, but how the podcast logos are lushy displayed instead of living in tiny, tiny boxes in many other places online is part of why I started subscribing to podcast recommendation newsletters in the first place. What can I say, I pick my wine by label, my books by title font and my podcasts by logo. Don’t you? 

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, the CTA for podcast recommendations are not just in the newsletter. He frequently asks for them directly on the Twitter account also. And I think the background art on that Twitter account sum up what their Twitter listener community of 5,000+ followers might agree with him on, “You are what you listen to.”

So there you have it: 3 out of the box podcast listening communities that you may not have been aware of. The most important thing of all is that you find a podcast listening community that you feel comfortable in and that it helps you discover and discuss podcasts what you are excited about. It doesn’t matter if this community is online or in person. It doesn’t matter if it’s one person or a group of thousands. It does matter that you don’t get all pod up inside, I mean pent up inside. Share your podcasting life with the world, we are all better when you do this. When we all do this. Happy podding!

The post Want to Talk About Podcasts? Try a Listening Community appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

So I collected a list of some of my favorite podcasts and analyzed how they nourish me. Just as food has, they do appear to provide me with nourishment in the form of grounding, reflecting and connecting. 

Tara Brach 

During the past year I’ve started to use a lot of audio content to help with the inevitable stress and anxiety that comes with changes as big as we’ve all had to deal with. One of the most helpful of these finds is Brach’s podcast. Her advice, stories and humor are so soothing that I find myself calm after just 1 or 2 minutes into an episode. Brach is a Buddhist meditation teacher that balances Eastern and Western spiritual practices and ideas. But honestly, I find her storytelling method to be like listening to a friend. She is funny, grounded, insightful and practical. The episodes vary from just stories to help us handle life’s challenges to guided meditations and sometimes a combination of these two. It’s usually rare for me to relisten to a podcast episode but find her podcast breaks this rule for me. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Real Ass Affirmations 

Chisa Pennix-Brown is humorous in her attempt to calm and soothe her audience but with more of a punch. As you can guess from the title of this podcast, there is cursing involved in her rants and affirmations sometimes. But it’s not crude or offensive. And that rawness is what I love about these short bursts of reality check episodes. Pennix-Brown does not sugar coat anything. Instead, she guides us through one difficult situation at a time with quick, hilarious and biting honesty. But somehow she does this with a gentleness that’s super comforting. Pennix-Brown is the kind of friend that you’d want to reach out to when you wanted blunt, honest feedback that would cut hours and maybe even days off of your self torturous thoughts. It’s one of the most refreshing podcasts that I’ve heard in a long time. 

Read more: The 71 Best Podcasts of 2020

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

I Like The Sound

I am a huge fan of curiosity driven podcasts and this is one of my favorites. It is also in my grounding podcast toolbox because of the atmospheric nature of the episodes. Frank Burton of Ragbag Podcast carefully crafts this sound oriented podcast in the most delightful way. There is a bit of narration but the sounds in every episode are the main characters. For example, in episode 15, “Falling Snow”, the sounds of the snow are internationally the focus. He walks us through the sounds that he captures so we not only hear but see where they are happening. He’s honest that this podcast is a sound experiment. He does not delete the sounds that are not, well, audibly impressive. Instead, he comments on how he can change the sound characteristics, when possible, to make “a more pleasing sound” next time. Unlike all spoken word podcasts, these types of episodes really make me focus on every sound, every moment, and it slows me down. It grounds me. And I appreciate it so much. 

Listen: Podchaser | Stitcher 

The next set of podcasts are reflection focused. 

Bag Ladiez

In a year where I’m consciously ignoring a large part of the news cycle, I’m intrigued by what Estephanie & Lina are doing in their podcast. They are 2 Bronx Afro-Latinas who are balancing the staying informed and staying calm thing far better than I am. They talk about current events in their episodes but it does not at all increase my anxiety at all. Instead, I’m inspired by how they are able to tackle topics like income disparity, masks resistance, anti-blackness and more. But they are not just helping me to stay informed as I block out sensationalistic major “news” sources. They provide perspectives on these issues that I’m not used to hearing. And they do so while being playful, informed, connected and angry. Because to insight change sometimes you have to show your anger. And I’m glad that they are showing us how to channel our anger into making change. We need change and we need Estephanie and Lina. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Wǒ Men podcast: Modern China from the Inside

Yajun Zhang and Jingjing Zhang are two Chinese women who examine modern Chinese culture with a global mindset. The podcast name itself shows you how culturally playful and inquisitive they are: “wǒ men” in Mandarin Chinese means “we” in English but it also looks like the English word “women.” This is intentional. The podcast dives into women’s lives in the fast paced, rapidly changing China. Yajun and Jingjing explore intimate details of modern day Chinese culture that include their LGBTQ+ community, sexual assault, online dating, plastic surgery and so much more. They don’t shy away from topics, they dive into them head first. Even while asking their guests difficult questions, they are always light hearted and respectful. This is a strong podcast from two people who want to share aspects of their culture with the English speaking audience. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Brown Girls Read

Daman Tiwana and Khyati Thakur are my kind of bookworms. They read across genres, are not shy about their opinions, and openly share content connections to their Indian backgrounds. Because their personal connection to reading and to each other is so strong, I find myself listening to them talk about books that I normally would not consider reading. For example, I’d been successfully ignoring a certain productivity book for years. But when they reviewed it and applied it to their daily lives last July, I could not resist. The points in the book that they highlighted sounded really useful so I decided to read it. Not surprisingly, I found immediate and needed improvements in my life. Because Daman, Khyati and I seem to value similar things in life, I know I can trust their blunt and detailed reviews of books.

Listen: Apple Podcasts |Spotify

Faster Than Normal

I have not been officially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD but after reading Peter Shankman’s book by the same name podcast last year, I knew I didn’t need to. I’ve always processed things faster and very differently than others. I didn’t realize how much I internalized a certain shame with my neurodiversity until finding FTN. The beauty of both the book and the podcast is that Peter exudes such a positive, zero shame energy about his own faster than normal brain that it’s hard to stay self critical. Throughout the episodes I’ve realized that he’s right, we are not weird or wrong, we are different. And our differences can be used to our advantage. The tips that his guests share of accepting their FTN brain give examples on how to do this. In this podcast he’s really doing an amazing job helping to reframe the negative stigma around ADD/ADHD and to move us to the point of accepting ourselves. Myself. Yourself. Ourselves. It’s truly a beautiful thing. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Finally, here are some podcasts that help me connect to the larger world around me.   Spoiler, they also teach me quite a bit in the process. 

Seen and Not Heard

I followed this podcast because of what Caroline Mincks, the Creator, was doing in the podcasting space to educate people about making podcasts more accessible to deaf, Deaf and hearing impaired folks.I was prepared for an audio drama that was informed, educational and useful. What I wasn’t fully ready for the soft and addictive nature of this story. Bet, the lead character, is vulnerably lost and honest, making her way through the world after a life changing illness affected her hearing greatly. As she struggles with her own place in this new world, I  find myself comparing our parallel emotional lives. But I’m also gaining insights into deaf and Deaf environments, communities and norms. This is a gorgeous story of loss, gain and the human connection and I am a more connected person for having listened to it. You will be too! (Disclosure: Caroline Mincks has contributed to Discover Pods.)

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

AfroQueer

The stories in this podcast are brutally honest and sometimes it’s hard to keep going.  So far I’ve learned about controversial films like Rafiki, a gay wedding in Nigeria that went viral online, African gay fiction Writers, and so much more. The episode “Choices,” for example, is a powerful telling of a roller coaster ride of a queer African love story that started out online. I kid you not, while listening to this episode I shouted at my phone “walk away, she’s lying to you.” That’s how delicately they craft these stories for the podcast. There are so many layers of emotions and complications to these stories. These stories that need to be heard: in and outside of the African continent. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Hit Parade

Even though music has personally inspired and defined entire segments of my life, I rarely take the time to sit down and contextualize all of the factors that go into making it. And that’s why I love listening to Hit Parade. Pop-Chart Analyst Chris Molanphy takes deep dives into many different genres of music such as yacht rock, heavy metal, country, rap and more. With incredible research acumen he creates a web of interconnectivity between music and history. 

And this is why I’m still mad at Chris for last year’s Billy Joel episode. In painstaking detail he described how Mr. Joel may have etched out a music career by riding trends instead of honing his own craft. It was a painful realization for a musical landscape that my childhood was built on. But then again, it was a geniusly crafted argument. And he might be right. But I won’t ever admit that. I’m keeping the faith. 

  Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

After pondering the effects of these podcasts I think it’s safe to say that yes, we are what we listen to. Or at least, I am what I listen to. I want to be at least. I want to be grounded, reflective and connected and I feel like podcasts help me reach these goals, even on iffy days. What podcasts do you eat–I mean, listen to–for nourishment? 

The post You Are What You Listen To: How Podcast Listening Nourishes Me appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

Since the DAW discussion has already been discussed in great detail, in this article I want to highlight other challenges that keep podcast editing from being a low barrier to entry space.  

Thus, I’ll be sharing the largest barriers to entry that 9 Podcast Editors that I interviewed experienced in their journey into this field. Their backgrounds prior to podcast editing ranged from Marketing, Radio/Audio Production, Teaching Management, Music, Financial Communications and Media Strategy. Despite their differences in background, their frustrations while trying to enter the podcast editing space were remarkably similar. In short, the barriers were the what, where and how of podcast editing. 

Challenge 1: What Is a Podcast Editor?

This is best described by bringing in some of the stories of the editors I interviewed. For example, after 12 years in Media Strategy, Christina Wisboro is in the process of transitioning into work as a Podcast Associate Producer. To prepare, she did a 9 week intensive podcast production fellowship with The Gotham earlier this year. To look for jobs, she signed up for listservs like Ladio (an email listserv for women in radio), is searching on LinkedIn, is doing some company research, and is redoing her website. 

Wisboro and I spent a fair bit of time talking about podcast editing challenges and the process of defining what podcast editing means. This was a task that was repeated with nearly every interviewee. 

To prevent any misunderstandings in this article, I’d like to state up front what roles I mean when I talk about a “podcast editor.” I’m using the bigger umbrella of podcast editing that encompasses:

• Podcast Producer (and Associate Producer)
• Podcast Content Editor
• Podcast Audio Editor

Think of it as someone who changes a podcast in any way, shape or form after it’s been recorded. 

Solution 1: Podcast Taxonomy 

It’s also important to mention that while I’m not using the terminology in the Podcast Taxomony, which was created in December 2020 by “Podchaser and Staff Me Up, representatives from across podcasting,” doing so would solve this confusion. According to this valuable categorization effort, I should be using terms like audio production, audio post-production, creative direction and possibly writing to cover the tasks that I envision a podcast editor to work on. However, I’m afraid that their terminology appears to be too new to be widely used in actual job postings that the interviewees are viewing during their job search. Instead, terms like Producer and Editor are more commonly and confusingly used. 

Challenge 2: Unclear, Inconsistent, and Unreasonable Job Requirements 

Neal of PodKnows Productions worked in radio for 20 years before entering the world of podcasting. When he was looking for work as a podcast editor, he noticed that a university degree was required for a lot of them. “We need to have an academy instead,” he suggested. He learned Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition) on the job when DAWs replaced the good old tape and razor blade method of editing back in the mid-1990’s. It’s perplexing to him why a university degree would be required for these editing positions because it’s more of a hands-on experience than something you study. 

Read more: Switching DAWs: A Tale of Four Digital Audio Workspaces

Jorge Palacios Jr. was a Kindergarten Assistant and Musician before entering the podcast editing space. When he got laid off in April 2020 he decided to direct this audio editing experience towards podcasts. The jobs he found did not require a university degree, but most of them did list 1-2 years experience in podcast editing specifically, so he felt that his time using DAWs for music was not seen as enough experience for these positions. The jobs also included more producing, scheduling and more tasks than he was looking for. He looked on popular job sites like LinkedIn and Indeed but he also used local Denver resources as well. The good news is that after 10 months, he was able to land a job as the Pastoral Associate for Liturgy and Music at Annunciation Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado. 

James Errington of the Centuries of Sound podcast applied to many podcast editing positions online but did not have any interviews during the time he was actively looking for editing work. This is quite puzzling, since he has 14 years experience with Adobe Audition and audio restoration. Even so, his resume does show that he was in Teaching Management positions for a large portion of this time. He has since gotten another position in Education but still ponders why he was not contacted more about these editing positions. Interestingly though, he mentioned that he has received DMs (direct messages) on Twitter for editing work because of his podcast. 

Solution 2: Help Share Best Practices to Standardize Skill Levels

Becky Celestina admits that she was very lucky getting jobs in podcasting. She’s no longer a podcast editor but after studying media in university, with an emphasis on film, she did an internship with Quick and Dirty Tips. After that she moved on to a Producer job at Macmillan for two and a half years. Nowadays, she is the Content Partner Manager at Acast. In fact, I first became aware of Celestina when she hosted a Pro Tools tutorial via Acast back in March 2021. Reading online posts about how women were “not capable” of podcast editing recently infuriated her. This made her think about why more women and other populations were not represented more in the space and propose this Pro Tools tutorial. 

Steve Stewart was thrust into having a podcast editing business while he was working on his personal finance coaching business back in 2016. In a very short period of time he went from creating his personal finance podcast to having more podcast editing clients than he could handle solo. His solution was to set up a training program to find the right podcast editors to outsource to. About once a year since then he has held an affordable podcast editing class where he trains people on the basics of the craft. The students in the class know that there is a chance that he may hire them for freelance work after the course. One of the most interesting parts of the course is that it is not DAW specific. He shows how to do tasks in Audacity because that is his main DAW but students are encouraged to use any technology that they feel comfortable using. 

Challenge 3: Location, location, location!

Location came up a lot in these interviews, ironically both as an advantage and disadvantage in getting podcast editing jobs. 

Bekah Johnson did an audio engineering training program from 2005-2007 and then filled in the knowledge gaps by using the resources on Transom and Hindenburg’s online workshops. In 2012, she did an internship at On Being and then got a producer job with a different organization. Along the way, she has done freelance podcast editing and producing tasks as well. And what she noticed, especially when she was using a popular freelancing platform to find clients, is that her clients were extremely unrealistic with pay and work expectations. The low pay per episode competition was too intense, and she ended up pulling her services from these platforms altogether. 

Jason Stershic, better known online as Agent Palmer, came over to Podcast Editing from Marketing and Technical Writing. He taught himself editing about 5 years ago for his own podcast and has been trying more recently to find more podcast editing work in the industry. His biggest obstacle in this search has been that of location. In the job posts he’s seen, there have been mostly part-time work with in-person requirements. Although he lives only a 90 minute drive to New York and Philadelphia, it doesn’t make economic or time sense for him to commute into a studio for part-time editing work. And although he understands that some of this studio time might be for Producer work during a recording, it still feels like an unnecessary requirement to him. “In studio Producers are usually in a room next to the recording studio anyway, which can be replicated with a virtual video feed.

Solution #3: Search globally/bilingually 

Despite the fierce online competition for English language podcast editing jobs, there may be less competition for other languages in this space. For example, Thomas Reinjes is originally from Germany but has lived in New York City since 2013. He has 20 years of experience in radio, mostly in behind the scene work like editing, producing, etc.” About 3 years ago, he redirected these skills over to podcasting. He is trained in using Hindenburg and Reaper but it is his ability to edit podcasts in the German language that seems to be keeping him busy these days. (Editor’s note: Reinjes additionally works on English and English/German bilingual podcasts and traditional radio programs.) Podcasting in Germany has started to take off over the past year. So much so that he is working full time only with clients in Germany making German language podcasts. 

Challenge 4: How Edited Should A Podcast Be, Anyway?

“What’s your editing workflow?” is a guaranteed way to get a long conversation going in any podcast or podcast editing environment. Most of the time the answers will be long and highly technical. Both Celestina, Johnson and myself, if I’m honest, are all quite frustrated with this because most podcasts don’t need that much processing.

Johnson said that it was not uncommon for her to hear podcast episodes that were worked on past the point where processing them made them sound better. There is that delicate tipping point where the effects go from making the audio sound better to making it sound worse.

One of Celestina’s audio mentors often repeated, “If it doesn’t sound good, that’s a problem” and it stuck with her. In fact, she went as far as to say that as a podcast listener, she would prefer “raw tape instead of overly processed tape.” Tape being digital audio in this case, of course. 

Solution 4: Keep It Simple With Community Conversations 

I’d like to suggest that the murkiness of the space may be exaggerating our imposter syndrome and that this makes Editors work harder than needed to try and get good sound. Or maybe these Editors simply do not have an editing community to learn best or common practices. With these two possibilities in mind, I’d like to suggest that building, sharing and learning from a podcast editor community be the solution. Here’s a list of online podcast editing communities that our interviewees and myself want to share with you.  

• Celestina’s list of podcast editing communities are in the “Find a podcasting community” section in her piece with Ryan Hatoum, “5 queer creators share lessons for LGBTQ people looking to start their own podcast”
• Facebook podcast editing groups include Just Busters (female and non-binary editors)
• Podcast Editors Club
• Women of Color (WOC) Editors Directory 
• The UK Audio Network
• DAW groups on Facebook are not just for podcasters, but there are plenty of us in there and are great audio communities: Audacity, Hindenburg, Adobe Audition, Reaper , and Pro Tools
• On Discord there are groups like Tom Kelly’s Clear Cut Audio to get involved with.

The Future of the Podcast Editor

It’s exciting to be in a creative space that is changing and growing so fast. But with these changes we need to take time to assess if everyone who wants to get involved has the opportunity to do so. DAW accessibility is one of the barriers to entry but unfortunately, there are more. I hope by highlighting these 4 barriers and some possible solutions that we can make the space more inviting to those that want to join us.

The post The Podcast Editor Power Struggle: An Overview appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

But inevitably podcast editors start looking around at other DAWs. A desire to streamline their editing workflow, remove or adjust less desirable sounds and add effects onto their starting editing tasks are some of the most common reasons why podcast editors want to switch DAWs.  

There are many options to choose from when moving from a free DAW to a paid one. And just as many factors to consider when making this decision. Hindenburg, Adobe Audition, Logic Pro and Reaper are all popular DAWs to switch to in situations like this. I’ve been hearing Editors talk about a DAW they’re using for awhile now and this is interesting. But what I was really craving was to hear how two or more DAWs compare to each other. Do DAWs think differently? What are their unique characteristics? I had questions that spec sheets and single digital audio workspace tutorial videos simply could not satiate. So I set out into the waveforms to find brave Editors to tell me their DAW switching stories. Here are their stories.

Read more: Lessons From A Poorly-Run Daily Podcast

Digital Audio Workspace (DAW) 1: Hindenburg

Shaun Behrens, Host & Editor of The Germany Experience, learned Audacity to edit music for his band years before he started podcasting. It was only natural then that he transferred this skill over to his podcast editing. But the time he was spending on editing was starting to take its toll. Shaun, like many Podcasters, has a full time job and a family in addition to his podcast. Needless to say, time was a big factor in his podcast workflow. Luckily, switching to Hindenburg really helped with this. The biggest time savers in Hindy (a nickname DAW users like to use for this tool) were auto leveling and auto ducking. “At the end of the day I’m not here to learn audio production. I’m here to produce a podcast.” Even so, he admits to still using Audacity for noise removal tasks occasionally because he thinks it does a better job than Hindenburg does with this. He also liked how quickly he was able to learn how to use Hindenburg. When time is this important, a short learning curve is key. Ultimately, using Hindenburg as his main DAW has cut down his editing time by about 30 minutes per podcast episode. That’s a big time savings. 

Like Shaun, Patricia Qhobela-Jenkins, Founder & Podcast Editor at Podcast Maven, also started with Audacity and then switched to Hindenburg. She wanted a DAW that was more foolproof. It’s easy to make accidental mistakes in Audacity because it does destructive editing. This means that when you delete part of an audio file, it’s gone. Patricia was really happy with how much of the process was automated with Hindenburg. “I had to do the thinking for Audacity,” she admitted but like Shaun, she didn’t want to do all of the things all of the time. Less decisions meant less editing time for her as well. Unfortunately Patricia was using the basic version of Hindenburg on an old Mac, which ended up not working so well. Hindenburg was just too heavy of a program for an older computer. She tried going back to Audacity but discovered that the lightness of Adobe Audition ended up working better on her device than either Audacity or Hindenburg did.   

DAW 2: Adobe Audition

Audition’s lightness was one reason why Patricia quickly fell in love with it but there was more. When talking about this DAW we both agreed that the UI is simple, clean and very user friendly. It’s much more straightforward than many DAWs. For example, you don’t have to go searching for the effects because the effects rack is part of the main screen. The biggest time savers that Patricia experienced with Audition were with the presets, the abundance of learning resources and the transparency with the why of Audition’s actions. It’s no surprise then that this is still her primary DAW. 

Paroma Chakravarty, Podcast Editor, Creator & Host of Dramas Over Flowers also started with Audacity and switched to Audition but her story does not have the same happy ending. Voiceover work is why Paroma first started using Audacity. That’s when she came to appreciate its editing precision, by far her favorite feature of the DAW. In contrast, Audition’s razor is not as accurate. The cursor moves frame to frame only, which was often a larger amount of a sound snippet than she wanted to cut or adjust. “Audacity is like an old sword master, making you learn the ropes with more and more difficult tools. But Audition is the slick lawyer type that will solve all your problems with little effort,” she jokingly explained. 

She first switched to Audition because she was already using Adobe Suites for her video work. Oh, and the infamous Audacity crashing issue. It crashes a lot. Although she missed the Audacity waveform, she found many new features in Audition that more than made up for it. She liked the ability to apply effects to each track individually and to set up macros like lowering volume by a certain amount. But the monthly expense of Adobe Audition did not balance out these  advantages for her. Currently, she is in the process of switching to Reaper. 

DAW 3: Logic Pro

Up to now we’ve explored time, computer speed and cost as factors that make or break a DAW experience for podcast Editors. Let’s explore a lesser talked about factor: comfort level. “It’s not so much about how the DAW thinks, as how I interact with it,” King Kur of the Black History Podcast aptly admitted. Like many podcast Editors, his audio work started with analog workstations that had knobs and switches. For him, it was important for the digital space to be as close to this familiar physical space so that he could focus on the creative flow of a project. In the process, he tried out GarageBand and Final Cut Pro but ended up feeling the most at digitally home with Logic Pro. 

For him, Logic was comfortable. This comfort level meant that there was also a very small learning curve. If you’ve even heard his podcast then you know that Kur does quite a bit of soundscaping so being comfortable with the tool that’s used for this sound intensive work is vital.It’s akin to a musician’s instrument choice or a photographer’s camera preference. A DAW can have amazing effects and functionality but if the Editor does not click with it, it’s useless. 

And although Logic is his primary DAW he still uses Descript for quick edits and QBase when he wants to work on his ipad. He did mention that Logic may not be a good first DAW for a new Editor. In fact, he stressed that most DAWs have too many options for most new podcast Editors. If, for example, an Editor is working on an interview episode that is mostly voices, they would not need the majority of the effects and plugins that are available in many of the paid DAWs mentioned here. He also stressed that once an Editor learns a DAW, they usually don’t switch because switching means losing this comfort level and creative flow. They don’t switch, that is, unless they have to for employment reasons.  

And that’s exactly what happened to Audio & Podcast Editor Isabelle Jocelyn. She noticed that many editing jobs she was applying to required Pro Tools but she was using Logic Pro. She had used ProTools in college for music and film projects but then switched to Logic Pro. Now she uses both DAWs depending on the situation. “…the DAW I choose to edit a podcast with depends on the amount of responsibility that I have with that podcast. A heavy responsibility will lead me to use Pro Tools. A lighter responsibility will lead me to use Logic.” 

There are also times when she uses one of the two DAWs for a specific micro-task. For example, she uses Logic to import and export certain files to the sample rate and bit depth that she wants before importing them into Pro Tools. In her experience when converting files, Pro Tools has not always been reliable for her. But Pro Tools simplifies your workflow by automatically creating a folder for the episode as soon as you start a session. 

DAW 4: Reaper

Let’s return to Paroma’s DAW story. Earlier we learned that she started her podcast editing with Audacity and then switched to Adobe Audition. However, the cost was a factor so she decided to switch to Reaper.   

Paroma noticed right away that the Reaper UI hides more things than Audacity or Audition did. In podcast editing groups, I often hear that Reaper takes some time to settle into but once you do, it is a massive timesaver. In this case, it’s important to note that by the time Paroma started using Reaper, she had years of experience under her belt. This surely helped shorten her learning curve. Her experience, patience and audio curiosity is exactly what it takes to gel with Reaper. 

So if you’re thinking of starting your DAW experience or switching over to Reaper, you should probably be a rather patient person who is willing to put in the time up front to get through this steep learning curve. But don’t worry, there is a 60 day trial period and an abundance of resources available online. This should be plenty of time for you to know if you grok Reaper.  

Similar to Paroma, Garth Humphreys had years of experience using Amadeus Pro for music and podcasts before trying Reaper out. Garth is blind so accessibility is very important in his DAW selections. Amadeus Pro was very accessible but also has some limitations. For example, the volume and pan envelopes were not accessible in Amadeus but are in Reaper. Additionally, he was not pleased that Amadeus Pro was a destructive editor. He wanted to find a non-destructive editor to replace it. Garth heard good things about Reaper so once he found out it was highly accessible, he decided to try it.  

He describes Reaper as being a multi-track editor that acts like a single track editor. The biggest time savers for him in Reaper are that he can use more than 1 type of media in the same window and the custom actions. The custom actions, similar to shortcut keys in other DAWs, are something that everyone talks about with Reaper. They are different to shortcut keys because they can be a series of actions in one custom action. Garth has a custom action for adjusting the volume to a certain level and jumping back 5 seconds to hear the selection again before proceeding with the editing process. This is one custom action. In many other DAWs this action would take multiple steps and possibly a menu selection. 

But he admits that Reaper is not easy at first. “It’s the Linux of DAWs”, meaning that the customization and flexibility come with a heavy time investment in the beginning. That’s why it’s so important to take advantage of the 60 day trial period that Reaper offers. 

Read more: How To Start A Podcast (The Complete Guide)

My Digital Audio Workspace Experience

As for myself, I started my podcast editing journey using the powerful and free DAW (digital audio workspace), Audacity. But when I started to edit for clients, I wanted more tools in my toolbox. This is when my DAW exploration began. Since then I have personally explored Reaper (momentarily), Adobe Audition and thanks to the Radio Day sale in February, I’m now starting to explore Hindenburg.

In just a few digital audio workspace stories, we covered selection factors such as time, computer compatibility, cost, employment requirements, comfort level, accessibility and customization. As you can see, there is a lot to think about when switching DAWs. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to try the DAW out first before deciding. Just as you will click with a person, you will know pretty soon if you click with a DAW.

The post Switching DAWs: A Tale of Four Digital Audio Workspaces appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

The Fluent Show  

Kerstin Cable started the Fluent Show podcast in 2014 and Lindsey Williams joined later as a guest and is now as a once a month Co-Host. Their goal is to provide practical tips and encouragement for language learners throughout their language journey but their impact has been much more impactful than this. In all of the types of episodes (interviews, answering listener questions and conversations between the two of them) the language talk is honest, open and  driven. Kerstin and Lindsay are both multilingual but they still share struggles with their current language learning process all the same. Their language sensitivity makes this podcast unique and heartwarming: they are not just encouraging the acquisition of a language as a skill but as a part of our emotional lives. They both have a strong presence in the global polyglot community and have a number of language related projects that they are involved with in addition to this podcast including the Women In Language Conference.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Website | Podchaser

Mandarin By Mistake

One of the things that is far too often missed when talking about learning a language as an adult is balancing life with the learning process. Cameron, an Australian man with a full time job, side businesses, a family, intensive sports hobbies and a pension for language learning shares weekly how he deals with this tricky triad of physical, social and language learning health. His main goals, he reminds us (and probably himself) often are to speak Mandarin Chinese for social conversations to help him connect to business clients on more than a monetary level and to learn more about Chinese traditional culture from within the language. His shameless efforts in using Mandarin Chinese in any and all situations that he can in Melbourne, where he lives, are inspiring. As an added bonus, he describes the cognitive tools that he finds for his physical fitness training to help him organize and realistically plan his language learning schedule and execution.     

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Podchaser

You Can Learn Chinese

Jared Turner and John Pasden of the Mandarin Companion graded reader series want to help you find and nurture your Mandarin Chinese language WHY via this podcast.  Motivation is the key to language success that is often missing. They are two Americans who have lived in Shanghai, China for quite some time and who have reached a high level of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. The unique quality of what Jared and John do in this podcast is not in the topics they cover alone but in how they view them and the depth that they can, as fluent users of Mandarin Chinese, go into them. In fact, because of their approach to language learning, many of these episodes can be useful to learners of other languages as well. And for those of you reading this that use WeChat, there is a WeChat group for the podcast where both Jared, John as well as many of their guests, are very active discussing different aspects of learning Mandarin Chinese. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Website | Podchaser

My Fluent Podcast: Learn With A Learner

One of the most brave language learners out there is Daniel Goodson (an online alias), a Swiss National who claims to speak the most difficult dialect of Swiss German. He started this podcast when he hit an intermediate slump in his English language usage, a common plateau in language learning in general. He has been making this podcast since April 2016 and with time has included interviews, book reviews, language learning thoughts, reflections, and frustrations. There are also specific episodes where he shares Quora responses to his posted questions. No matter what type of episode he produces there is an underlying content clarity and relevance that is useful, personal and curious. Daniel’s language fluency determination and candor make this a learning journey journey that is very interesting to follow. And with 4 years of episodes available, follow we can. 

Listen: Apple | Website  | Stitcher | Podchaser

Chenelle’s language learning journey podcast

Adding to this list of brave and sharing language learners is Chenelle Patrice Hancock, a visually impaired woman approaches her language learning with a veracity that is hard to match. In her language learning life Chenelle has learned to use Spanish, Russian, and Arabic, to name a few languages. But what sets her audio experiences apart is not how many languages but how much they are a part of her life. For example, even if she is not studying Japanese, she shared that if she knows that she is going to a Japanese restaurant she will look up and practice a few words and phrases so that she can use them for the experience. Chenelle also interviews enthusiastic and successful language learners with different backgrounds, including some visually impaired language learners as well. All the while, Chenelle does not sugar coat her language learning or visual challenges and that is what makes this podcast so unique to listen to because her bluntness and frustration fuel her language curiosity and determination to explore other languages and cultures.  

Listen: Apple | Spotify | Podchaser

The post 5 Podcasts To Help You Learn a New Language (That Inspire & Motivate Without Teaching) appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

1. Gastropod

Put on your bibs because we are starting this science journey through your stomach. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley celebrated their podversary recently and it is easy to see (and virtually taste) why their podcast has stood the test of podtime. Like many Pod CoHosting duos, one person had an idea for a podcast (Cynthia) and their friend said “not without me you’re not” (Nicola). Their idea of combining food, science and history into an audio experience was born and has flourished for five years. In this time they have covered aspects of this trifecta like how gold spoons make food taste creamier, a visit to a sourdough museum of over 100 samples and the history of Jack Daniels. Their September 2019 five year anniversary episode is the perfect way to start your trip to this science-food-history podtriangle of yumminess.  

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

2. Generic Drift

Moving up the food chain, it’s time to talk dinosaurs with British Biologists Harvey Broadhurst & Adam Bakewell. They also cover astrobiology, neanderthals and whatever other sciencey type topics come into their inquisitive periphery. Although this dynamic duo is serious about their research, they are down to earth and rather silly in their discussions. Their episodes include science news like the fungus that was introduced into concrete to organically plug future cracks in the material, personal moments like when Harvey’s niece was born (and named Thea), meta updates on how their podcasting experience is going and much, much more. Harvey and Adam are two intelligent, quirky Researchers with a passion for sharing and learning. There is nothing generic about that. Note: the “generic” podcast name and the last sentence “generic” have totally different meanings.     

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

3. Spark Science

Like Generic Drift, Spark Science casts a wide science net but there is definitely an influence from Host Dr. Regina Barber DeGraaf’s areas of expertise of Astronomy, Physics and Science Communication. Episodes on the Mars Rover, The Difficulties and Triumphs of Space Travel and Life on Other Worlds are some prime examples. Regina is a no nonsense, intellectually interested person who asks intriguing questions and not only listens but engages with her guests on a deeper level than expected. Our starting episode recommendation demonstrates this connectivity perfectly, in fact. It is the Ken Liu: Talking Science & Fiction episode. During their conversation we can feel the gravitational and emotional pull already existing between them. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts

4. Climactic Podcast

But not all planetary bodies are experiencing joy. “We live in Climactic times” as Mark Spencer and Rich Bowden of the Climactic Podcast warn. Although Mark, a podcast listener since the age of 13, and Rich, his frequent Co-Host cover needed Australia and globally serious climate related topics, the overall tone of this science podcast is informative, caring, nurturing and friendly. From early episodes they have advocated for many people to share their climate stories and the response has been strong. The array of topics and guests are varied and impressive like NASA Geobiologist Dr. Darlene Lim and Director of New York City’s Climate Museum Miranda Massie and members of the international movement Extinction Rebellion. Essentially, they will have conversations with anyone, anywhere about any and all aspects of climate change, how it affects us and how we can change things. Mark and his climate crew are not defeatists. They are hopeful, practical and inviting. In fact, a great first episode to listen to is the Sci-Fight-Are Humans Worth Saving? Science Comedy Debates where Science Comedy Debates were held in the Science Gallery Melbourne to explore our hilarious but needing changing addiction to disposable things. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

5. Brain Science Podcasts

Let’s move on now from tickling your climate funny bone to scratching your brain. There is no one better for this task than the Host of the Brain Science Podcast, Dr. Ginger Campbell, an emergency physician with a strong mind-body connection interest. Campbell started this science podcast in 2006 and as such you can imagine how many topics she has covered in that time period. To name a few: neurobiology, exercise and the brain, animal emotions, and vaccines. If this list of topics seems too nerdy for you then be assured that Campbell takes a very big picture approach to interviewing her guests. Although some of the science jargon they use is unavoidable, the explanations that come after them is extremely easy to follow. So much so that there are numerous reviews of the podcast from students, teachers and health practitioners who claim that this science podcast is what keeps them up to date in neuroscience, even though it is not their specialty. And if that isn’t reassuring enough, Campbell’s voice should be. Her soothing southern drawl adds an extra softening to the brainy content. There really isn’t an area of neuroscience that she hasn’t covered but thanks to our changing technological world, new areas have arisen organically, such as artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, episode 155 on AI is a good place to start your brain science podcast listening since this a blazing hot topic these days.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

6. AI Australia

Speaking of AI, this newer podcast from Australia with James Wilson and Nigel Dalton is also a must listen. It is tempting with new technology to focus solely on the business potential and shy away from the tough ethical questions that need addressing but James and Nigel face them head on. What’s refreshing about this podcast is that there is a strong ethical thread through all of the episodes and it feels like James and Nigel have our best interests and futures in mind when they talk to their guests. This is an interview podcast with global experts in many aspects of Artificial Intelligence helping us understand exactly what AI is, how it is currently affecting us and how it will continue to shape our lives in the future. Automation, privacy, healthcare, chatbots, crispr, and biohacking are some of the topics they have covered so far in the podcast. As with previous science podcasts AI Australia conversations are informative and understandable for the layman. A good listening starting point is the More Than Chatbots episode because chatbots are already a large part of our daily lives. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

7. Tiny Vampires

Another pervasive part of our daily lives are blood sucking insects and Science Communicator Raven Forrest Fruscalzo wants to make sure we have all the information on these potentially dangerous creatures. We and Nosotros because Raven publishes this science podcast in English and Spanish. Get ready for your skin to crawl because here is a list of some of the creatures she shares research about: fleas, ticks, mosquitos, carpenter ants, parasitic worms, and kissing bugs. Raven explains academic research on these creatures, diseases or harm they may inflict and the populations that are most affected by them. In fact, she spends quite a bit of time making us aware that many diseases that we do not know about transmitted by these creatures are not widely shared precisely because the population they effect are in poor regions of the world.And she wants that to change. The tsetse fly in Africa and the kissing bug in Latin America being two prime examples. But Raven is anything but pushy or judgemental, she is 100% intelligent, articulate and informed. A good starter episode is episode 7, where she explores if the situation that happened in the movie Outbreak could actually happen in real life. Be afraid or be informed, it’s your choice. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

8. ZSL Wild Science Podcast

ZSL, with “z” pronounced “zed”, from the Zoological Society of London moves us onto larger creatures in this podcast list. Research Fellow Dr. Monni Böhm helps us explore the Conservation Science side of the animal kingdom. Topics such as plastic’s impact on the animal kingdom, how electric animal tracking can help us protect endangered species, the impact of the urban environment on animals and what we can learn from indiginous communities are explored when Böhm interviews many other Researchers in varying parts of the Conservation Science space. This may sound terribly serious but the pangolins episode displays Böhm’s sense of humor by pairing a chat about pangolins with international wine day festivities. What’s a pangolin? Her guest describes it as an animal that looks like a combination of a dinosaur and a pine cone. When you Google pangolin you will understand why this is a great episode to start listening to ZSL Wild Science Podcast. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

9. A Life in Ruins

We have spent quite a bit of time above ground so far in this list so let’s go underground with the help of this archeological trio. Former classmates from the University of Wyoming: Carlton Gover, Connor Johnen, and David Howe dig into this topic with vigor and humor. In fact, this science podcast almost deserves a comedy category it’s that funny. They are all clearly confident, intelligent and very good friends, as their archeological jargon and friendly but teasing banter suggests. And yet we can easily learn heaps about the field through their, as they say, ‘ridiculous stories’. A perfect starting episode is episode 6- Eat, Dig, Love: A Summer in the Ukraine. It will ruin you.   

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

10. Dope Labs

Science classes in high school should be like Dope Labs. Scientists and best friends Titi and Zakiya are so comfortable in their science skin that they move from playful to deeply thought provoking and intelligent without batting an eyelash. “Science is for errybody” is their tagline and they mean it. They take viral conversations from the Internet and connect them to science. That’s it. It’s so simple, so beautifully simple. They have guests, ask interesting questions and keep the conversation flowing and funny. Lab 005: Wakanda Forever (they call episodes “labs”) is where they chat with Dr. James Kakilos about science for superheroes. The movie Black Panther and the element of power in it, vibranium, is extensively discussed in this episode, among other aspects of science and super heroes. Start listening here but be warned, don’t listen on the metro because you will be laughing too hard and people will look at you weird. 

Listen: Spotify

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The post 10 Science Podcasts You Haven’t Heard of (Yet)! appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.