The First Michael is evidence storytelling podcasts live and die on the skills of the host. On its face, its host Michael Buonocore reciting scripted vignettes from his life that relate to an overarching story of his recently being introduced to his remaining biological family, all the while accompanied by friend Lanie Hoyo. Buonocore is a charming host who takes full advantage of his close rapport with Hoyo in every episode, knowing exactly when to twist a story or lean in on a comedic detail for a laugh break. 

In the end it’s a story of mild interest told with the intensity and performance of a one-man show, Buonocore belting jokes to the cheap seats as he incrementally works his way through larger themes of queerness and religion woven into a relatively bog-standard story of meeting biological family. The true twist is Buonocore’s ability to take a concept that could be wrapped up in a 20 minutes and expand it out into an entertaining full miniseries. No ads, minimal segments. It’s a lightweight storytelling podcast that only truly comes up lacking in editing (Buonocore tends to re-read scripted segments if distracted and leaves in the repeated audio) and no transcripts. 

We were fortunate to talk with Buonocore 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

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

BUONOCORE: I love the format and, a couple of years ago, my podcasting partner, Lanie Hoyo and I created a podcast together that had some good elements to it, but overall didn’t work. It helped us understand our strengths as hosts and as a duo, and to create something now that people really enjoy listening to and that we enjoy making. I suspect for a lot of podcasters, it’s important to feel really creatively inspired by your show, because there’s so much other work that goes into it beyond the parts you find fun. It was a gift to have our first effort kind of flop, because it confirmed we love doing it, but we took some great lessons away that helped in the creation of The First Michael.

Read more: These Fiction Podcasts Want Your Stories

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to The First Michael podcast?

BUONOCORE: Foremost, in my opinion, is that there are really great laughs and it’s just a fun, engaging listen. My story is very specific to me, but there are so many threads of shared humanity in it that all kinds of people find themselves in the stories. It could be that you were adopted, you’re queer, you’re the child of an alcoholic, you grew up feeling like a weirdo, you discovered family secrets… I say in the podcast that we connect to each other and to ourselves through stories. If you love that feeling of sitting around and laughing while you trade stories about crazy things that have happened in your life, you get that in our podcast and you’ll feel like you’re part of what’s happening. It’s also got a fantastic cliffhanger to it.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

BUONOCORE: We were incredibly fortunate that The Moth used a story I told at a live event for their June 8th Pride podcast episode, which came out two days after The First Michael debuted. They encouraged people to go find our show and we heard from a lot of listeners who discovered us because of that. It was pretty magical, because it was amazing publicity, but it also helped us gauge that we were on the right track from the beginning. Indie shows often build their base from their own network of family and friends and it can be harder to get a candid sense of what the world thinks outside your own circle. We debuted with the first four episodes of Season 1, so it gave people the chance to get hooked, and they did.  I work hard to bring a lot of humor into the episodes and, in my opinion, the show gets funnier as we go. People do love the humor in it, but it’s been really wonderful to experience how many people reach out to tell us how touched they are and very often that they cried. A lot. It’s been an interesting dynamic as we market the show to new listeners – how much do we promote the idea that you’ll have a really good cry? One of my favorite compliments from a listener is that they laughed so hard they cried and cried so hard they laughed. Apart from the emotional resonance, people are very invested in the cliffhanger that Season 2 will tackle; it’s really cool to feel like the audience is there with us for the journey. As I do this interview with you, in fact, we’re just a couple of days away from taking a critical next step that will shape our second season.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

BUONOCORE: I’m very fortunate this time around to be able to afford to pay for recording sessions and sound engineering from a local studio called North Rim Studios. It was a huge stressor with the first podcast to deal with the technical side with just our little team. I know for many people, the technology these days isn’t that daunting to deal with, but it sure is for me. We’re now able to add in transition music, edit tightly and indulge my perfectionist tendencies much more easily and it makes for a better show.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

BUONOCORE: As I mentioned, The Moth gave us a huge boost and we actually cracked the itunes top 100 chart in our first week in the “Arts” category. That effect fades, of course, and you have to hustle constantly to break through the noise and find new listeners. Our audience is incredibly willing to help spread the word, but I still struggle at times that it can feel transactional to say to someone who reaches out because they were moved by the show, “Hey, I’m so glad you like it and please don’t feel any pressure, but if you can do this one or three or five things to help us get the word out, it would be amazing.” Again, people are so gracious, but there is a dissonance for me in creating art that I’m passionate about and then needing to ask people to click “follow” or give us a five-star rating to support it. With that said, if you’re reading this, go follow us everywhere you get your podcasts now! Haha.

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

BUONOCORE: In our Season 1 finale, I invited the audience to give us feedback on what they’d like to see. There’s a narrative arc that drives the first two seasons and the possibility exists that the show could evolve in a number of ways. I just want it to always feel like we’re continuing it in service of good storytelling and not just to keep it going as long as we can.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

BUONOCORE: It’s so obvious, but I have to throw love to S-Town. As a storyteller, it’s one of the most beautiful examples of the craft and one of the best pods, period. It also inspires me in relationship to the last question about where to take my podcast: if we stop and The First Michael exists as a story people will still love to discover and binge five or ten years from now, I’ll be thrilled. S-Town is the gold standard.  Las Culturistas is a little pop of joy on my weekend runs. Storytime with Mom and Me is a sweet li’l indie pod that had me on as a guest – it’s so important for us to support each other as scrappy shows trying to find our audience. And of course, eternal love to The Moth, which has supported us from the beginning and is currently planning to run a house ad for us this summer. For such a big production, they are so kind and such down-to-earth people and they put out amazing content.

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

BUONOCORE: People love to binge Season 1, y’all! Please check us out and let us know what you think!

Related posts:

Podcast Spotlight: Wakin’ Up With Danny Podcast Spotlight: B-Roll Podcast, The Random Movie Design Podcast Podcast Spotlight: The Existential Files
Tags