Podcast Pontifications

Many podcasters are struggling with that same decision:  Should you say something to your audience acknowledging the reality of the pandemic?

On one hand, listening to podcasts is a great way to practice “social distancing”. And since most (?) podcasters produce their shows alone or with guests or co-hosts in remote locations, the act of making a podcast is also good social distancing put in practice. 

Still, our audiences might wonder what's going on with the people that make their favorite podcasts. And as human beings who make podcasts for listeners, we often feel a desire to let our audiences know what’s going on with us personally in times of crisis.

But if you produce a show that never covers current events, should you say something, putting the “evergreen” nature of your episodes at risk? What if you're in the middle of a six-part series on the history of apples (or anything non-pandemic related)? A “special announcement” at the beginning of your fourth episode would be terribly off-putting and impact the flow, wouldn’t it?

Remember: if you do decide it’s a good idea to say something, you don’t have to drop a note at the beginning of your next podcast episode. Nor do you have to put out an entire full episode about the pandemic.

A bonus episode might be just what you need.

Remember: Your podcast is more than just the audio you put out on your RSS feed. Does your show’s website have a role to play? What about the social media channels where you engage with humans every day?

Maybe audio isn’t the best place to share the message.

Of course, it might be. Here’s your North star for this: If you feel like you need to say something to your audience, either to let them know how you are coping, to let them know that you're in this together, to let them know changes to your production schedule, or whatever else you feel it might be important to say to them: I think you should say something to them.

I hope you're doing well during this time of coronavirus. We're okay on this side, fully adopting social distancing and self-quarantine methods as we do our part to flatten this curve. Hopefully, you are as well.

And tomorrow, I'll do it again. On another Podcast Pontifications. 

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is aimed at the working podcaster. The purpose of this show is to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Follow Evo on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit SimplerMedia.pro to see how Simpler Media Productions can help your firm. Podcasting is our only business!

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Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy