Podcast Pontifications

In an effort to “lemonade” our current global situation, I’m declaring April 2020 as Podcast Experimentation Month. No, there’s no “official” proclamation from anyone other than me. But someone has to be first, right?

Because if we’re gonna be locked inside, we might as well try some different things! 

Location-based podcast experiments

I saw a great post on Reddit that showed someone’s podcasting set-up their garden. You could also change up where you podcast from by changing to a different room or section of your house. Each area will have a different tonal quality on your voice. Or try recording from inside the car you haven't driven in two weeks. Assuming you’re not under a shelter-in-place order, go take a walk and take your recording gear with you. Just be sure to stay six feet away from people as you’re out in your neighborhood. 

Experiment with different podcasting equipment

Got too many mics you haven’t used in years? I do. So why not try them out? You could also use this time to get to know aspects of your equipment you might not be completely familiar with. Those settings and switches all do different things to the sound they record. Crack open the manual and learn how to use the equipment the way it was designed!

Experiment with voices other than your own

Kids at home make it hard to replicate your old kid-free sound? Bring ‘em on the show!  Incorporating their voices on purpose could be fun for them, for you, and for your listeners. If you produce a monologue show like mine, maybe you could try adding some additional voices, either as guests or co-hosts.

Experiment with better podcasting software

If you’re using Audacity, GarageBand, or some other free service, now is a great time to download the fully-functional trial versions of Hindenburg or Reaper. It's also a great time to download trials of amazing plugins from Waves or iZotope that make your podcasting efforts sound better or be done more efficiently.

Experimenting with your format

That might mean trying your hand at making shorter episodes. Let's say, by way of example, that you normally do a 10-minute show. Do you think you can get out what you need in a little more than six minutes? Maybe you should just end the episode there and see what your listeners think?

Great idea, me.

In the meantime, share this episode with your podcasting friends who find themselves with some free time on their hands. Tell them that April is Podcat Experimentation Month. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.

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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