Five Things I’ve Learned About Podcasting (and what I still need to do to improve)

podcasting microphone
Photo by Daniel Rubio on Unsplash.

Podcasting was not a challenge I ever expected to take on. When I approached the New Books Network with a request to be interviewed on their New Books in Poetry podcast about my recently published collection of poetry, the founder and editor-in-chief, Marshall Poe, confessed that the company did not have a host for the poetry podcast at the time. He then asked if I would be interested in adopting the role.

After some further conversations with Marshall, a fellow poet and writer Athena Dixon and I decided to jump onboard and accept cohosting duties for the New Books in Poetry podcast. Although I can’t speak for Athena, I confess that I personally had zero podcasting experience prior to taking on this challenge. Since New Books in Poetry was an existing channel with a following, I was fortunate that my first foray into the process was not started from scratch (with all the steps that that requires), allowing me to ease my way into learning how to plan, record, and edit an episode at my own pace through trial and error.

Thus far, cohosting a podcast has been a fun and interesting journey. In the time since Athena and I started hosting, I’ve had the honor of speaking with a number of amazing poets about their books, their work, and their writing process. I’ve learned a lot, both from the poets I’ve spoken with and about the podcasting process.

I am by no means a podcasting expert. However, on the chance that it may help someone else starting out in their own podcasting journey, here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned about podcasting thus far—along with many more things that I still need to work on.

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New Books in Poetry: Born Again by Ivy Johnson

Ivy Johnson-Born Again

A new episode of New Books in Poetry is up, in which I speak with poet and performance artist Ivy Johnson about her book, Born Again.

The poetry and prose in Ivy Johnson’s Born Again (The Operating System, 2018) beautifully dives into the ecstatic expression of religious experience. With its confessional style, this collection gives power to the female voice, rending open that which would be hidden behind closed doors. The work blends sensuality and spirituality, merging the grounded reality of existing a physical body in the world with a sense of worship, prayer, and spell casting.

“I submerge my hands in ink and smear them across the wall
I cover my body in rich purple paint and rub against white paper
I place a sticker of the Virgin Mary on my bedroom window next to the fire escape
She hurts with the glow of blue frost
I race down the stairs to make snow angels in the dog-piss
Fill the silhouette of my body with marigolds”

— from “Take a Moment to Gather Yourself”

You can listen to the episode here.

I’m still in the process of figuring out how to be a good interview podcast host, how to shuck off my own nervousness and dig up confidence enough to feel strong in these interviews. But whatever limitations I believe I have at this moment, they are more than surpassed by the intelligence and insight of my guests so far.


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New Books in Poetry: A Cruelty Special to Our Species by Emily Jungmin Yoon

Yoon-A Cruelty Special to Our Species copy

My first podcast interview at New Books in Poetry is live! I had a lovely conversation with Emily Jungmin Yoon regarding her  first full-length collection, A Cruelty Special to Our Species (Ecco Books, 2018), which examines forms of violence against women. At its core these poems delve into the lives of Korean comfort women of the 1930s and 40s, reflecting on not only the history of sexual slavery, but also considering its ongoing impact. Her poems beautifully lift the voices of these women, helping to make them heard and remembered — while also providing insight into current events, environmentalism, and her own personal experiences as a woman in the world.

I loved this collection of poetry, which was so moving in how it addressed intense subject matters. Her words are lyrical, vivid, and enriched with a playful examination of language, the way mean slips depending on perspective and how language can be a powerful tool. These poems help to give voice to women whose stories are not commonly told. It’s beautifully done.

New Stuff up at Quail Bell and The Literary Whip

Quail Bell published six of my poems over the past couple of months, all from the Poeming project, in which over 50 poets were each assigned one of Stephen King’s books and charged with the challenge of crating 31 found poems in the month of October. The poems Quail Bell selected were:

In other awesome news, Zoetic Press has started a new podcast called, The Literary Whip. The podcast highlights poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that was rejected by Nonbinary Review and other publication. This is work that almost made it past the slush pile to publication, but was ultimately rejected.

As an associate editor for Nonbinary Review, I was invited to be a guest of the podcast for two episodes. It was great fun speaking with Lise Quintana, podcast host and editor in chief of Nonbinary, about “Dear Firebird” by Becky d’Ugo and “No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise” by Jane Wiseman, as well as about literature and the editing process in general. Go check them out.

Podcasts Part III – Films and Filmmaking

Wrapping up my trio of podcast posts — the first two focusing on radio dramas and poetry and fiction, respectively — I’m going to point to those podcasts focused on films and filmmaking that I’m currently consuming.

Although, my writing focus has primarily on poetry and fiction, I’ve always held a fascination with the collaborative nature of the filmmaking process. The idea of scriptwriting and film directing is always present at the back of my mind as something I might do someday. Listening to podcasts about the process and history of making movies lets me daydream and marvel at others doing the work, while also stirring up that latent desire. I know this is going to kickstart me into attempting screenwriting again or maybe jumping into a 48 Hour Film challenge.

Black List Table Reads

The Black List Table ReadsThe Black List is a “closed network of script buyers, script representatives, and script writers that makes everything easier for everyone involved.” The idea is to share awesome unproduced scripts in the hopes of getting them made into actual movies. New scriptwriters can also upload and share their work to get feedback as well as using the script as a demonstration piece for future work. That alone is awesome.

The associated Black List Table Reads podcast takes is a step further, turing the best of the unproduced scripts on the site and turns them into “movies for your ears.” These scripts are read by pro-level actors, with sound effects stitched in for an immersive experience of the scripts. And the scripts themselves have generally been fantastic. Being able to hear the scripts read provides a great sense of scene pacing along with other lessons in craft — in addition to just being an enjoyable experience.

Just a few of the scripts I’ve loved (and really hope become full movies):

  • The Hitch — “While visiting Los Angeles in 1927, young British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is accused of murder and must go on the run to prove his innocence.”
  • The Other Side — “A young Hasidic Jew recruits a hipster girl to help him expose a horrific crime in a secretive community in Brooklyn.”
  • Mr. Malcolm’s List — “We head across the pond and back in history about 200 years for Mr. Malcolm’s List. It’s a little bit Jane Austen. It’s a little bit Oscar Wilde, and it is all good.”

In addition to the script table reads, the podcast also features interviews with screenwriter and producers, which provide perspective on the writing process, how other writers have managed to get their movies made, and the ups and downs and sideways avenues of the industry. Lots and lots here for anyone interested in the art of screenwriting or who just enjoys great movies.

Scriptnotes

ScriptnotesScriptnotes is a weekly podcast in which working screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss “screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters,” from the craft of writing scripts to the business of being a working writer dealing with directors and producers to places to glean ideas from. What I love about this podcast is the practicality of how screenwriting is discussed. No fluff, no air declarations of trying to find your inner writer. Just a straightforward look at the business of being a screenwriter, and since both John and Craig are currently working in the industry, writing original feature scripts and performing rewrites, their advice has merit. Also, the buddy humor between John and Craig in their kind of opposites attract relationship (like you’d see in a movie) is wonderful.

Only a portion of the most recent episodes are available to listen to for free, but for a measly $1.99 a month, the entire log of over 200 episodes can be accessed.

Slums of Film History

Slums of Film HistoryCurrently on hiatus after completing season one of Slums of Film History, Slate and Tom share a low “a lowbrow look into the high art of cinema.” The duo present in-depth historical scope of the gritty, gross, explicit, weird, and other aspects of the movie world not normally discussed in polite company. Each takes turns sharing taboo subjects with detailed movie references and legit-ish research. Previous topics discussed have included cannibalism, snuff films, the rise and fall of the NC-17 rating, nudity in film, hooker vengence, bad babies, and hagsploitation — other among unsavory things.

Being a fan of horror and weird creepy sh!t, I freaking love this podcast. It’s fun and funny and sometimes inappropriate, as well as providing some fascinating information about film history. The discussions about the evolution of the current rating system and how nudity has been handled over different time periods was particularly interesting (although to be honest, my favorite episodes are the gross ones, like “Bad Babies”). Definitely recommended for fans of cult movies and other oddities of film.

Imaginary Worlds

Imaginary WorldsCreated by former Disney animator Eric Molinsky, Imaginary Worlds is a podcast “about science fiction and other fantasy genres — how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief.” Episodes explore an array of fictional worlds, from movies to TV animation to comic books, novels, and other art forms. Each is well put together with interviews from historians, filmmakers, cultural critics, and a variety of others. I’m particularly fond of the episodes that go behind the scene of how some forms of art, such as movies, are made. However, there’s a wide range of topics covered, so that the episodes never get boring. The also tend to be on the short side (under 20 minutes), which makes them the perfect bite-size podcast to listen to.
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And that’s is for the current podcasts I’m enjoying. I’m sure that, as I finish up with the back episodes of all of these, I’ll start exploring further. For example, I’ve heard awesome things about Serial, but have not had a chance to start listening in yet.