The great thing about podcasting is that anybody can do it. It’s a uncommon medium that’s almost as straightforward to make as it’s to devour. And as such, no two individuals do it precisely the identical manner. There are a wealth of {hardware} and software program options open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut from NPR studios to USB Skype rigs (the latter of which grew to become a sort of default through the pandemic).
This week, we spoke to Jody Avirgan, who co-hosts “Summer Album / Winter Album” with the frontman of the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, Craig Finn. Each episode finds Avirgan and Finn debating whether or not a traditional file ought to be categorized as a “summer time album” or “winter album.”
Avirgan – who beforehand hosted reveals for Radiotopia, TED, FiveThirtyEight, and ESPN – advised us about his podcasting set-up of selection. Here he’s in his personal phrases:
“Even once I labored at ESPN/FiveThirtyEight, I all the time had a house recording setup. Since leaving — which occurred to coincide with the beginning of the pandemic — I’ve made my basement recording studio my most important residence. It’s truly the kitchen of a basement studio condo, so simply off-frame, behind some curtains, is a fridge (unplugged), sink, and many cupboards.
“But I’ve hung tons of curtains, scattered smooth issues round, and put some sound dampening panels up. I feel it’s now each cozy and fairly warm-sounding. My mic is an Electro-Voice RE27N/D, a $500 studio mic.
“To be clear: I don’t make RE27 cash. We purchased this mic once I was internet hosting 30 for 30. I left ESPN three weeks earlier than the pandemic hit, and someplace in there I wrote them an electronic mail asking in the event that they wished me to return the mic. I by no means obtained a response, and I definitely didn’t write a follow-up. So I stored it. This might be why Disney inventory is down 20% during the last 5 years. It’s a really heat mic, nevertheless it’s a behemoth.
“When I’m on the highway, I pack an AT2020-USB+, which plugs proper into my laptop and I can knock out monitoring from wherever — normally underneath a blanket in a lodge closet, which is a podcaster’s pure habitat.
“I run my mic by the FocusRite Scarlett 2i2, a easy however mighty interface that lets me management my mic ranges and route proper into my laptop, the place I’m typically becoming a member of individuals over Zoom or Riverside. I all the time file a neighborhood backup file utilizing Hindenburg, which I then save to Dropbox. All roads ultimately result in Dropbox.
“The one place I deviate from the everyday Podcaster 101 package is in my headphones. Everyone has the Sony MDR-7506, and I’ve run by my fair proportion of these, however I actually just like the Rode NTH-100 headphones. They are just a bit extra snug, look somewhat slicker, and up to now the padding hasn’t damaged down in the way in which that the padding on the Sony’s inevitably does, main one to search out little black flecks of their ears after taping.
“Like numerous podcasters, I’ve been doing increasingly more video stuff recently. I’ve used Descript for years, however because the worlds of audio and video have merged, I do nearly all my enhancing in it at this level. I make social movies of our conversations for “This Day” and “Summer Album / Winter Album,” but in addition authentic stuff I’ve been enjoying with on Instagram.
“I’m doing a collection every week the place I attempt to guess the title of that week’s New Yorker cowl, and I file that proper into Descript and switch it round in like 20 minutes utilizing a template I constructed. Descript — I’m an enormous fan. It’s very versatile, and it’s good to work with a program that appears to provide a crap about what podcasters need, versus ProfessionalTools.
“I suppose I’ve had to consider my visible setup a good quantity, too. I purchased the webcam that the Wirecutter beneficial, however actually I desire the look of the MacBook digital camera, so I normally simply use that. In my background, I put some books to show that I understand how to learn; a signed picture of George Mikan, about whom there was a working bit in “Death At The Wing” — and $28 value of faux crops from Ikea.
“I block the view so I don’t suppose individuals may even see that the crops are there; however I prefer to know that they’re there, and can all the time be there, due to perpetually plastics.”
We’ve beforehand requested others of our favourite podcast hosts and producers to spotlight their workflows — the tools and software program they use to get the job accomplished. The listing up to now contains:
