Podcast Approach with Jesse Earley of Another Comic Review

Hey, this is Greg Berger and you are listening

to the Geekcast Radio Network. Hey, it's Mistress

Carrie and you are listening to Studio 2009.

There's nothing wrong with your podcast player.

Do not attempt to adjust the volume. Hello and

welcome back into our studio. This is Studio

2009, only on the GeekCast radio network. I'm,

of course, TF2 and Mike. And for our latest podcast

approach today, we welcome Jesse from another

comic review. He is also formerly Mr. Matrix

Prime from TFWire. And we're going to take Jesse

through how he listens to and produces his podcasts.

Hi, Jesse. How are you? Not too bad. Let's hope

try number two is more successful than try number

one. I'm telling you, man, this is why I don't

trust artificial intelligence. I want actual

intelligence. Well, we got none of that here

on this podcast. 15 years of me being a moron

along with everybody else who is awesome when

I'm not. All right. So studio 2009 created 2020

30 questions. I wanted to talk to podcasters,

get their origin on how they listen to and started

their own show. First up, when did you first

discover podcasts and what was the first one

you listened to? Yep. So I believe I first discovered

podcasts sometime in early 2005. So my background

there in, you know, kind of discovering them

was following a Leo Laporte from tech TV on his

first podcast, which was Twitter. So this week

in tech. And that debuted sometime in early 2005.

And it was very similar to, I would say it was

very similar to what they were doing on the screensavers.

Of course, this was audio only at the time, as

opposed to video, which they do now. But again,

it was audio only at the time. And I was very,

I don't know, taken aback by the medium, I guess,

because it was like... The content that they're

pushing out of that show is very niche, and it

was essentially kind of like speaking to me.

It was very interesting to find that because

when G4 purchased Tech TV, they pretty much did

away with all the very niche tech. type stuff

that was on that channel. And it became more

pop culture, obviously the video game stuff that

had come from G4, but it became a lot more pop

culture and it lost a lot of the tech stuff.

So Leo kind of stood up his own podcast called

This Week in Tech. And like I said, it kind of

carried over the stuff that they were doing,

the news they were talking about on Tech TV.

So yeah, I think that was the first podcast I

listened to. And then shortly afterwards, I would

say is kind of when I got interested in producing

my own podcast. Like I said, that debuted in

early 2005. And by August of 2005, I was pushing

out the first episode of my own podcast, TFWIRE.

So what was your plan in getting that off the

ground? Did you have a plan or did you just kind

of do some research and just go? So I didn't

really do any research. Kind of the history behind

TF Warrior was, I guess comes from a couple of

different things here. So first and foremost,

the format was essentially a rip off of this

week in tech, right? So this week in tech, they

were essentially look back at the week's tech

news stories. And then the host and then whoever

he had on there to discuss with him were essentially

discussing those topics for the week. And if

you're a Transformers fan, and TF Lawyer, if

you don't know, was a Transformers podcast. But

if you're a Transformers fan, you know that there's

a lot of different Transformer news sites out

there. At the time, there was probably more than

what there are currently. But there are, you

know, there's a couple of different staples,

right? So there's TFW, I would say there is,

is it Cybertron, Sabertron? How do you say it?

Yeah, yeah, whatever it is. Cybertron, there's

Tformers. Those are kind of the big three. Yeah.

So, but like I said at the time, there was a

bunch of also smaller news sites, but those were

always kind of the big three. And then you also

had your different forums. So the AllSpark is

kind of like a large Transformers forum. TFW

has their own as well. But what I was doing was

I was looking at the Transformer news sites and

I'm like, well, right, they're really just kind

of posting the same thing. And it's really just,

of course, news related, right? They're posting

the actual news and any sort of just about it

was just happening in the comments. I saw an

opportunity there to kind of look, do the same

thing that This Week in Tech was doing, look

at the news that was coming out on the Transformer

sites, and then just talk about it. So kind of

the background in terms of building that out

was, for the very first episode, if you go back

and listen to it, and it's still out there, you

can find it. It's on the internet archive. You

can find it there as well. It was just me. I

think I had five stories and I talked through

it really quick. Just gave you really brief,

you know, some brief thoughts on what the topics

were that I was discussing. But I quickly knew

that I wanted to bring on some other hosts because

I'm not much of a talker. And the funny that

you're interviewing me. But yeah, I'm not much

of a talker. I'm really more of a listener. So

if you go back and listen to any of the TF Warrior

episodes, you'll see that really, I'm the one

that's kind of kicking off the story. But the

other hosts are the ones who are kind of, you

know, providing more input on the story themselves.

Yeah, they're taking the energon cube from you

and running with it. Right. So like I said, I

wanted to find some hosts rather quickly. So

I was a big poster, at least at the time, on

the AllSpark. So I had just posted on there that

I was looking for, or was starting a podcast

and was looking for anyone who may want to potentially

join me. And ultimately, I found three co -hosts

who would join me from there. Yeah, very cool.

Very cool. Which do you prefer audio or video?

Podcasting as a fan and as a producer. Oh as

a producer Definitely the audio because it's

like yeah in terms of Consuming it. I think it

really depends it depends on the podcast or See,

when it comes to video, I don't really like calling

them podcasts, because it's like, is it a podcast?

Not really. Yeah, no, it's a video show. It's

a YouTube show. Yeah, it's weird. So it really

depends on the show in question. For example,

there is one that I watch a really scrub through

on a daily basis. And that one focuses more on

movies and sort of the entertainment industry,

but really the main focus is on movies. So in

that sense, I like watching the video version

of that. There is an audio version, but I prefer

watching the video version of it on YouTube.

And then I think really that's the main one that

I watch. Everything else is mainly just listening

to the audio version of it. So yeah, like I said,

it really just depends on what the topic is.

But in some instances, in fact, there are some

audio ones that I would actually prefer to watch.

But in some cases, they're kind of locked behind

the paywall or you got to go on their Patreon.

And I don't really subscribe. to any paid podcasts,

despite the fact that if they are on Patreon

or something, you can pay to get that. But I

always just opt for the free ad tiered version.

So I really don't get the perk of being able

to watch some of them. So it's mainly just listening

to them. Yeah. I just always found it easier

for me to listen than it was for me to have to

sit there and watch. a bunch of people talk about

a topic that I may or may not be interested in.

Whereas listening on my phone or on my computer,

I can be doing seven other things at the same

time that I'm consuming this content for whatever

it is. But whereas in video stuff, you have to

sit there and you have to watch and you have

to pay attention to it. And it's like, I want

to do that audio only. What kind of setup did

you have when you first started podcasting and

what do you use now? So microphone, headphone,

etc. Oh man, when I first started. So again,

we're going back to 2005. I was on a Windows

XP machine. And what did I have? So I had a Logitech

headset. They had a integrated microphone. I

can't remember what model it was. That's okay.

I mean, it was one that I definitely recommended

to some of the co -hosts on the TF Waiter podcast

at the time, and I believe a couple of them had

the same thing. It was a really great headset

for the time. It had an integrated mute button

on there, which is really nice. But yeah, that

was pretty much my setup. In terms of recording

it, I think I was using... Man, going back, I

was using Gold Wave at the time. And if you've

ever used Gold Wave, it's only a Windows, it's

a Windows only program. But in terms of recording

the podcast, the way we did it back then was

every person recorded their own audio file. Yep.

And When you're dealing with a podcast that has

multiple co -hosts, so in the case of TF wire

there was four of us in total So three, you know

me and three additional people what I had to

have them do was I had a website at the time

and Then obviously added a section on the website

for the TF wire podcast but I had to give them

all FTP access to my server. So once we were

done recording, they'd have to upload the file

to that server. I'd have to then download it,

then edit everything together. So I was doing

editing inside of GoldWave at the time, and then

ultimately switched over to using Audacity on

the PC. Presently on my Mac, because I am a Mac

user, I no longer am a Windows user, I am using,

what is this? It is a Behringer C1 microphone.

It's an XLR microphone that I have plugged into

a mini USB soundboard. and the soundboard connects

to my computer via USB. Like I said, it's a XLR

microphone. So the soundboard itself allows for

two external mics, but I only ever use one. I

tried to get my wife to podcast with me and she

just absolutely wants no part of that. I do have

a secondary mic so I can plug it in in the event

that I ever need to do two people in the same

room at the same time, but again. Good luck getting

my wife to do that. In terms of editing now,

I still stick with Audacity. I find that to be

the easiest to use. It's the one I'm most familiar

with. And yeah, I think that's mainly what I'm

using. Very cool, very cool. So heaven forbid,

but if anything did happen, if your headphones

or microphone breaks down... Do you go by the

exact same stuff or do you upgrade and get better

stuff? That's a good question. Oh, and also,

by the way, in terms of headphones, I'm not wearing

anything special. I'm just I'm just using my

old iPhone. Oh, AirPods, AirPods, AirPods, AirPods,

AirPods, something. I've got the JVC stereo H

a RX 700 headphones. I've had these for years.

This is my. Second pair and i have a third pair

in the closet brand new in case something happens

to me so i also work from home most of the time

so if i'm having a virtual meeting i don't like

big headphones on right so if i need to leave

a meeting with someone who's like i don't know.

administration or something, right? I've got

to look good on the camera. Big headphones going

to mess up my hair. So I just use the Apple AirPods

here. So ear pods, ear pods. They're wired. Ear

pods. Yeah. Plus it's because I'm on a Mac, it's

got the integrated, it does have an integrated

microphone, obviously, which I'm not using, but

does have volume control on there as well. So

I don't have to fumble around with the volume

on my Mac or anything. So if this microphone

were to die, would I go to something different

or better? Probably. What I found with this microphone

is that unless I'm in a really certain spot,

which is pretty close to the microphone, it does

not pick up the sound very well. You may notice

this if you're listening to another comic review.

episodes. In some instances, like I'll be like

looking at my iPad, which is right next to me

while we're recording because I'm looking through

the different issues. And if I pull away just

ever so slightly, you like you can pick that

up in my microphone, or as you're listening to

it, because the microphone is not picking me

up as well. Yep. So I have to stay right in the

microphone. I'm not a big fan of that. I've got

the pop filter here in front of it, but I find

that if I get that in the way of where my mouth

needs to be, then I tend to move further back,

and then the microphone isn't picking me up as

well. I still go for an XLR mic because I like

using my soundboard, but I don't know what model

I would go with. Very cool, very cool. Did you

think you'd be podcasting for as long as you

have. Well, I mean, definitely there was a large

lengthy lull there where I was not doing anybody.

Well, but yeah, but like, you know, you started

in 2005. TFYR ran for two, three, four, five,

however many years it ran. And yeah there's a

lull but you're still five years that's something

that's nothing to shy away from. Yeah we went

to from 05 to it was 09 or 2010 something like

that. It was right in the middle of after the

release of Revenge and they were ramping up to

the release of Dark. Okay. So, yeah, I think

we went into 2010, something like that. I stopped

at a certain number of episodes and then the

two other hosts at the time were still recording.

I was still doing all the editing, but I didn't

want any part of doing the recording anymore

because one for a couple of things. I was really

not following Transformers that much anymore.

Right. And I was just kind of burnt out on doing

the podcast. So I still enjoy doing the editing,

but I didn't really want to do any of the hosting.

Right. So after that ended, there's a long lull

before I started doing anything. I did pop up

with a few TfY or minis here and there. I did

record one on the former Twitter with D Buster

Prime, like that's out there and available on

YouTube. If you haven't seen that, haven't listened

to it, that is out there so that he would, he's

one of the original TFWire hosts. So that was

fun to kind of reconnect with him and do that.

But then yeah, again, there was another long

lull before I did anything. I tried to push out

some more. not really podcast, but just creating

some content on YouTube, kind of where I'm talking

or kind of doing some voiceover to some different

transformer stuff. And I just felt like I wasn't

really having a lot of fun doing that. And what

really made me kind of get back into wanting

to do it was actually starting to read some comics.

I know for a long time, like if you were a TFY

listener, like I complained about the comics

all the time. Like I had wanted to know part

of it. Anytime a story came up, I wanted, I didn't

even comment on it. But when I saw that they

were going to relaunch the Transformers within

comics and they were creating this expanded universe,

this kind of all encompassing, you know, calling

it the Energon universe, it was going to include

Transformers. It was going to include GIGO. And

now we know it's including this brand new IP

called Void Rivals. really excited to kind of

jump into that because one, it's kind of from

the ground up, right? I'm getting into the ground

level. So I can kind of see how everything starts.

So I don't have to like backtrack, you know,

30 years like, Oh, God, I got to read all this

stuff. So yeah, getting in the ground floor was

kind of really the key thing that got me excited.

And once I started reading it, it's like, Oh,

well, I'm kind of want to talk about this. I

want to talk about with someone I know you're

big into comics. I know Ryan's big into comics.

So talking with you, because you're the secondary

host here on the show with me. And then we can

get Ryan in when we can to talk about Transformers.

It's just like talking about these different

properties that I'm interested in, that I'm reading

about. And I know you guys are interested in

them as well. It just seemed like a fun thing

to do and so far I'm having a blast doing it.

Yeah, absolutely. And the thing is with Studio

2009 here, like I said at the beginning of this,

or maybe I said it at the one that no one's going

to hear, we started this show in 2020. I've been

doing a comic podcast, The Pull Bag, on GCRN

since 2013. And my buddy Optimus Solo was re

-listening to one of our old... animated series

podcast countdowns. And apparently in that, in

2011, I said, yeah, I don't care about comics.

Two years later, I now have almost an 11 year

old podcast at this point, all about comics.

So, you know, it is what it is. And the thing

is, with Transformers specifically, you don't

have to, Transformers is not Batman. Transformers

is not Superman. They're not Marvel. They're

not DC. I do know, because you've told us, that

you started the IDW with more than meets the

eye and rose in disguise, and when I first found

out about IDW publishing 13 years, 11 years ago,

I don't know how long ago it was, I got two pieces

of advice. Read the Death of Optimus Prime one

shot first. And then you can either pick both

or go in either direction. You can go more than

meets the eye with Rodimus and the crew of the

lost light, or you can stay on Cybertron and

watch StarStream become Donald Trump. You know,

cause robots in disguise was the Cybertron political

one kind of thing. But you're right with this

new stuff and all that, you know, this is, you

know, this is a great way for anyone who wants

to start in fresh. Now that Skybound has the

license that is. Awesome. I was just going to

say the other great thing about it is, as a Transformers

fan, someone who grew up with the toys, I believe

you're a little bit older than I am. The series

came out when I was three years old, so I didn't

really get into Transformers until a couple years

after it. When it was in reruns, they were showing

the older episodes again. I know that first series

of toys that was out for a couple of years. Uh,

so in, yeah, 1984, I was only three when it debuted.

So I only had a year off. Okay. Well, actually

in 84, when it came out, I would have been three.

Yeah. And I was four. Is that what I said? Okay.

Okay. That's what I said. Okay. Yeah. All right.

So, um, uh, but yeah, I mean, growing up with

it, right. I mean, obviously right now I'm, I'm

42. So, um, actually I would have been two, not

three. been too. Yeah. Something like that. Whatever

the math is. Because it's 40 years now, right?

Yeah, 40 years. I would have been too. So it

was a couple years after the fact before I got

into it. So anyways, yeah, as a 42 year old now,

and Transformers celebrating its 40th anniversary,

I've aged, the series has aged. But if you look

to the different media that's out there, right,

so I would say the video games, whatever form

of quote unquote cartoon exists out there now

for this property, the upcoming Transformers

one, it seems like they're going hard for the

younger audience. Yeah. And I mean, even if you

look at the the toys on the right and the toy

shelves. A lot of them are geared towards the

older audience, the collector market, as opposed

to the younger audience. And I think that's because

the younger audience really isn't into them.

And I think Hasbro is trying to appeal to them

with the other media. But with the comics specifically,

I think they're gearing that towards... I think

just based on what we're seeing in the pages

we're reading, they're adhering it towards the

mature audience. So people our age who grew up

with this series, and I think it's speaking to

me as a fan. And if you are someone who is, I

would say, mid 30s to 40s. It's probably a series

you probably want to read even if you've never

picked up a comic before I would highly suggest

picking up Elise Transformers number one and

reading it. Yeah, because I think it would it

would hook you and You'll want to continue reading

the series. Yeah, absolutely So over this long

period of time, even though there was a long

lull How have your podcasting goals changed since

you started compared to now? How have they changed

since I started compared to now? Well, so originally

has a good question. I would say they haven't

really changed between when I started and now

have they changed where they you know, did it

change within the middle of it? I would say yes.

So when I first started, I was really just interested

in doing it for the love of it, I guess. Again,

I got into podcasting because I really enjoyed

listening to it. And I'm like, oh, I think I

can do this. I really like to try this out. And

I just continued doing it because I was very

interested in the medium of podcasting. During

the entire course, the entire run of TF Wire,

we never got paid to do it. The only perks I

ever got were There was a person who used to

work at hot topic don't remember their name but

they sent all of the hosts a bunch of upcoming

hot topic t -shirts and I think that was the

only perk I ever got We did have like a we did

like run like a Not ads per se but we we kind

of sold some ads base I think maybe one person

bought ad space one time And that was kind of

like before like, oh, like, how do you make money

on podcasting? I don't know. So when I started

podcasting, it wasn't really doing it for the

money. It was doing it for the love of it. But

as it kept going, it was like, man, we're committing

a lot of time and effort into this. It's like,

can we get something out of it? And like I said,

we got very little out of it. And then by the

time, you know, the CFW podcast came to an end,

it was like, well, I'm just kind of burnt out.

I don't want to do this anymore. The co -hosts

that were running it at that time essentially

said the same thing. They were burned out, didn't

want to do it anymore. So we just kind of ended

it. But yeah, by the time it came to the end

of that podcast, it was really like, you know,

why are we doing this? Can we get anything out

of it? Never did. And then when I started this

podcast back up, again, I'm not... I don't have

a Patreon for it. I'm not selling ads based on

there. I actually don't have any ads in the podcast.

I'm really just doing it for the love of it and

doing it because I'm just enjoying talking to

you. I'm enjoying talking to Ryan. If we get

anyone else on the show who's into comics, I

enjoy talking to them, just kind of get their

thoughts. And I think in doing so, it's keeping

me kind of going and reading these comics. I

think if the podcast weren't there, would I still

be interested in reading them? Yes. But I don't

know that I would be as die hard into reading

them as what I presently am. Well, yeah, because

the so the art of friendship has changed since

we were kids in the 80s to now. And that's because

of technology. And I understand that some podcasters

can do the whole record in person, have four

people in a room and you each have your microphones

and you have this giant table and whatever and

all this and all that. But the greatest thing

for me for audio podcasting recorded, then edited,

not live. Don't have to worry about a live audience.

Don't have to worry about questions from the

audience or this or interaction or whatever else.

It's just us in our own spaces, talking to each

other, having a conversation. And it's taking

the place of us as kids watching Optimus Prime

get shot or his trailer falling down the hill

at 6 a .m. and then going to school and yelling

at our friends saying, Oh my God, did you see

what happened? Optimus Prime this morning before

the school bus game. It's the same thing except

is different. It, you know, it's this, you know,

we still enjoy the same stuff. We're still going

to do the same stuff, but we also want to have

that conversation about it. Not only did. Discuss

it with each other but to bring it to somebody

who may not be reading it. I've said it on Here

show another comment review. I've said it here

on the DC arm with the pull bag over there The

Transformers comic that Skybound Entertainment

is currently doing Yes, it is for the adult fans,

but it is also for those adult fans who may have

seen A glimpse of the, like they know the cartoon

in passing, they know the franchise in passing

and this could get them into it. This book, because

it's not coming from any other continuity because

it is very much a, a G one story flipped on its

ass. Frankly, it is. I mean, it's, it, it's crazy,

but that's what you want a comic book to do.

That's what you want a cartoon to do. You want

to be able to. Watch it read it listen to it

whatever and then you want to have a discussion

with your friends and Not all your friends want

to be in a playground anymore We just want to

sit in our own living rooms in front of a computer

and talk to you that way Yeah, yeah, and it's

much I guess I I guess I don't know if I remember

down there, but I guess to summarize My answer

to your question. So started podcasting because

the love of it and because of what I was talking

about By the time I got to the end of it, I was

really looking more for like, is there a way

I can kind of cash out here and kind of make

some money off this thing? Didn't happen, so

we just ended it. And it started, you know, when

I started this new podcast up another comic review,

again, doing it for the for the love of it, I

actually wanted to get back into podcasting hadn't

done it in forever. And yeah, so I think I came

full circle back to just because, you know, I

love doing it. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know

what you've done between, obviously, when you

started this new show, now the Another Comic

Review that we're doing. But I can tell you,

almost eight years ago, you were on all things

Transformers for your Transformers origin story

with us. So you did do some stuff in between

when TFYer ended and when Another Comic Review

began. Yeah, I mean, it was mainly mainly YouTube

stuff. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So as a podcast

listener, what defines a good show to you? What

defines a good show to me? I think first and

foremost, it's are the is the host or the hosts

or hostesses? Are they someone who can carry

on a good conversation? and do they have good

chemistry together? Because if it doesn't have

that, I'm going to tune out very quickly. So

I think that's the key thing for me. And then

obviously the second would come to the topic.

Because there are certain podcasts I listen to

that are topic -based. I mean, let me take that

back. They're all pretty much topic -based, but

some of them are kind of interesting. Um, business

wars, for example, from wondering, uh, that one's

sort of, uh, a dramatized version of events that

happen in history. So, uh, the most recent one

that I was listening to was kind of the history

of the Ford Bronco and the Jeep. And, uh, uh,

there is a host, there is a podcast host and

that, that person does, I think all of the voices.

in in each episode, whether it's male or female,

I think he I think he does all the voices. And

he does a really good job. And he's obviously

not the same person who's doing all the research

is writing the script for this. But the person

who's actually, you know, reading this and as

is the host of the podcast is a really good job.

And that particular podcast, right, they've got

They got sound effects added in there. So like

I said, it's more of a dramatization, but it

also gives you a lot of background and history

on different things. So like I said, in that

particular episode, there are a series of episodes.

Each kind of theme kind of focuses on a series

of episodes. But in that one, they're focusing

on the Jeep versus the Bronco. And it was very

interesting to kind of hear some of the backstory

on that. I guess I would also say how frequently

the podcast is released. Because if there's podcasts

that come out just once a month, I don't tend

to listen to them all that often. Really, I'm

looking for that weekly or biweekly hit. So most

of the podcasts I listen to on a regular basis

are weekly podcasts. Some of them have quote

unquote seasons and that they're only looking

to put out a certain number per uh you know season

i guess right it once the season's over right

they have this long break in between i i really

hate that again i realize you can get burnt out

very quickly on doing this stuff i think that's

what i like about the podcast we're doing right

now where it's again it's it's not weekly uh

but it's it's several per month and so you know

maybe it's bi -weekly in that sense yeah but

um I think it's coming out at a regular enough

basis where if you are listening to our show

you can kind of stick with it But if you have

this large lull in between it's it's just like

I might fall off and find something else Yeah,

absolutely. And the funny thing is is that you

know, Steve and I have been doing this for 15

years now Over 4 ,000 episodes and in total over

like 40 different podcasts the way we've done

it is we have some shows that are continuous.

They will go on forever, like the flagship Geocast

radio show. We can do any and all topics at any

time. But right now, for me with how I'm producing

the other shows, that show is sporadic at best

for right now. We've got this show, Studio 2009,

where we talk about anything and everything in

the audio or visual medium. So if you can listen

to it, see it, read it, whatever. Movies TV video

get whatever it is. We'll cover it on here We've

been doing 12 months of Star Wars with my buddy

Dave and we were talking about all the Star Wars

stuff from TV to movies and everything else in

each episode and yeah, generally podcasts Most

of the time are either weekly or bi -weekly We

have such a large library of content over the

last 15 years I feel like people can spread out

with us and pick and choose what they want on

whatever week like the pull bag is pretty much

come out weekly for the last 11 years every Wednesday.

Sometimes it doesn't happen if life gets in the

way, but unless it's a specifically our, um,

like our, my original podcast, I started with

the TFG one podcast. You really can't do any

more episodes after covering all 98 episodes

of the G1 cartoon series I mean, there's not

only because it's specific to reviewing that

cartoon series. There isn't anything Pat. Okay

Yeah, there's the Japanese series, but specifically

to the US series. It was only 98 episodes So

it's a limited thing as a beginning middle and

end So I think that it varies that you're right

though in general if it's a podcast that is just

doing General topics every week. It should be

weekly or bi -weekly. Yeah, and I know by the

way, I really wish Hasbro would have brought

over the Japanese Yes, yeah, I didn't I thought

show factory did I don't know it's a topic for

another time As a listener, do you prefer time

length? Do you prefer short 30 minutes to an

hour in 30 minute shows or do you prefer longer

shows like two hours or more? So that's also

a good question. I would say it depends on the

topic. There are several that I listen to that

fall into the two hour range and maybe two and

a half hours. But yeah, I think it really just

depends on the topic. So like if, let's say,

for example, it's a podcast where they're talking

about a TV show. If the TV show is only 30 minutes,

I don't need a two hour podcast. Yeah, no, yeah,

no, absolutely. If it's an hour show, right?

And the show goes, the podcast goes 45 minutes

to an hour. Sure. Okay, I could see that. But

I think it really just depends on the topic.

Yeah. Absolutely. As a listener, do you start

at the beginning of a podcast, the most recent

episode, or do you jump, jump around? Jump around.

Jump up, jump up and get down. So if I jump in

with a podcast from day one, I will listen to

it from the start. If it's a podcast that I discover.

So, for example, there is a podcast called The

80s Movie Podcast. I did not go back and listen,

I did not start at the ground floor on that one

and I have not gone back to listen to all of

them. In that case, what I would do is or what

I have done is I will search just to see what

movies there are or just scroll through to see

what movies there are. And if it's a movie I'm

interested in, I will go back and listen to it.

If it's a movie I'm not necessarily totally interested

in hearing about, I just skip it completely.

Yeah, absolutely. I think generally and I know

most podcasts don't do this anymore. We used

to do this We don't do it anymore really when

you like when I started the pull bag the episode

triple zero Because I knew the pull bag was gonna

eventually get over a hundred episodes You need

that three -digit thing for the numbering. So

triple zero was the introduction It was just

a 20 minute 30 minute thing saying hey, this

is the pull bag. This is what the podcast is

gonna be This is what we're gonna do 11 years

and 540 -something episodes later. For me, I'm

right there with you. I agree with that. Whereas

if you have a specific podcast that might be

news -based, but it also gives insight to the

personal life. There was a podcast back in 2019

called Part -Time Nerds, Full -Time Dads. It

was my buddy, Mike Laidman, and his friend, Chris

Blonsky. At the time, both of their wives were

pregnant. So you can't jump into that podcast

at episode 20 and hear about whatever personal

life you have to start at the beginning because

it's a thing. But yes, generally you are correct.

And, and certainly the pull bag 540 episodes.

I do not expect anyone to listen to all 540 episodes,

but if they like. Transformers, or if they like

He -Man, or if they like I Hate Fairyland, or

if they like Cowl, or Radiant Black, or whatever,

they can go to those episodes and listen to those.

I will still always, though, tell people, hey,

if you're gonna jump around, fine, but at least

go to the very first episode, because usually

first, I never make first episodes long. They

are an hour, 45 minutes, or less. It's just to

tell people what the show is, when the show's

gonna be. and maybe projected how long the show

will last kind of thing. All right. As a listener,

how many hosts are too many on one episode? You

can't have too many people talking, talking,

talking over it. Shut up, you idiot. No, I don't

care about Galvatron. They're not the same guy.

Wait, they are. How many is too many? Yeah. How

many we got on this this podcast? Two right now.

Yeah, that's a good question, too. I would say

we definitely ran into this issue on the TFWIRE

podcast, not in the weekly shows, but there were

several roundtable discussions that we had. And

it was sometimes hard to, I don't know how many

people were on that at that time, six maybe.

I felt like that was a bit too much because you

get people like stumbling over each other. You've

got to, and as the person editing that you've

got to edit that out or do the best that I can.

Um, so I think, I think six is probably too many.

I think somewhere in the most probably the three

to four range. I tend to like it. What I listen

to mostly, it's probably within the two to three

people. Yeah. So anywhere within there. Three,

even though three is an odd number, three is

the sweet spot because you have someone like

me who is the host who I did the whole intro

thing here. And if Ryan was here and we were

talking about transformers, number nine or whatever,

we would have me, him and you, and we each have

three different opinions. People get three different

opinions. And then I can go through the closing

and do all the, all the finagling for whatever

else, as far as the hosting duties are. So that's

why I always say three is a. is a sweet spot.

Sometimes four is okay. Five is pushing it only

if you don't have a specific strict criteria.

Like when we do our top 100 countdowns for our

audio projects where we've done top 100 TV shows,

top 100 Transformers characters, top 100 animated

series. Usually there are five people on that

podcast, but there's usually one host who will

throw it to like coming in at number 75 is bludgeon

or whatever, you know, throw whatever name in

there, whatever host for host the first, what

is your opinion of why where this, you know what

I mean? So as long as you have somebody that

can drive the train or the astro train in this

case, fairly well with a five person podcast.

You're okay. But yes, three is usually the sweet

spot. When do you stop listening to a podcast

altogether? Like you're listening, you're listening,

you're listening and something is said and you're

just like, Nope, done. So now when am I, not

when am I finished with the podcast in total?

Yeah. It's just I'm listening to a particular

episode. Yeah. Yeah. Like basically you say you've

been listening to this thing for two years and

say it's a weekly news show. It doesn't matter

what news, whatever news topic you want it to

be, but the hosts bring on somebody who you don't

care about. And that's going to be a new host

or something is said that you don't agree with.

And you're like, no, I don't need to listen to

this anymore. Yes, that does happen occasionally.

I'll say what happens more often is if they start

talking about a topic, so there's a podcast,

I won't call out the name, but there's a podcast

that talks about video games on a weekly basis.

Two of the hosts that are on there, they're well

known from other internet stuff. And they tend

to have a third host who they bring in from either

the industry, or sometimes it's like an influencer

on YouTube, for example. I hate that term, by

the way. But sometimes it'll be that type of

person. And usually what I'll do is if they start

talking about something that I'm not interested

in, rather than just stopping altogether, I'll

just fast forward. And sometimes I'll find myself

like blowing through like half the podcast where

it's like, yeah, okay. I don't really consider

myself a gamer anymore. I'm just using video

games here as an example. I don't really consider

myself a gamer anymore, despite the fact that

I play video games. But like growing up, it was

like, oh, you know, nonstop playing Nintendo

or Super Nintendo at 42. I'm married. I have

a daughter who is five. I don't have a lot of

time to play video games anymore. And I also

find that I've got a whole bunch of other stuff

to do in my time. Right. Yeah. That when I do

have time, I don't necessarily always want to

sit down and play video games. So that's why

I'm not really classifying myself as a gamer,

despite the fact that I have all this. most recent

systems that I do play video games. But if they'll

start talking about games I have no interest

in, I'll just blow right through that. And like

I said, sometimes I'll find myself being halfway

through the podcast and it's like, all right,

well, I just have way through and I guess I was

going to wait till next week, maybe we'll talk

about something I'm interested in. But I don't

think I've really found myself stopping an entire

episode and just saying, okay, I've had enough

of this and move on. All right. Question 15.

What podcasts are you currently listening to?

So this is probably where I should have my phone.

Give me one second. Open. Damn it. Open. What

podcasts are you currently listening to? So whatever

is on your phone, whatever you listen to on a

regular basis. So just those in a regular basis

because I have a long list of things to subscribe

to I Build episodes up and I marathon listen

on a few days, but yeah, basically just which

podcasts are you currently listening to? Okay,

so One is the all 80s movies podcast. Okay, which

again, I'll listen to it for the most part But

if we're talking about a movie, I have no interest

in I just don't listen that way I listen to the

best of car talk. Love the business wars. Again,

that's another one where if they're talking about

a subject that I'm interested in, I'll listen

to it. But if it's another subject I don't care

about, I'll just skip that series of episodes.

Right. DLC. That is a video game podcast. I listen

to the film cast. I'll occasionally listen to

grilling Jr. So that's a wrestling podcast. I'll

sometimes listen to how did this get made, which

is a podcast that covers movies. I actually do

not subscribe to this, but it is in my list because

the podcast app that I use called Overcast, if

you start listening, like if you listen to an

episode from a podcast, it will show up in your

list, even though you don't technically subscribe

to it. So I have the Jim Cornett experience on

there, which is another wrestling podcast. And

I'm not even a big wrestling fan anymore. I was

like in the late 90s, but not so much anymore.

We're just listening to Jim discuss wrestling

is hilarious. I listen to Mac break weekly. So

that is a weekly podcast about anything Mac.

So computers, iPhone, iPad. Vision Pro. This

is a funny one. So it's called Out on the Lanai.

It's a Golden Girls podcast. I'll go toe -to

-toe with anyone who says that Golden Girls is

not a fantastic TV show. It's an amazing TV show.

It's the best. But he wants me, I can feel it.

Let somebody else feel it. I saw him first. But

we were meant for each other. I'm a woman, he's

a man. And what am I, little Richard? Despite

the fact that I said I listened to This Week

in Tech early on, I don't really follow that

podcast anymore. It's out here, but I don't really

listen to it. And those are the primary ones

I listen to on a regular basis. Yeah, absolutely.

Very cool, very cool. All right, folks, we're

gonna go to a quick ad break. You're gonna hear

some podcast ads and some other stuff. And we'll

be back with podcast production right after this.

Hi. Hi. I was curious, like, who gave the idea

of Star Trek being like one of the leaders of

Cybertron just out of plain curiosity? Some weirdo.

What do you mean, idea? He's always one of the

leaders of Cybertron. The true leader of the

Decepticon. Consequently, Cybertron! Is there

something? Do you need a lozenge? I actually

have one. I'm good, thanks. Hello Geeks and Geekettes!

Looking for a podcast that covers a vast array

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Yes, Michael. Just keep driving. Hey, Jared.

I have this idea for a new show for the network.

Yeah. What is it? You know how I liked the 1990s

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Yes. Yep. And you know how at the Long Boss Crusade,

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Yes. Yes. Also correct. Well, thanks. So. How

about you and me do a live stream show about

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We could give it a catchy name, like, Come Out

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I hope. Come out to play. A new Warriors podcast

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a match made in a galaxy near you. You are receiving

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Standby for soundtrack transfer. I am Maggie.

And I am John. And we are trapped, hurtling through

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See you then. All right, we are back here in

Science Studio 2009, Podcast Approach, and it's

all about podcast production. As a producer,

do you find yourself listening to podcasts less

and less? No. Okay. Yeah, it's sometimes that

varies. I mean, for me, like I said, I like to

build up episodes like my your episodes thing

on Spotify is filled with episodes I need to

listen to. But because I'm producing so many

podcasts right now, because I run a whole network

of stuff, like on time, but I understand why,

you know, someone like you or someone just in

general who is only doing one show versus the

20 or 20 shows I do, you know, so I get it. But

sometimes that does happen when you when you're

like really full in on it and you're having to

do all the promotion yourself and do everything

else and all this and all that. So just depends.

As a producer, are you a podcast planner or are

you just throwing stuff at the mic to see what

sticks? Don't throw stuff at me. I mean, only

planning in the sense that. Right. With another

comic review, we know what we're going to be

reviewing. I do put together some show notes.

Those are generally the same. At least the format

is generally the same from episode to episode,

where it's I read a synopsis from the Image Comics

website. I provide my own synopsis. That's really

the only piece that requires any of my time other

than actually recording and editing the podcast

is just writing that. Otherwise, Yeah. What was

your question again? Are you are you a planner

or do you just don't throw stuff at me? Yeah,

in terms of like, actually, you know, taking

going to say during this podcast? Like, I'm not

doing that. Yeah. Like, I kind of have a sense

of what it is that I think of the comic that

we're reading. So I can evade my thoughts on

it. But I'm not I'm not like putting Johnny notes

down unless it's something I specifically want

to call out where it's like, oh, Mike, right.

Did you did you recognize the fact that it says

issue four up there in the corner? Right. Can

you read it? No, I can't read it because the

colors. so fucked up. Yeah, so like, I don't

think I'm much of a planner there. But I also

would say I'm not really just throwing stuff

at the mic. It's it's what I've kind of come

up with a format. And it's just kind of what

I'm I'm running with. Yeah, the format like you

can come up with the format for the show. And

that's what's going to stick, obviously, because

once you come up with it, you want to stick with

it. Say like with me with these questions, I

have this whole format that I do. For me, as

a podcast planner, when we first started and

we wanted to launch our movie podcast, which

thank you movie, we can review the M wire, which

was our original movie podcast started on July

11th, 2011 or 2009. No July 11th, 2009. We started

a month after the network. Before we even released

episode one, which was back to the future trilogy,

cause we were talking about all three back to

the future movies back in 2009. I had a list

of 100 films based on my DVD collection at that

time. So I already had a hundred episodes, whether

they changed or not. It was a hundred episodes

of a podcast. So that's what I mean about planning.

Gotcha yeah obviously you're not doing that because

like you said it's it's a it's a you know week

to week issue to issue thing but yeah yeah I

would say I would say the only thing are the

only instance where I'm quote -unquote throwing

anything at the mic is when I do the the quick

hit episodes when they're they're just by myself

yeah So if you listen to another comic review,

I've done a few quick hit episodes that are like,

I don't know, 10, 15 minutes where it's sort

of like a one shot type thing of just me talking

about something. In that case, it's really like,

oh, I really don't want to wait until the next

time we record. So I just want to kind of get

it out there and talk about it really quick.

But that's really the only thing that's kind

of like off the top of my head. Yeah, absolutely.

As a producer, are you a one man show kind of

host or do you prefer working with co hosts?

Yeah, so I think I think I kind of touched on

this at the beginning. I definitely like working

with other people primarily because and I get

I know on this new podcast, right? There's only

primarily two of us, occasionally three of us.

So I'm trying to get into more of this, but I

myself am not much of a talker. I've always been

a really good listener, not much of a talker,

but I'm trying to take on more of the active.

You're actually talking about whatever the topic

is. Yeah, absolutely The whole one -man show

things some people can do that where they just

sit there give their opinions And that to me

is like what YouTube videos are for like if you're

gonna review something anything It doesn't make

doesn't have to be a comic. It could be a comic

a movie a Piece of tech or whatever, you know

that to me is the one -man kind of show but when

I started TF2 and podcast the first like Seven

episodes are just me complaining about all of

the animation errors in every single episode.

And it's like, no, I need to bounce off of people.

I need to, you know, yes, I can be the one that

talks because I've been talking for 15 years,

but it's one of those things where if I say,

Hey, did you notice that optimus prime has yellow

eyes here instead of blue eyes? And Oh, right.

That's cause the toy had yellow eyes. I forgot.

Yeah. I had yellow eyes anyway. Yeah. But it's,

yeah, those things. I think if you look at my

YouTube channel, you'll see more of that. But

I mean, if you look at some of the quote unquote

influencers out there, I really think it is like

an art form of being able to, uh, you know, talk

solo and make it interesting. But some of them

also have like this, this over the top, like

acting, like the reaction videos, for example,

right? Those are like ridiculous. I don't do

reaction videos. But there's like the quote unquote

influencers who, let's say they're doing like

an unboxing or something, right? I really do

see that as like an art form. Do I see that as

like a career opportunity being a quote unquote

influencer? No, but I think it does take talent

being able to talk to the camera by yourself,

make it interesting and engaging. And I don't

think I've got that. ability to do but right

if you see some of my YouTube stuff like I am

talking like I The the transformer toy reviews

I used to do right so there is some of that in

there Yeah, I did have a big following at one

point on YouTube because of the reviews I was

doing I still say I'm one of the first people

to do a transformers toy review on YouTube If

you go back and look at when I did the very first

one I've got one review that's got over two million

views. Awesome. I mean, I had some ability to

do it, but I don't think I'm highly skilled at

it. Well, yeah, and that's different because

that's video. And like you're saying, that host

has to convey to the camera, to the visual audience,

whereas in an audio podcast, there's a huge difference

of us bouncing ideas off of each other or giving

each other our opinions and whether we agree

or disagree with. Whether we can see the issue

seven aqua color on the white background or not

kind of thing. There's a huge difference in that.

Like, like I said, my first seven episodes that

you listen to, any of those first seven episodes

of the podcast, it's just me talking out of my

ass. Like I have no idea what I'm talking about,

even though I know Optimus prime was blue in

two episodes, um, because of animation error.

So it just depends. Yeah, I mean I I also like

cracking jokes and that's very hard to do when

you're by yourself in solo Like even if you go

back to right Ryan's been on to Two reviews of

the Transformers comic. Is that right two or

three something like that or three something?

He hasn't been in all of them. Yeah He's been

on a couple but I mean even in even in a couple

of those Right. I was cracking a joke. You can

hear him laugh. I'm gonna play off that Yeah,

absolutely But to do that solo. Yeah, it's just

like okay. I crack a joke and it's like crickets

crickets crickets Oh, there's no one laughing.

Well, I don't know That's when you have to add

in a laugh track or one of these things. You

know, exactly. All right. As a producer, do you

feel you need a mixing board and all of the fancy

stuff that would generally be found at a radio

station? Or are you good with a great mic and

set of headphones? Yes. So when we talked about

hardware, I do have a mixer board here. Do I

think it's absolutely required? No. I like it

because, well, a couple of reasons here. It's

because I can use my XLR mic. I think that mic's

a little bit more superior than just using a

USB mic. Although, right, this is connecting

to my computer via USB ultimately. Yeah. But

I could use any XLR mic and plug it into this

and it'll work just fine. This is phantom powered.

So again, Any mic I plug in, I should be fine.

I can control the compression on it. I can control

master level. I can control a couple of different

levels on here. I can output mono or stereo.

And like I said, I can plug in multiple microphones

if needed, as well as some headphones. Like if

I want to... Oh, what's the word that I want?

Listen to the... What's it called? Oh, shoot.

I can't think of what it's called. What is it

called when you are listening back to yourself?

The replay. That's not what it's called, though.

It's called something. I can't think of it. In

any case, yeah, I like having the board. Again,

I don't think it's required. But yeah, I guess

that answers your question, maybe. Yeah, absolutely.

As a producer, how much time do you put into

the editing of the show? Yeah, so I don't...

put a whole lot of time into editing a podcast.

It really depends on how many people are on that

particular episode. So in another comic review,

it's mainly just you and I. So in editing two

audio files, that's fairly simple to do. If there

happens to be a third host, we bring in a third

host. Ryan in this case, it's just adding in

three audio files and I can edit all three of

them at the same time. So again, I'm using Audacity

here on my Mac. So when it comes to editing,

the main thing I'm looking for is tightening

everything up. So I'm cutting out a lot of dead

space. In the instance where it's like mainly

me and trying to read my own synopsis back I

screw something up. I'll give myself a second

just so I can see it in the waveform and then

it kind of added that back out. But mostly it's

in terms of any editing is just kind of tightening

it up and editing out dead space. And that doesn't

take very long to do, right? Because visually

within the waveform, you can see the empty space,

just remove it. The biggest thing I think is

really just adding the intro, the outro music.

And I mean, that's fairly simple to do. So it

doesn't take me very long. Yeah, usually if it's

an hour or if it's 45, anywhere from 30 minutes

to an hour and 30 minutes, you're usually going

to do double time on that just. in general, like

you're saying, make sure that all the audio tracks

line up right, because heaven forbid, I'm in

the middle of talking here, and then all of a

sudden, there's silence, and something else happens,

and it's all messed up, and Jigglypuff Batman,

I don't know. Jigglypuff, Jigglypuff. Alright,

goodnight. The whole thing. I think in terms

of actually editing the podcast before adding

the intro, the outro, we'll say we recorded a

45 minute episode for one of the comics. I think

I can have it edited in 20 minutes. Wow. Well,

you're a lot better at it than I am. Because

45 minutes because I do it when I do it. Linear

linearly. Yeah. Thank you. Uh, I, I already have

the intro. I already have the, I already have

all that stuff. So I just throw it at the beginning

line. It like, obviously I will edit the two

audio, like our two audio tracks first. But when

I'm putting the podcast itself together for the

final thing that the lovely listeners will listen

to, I always already put the The other stuff.

Yeah. Yeah. I do it the same way. So let's say

I was the one editing this podcast we're doing

right now. So the software that I'm using is

from Podcastle. So what it's going to do is it's

going to generate two separate audio files here.

So one for me, one for you. I'll download it.

What it does is it will actually sync them up.

So all I've got to do is drop the files into

Audacity. I don't have to worry about lining

up the audio. It's already good to go. So then

I've just got to edit out, like I said, all the

dead space to tighten it up. I export that as

a single file and then I bring it, you know,

open a new project, bring in the intro, drag

in this show file, bring in the outro. I'll do

the auto duck for the intro because I do talk

over that and export it. We're good to go. Yeah,

absolutely. Is your next question explain your

editing process? No. That was the thing. As a

producer, do you prefer in -person recordings

or over the internet recordings? Well, I said

that my wife has no interest in podcasting. I

have gotten her to record a couple episodes of

a podcast that we were trying to start or that

I was trying to start during COVID. I think we

got... two episodes, maybe three out there. And

then she just had no interest in doing it anymore.

So I really had fun recording that in person,

not just because it was my wife, but because

that was the first podcast I recorded in person.

Right. That was kind of fun. Actually, I know

I take that back just before COVID. When I was

still working at where I work, as opposed to

working remote, I started a podcast there at

work, and I did do some in -person podcasting

there. In -person recording, I should say. That

was a bit harder because it was like I'm used

to recording behind the computer. Yep. And doing

it over the internet and I'm not someone who

in what I was recording was actually like interviews

and I'm not the best at interviewing people.

I think for me I would prefer to do it over the

internet via my computer as opposed to using

like a sound recorder like I was doing for my

job and Recording it in person. Yeah, it's like

I said earlier. It's it's much easier to do it

this way where we're each in our own space We

don't have to worry about the biggest thing I

worry about with in -person recording and I've

only done two or three of them Where the person

is actually next to me with you know, whether

we're sharing the mic or the one microphone I

have or if I set up another one Like I actually

have to look at the person whereas now I'm just

looking at my screen and listening to what you're

saying I don't have to look anywhere else or

pay attention to anything else other than what

I'm hearing Coming into my headphones Yeah, I

think I think the one time where I think it would

be really fun to record in person. And this is

something we never got to do. But despite the

fact that I think would have been fantastic to

do was back when kind of TFI TFI was at its height

was if we could get everyone together to record

it like a bot con panel or something, or like

a you know, a comic convention panel or something

like I think that would have been fantastic.

Yeah. But that never happened. And again, I'm

trying to get you and Ryan to go to my conference

to record something because I think that would

be fun. But that's really the only time I think

it would be fun to kind of record in person.

Yeah, absolutely. OK, so as a listener and a

producer, do you prefer one feed have everything

or should each type of show have its own feed?

So the thing with this question is. TF wire.

It's transformers. It's transformers news. It's

another, another comic review. We're specifically

reviewing the sky Brown entertainment, energon

universe. What I mean with this question is something

like with us at GCRN where we have key cast radio

and that is general geek talk. And we do overarching

episodes of topics, but then we have tune cast,

which is all cartoon. So basically Do you want

a feed that has every single episode from every

single show we've done over the last 15 years

or should each each show be its own thing to

build its own audience? No, I get you. So the

way I did it back in the day when I had TF wire

was because we had more than just that podcast.

Obviously we started with that podcast. We didn't

call it a podcasting network. Ultimately, maybe

that's what it was. It was a mini podcasting

network. Because we had that, we had what Steve

was doing with War Stories. We had OtakuBot.

We had what's the one that Nemeno did. fangirls

on site. Yep, I remember that. Yep. There was

a couple. There's a couple more in there. What

we did was each one of those got their own podcasting

feed because it made sense to split them out

with what we're doing now with another comic

review. It's all kind of just one thing, right?

It's all within the energon universe. So even

with like the the the quick hits that I'm doing,

I just throw those in the in the main feed. But

for something like that, if it's the same topic,

it makes sense to keep it in the feed. If they

are completely separate topics, completely different

things. Makes no sense. Right. Even in the case

of like the old TFYR, different hosts were doing

it, made sense to split it up because... right?

When Nemeno was covering in Fangirls, it didn't

make sense at all to put in with what we were

doing on TFWare. Yeah, no, absolutely. It just

depends on what you're doing when you're doing

it. Yeah. And the thing with another comic review

is, yeah, we're covering the Energon universe.

And with the quick hits, it's like, oh, it's

kind of like when I used to do this thing on

the pullback called profiling previews where

I would get the... list of previews for upcoming

comics that we're releasing like three months

from. It's kind of like at the end of another

comic review when I sit there and say, Oh, by

the way, here's the solicit for Transformers

number 10, 11, and 12 kind of thing. It's the

same thing where we did that. Whereas with you

doing quick hits, it's like just a quick little

news bit that doesn't need to be a whole. Ass

15 to 20 minute discussion of everybody giving

their opinion on it It's just kind of like report

it like hey, this is the news and this is my

what I think and there you go Was there This

is gonna be interesting. Was there ever a moment

when you were completely done with podcasting

whatsoever wanted nothing to do with it Yes,

I think that takes us back to 2009 When I just

got out of doing the podcast all together, I

mean it may have been May have been I see I'm

trying to remember how far TF wire went. I think

it was it went at least through 2009 maybe 2010

But by 2009 I was certainly done because I was

I was just tired of doing it. So yes Yeah, absolutely

If your current podcast ends if you ever do away

with another comic review even though we just

got it started What what's next? What would you

want to do outside of doing comics in podcasting?

Yeah, so that is another good question, because

I've thought about that for years. Before starting

this up, it's like I want to get back into podcasting.

What can I podcast about? And I've had since

or between TF wire. Now I've had a couple that

I've tried to get off the ground. I put out a

few episodes. Like I said, I did one there with

my wife before meeting my wife back when I had

was engaged to someone else. And that relationship

ended. I actually put out a podcast. That was

more of me trying to work through some stuff.

That only lasted three, four episodes. And that

was done with that. So again, I've tried to do

some stuff, just didn't really find anything

that kind of stuck with me. So if this present

one ends, what would I want to do? As much as

I think it's like cliche, I would like to try,

you know, take another stab at doing something

similar to TFWire, but I'd have to find like

a completely new angle to come at it with. I've

been thinking about that for years, and it's

just like I haven't found the angle yet that

would be different from what anyone else is presently

doing in the Transformers podcast room. Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. Because most of all, it's just

whichever host or whichever network's opinions

you want to hear more, not necessarily more than

the others, but which ones you want to hear first.

Between me and Steve at All Things Transformers

on the GCRN, you've got the Transmissions guys,

you've got the TFW podcast with, I think Vangelis

is still doing that, I don't know if he is or

not, but TFW had a podcast. It just depends on

who you want to listen to to get your Transformers

news. But yeah, it's a tough nut to crack on

that. What advice do you have for new and veteran

podcasters in the art of podcasting? For new

podcasters, I would say don't jump in and expect

you're going to have an audience right from the

start. I guess I don't even know what qualifies

as a good audience in terms of like numbers at

this point in 2024. Like I don't know is like.

Is 10 ,000 good? Is a million good? I have no

idea. Does it depend on the podcast? Probably.

At the height of TF Wire, we were having 10 ,000

unique downloads a week. Was that good? I don't

know. That's amazing. 15 years and 4 ,000 episodes,

I can tell you that's amazing. That was back

in the early days of podcasts. Now, that's probably

not even a drop in the bucket. I have no idea.

But in looking at the new podcast that we're

trying to get off the ground here, I am looking

at the stats. I share some of them with Mike

occasionally, but the audience is small. I'm

fine with that. I'm not really looking at the

audience. It's really more of me having fun,

discussing comics with you, discussing comics

with Ryan. uh and just kind of getting my thoughts

and opinion out there if someone wants to listen

great if they don't want to i don't care uh but

i am trying to like You know, promoted as much

as I can, although I could be doing more on social.

Social media is a beast that unless you're a

super influencer, you can't. It's a hard beast

to tame. It really is because there's so much

and so many different ways you can get the quote

unquote advertising across to be. It's so it's

my head hurts, but yeah. Yeah, I mean like even

like I said, I had a pretty I still have a pretty

decent following on YouTube, but like even like

we started posting some of the void rival stuff

there before I actually turned this into a podcast.

Yep. And we weren't getting many views on there.

So like the people who are following me on there,

they're not really interested in that type of

content. Yes. Right. There was no video. So completely

makes sense. I was just pushing the audio out

there. Yep. So that's why I decided to turn into

an audio podcast. But right, I don't, I'm not

really concerned about the audience. So for newcomers,

don't expect a large audience off the bat. Maybe

you'll never get a large audience. And I don't

think that's too big of an issue as long as you

kind of go into that knowing that if you're looking

to make money, don't. Yeah, it's not no. It's

not unless you're a Joe Rogan or unless you're

this person or that person, you ain't making

money at this. You're you spend money on the

equipment and you spend money on the web hosting

and the things and the things and the things

and the things. And then the rest of it is just

pure enjoyment of doing the content. You're not

like you said earlier about how you don't subscribe

to Patreons. I won't subscribe to a Patreon just

to get the episode early. I know sometimes that.

is a is a Patreon perk some creators offer. And

that's great. I'm perfectly fine waiting until

Wednesday or Thursday or next Friday of whenever

whoever's hosting the show, whatever podcast

it is, whenever their release schedule is, that's

fine. I don't need it two days early kind of

thing. I just I never have. It's whenever they

decide to release it. Now, if there's bonus content

that they're offering at a certain level and

there's some sort of other perk, fine. You know.

Whatever. But yeah, just release it when you're

ready, folks. Yeah. That's what I was going to

say. I know earlier I said, right, I'm not doing

this. I'm not recording another comic review

for the money. There are no ads in it. I don't

have a Patreon. I would be open to doing a Patreon

for something like, not for the main show, but

for something like what you just described where

in addition to what I was doing, I was already

committing the time to it. But now I'm taking

additional time. and creating additional content.

If someone wants to throw a few bucks my way,

sure, I'd be interested in that. But for the

main show, I don't see that as an option. For

veteran podcasters, I guess I would just say

if you are on top, no one stays on top forever.

Uh, and also kind of just be, be in the lookout

for that time period when you're going to feel

like, uh, it's too much, right? You're going

to get bogged down. It's going to feel like you're

doing too much. And if you feel like you're really

just creating content for the sake of creating

content, you're probably done with podcasting.

Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing with me. When

I started, when we started, my ultimate goal

was, okay, if Steve and I are going to make this

a podcast network and we're going to have at

least, let's say, five main shows, one for cartoons,

one for movies, the Transformers one, the toy

collecting one, and something else. Let's just

say, for example, when I started and when we

started the network 15 years ago this month,

this or whatever. I said to Steve, I will work

my ass off from January 1st to October 31st,

basically 10 months, because usually around Halloween

and Halloween's getting into holiday time, Thanksgiving

and Christmas, not a lot of people are listening

to, at least not back then, are going to listen

to podcasts when they're trying to go visit their

family and all that stuff for the holidays kind

of thing. So that was my Philosophy on it was

if me personally, I want to do as much as I can

do, I'm going to do it within these 10 months

of the year. And then I'm going to have a two

month break, a two month vacation. Do we still

do stuff in that two months? Yes. But we slow

down versus having five episodes per week from

five different shows. We might only have two

episodes from two of those five shows or whatever.

But then again, I'm insane folks. He said it,

not me. I know I am. Hey, man, I'm looking to

record 150 episodes before December 31st for

the pullback for the comic show. So trust me,

I know my insanity level. Thank you. All right.

Final question. Where can the people find your

show? Promote yourself. Yes, you can find my

newest podcast, Another Comic Review, at AnotherComicReview

.com. And I think that's it. We do have an Instagram

account. That's also another comic review. You

can find me on YouTube at youtube .com slash

matrix underscore prime. And i'm not on twitter

anymore so you can't find me on there, i'm not

on facebook so you can't find me on there. He's

still on twitter he just doesn't use the account

anymore because i tag it every time i do another

comic review promotion on twitter. Guess I'm

being curious to see what account you're tagging

because my primary account is no more Whatever

Jesse early is it says we follow each other and

whoever that person is hasn't responded. So I

assume it's you I Probably have the account.

Yeah, that's that was never my primary one. Yeah

If you're interested in old podcasts, like I

said, you can find the old TFWIRE podcast on

the Internet Archive. You can also go to iaconmedia

.com. That was a website I threw up a number

of years ago now, where I was pushing out the

old episodes of TFWIRE. I do have some of Steve

Megatron's war stories on there. I believe that

was his first podcast. Yep. So if you haven't

heard his first podcast and you're interested

you can check that out at iaconmedia .com I don't

believe I've got all the episodes on there. I've

got the first three I may have more but I have

the first three on there and Yeah, that's that's

a interesting podcast that kind of was a brainchild

of mine, but I had no interest in recording for

it. And I know Steve was looking to get into

voice acting. So I just gave him an opportunity

to kind of do some voice acting for some fan

fiction within the Transformers role. Very cool.

Very cool. All right, folks, that's going to

do it for this episode of Studio 2009. I have

no idea. When this is going to be released, there's

no date on it, there's no episode number on it,

so no clue. Thank you for joining us here inside

the studio. If you'd like to get in contact with

us, leave feedback for the show. There's no ways

to do so. Visit the website, geocastradio .com,

where you can listen to and comment on all of

our content. Go away, Ryan. Thank you. Wrong

Ryan, the other Ryan, the Canadian one. Oh wait,

they're both Canadian. Damn it. Go away, Reynolds.

Ow. Visit the website, geekcastradio .com, where

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You can check us out on any and all the podcast

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on X at GeekCastRadio at It's Studio 2009. I

am at TF2 and Mike. Okay, become a fan on Facebook.

Go to facebook .com slash geekcastradio. You

can also check out Studio 2009 podcast over there

as well. For now, I'm TF2 and Mike with. Jesse?

We'll hear us back in the studio soon. I guess

you'll have to edit this part out. It's okay.

Oh my god. Holy crap. Yeah, this is a definite

big ass edit point. And I love this. Listen,

I know I said I wouldn't come in here for a month,

but it's an emergency. Have any of you heard

anything about these disappearances? What was

that? My house What did your house just do it

sounded like it flushed itself down the toilet

You done I don't know what that was edit point

we are