The great thing about podcasting is that anybody can do it. It’s a uncommon medium that’s practically as simple to make as it’s to devour. And as such, no two individuals do it precisely the identical means. 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 form of default through the pandemic).
This week, we spoke to Jody Avirgan, who co-hosts “Summer time Album / Winter Album” with the frontman of the American indie rock band The Maintain Regular, Craig Finn. Every episode finds Avirgan and Finn debating whether or not a basic report ought to be categorized as a “summer time album” or “winter album.”
Avirgan – who beforehand hosted reveals for Radiotopia, TED, FiveThirtyEight, and ESPN – instructed us about his podcasting set-up of alternative. Right 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 fundamental house. It’s really the kitchen of a basement studio condo, so simply off-frame, behind some curtains, is a fridge (unplugged), sink, and many cupboards.
“However 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 e-mail asking in the event that they needed me to return the mic. I by no means received a response, and I definitely didn’t write a follow-up. So I saved it. That is in all probability why Disney inventory is down 20% over the past 5 years. It’s a really heat mic, however it’s a behemoth.
“After 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 below a blanket in a resort closet, which is a podcaster’s pure habitat.
“I run my mic by means of 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 report a neighborhood backup file utilizing Hindenburg, which I then save to Dropbox. All roads finally result in Dropbox.
“The one place I deviate from the standard Podcaster 101 equipment is in my headphones. Everybody has the Sony MDR-7506, and I’ve run by means of my justifiable share of these, however I actually just like the Rode NTH-100 headphones. They’re just a bit extra snug, look just a little slicker, and to date the padding hasn’t damaged down in the best way that the padding on the Sony’s inevitably does, main one to seek out little black flecks of their ears after taping.
“Like a whole lot of podcasters, I’ve been doing increasingly more video stuff these days. I’ve used Descript for years, however because the worlds of audio and video have merged, I do nearly all my modifying in it at this level. I make social movies of our conversations for “This Day” and “Summer time Album / Winter Album,” but additionally unique 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 report that proper into Descript and switch it round in like 20 minutes utilizing a template I constructed. Descript — I’m a giant fan. It’s very versatile, and it’s good to work with a program that appears to present a crap about what podcasters need, versus ProTools.
“I suppose I’ve had to consider my visible setup a good quantity, too. I purchased the webcam that the Wirecutter really useful, however actually I favor 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 photograph of George Mikan, about whom there was a operating bit in “Loss of life At The Wing” — and $28 value of pretend crops from Ikea.
“I block the view so I don’t suppose individuals may even see that the crops are there; however I wish to know that they’re there, and can all the time be there, due to endlessly plastics.”
We’ve beforehand requested others of our favourite podcast hosts and producers to focus on their workflows — the gear and software program they use to get the job achieved. The checklist to date consists of:
