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What would you Podcast about?

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Title says it all. What would you podcast about? What would you like to hear a podcast about? What are some good ideas for starting a podcast?

I haven't the slightest idea what I would podcast about. Do you?

Most of us are never going to podcast, but we can share a few of our ideas here and maybe inspire somebody else here to start one that we might like to listen to.
 
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yachtcaptcolby

Minstrel
Given that the podcast I'm about to describe isn't about writing, this may not be the kind of response you're looking for. But I think there are a few things in here that can help.

Once a week, a few friends and I record a podcast about video games. We record via Skype and Pamela and broadcast it live to Twitch.tv via Xsplit. I'm not involved in the technical side of things, but it doesn't sound too difficult.

The big thing we talk about is what we played during the week. We also discuss recent news and developments in the industry. Sometimes we play very silly games on-air, like trying to guess Mega Man bosses with short, stupid clues. Given that we're all in the Boston area, sometimes it degenerates into a bunch of hyper-local jokes no one outside New England would ever understand.

It's always fun, whether it's serious or silly. Discussing things you're interested in with like-minded people is a good time. I imagine any writing podcast would have a similar vibe; each writer could talk about what he's worked on since the last episode, and there's enough happening in the publishing industry to feed a few solid round-table discussions. In the case of my podcast, there's a definite impetus to try to play something new every week so I have something new to talk about; maybe having to talk about what you've been working on during a writing podcast could make you write more.

That's my spiel. Hopefully there's something useful in there. And if anybody's interested in checking out the cast, it's available here.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
I see a lot of review or audio book type podcasts out there on the web. I much prefer advice 'casts, that have something different to offer. The Roundtable and Writing Excuses are fabulous examples of what I mean. They could just do something simiple, they could just ramble on for hours, but they don't. The first has its unique guest host and workshopper format and the later has its famous "fifteen minutes ... because we're not that smart"

The trick is doing something that hasn't exactly been offer before. If I happen across a 'cast that has the same format as the above... well I'm not likely to pay it any attention.

The longer it is the more I tune out. That being said however, I do listen to the Dead Robots Society occasionally, which regularly runs longer than an hour.

Notice how I said occasionally? I hardly ever have an hour in which I can solely devote my attention to a podcast. Conversely the fifteen minute nature of Writing Excuses means if I'm particularly behind I can spend an hour or two catching up. Call it an attention span thing.

In a round about way what I'm saying here is that ... I have no fraking clue. If I ever came up with some unique format then that would be great, I would go ahead with it, but that's that...
 

Twook00

Sage
I love podcasts. Writing Excuses got me started and since then I've been a huge fan of the Nerdist and Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, etc ever since.

My ideal podcast would be one that is geared towards writers, in which the hosts break down a popular book (like Game of Thrones) and discuss it from a writer's perspective rather than from a reader's. What did the author do right? Let's hear some examples of this? How did they write this scene? What is their style? Why is this character so popular?

I could listen to that all day.
 

Ophiucha

Auror
That's tough.

Most of my favourite podcasts are the ramble-and-rant sort of podcasts. Three people with great personalities just talking about the things they love. I'd get a couple of my writing mates and just... talk writing, really. An hour long, talking about what books we've read, what we've been working on, and maybe some sort of scheduled half-hour ordeal in the middle.

Perhaps a comedy-critique circle, if I could find a group willing to laugh at their own mistakes and have timed defences of their choices (like, "I don't think John and Mary should kiss in this scene," and then before you can defend your choice to have them kiss, we start up the Jeopardy countdown theme). Or a debate-themed podcast, where there always has to be somebody on the opposition. Like a proper debate team, where you can get put on the side of "pro-life" even if you are personally pro-choice. I'd want to see people have to defend a style or trope that they hate, and I'd like to see more... ubiquitous patterns in fiction get challenged with a few of my writing friends who know their stuff.
 
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Vale

Scribe
My favourite podcasts tend to be of the more rambley variety with occasional news bits etc. For example, I used to be an avid listener of the AAA (Anime Addicts Anonymous) podcast, a bloody awesome cast with a great mix of presenters. Kimiko FTW.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
@ Yacht Capt. I enjoyed listening to your podcast. I have to admit, I don't play many video games, but I laughed at the banter and it seems like you guys have a lot of fun when you're making them. Good for you! Thanks for sharing that with us. If you could recommend a few that might be more enjoyable for a midwesterner who doesn't play a ton of video games, I'd love to keep checking it out. Sorry, I didn't get the local jokes, but I laughed along with you anyways, because some were just that funny :)

Okay, if I was making a podcast, I'd have to lean toward the randomness. It's not that I think my deranged rantings are brilliant or anything, but I think creative topics keep things fresh. I've got a lot of varied hobbies, and while not all of them would be appropriate podcast subjects, I think I'd have to mix it up or grow bored myself, and sound repetitive.

I think the video game idea is great, because there's loads of material, going back to, dare I say, the eighties, when many of us fell in love with the zygotes that would turn into FF VII, Halo, and Skyrim. I mean, the possibilities are endless.

The idea for a look at books from an author's perspective is really good too, but I'm not sure how long I could listen to solely one subject for. It's a great idea though, and I guess, once a week probably wouldn't feel frequent. Heck, it's probably something I'd wait all week for!

I do love debate, and the ramblings of great personalities... Man, you guys these re all great ideas. I'm totally glad there's only one link, or I'd have to listen to all these, and never get anything done.
 

yachtcaptcolby

Minstrel
Glad to hear you liked it! We're definitely a bit of a niche production, though. We just added a guy from New York who often gets really confused when we wander off-topic. Episode 101 stands out in my mind for the really silly love poem, and we recorded Episode 86 live from the Penny Arcade Expo (a big gaming convention that supports a children's charity). We're considering the launch of a cast that focuses just on New England things, from politics to sports to local legends and lore.

I figure podcasting is like anything else: if you cover a topic you're interested in and have a lot of fun doing it, the end product is going to be that much better. An audience that really likes something you do is that much more likely to check out something else you do.
 
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