The Sound Of My Archive: Lessons From Podcasting Past
This August saw a return to a more recognisable Edinburgh Fringe Podcast following the impact of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Unlike previous years, I didn’t wind up the show at the end of the month. Instead, it has turned into a weekly historical show as I introduce interviews from the podcast’s archive.
Which has led me to some interesting observations.
Firstly, I’m presenting old material as new. By putting a narrator-like wrapper around each interview from the archives, I’m able to not only explain what’s going on for new listeners but also add more context and flavour to the interview; someone who was a ‘new talent’ all those years ago could well be near the top of the tree in 2022. That was certainly the case with a little theatrical production in 2012 called ‘Fleabag’.
Secondly, and perhaps the most personally thought-provoking is the interviewer. Yes, I know, that’s me, but it’s me from many years ago, in some cases all the way back to 2005. My style has changed so much since then; my attitudes have matured; and I have taken on a lot of feedback which has made me a much better podcaster.
All of this leads to a show which has two separate parts, the old and the new. And only the latter represents where I am right now as a podcaster. I think listeners are smart enough to realise this and can make the distinction.
Here comes the ‘what I’ve learned’ moment…
Always be critical of yourself in every moment; when you are preparing when you are doing, and when you are editing your podcast. There is always room to improve if you can listen to yourself honestly. You may feel you are only doing it for yourself but do it anyway.
And fight for your audio quality. When you record and when you edit, really fight for it, The cleaner and more accurate that you can capture an interview means you have the best data to work with when you are editing. You’ll thank yourself when you start editing, and in fifteen years’ time you might thank yourself even more (as well as wondering what you were thinking at the time).
The first Edinburgh Fringe podcasts were published in August 2005, around six weeks after Apple introduced podcasting into iTunes. I’d been podcasting for six months at that point, but recording a daily show from wherever I was in the city, covering an event to a new audience, and trying to explain just what a podcast was to pretty much everyone in the media taught me a lot.
Seventeen years later, it’s still teaching me.
