The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It is a rare medium that is almost as easy to do as it is to consume. And therefore, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are plenty of material and software solutions open to possible podcasters, so that the settings run the spectrum from the NPR Studios to USB Skype Rigs (the last of which has become a kind of default during pandemic).
This week, we talked to Jody Avirgan, who hosts “Summer album / winter album” With Frontman of American Indie Rock band The Hold Steady, Craig Finn. Each episode finds Avirgan and Finn discussing whether a classic record should be categorized as a “summer album” or “winter album”.
Avirgan-who previously hosted performances for Radiotopia, Ted, Fivethirtyeight and ESPN-told us about the podcasting set-up of the choice. Here’s in his own words:
“Even when I worked on ESPN/Fivethirtyeight, I always had a home registration installation. Since left – that happened to coincide with the start of the pandemic – I have made my underground enrollment studio in my main home. It is actually the kitchen of a basement studio apartment, so far from the frame, behind some curtains, is a refrigerator (disconnected), sink and many cabinets.
“But I have hung tons of curtains, scattered soft things around, and put some sound panels up. I think now is so comfortable and quite hot. My microphone is a Re27n/D, a $ 500 microphone.
“To be clear: I don’t make money Re27. I bought this microphone when I hosted 30 for 30. I left espn three weeks before the pandemic stroke and somewhere there I wrote an email that was asking if they wanted to get the microphone back. I never received A response and definitely didn’t write a sequel. Warm microphone, but it is a majesty.
“When I am on the road, I pack an AT2020-USB+, which is connected directly to my computer and I can hit the monitoring from anywhere-usually under a blanket in a hotel closet, which is a natural habitat of Podcaster.
“I run my microphone through Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, a simple but powerful interface that allows me to control my young levels and route direct A local backup file using Hindenburg, which I then save to Dropbox. Roads eventually lead to Dropbox.
“One place I deviate from the typical Podcaster 101 kit is on my headphones. Everyone has the Sony MDR-7506, and I have run through my fair share of them, but I really like the RODE NTH-100 headphones. It’s A little more comfortable, they look a little weaker, and so far the padding hasn’t collapsed the way the padding in sony inevitably It does, leading one to find small black flecks in their ears after the movie.
“Like many podcasters, I’ve done more and more videos of videos lately. I’ve used description for years, but as the worlds of sound and video have been merged, I do almost all my editing at this point. I make social videos from the our conversations for ”Today“And”Summer album / winter album“But also original things I play on Instagram.
‘I do a series every week where I Try to guess the title From this week’s New York coverage and records this right to description and turn it into 20 minutes using a standard I built. Description – I’m a big fan. It is very versatile and it is nice to work with a program that seems to give a mess for what podcasters want, as opposed to protools.
“I guess I also had to think about my visual arrangement with a fair amount. I bought the camera recommended by the wirecutter, but I sincerely prefer the appearance of the MacBook camera, so I usually only use that. In the background I put some books to prove me That I know how to read. Wing ” – and the fake plants worth $ 28 from IKEA.
“I exclude the view, so I don’t think people can even see that plants are there. But I like to know they are there, and they will always be there because of the forever plastic.”
We have previously requested others for our favorite guests and producers to highlight their workflows – the equipment and software they use to do the job. The list has so far includes:
