100 Podcasts and the Lessons Learned with Nick Good

July 3, 2020 Myles Belland

What a better year than this one to start a podcast. It’s easy to get into and you can share your passion and expertise on the subjects most dear to you. But starting a podcast and keeping a podcast going are two completely different things, and you only learn how to find success through the school of hard knocks.

This week I caught up with my good friend Nick Good, an Edmonton based writer and podcaster who co-hosts the podcast Two Man Booth with Neil Cochrane. Two Man Booth is a variety podcast that covers movies, sports, television, music, and more!

This week they are celebrating their 100th episode - Congrats boys!! Nick was kind enough to let me interview him and share some the wisdom he has earned after 100 episodes.

Looking back to the first few podcasts you released, what have you learned after 100 episodes that you wish you could go back and tell yourself?

Well, that’s an interesting question, Myles. Are we talking about the early episodes of Two-Man Booth, or the earliest episodes I ever recorded? Because this pod is actually my third endeavour, and I think we’d be remiss to mention that my first foray into the podcasting world involved you! Once upon a time, you and I joined forces with the third member of our comedy Triumvirate, Mark, and released thirteen episodes Please Take Us Siriusly. I actually think we did a pretty good job, but I would definitely go back and say: have an outline, young man, haha. Thankfully you assumed all of the audio engineering and producing back then, so really I just had to show up, so in that case I would say: learn more. Much, much more.

My current co-host for TMB, Neil Cochrane, and I then had Off The Bench, a pod that we also co-hosted with our now-frequent TMB guest host Adam, and that was where I had to learn all the fun and nuance of producing, so it would’ve been nice to know more about what I was doing then. Building an outline and conceiving content ideas, honestly that’s kinda the easy part; figuring out the subtleties of recording programs, how to properly balance the audio, how to produce the cleanest sound, that was really a learning curve. Also, be more courteous to your co-host. It’s so easy to jump in and cut each other off just to get your point across. Podcasts are great because they portray an organic conversation, but there is still some nuance in the interaction. Let the other person get their point across, and respond appropriately.

How have you addressed the challenge of coming up with interesting content each week?

Honestly, this pod is sort of designed for that to never really be an issue (*knock on wood*). When you and I had Please Take Us Siriusly, we were really going for off-the-cuff, observational sort of humour, which can be really hit-or-miss. OTB was entirely sports-based, so when you’re in a pro sports nadir (like, say, in the middle of a global pandemic), you’re really a prisoner to the moment, so you can really be scraping for content. Neil and I conceived TMB to leave ourselves open to talk about sorta whatever (as I say in the opening: “sports, movies, tv; whatever we feel like talking about”). We had the initial idea to do one topical sports-based and one pop culture-based episode a week, but recent events have forced us to pivot a bit, which is what led to us dedicating our Thursday episodes to the #TBT concept. I mean, that being said there are definitely some weeks when I look at the production schedule in the studio and worry that we’re screwed, but after a couple glasses of wine ideas kinda start to flow. We’ve also started to reach out to some listeners to ask what they want us to talk about (which has led us to what’s coming up for episodes 102 and 103, actually). There are so many movies and tv shows out there, and pro sports will come back eventually, so honesty no, I’m not too concerned.

Everyone thinks that podcasting is just setting up a mic and sharing your thoughts. Talk to me about some of the professionalism that you have to bring to the table people wouldn’t know about.

I guess it really all depends on what type of podcast you want to host, but for me two words immediately come to mind: prep and consistency. One of the most common things that you’ll hear is, “it’s like listening to a conversation between friends; my friends and I are funny, we should just record us!” Well yes that’s true, to an extent. I truly think that the best podcasts are ones where the hosts do have a camaraderie, a natural familiarity that goes beyond the microphones. I’ve only ever co-hosted with people I have a genuine friendship with, because I do think it sets an enjoyable tone. That being said, no one wants to just listen to you and your friends ramble.

First off, you talk over each other more than you think, and as much as you think that’s “authentic,” it’s utterly unlistenable to strangers. Secondly, your inside jokes and drinking stories may seem hilarious to you, and they probably are, but the listener has zero context to it, so it’ll make them feel alienated and confused. But maybe you and your friends are the most interesting people out there! That’s awesome, but you still need to be consistent: if you’re going to be a weekly pod, then you have to be weekly. Having a general outline is important too. That doesn’t mean that you need have the whole episode scripted per se, but it’s good to have at least a skeleton of an idea to keep you from meandering and just rambling. And just prep as much as you can. If you’re speaking on a particular subject, do as much research as you can, and save you (and your listeners) painfully seconds of dead air as you fumble around trying to look something up— I mean, it’s still going to happen, but it’s in your best interest to mitigate the amount of times it happens.

What is your favourite must listen to episode that you recorded and what made it so?

Oh man, you’re making me go back to listen to my own voice? Haha, okay this is going to seem like I’m cheating but it really depends on your taste. Like I said, Neil and I try to cover a pretty wide swathe of the sports and pop culture landscape, so depending on your individual interests, some will have more meaning to you than others— if you hate, or are at least in different to sports, then our hockey-based episodes will mean nothing to you. That being said, I really enjoyed researching and putting together episodes 16 and 18, “The NHL Expansion Story” because it’s really different from anything else we’ve really done, producing more of a narrative pod rather than a conversational one. Episode 12, “Top Disney Songs” was fun too, because who can really complain about having to listen to Disney songs for show prep? In general, though the episodes I definitely enjoy the most are the ones in our “Oscars Revisited” series. That concept is really what TMB is born out of, so maybe it holds a special place in my heart because of that, but anything that gets me engaged in films that might not otherwise seek out, I really appreciate. Any of our “Actor’s Revisited” or “Director’s Cut” episodes are similar, but they’re a little more curated as Neil and I generally do pick the films that end up in those ones.

Finally, if you had to guess, where do you see the future of your podcast going now that you have some experience under the belt?

To the top of the charts, of course!

Jokes aside, as much as that’s always a nice, lofty goal to set the pod is honestly the first step to branching out creatively. The next step is going to launching our website, with the podcast serving as a real companion piece to the content going up there (and perhaps some cross-branding opportunities…). And as an Edmonton-based brand, we want to be involved in social programs in our city, so we plan on releasing a line of merchandise that will contribute directly to initiatives here. But, as to not bury the lede too much: the podcast is only gaining momentum. I think I can speak for Neil when I say that I think we’re definitely hitting our stride (yes, after 100 episodes), we’re looking at extending our reach, and working with our graphic designer on some cool new logos; we have tonnes of content on the production schedule and are always open to ideas for more. Plus, I love doing this. The prep can be a lot, and there are still some technical issues that drive me crazy, but I look forward to sitting down for a few hours each week and chatting about art and sports with my friend. Nothing much to really complain about.

Summary:

Create an outline for each episode, and try not to talk over each other
Niches are great but don’t be afraid to pivot to new areas of conversation. Let your personalities take the audience along for the ride.
Episode preparation and consistency in posting are huge areas most people overlook.
Podcasting is a creative outlet for Nick that is helping him build creative momentum (this is huge, creativity begets creativity)