Resources for Podcasting 101 - A Crash Course
Here's my list of suggested further reading, recommended equipment, resources, and communities culled from many such lists that preceded it (including work by Jenna Weiss-Berman, Alex Kapleman, Kaitlin Prest, Helen Zaltzman, and others I may have inadvertently omitted) and my own brain. I hope these might be of help to you as you develop your ideas and projects. Happy podcasting!
Tutorials
Amazing all-around resources with articles on many topics:
Lynda.com Podcasting Training & Tutorials requires a subscription but you might be eligible for a free one using your library card, university login, etc.
For technical advice, check out Jeff Towne’s articles on Transom or Rob Byers’ column in AIR.
NPR’s Producer’s Handbook to Mixing Audio Stories is a short but incredibly informative primer on how to edit and mix an audio story!
Concerned about the legal aspects? Check out this (Sept. 2017) interview with entertainment lawyer Gordon Firemark: "Podcasting Law: Stay Legal & Protect Your Brand".
Can't record an interview in person? Check out Katie Mingle’s guide to tape syncs.Try to pay the standard rate of $125 + travel. Roll Call Audio is a completely free🎉 voice chat service with podcast quality recording. Or explore Descript’s How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time. You can also consider using Skype or these handy iPhone tape sync instructions on a smartphone if you have no other option.
In-Person Training Programs
Transom Story Workshop (which offers scholarships)
The Center for Documentary Studies Workshops
Journalism schools with radio tracks like NYU, Columbia, UC Berkeley, University of Missouri School of Journalism, and Medill.
Gear
Bare Bones - 3 Ways
Mic - Samson Go Mic - $59 with headphones
Samson C01U Pro USB Studio Condenser Microphone - $78
Blue Yeti USB Mic - $125 - you can actually change the directionality of this mic for use for voiceover, interviews, or music recording.
Pair any of the above with the Hindenburg Field Recorder app on your iPhone ($30) for a super portable low-fi kit.
This American Life Kit
Recorder - Marantz PDM 661
Field Mic - Audio-Technica AT8035 shotgun microphone
Studio Mic - Shure KSM-32 mics (which are the great $500 knockoffs of the gorgeous $3400 Neumann U87's you hear on the big NPR news shows)
Transom Good, Better, & Best Kits (see link for their review + more details)
Transom “Good” Kit
Recorder - Tascam DR-60DmkII
Mic - Audio-Technica AT8010
Transom “Better” Kit
Recorder - Zoom H5
Mic - Beyerdynamic M58 and Rode NTG2
Transom “Best” Kit
Recorder - Sound Devices MixPre3 (or MixPre6)
Mic - Sennheiser K6/ME66 and Shure VP88
Headphones:
Open-Ear - Sennheiser PX 100-II
Closed-Ear - Sony MDR7506
In-Ear - Etymotic Research HF5
Software
Free Interview App, with Built-In Interview Planning - StoryCorps Mobile App
Intuitive Editing & Mixing Software - Hindenburg Journalist and (separate) Recording App for iPhone, Hindenburg Field Recorder
Free, Open Source Audio Editing Software - Audacity - This Transom article will walk you through what it can and can't do.
Wanna use Apple's Garageband? Then watch this Lynda.com course.
Transcription Software - ExpressScribe + Infinity USB Footpedal
Automatic Transcription Service: Check out this comparison by Pop Up Podcasting (updated Dec 2017). My personal favorite is Rev.com, which received an “A” in this comparison and also integrates seamlessly with Vimeo!
Festivals (NYC Area)
And check out any events from the Columbia Center for Oral History Research.
Space & Studios (NYC Area)
Before paying for space, check out any resources at your school or public library, any professional organizations you might belong to, your network, etc.
Cast Sound Lab - starting at $40/hour
QED Studios - starting at $30/hour
Radio Free Brooklyn - starting at $50/hour
Metro 599 - $50/hour general or $20/hour members - This librarian non-profit not only has audio workstations but also digitization, A/V transfer, media migration and recovery, and graphic output/printing! Membership also includes Lynda.com subscription.
Communities
For general discussions, tips, and excellent tools reviews - Transom is a showcase and workshop for new public radio. http://transom.org/
Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is an online marketplace for distribution, review, and licensing of public radio programming. PRX is also a growing social network and community of listeners, producers, and stations collaborating to reshape public radio. http://www.prx.org/
For community and awesome peer-to-peer support - Association for Independents in Radio: http://airmedia.org/
For Academics, The Humanities Podcast Network is a growing collective of instructors, scholars, and independent creators who empower and support teachers who want to incorporate podcasts into their classroom practice and/or create their own podcasts so they too can be heard, free of institutional gatekeeping mechanisms.
http://humanitiespodnetwork.org/
Podcaster’s Support Group, founded by Helen Zaltzman - https://www.facebook.com/groups/571436979623574/
And for avid listeners, the New York Times has a podcasting listener's club (think: book club) with over 24,000 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nytpodcastclub/
For those in the NYC area, the NYC Podcasting Meet-Up has over 500 members and hosts regular events.
Rates, Contracts, & Legal
Air Media’s Indie Toolkit has a wealth of information on fair pay, sample contracts, and legal information.
Monetization - Crowd-Funding/Subscriptions
Drip - From Kickstarter (Invite-Only right now but watch for it!)
Ko-Fi - Allows individuals to pay for a "cup of coffee" via small donations.
Patreon - Platform for regular, monthly donations for your art/work.
Radio Public's Paid Listens - Ads for smaller podcasts.
Preservation
Preserve this Podcast - Preserve This Podcast! is an Andrew W. Mellon grant-funded project hosted by the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) to help podcasters protect their work against the threats of digital decay. The project includes a zine workbook and a 5-part podcast series, as well as a series of traveling workshops.
PodcastRE - PodcastRE contains links and metadata records to over 150,000 individual audio files, from over 1000 different podcast feeds. You can submit your own podcast to be included in this searchable archive!
Distribution
Podcast Hosting Services
Podcast Places is a website that list the hundreds of places to host your podcast. Below are a few of the more popular ones.
iPodder.org has recently been rebranded, in part, as Juice Receiver; however the directory still sits on the iPodder website.
Websites/Web Hosting Resources
Reclaim Hosting - use the coupon code NYUAM for 10% off. This is for folks who want are willing to DIY a bit more for a super low cost web hosting that can be used for multiple sites or URLs usinf Wordpress.org, HTML, or anything else to build out your site.
SquareSpace - a pricey but super easy-to-use option with sleek templates.
Wordpress.com - can be used with tons of different templates with scalable pricing; more user-friendly than self-hosted.
And don't forget to buy a web address! I am a fan of buying my URLs from Namecheap, who have great privacy, offer cheap WhoIs protection, and don't make misogynist ads like some of the other competitors out there.
Podcasts Networks
aCast - "curated platform for podcasts"
Buzzfeed Podcasts
Gimlet Media: shows include: Reply All, Heavyweight
MaxFun (and NYC's MaxFun community of fans)
Panoply - As of Sept 2018, “Panoply has decided to focus solely on our growing podcast hosting and ad services business, and exit the podcast content business.”
PRX's Radiotopia - "A curated network of extraordinary, cutting-edge podcasts” - shows include: The Heart, Benjamin Walker’s Theory of Everything
Recommended/Popular/NYC Podcasts
NYPL Podcast & The Librarian Is In
This American Life, related: Serial, S-Town
WNYC Studios: RadioLab, related: Invisibilia; More Perfect, Snap Judgement, 2 Dope Queen