Empathy and compassion are both principals that guide the actions we take in fulfilling our mission to empower & connect creatives in meaningful conversations without barriers. A-politicism is another one of our principals, but when precious lives are lost, the conversation transcends politics elevating it to a matter of human rights.

This is an uncomfortable conversation for most of us. We’re afraid of saying the wrong thing, offending people, losing relationships, jobs, customers, and in some cases, physical safety. While they may be uncomfortable, meaningful conversations where we dig to the roots of our biggest challenges often help us remove the most barriers.

Black Lives Matter.

We stand in solidarity with Black people grieving the losses of David McAtee, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and far too many others. We share and honor the outrage rippling through our country. We stand with you. We are listening. Please, help remove barriers by engaging in the most meaningful conversation there is.

Remote Podcasting & Content Production are our superpowers — With SquadCast we have been helping professional podcasters record quality content remotely for the last 3+ years & we’ve learned a LOT of trends, pro-tips, & best practices along the way that we are excited to be publishing for the first time in the new Remote Podcast Stats (RPS) report.

To help bring the new RPS data report to life we partnered with StudioPod, a podcast media company with a physical studio in the Mission District of San Francisco. Julian Lewis, started as a customer of TJ’s and the two became partners when he saw the value of offloading podcast editing and production while improving the quality of his audio and his experience with local guests recording together in person.

What is the Remote Podcast Stats (RPS) industry data report?

We’re big fans & students of Libsyn’s State of Podcasting presentation & Edison Research’s Infinite Dial Report. So we asked ourselves, “what interesting data can we contribute in a similar way?” The answer turned out to be fascinating for a few reasons. Libsyn & Edison focus on Podcast publishing & listening, while we focus on the flip-side of Podcast recording & production. While there is anecdotal evidence for remote production best practices, like popular equipment recommendations from influencers, we saw a unique opportunity to bring the Podcast Community the real data that they deserve.

What was our methodology for collecting this data?

This is a statistically significant data set, with the sample size for 2019 at around 5x larger than the Infinite Dial report. The sample size for 2020 is already largen than that & is growing rapidly. The source of this data is from Hosts & Guests recording on SquadCast.fm. We care deeply for our customer’s privacy & security, which is why all of the data has been anonymized. We believe this data is not ours to sell or profit from in any way but is instead much more valuable & impactful when packaged up into the Report Podcast Stats report for the benefit of the whole Podcast Community.

Download the Report Podcast Stats Report

We continue our journey in Podcasting and Startups with the addition of two amazing people. Both are long-time mentors that we are excited to formally add to our team of advisors. In their own unique ways, they each catalyze, amplify, and enhance our abilities — strengthening us all. We are thrilled to introduce you to the New SquadCast Advisors!

Espree Devora

Community & Technology

Espree Devora is “the Girl who Gets it Done.” She is listed by Inc Magazine as the top 30 Women in Tech to follow and by Harpers Bazaar as the top 10 podcasts in 2019. Espree is a prolific podcast Host and Producer, having created several award-winning podcasts including the Women in Tech Podcast, WeAreLATech, and Hello Customer to name a few. She has spoken and moderated panels at many corporations and universities including CBS, SXSW, Disney, and General Assembly. Espree has co-founded multiple startups. At the start of her entrepreneurial career when MySpace was new and few even knew or used the term “social networking” she built the first action sports social network. 

Espree was our honored Guest on the Between 2 Mics podcast and Co-hosted a webinar with us to announce our unique collaboration with Dolby.

Adriana Flores-Ragade

Partners & Communications

Adriana Flores-Ragade is on a mission to change our narrative one story at a time. As the Hostess of the LatinXAmerica’s Podcast Adriana is focused on highlighting catalysts that are using, leveraging, creating or investing in technology that can positively impact the Latinx community. She has her Master’s degree in Communication from USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism has served as the Director of Community Outreach at the American Red Cross and Partnership Manager at Univision. Adriana has moved diversity forward for over a decade as both the Senior Director of Diversity Initiatives and Director of Relationship Development at The College Board.

We are honored to have been Guests on the LatinXAmerica’s Podcast.

We are very excited to announce a unique collaboration with Dolby to provide podcasters with the best audio experience possible.

Remote podcast conversations are best when physical distance doesn’t get in the way of connecting or recording.

The intimate magic of audio, as a medium, only happens when distance melts away and creators, hosts, and guests feel like they’re in the same room.

We are collaborating with Dolby Laboratories, the innovative sight and sound company, to dissolve distance and bring the remote recording experience even closer to reality.

Coming soon, Dolby’s powerful spatialized audio technology will be enhancing the SquadCast platform connecting podcasters and guests to sonically feel — and sound like — they are recording in the same room.

From day one, SquadCast has offered video conversations to help podcasters build rapport while recording the highest quality audio from a distance. In a webinar, we outlined how integrating Dolby’s unique technology builds on that foundation.

These enhancements will benefit all podcasters — from those who prefer to get their hands dirty with production to others who want a turnkey recording solution.

SquadCast’s mission is well aligned with Dolby’s – to obsessively provide better quality audio to creators everywhere.  We’re excited that SquadCast is leveraging Dolby’s communications and media processing APIs to enhance a customer’s experience and content in their platform.

Sripal Mehta, Senior Director of Dolby’s Media API Platform

We are thrilled to collaborate with Dolby as they take their first steps into podcasting!

Later this year, we are launching several new features on the SquadCast platform, including:

• Spatialized audio, that will make you and your guests sound and feel like you’re sonically in the same room while recording together
• Enhanced audio mastering*, which will add post-production efficiency through automatic leveling, EQ, background noise reduction and more 
• Studio audience and listener experience features, offering audience engagement and live-streaming tools (coming later in 2020)
• Screen sharing — yet another feature to create a more frictionless remote recording experience

The SquadCast Recording Engine is not changing. A majority of the features are baked into our current pricing and there will be no additional cost for SquadCast customers. As features are added, SquadCast Hosts will have the option of flipping a switch to get the added functionality when starting and scheduling new recording sessions.

*Additional charge will apply

The coronavirus pandemic has made us rethink what it means to connect. There’s a lot of uncertainty and rapid change as we all try to keep our communities safe and adapt to this unprecedented global situation.

As we are called to increase our social distance, we need to rely on new ways to stay connected with colleagues, co-hosts, and guests.

Fortunately, podcasting is uniquely suited to remote collaboration. As a medium, it fosters intimacy and substance without requiring close physical proximity.

Remote podcast interviews during COVID-19

When coronavirus first started making headlines, Pediatrica Intensiva was just an idea.

But the concept — a podcast about the art and science of pediatric intensive care — quickly became a reality as the severity of the pandemic became clearer and answers became more elusive.

In an effort to share information fast, Dr. Greg Kelly — a pediatric intensivist from Australia who is currently on sabbatical at SickKids in Toronto, Canada — along with Dr. Peta Alexander, an attending cardiac intensivist at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Michael Clifford, a pediatric anesthetist and intensivist at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, launched the podcast months ahead of schedule.

While physicians are accustomed to sharing information and best practices in a variety of different ways, podcasting offered distinct advantages given the urgent and pressing nature of coronavirus.

So Greg and colleagues dived in and recorded their first episode that is only four days old and already has more than twenty-three thousand downloads. “We weren’t meant to release anything quite yet. But then everything changed with coronavirus,” Greg says in the very first episode, recorded on SquadCast.

Greg, Peta, and Mike connected with Italian physicians on the frontlines of the fight to control coronavirus in Bergamo, Italy. They joined a session with intensivists Giovanna Colombo and Lorenzo Grazioli to get a first-hand account of treating the virus in a country that has been overwhelmed by it.

Over an hour and eleven minutes, the specialists share observations, their latest understanding of effective treatment and lessons learned.

“You have to train your staff not to be infected,” Lorenzo explains, adding that video tutorials are not enough. Specific, in-person training is essential: “We put someone at the door of the intensive care unit, just to teach [staff] how to dress themselves” in personal protective equipment, Lorenzo says during the episode.

The show must go on — remotely

As the creative world changes, social distancing becomes more necessary and quality remote recording is the new standard for staying connected — we are honored and grateful for the opportunity to connect creatives in these trying times.