Welcome to our Between Two Mics community series, The Community Interviews. In this series, Zach and Rock are sharing SquadCaster interviews that they’ve recorded. They spoke with more than 15 podcasters over the past few months who record their shows on SquadCast.fm.

Zach and Rock spoke with scientists, doctors, lawyers, artists, business execs, mental health advocates, and everyone in between, about what it’s like to be a content creator.

In this week’s episode, Rock shares his conversations with podcasters who tell stories of people, stories, and humanity. You’ll meet Chris Angel, Felice, Joe, Randy, Paige, Arun, and JoJo. Next week, for our last Community episode, Zach speaks with Jayde, JJ, Kelly, Keith, Manny, Jane, and Phil about social issues / mental health.

Why are we sharing The Community Interviews? We want to show off our amazing SquadCast community. We asked them about their lives, their passions, their podcasts, and more. And this series is to honor them! And to tell the world about what they’re up to.

Today’s episode features

Learn from Chris Angel about podcasting from a place of passion and compassion. They go through the complexity of running a consistent production. Meet brain injury survivor and podcaster, Joe Borges. Felice LaZae is the nerd-adjacent producer of The Neuro Nerds. And together, Joe and Felice are partners in business and in life. Next up is Randy Wilburn, who tells us about Northwest Arkansas, a wonderful community he moved to not too long ago — and now he hosts the podcast on it: I Am Northwest Arkansas. Paige Friend brings us to the beach. Any beach. And tells us about conscious business leaders. Then we meet Arun Sridhar and JoJo Platt, hosts of the SKRAPS Podcast, which breaks down science for everyday people.

Extras in today’s episode

Credits

  • This episode was written and edited by Arielle Nissenblatt, SquadCast’s community manager
  • This episode was mixed and mastered by Vince Moreno Jr., SquadCast’s head of support and audio
  • The music in this episode is from Shawn Valles, SquadCast’s support specialist
  • This episode is hosted by Rock Felder, SquadCast’s co-founder of CFO
  • Our logo and designs are by Alex Whedbee, SquadCast chief of design
  • Our transcript is by Ian Powell

Episode Transcriptions

[00:00:00] Stewart: Hi, my name’s Stewart and I’m a producer of a podcast called Three Clips, a Castos Original Series. If you haven’t heard of Three Clips, it’s this really cool show where we demystify the art of making podcasts by talking to podcasters of all stripes and analyzing their shows through well, three clips.

[00:00:19] That’s how we got the title. From sound design, to writing, to finding creative inspiration and so much more. We cover it all. Oh yeah. And we use SquadCast to make it happen. Three Clips is available at threeclipspodcast.com or anywhere they have

[00:00:35] podcasts.

[00:00:47] Rabiah: Hi listeners. I’m, Rabiah, host of More Than Work, a podcast about finding your self worth outside of your job title, recorded on SquadCast. I’m taking part in this SquadCast scavenger hunt this month. And you should too. Prizes are worth over $5,000 and I’ve learned a lot about the world of SquadCasts by participating. To register.

[00:01:04] Go to contest.Squadcast.fm. Thanks. To the hunt!

[00:01:16] Rock: Welcome to Between Two Mics, the SquadCast podcast. It’s the second week of our community series, the community interviews. I’m happy to have you with us today. And I hope you enjoyed last week’s chat with SquadCasters, Chaz, Dino, Shubham Jessica and Tom. If you’re new to the podcast, Hey, how you doing? I’m Rock Felder, and I’m the co-founder and CFO of SquadCast.fm, a remote recording platform for content creators.

[00:01:49] In this series, you’ll hear right from the SquadCasters themselves. Ever since Zach Moreno and I started SquadCast five plus years ago, the community has meant everything to us. We lean on our customers to learn what’s going well, what’s not, what they want more of, and what directions we should head in when it comes to design and innovation. Over the past few months, Zach and I have interviewed more than 15 SquadCasters.

[00:02:15] We asked them about their lives, their hobbies, their podcasts, their passions, and more. Those conversations have led to this series. Last week you heard from our business related podcasters. Check back in your feed to hear from them about authentic leadership, treating your podcast, guests like gold and so much more.

[00:02:37] Today, we’re spotlighting SquadCast creators who focus on people, stories and humanity on their podcasts. So how did these episodes work? Usually on Between Two Mics, our episodes are pretty standard interviews, but in the community interview series, it’s going to run a little more narrative style. We’ll share our chats with Chris Angel, Felice, Joe, Paige, Randy, Jojo, and Arum in today’s episode.

[00:03:06] And my voice will weave in and out. I hosted last week’s episode and will also be hosting this one. And then for our last episode of the year, Zach will be your host.

[00:03:23] Listeners, we want to hear from you throughout the series. As always, you can let us know what you think by reaching out on social media. We’re at SquadCast FM on all platforms, and we plan on doing another iteration of the community interviews in 2022. So get in touch. If you want to be on the show.

[00:03:49] We start off today’s episode hearing from Chris Angel Murphy, who started their podcast pretty recently, but seems to have found a groove, both in content and in their production workflow.

[00:04:06] Chris Angel is a self-described goofy community organizer and social worker who loves the power of storytelling. When they aren’t podcasting, they facilitate conversations around LGBTQ + topics for companies, organizations, and beyond. They’re also pretty active on our Slack channel, so we’ve gotten to know them a bit over the past few months.

[00:04:27] We’ll hear about Chris Angel’s motivation for starting their podcast and about what goes into the actual production process. Take it away,Chris Angel.,

[00:04:37] Chris: I’ve been wanting to do a podcast for probably about a year. But I couldn’t think of a particular focus because there’s so many things that I’m interested in.

[00:04:48] I have a background in social work and community organizing, especially in LGBTQ plus spaces. So I kept coming back to that. And I really love training and educating people. And so literally it was just like, I had quit social work earlier this year because during the pandemic, it’s just been really rough. And started my own business.

[00:05:11] And part of that was the podcast, but it was literally like, I finally just woke up one day and I was like “allyship is a verb. I’m going to interview people who are part of the community and I’m going to have them share what they feel comfortable sharing.” I honestly, I just sort of made it up as it was going.

[00:05:28] It just kind of had to, because I didn’t want to find any excuses to not be going through with it, but I’ve landed on asking people. What are some mistakes you’ve made in your allyship? You know, to humanize it and show that no, one’s perfect. And, you know, giving concrete examples, but then also every episode includes a very specific tip, ideally that that’s, that would benefit that person.

[00:05:53] And there’s this intentionality, especially since I’m white, that I want to make sure I’m amplifying as many voices as possible of various intersectionalities. So like whether people are wheelchair users or if they’re deaf, all these different intersectionalities. Or even identities, that sounds like

[00:06:14] they would contradict each other or not make sense and make your mind explode a bit, which has happened to me a few times. But then when you hear their stories, then it starts making more sense. And then you just see how language evolves. And so that way it’s also not just me talking at people. I’m like, no, these are guests that I’m interviewing, and these are various lived experiences.

[00:06:34] And so it’s not just me saying, “this is what you should do” and wagging my finger at people, you know, virtually, but rather you’re just hearing the complexities and the nuance and the tips make sense. I think it’s just helped so many people already. I know a lot of my friends have started listening to it and I think what’s been the most surprising for me so far, is that a lot of people from the community listened to it.

[00:07:02] Which is actually really cool, for me, because I think we can be allies to each other. And some of my guests do talk about even being an ally to themselves and what that means. And so I think that’s really rad. But also the burnout. It was really real. So I get why I think it’s called what pod fading or what I get, why that’s a thing.

[00:07:25] Cause I’m like, Oof, like people don’t understand that with these guests episodes, it can take me sometimes 20 hours. Gosh, between researching them. And then actually having the interview with them of which I happily use SquadCast. And one of the things that made me so happy to use SquadCast was the fact that y’all allow people to put in their pronouns.

[00:07:47] So my guests, even if like maybe that day, they want to use a different set or something, then I can just more easily honor that. And I think it’s a great visual reminder for folks too. So, um, I’ve been really loving that and I think my guests appreciate it as well. The episodes just take so long to do between then editing down.

[00:08:07] There was just a point that I was like, gosh, something has to be outsourced and so I did hire an audio engineer. And I’m so grateful for that. Cause it’s like, you know, there’s a reason people get bachelors and stuff in like mastering audio. And I do, I think I’m going to learn that in 40 hours from YouTube videos and stuff? Maybe, but like, do I really want to? No.

[00:08:29] So finding a way to make it sustainable and then like, you know, outsourcing for the transcribing. Cause I, I, another thing is like, it’s a very important to me that my podcasts be as accessible as possible. And so that also includes having those transcripts, because again, I think if people who are deaf, who can’t hear it, some do have some hearing, right.

[00:08:51] But there’s others who can’t hear anything or maybe just hard of hearing. And so then for them to be able to just read it, or maybe they’re in a place where they can’t listen to it or. Maybe they misheard something, whatever, you know, and, and putting in all the times there’s like laughter or something.

[00:09:06] And it just ends up being like 20 hours. And I’m like, oh my gosh, how am I going to make this sustainable?

[00:09:13] Rock: One of the things I wanted to get back to on the show though, is I love the title. Allyship Is a Verb because it gets a lot done in a title. And it’s like very searchable. I would imagine. You know what the show is about.

[00:09:24] Like, I feel like, you know what to expect, but it’s also like a statement it’s not just, oh, I’m an ally. No, it’s a verb. It requires action. I find that incredibly powerful and memorable. And I want to know, like, what made you feel like a podcast was the format to continue? What seems to be your life’s work?

[00:09:41] I don’t know if you feel that way, but it does seem to be in line with, you know, some, this is where your compass is leading you. It feels like is that, is that a fair statement?.

[00:09:49] Chris: Absolutely.

[00:09:50] Yeah. I mean, podcasting, honestly, it’s just a lot easier than YouTube. (laughs) That there’s shifts that we’re seeing right now, where places like Anchor are encouraging more video based.

[00:10:01] And I know that other platforms are probably going to follow suit if they haven’t been already are doing their own thing again, I’m still so new, so I’m not trying to act like I’m an expert here by any means. So it’s something that I’m thinking about and wondering for future episodes, but then it’s like, okay, but then do I have to worry about like coloring and stuff?

[00:10:19] And as it is, the guests I’m interviewing. Some of them are people from my life because that was just a place to get started. But then I’m asking those folks, especially if they feel like they’ve had a positive experience, is there anyone else you could warm connect me to that you think would be interested and open to being on my podcast?

[00:10:37] And that’s helping me find more and more. But it’s challenging too, because they don’t always have the best mic setups and stuff. And sometimes so my poor audio engineer, I’m like, oh goodness. So like, thinking about then for the video experience, I’m like, ah, I don’t want to be like, well, you look like you’re in a basement being held hostage.

[00:10:54] So like, especially since all of this is remote. That much more I’d have to think about. And I’ve definitely thought about doing YouTube and all that, but it just also feels like an oversaturated market. Like there’s just, there’s already so many billions and billions of videos out there and channels. I just feel like it’s harder to get in front of people and podcasting in some ways, even though it’s been around for a long time, still feels new.

[00:11:15] Rock: Absolutely.

[00:11:19] (interview ends) I loved hearing about Chris Angel’s production process so much goes into putting together our podcast too. So I totally get where they’re coming from and what a strong message. Allyship is a Verb. Chris Angel started us off with a great vibe for this week’s episode. From their message of inclusivity and giving a platform for folks to share stories, we head over to Joe and Felice of the podcast The Neuro Nerds. Joe is a podcast host, blogger and mindset coach. His mission is to create community and support for stroke and brain surgery survivors through his podcast. Felice is the producer of the podcast. She’s also an LA based producer, singer songwriter, and performer.

[00:12:01] Joe and Felice are partners in business and in life. And the reason they got into the podcast world is pretty interesting. I’ll let them take it from here.

[00:12:09] Felice: It really started with Joe. Well, so interestingly enough, Joe got into podcasting because of that. We’ve created The Neuro Nerds because he had a stroke five years ago, but before that,

[00:12:23] friends, myself: we all were like saying, you have a great voice for like, you know, you should have a radio show. We were saying, radio show, you should have a radio show. And they were like, you should have a podcast. But he was like, oh, I don’t know. I don’t know. And then when he had his stroke, it became really evident that it was important to start creating community, not just for himself, but for everyone, because he realized there wasn’t a lot of community for young stroke survivors and he felt very alone.

[00:12:49] So me being- my background is um, music, but specifically I also am an audio engineer, so I was like, well, let’s go. Let’s we’ve been talking about podcasting for many years and now, like, here’s a really important reason that we need to, we really need to do this. And, um, my background in production made it really easy to like start creating this podcast.

[00:13:10] So that’s how we both really got into the space of this.

[00:13:14] Joe: Yeah. It all started with a brain injury. That’s how, (laughing) that’s, how it started out. So like she said, I had a stroke five years ago and my first year of recovery was possibly the most isolated I’ve ever felt in my life. Now I had people around, but I, you know, isolation doesn’t come from not having- from being alone.

[00:13:29] It comes from not being understood. So after having a brain injury, nobody can really understand what you’re going through unless you’ve had a brain injury. So I was just searching for people. And I found my co-host who just so happened to have, uh, she survived a car accident and suffered a major concussion.

[00:13:45] She was going through the exact same thing I was going through. So we met for coffee once and it just felt great. I felt heard. I felt like I wasn’t alone. I was going to be able to, you know, get through this insane part of my life. So we started to, um, you know, record weekly- selfishly for ourselves, and then it just turned into something beautiful for the world.

[00:14:04] You know, it turned into this big, um, community based podcast where, you know, I’m not just doing it for my recovery. I’m doing it for the recovery of others out there. So they don’t have to wait a year before they feel connected, heard, and understood.

[00:14:17] Felice: And we really wanted to make it like fun. So both Joe and his cohost, Lauren and myself, but I I’m, I’m a Neuro Nerd adjacent. (laughs)

[00:14:25] Um, they both are really big nerds and they’re into the-

[00:14:29] Joe: Like cool nerds. You have to preface it. Cool nerds.

[00:14:31] Felice: Well, I don’t know, Lauren’s like-

[00:14:33] Joe: Lauren’s like a nerd-nerd.

[00:14:37] Felice: (laughin) So we just, we thought, you know, they really part of their recovery and part of Joe’s recovery was like kind of incorporating his love of, um, nerdom into his, you know, into his recovery. So like even-

[00:14:50] Joe: It’s the heroes journey.

[00:14:51] Felice: Yeah. Yeah. So like, it was, we didn’t want it to just be a podcast where, okay, so how are you recovering today?

[00:14:58] How are you recovering today? We wanted it to relate it to things that people could relate to. Yeah. People love (Joe says these at the same time) Marvel and Star Wars.

[00:15:06] Joe: And video games.

[00:15:06] Felice: And so we related to that, like Joe, like video gaming was- video gaming? (laughs) Gaming is a big part of Joe’s recovery. And so we talk about that on the podcast, we talked about it several times in the podcast, you know, we’ve talked about relating Br- TBIs to like superheroes, what superheroes have had TBIs, you know, like-

[00:15:23] Joe: All of them! All of them have! (everyone laughs)

[00:15:26] Felice: You know, just giving, making it, making it relatable and making it fun.

[00:15:29] So we’ve also attracted like- um, there’s been kids who have survived, like strokes and TBIs that they listened. Their parents have gotten them, you know, messaged us and said, thank you so much. Like my son really liked that story about the, you know, the superhero episode or whatever episode that we had, you know, and it’s just trying to make it relatable to everybody.

[00:15:45] Joe: Yeah and also try to be a beacon of light and something that’s so dark and dim. Uh, suffering a brain injury is really, really difficult. I, it appeals anything I can say, like, nobody can truly understand how dark it can get. So instead of just focusing on how dark it is, which I listened to several other podcasts on brain injuries and it just really, everybody was kind of stuck.

[00:16:06] Everybody was stuck in. I’m not the same person. I wish I had this. And like, it was just really, really stuck. I didn’t see a lot of growth there and I wanted to do something different. I wanted to show that there’s another side of brain, no one ever talks about the positive side of brain injury (everyone laughs) . I wanted to show that it’s not just about we survive.

[00:16:25] Cool. We survived. That’s great. Now, what are we going to do? Are we just going to get stuck in that? Are we just gonna exist? No, I want to live. So I’ve chosen to focus on the bright side of things, you know? Yeah. I’m not the same person. You know, I have a lot of some cognitive things and memory issues, little issues with my hands every once and a while.

[00:16:42] But I’m here, you know, and that’s beautiful. So I don’t focus on the things that, uh, my stroke took for me. I focus on the things that my show gave to me, and it’s a second chance and a second opportunity. And I want to show that in my podcast and show the world out there that after you have a brain injury, your life doesn’t end, it’s just beginning.

[00:17:00] We made it. It’s not easy. It’s not, but we’re here to experience how difficult it can be. And that in and of itself

[00:17:06] is beautiful.

[00:17:07] Felice: It’s like a, Joe always says, it’s like your new normal. It’s not about cause we’ve, we’ve talked to people before who are like, well, how do I get back to where I was? And it’s like, you, can’t everything we experience in life.

[00:17:17] You can’t go back. You can only move forward. So it’s kind of like, just really about building that new normal.

[00:17:23] Joe: New you! It’s like you 2.0.

[00:17:28] Rock: I’m a big fan of podcasts that serve a greater purpose. And I listen to a bunch of them. I love that Joe and his co-host Lauren, they got together initially for themselves and their own wellbeing, and then realize that other people needed to hear what they had to say.

[00:17:43] Next we’ll hear from Randy Wilburn, who also podcasts for a specific purpose and that purpose is community. His show is called. I am Northwest Arkansas. He’s also the founder of Encourage, Build, Grow. A firm dedicated to helping companies communicate and develop and broadcast, engaging podcasts. And here’s Randy explaining how he got started with this show.

[00:18:06] Randy: When I started out the podcast was just trying to be an extension of the business. I wanted to talk about. I do a lot of leadership training, a lot of leadership development one-on-one with clients, and then it quickly morphed into something else. And now I’ve gotten to the place where in the last few years, I started a podcast under the Encourage,Build, Grow umbrella called I am Northwest Arkansas.

[00:18:28] And that podcast focuses on the intersection of business, culture, entrepreneurship, and life in the Ozarks. And it was essentially the podcast that I would have wanted when I was considering moving to Northwest Arkansas in 2014, but it didn’t exist. And so in 2019, I created that podcast. And that has just taken on a whole new life of its own. Done 147 episodes of that podcast that comes out weekly and it’s a location-based podcast.

[00:18:59] So it’s very specific to the Northwest Arkansas area where for those that don’t know, that’s where Walmart is. That’s where JB Hunt is. That’s where Tyson foods is. So like one of the biggest chicken producers in the world. So I’m right here in that backyard. And there’s so many great things that are happening here.

[00:19:16] We have a fabulous museum and crystal bridges. So I get to talk to about all of the good things that are happening in Northwest Arkansas and what makes this place so special, but just to kind of dovetail back to Encourage, Build, Grow: in doing what I was doing for the, I am Northwest Arkansas podcasts. It created opportunities for me to actually go in to a lot of companies and explain to them, the benefits of doing a podcast. So just in the same way that, you know, a lot of people put out podcast how to podcast classes and trainings for individuals to get their podcasts started. I kind of took the other approach where I just went to companies and told them why they should be telling this story via podcast.

[00:19:57] Why voice is so prominent. And its only going to continue to expand in that vein and that they need to figure out a way to embrace podcasting as a part of their platform to engage and extend their brand externally as well as internally with

[00:20:14] their team.

[00:20:15] Rock: Wow. That’s fascinating. So it sounds like the, I am Northwest Arkansas podcast is kind of like a demo or an example that you’re using to show to these other business folks of, Hey, here’s the power of it.

[00:20:27] Here’s what podcasting can do. Is that kind of the idea?

[00:20:29] Randy: So it has become that. Originally I just did it to build relationships and that in and of itself, just having a podcast and connecting with people because everybody likes to tell their story. Right. We all tune into that station. W I F M: what’s in it for me.

[00:20:44] And I think it’s important for us to remember that. Everybody likes to talk about themselves. I don’t care who you are. And I have just used my platform and what I’ve been able to do with podcasting to project and amplify other people’s platforms. And in doing that, yes, companies have said, wow, we need to do more of this.

[00:21:03] So I’m, I am now working with companies that I originally interviewed on the, I am Northwest Arkansas podcast. Just to talk about, you know, what they’re doing and all that. And then they saw the benefits of it and they were like, man, we need to do that as well. And I think it’s just, I’ve helped people to understand that even for a company getting out and doing a podcast doesn’t mean that you have to put out a show every week.

[00:21:26] It’s not like that because I think that’s what a lot of people are afraid of. It’s like, man, do I have to put this out every week? This is a lot of work. And you and I both know it is a lot of work. But what I tell people is to think about podcasting, especially for businesses from a seasonal perspective, like a, like a, like a season of Friends or a season of Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm or whatever. You’re want to put in a couple of key, really good episodes of what I like to term timely, but evergreen content.

[00:21:53] And then you’re off to the races.

[00:21:56] Rock: I think that’s great feedback. Cause I definitely can relate to feeling that type of pressure of having to release all new content all the time or whatever our cadence is. And I know that’s shared amongst, uh, other podcasters as well. So I think that’s a very good advice, especially for playing the long game and the benefits of podcasting and my beliefs are truly realized for the longterm.

[00:22:16] But I want to get back to what got you started with the I Am Northwest Arkansas podcast, because you said that this is the show that you wanted when you first came to the area, what was missing? Like where were you looking for that you couldn’t find? What was the goal with the show?

[00:22:30] Randy: I wanted to hear stories about people that were living in this area and why they liked living here.

[00:22:35] And so I could go to Dr. Google and look things up and maybe watch a couple of YouTube videos. And even then those were sparse. Right? I could just read information about it. I don’t know about you, Rock, but I listen to podcasts, incessantly. I listen to audio books incessantly. So that’s just the way that I consume information.

[00:22:54] And there are a lot of people out there that do that. According to Google, 50% of all search is voice now. And in 2025, it’s supposed to be a hundred percent. So people need to get ready for this whole audio slash voice train to continue to expand. And I just said, you know what? What’s the best way to do it: a podcast. It has since evolved.

[00:23:14] And now there are other part places around the country that have podcasts that are hyper-local podcasts, where people get a flare or a flavor for what that area is like. I’ve had people that have listened to my podcasts and moved here and they told me, unequivocally, the podcast was part of the reason why they moved here, because I painted such a certainty with the picture that I painted with the stories that I told on the podcast.

[00:23:40] And I know that’s a mouthful, but the bottom line was people moved here to come to work in Northwest Arkansas because of the, I am Northwest Arkansas podcast. And because of the stories that we were able to tell and, and continue to tell.

[00:23:56] Rock: (interview ends) What a great business model. Randy interviews folks throughout Northwest Arkansas, so they get a sense of what being on a podcast is like. Then they start their own shows with his help. Plus Randy gets to be the voice of Northwest Arkansas for podcast listeners. Speaking of location specific podcasts, next up we’re hearing from Paige Friend.

[00:24:16] Yes, Friend is her real last name. Paige is the host of the podcast. The Beach Speaks. She uses the beach as a jumping off point for her interviewees. We’re not talking about any specific beach per se, but the beach as a larger concept. Paiges guests are small business owners, entrepreneurs, and everyday community minded people striving to create wellness and abundance.

[00:24:39] Here’s Paige explaining a little bit more about the guests on her show.

[00:24:43] Paige: A lot of my guests have come up with products and services, nonprofits that just were inspired by the beach and the saving the ecology, saving the ocean one straw at a time. When my early guests had started a nonprofit called Beaches Go Green here.

[00:25:02] She was just watching a documentary called The Plastic Ocean and she just thought ” why is nobody doing anything about this?” And she just got a few of friends together and started this whole nonprofit here at the beaches. And I thought, I need to talk to her and use what platform that I have to spread the word about what she’s doing, hopefully inspire others.

[00:25:24] So I really think that’s what we need in this world. We can be so divided. But we’re really not. If we can just get together. And the beach has that vibe that I think many of us crave in our lives, and maybe you can’t get to the beach and you, we really want that peace and relaxation and inspiration. And that is what I want to bring to the listener.

[00:25:47] It’s a little peace of the beach. P E A C E. (laughs)

[00:25:50] Rock: Oh, I love that. Nice. And what is it about the beach for you specifically that you love so much? Because I’ve certainly have folks that are, they need to be near the ocean or water or something. There’s some kind of like magical connection with water, but I want to hear it from you.

[00:26:03] Like what what’s so magical about the beach for you?

[00:26:06] Paige: Well, like you said, the water, the energy, I’m a Pisces, so I’m a water sign. And so I gravitate to water. (laughs) However, the, the ocean, the energy we are, our bodies are mainly water and we respond to that energy that the waves coming in and out, and I don’t know many people who would say I went to the beach and it was horrible and I felt awful. But most people go and

[00:26:34] had that experience of relaxation and just the vibration that you get, and it just lifts your spirits and calms you. The stress. So for me, it’s just a calming inspirational space to be in all aspects. Just mind, body and soul. And I live just a few blocks away. I am so grateful and blessed to, to be this close so I can wake up in the morning.

[00:26:58] I’m I’m a morning girl. So I toodle on down, sit down and do some meditation, watch the sun rise and then get on with my day. All as well. I have to say-

[00:27:08] Rock: (laughs) Hard to complain with that day.

[00:27:10] Paige: I know, right? I wanted to experience and bring that experience to my listeners of different beaches. So I’ve just come back from a trip along the California coast and 12 days in Costa Rica.

[00:27:24] So I am excited to bring that experience to my listeners and all about the different beaches that I visited along the way. That’s what I’m about right now.

[00:27:33] Rock: Well, that’s awesome. And that’s what I was wondering, like, uh, as much as I love the origin story that you have, I definitely get the impression that there’s no shortage of passion or ambition or excitement about what’s to come.

[00:27:45] So what can folks look forward to, to come from you and your show? It sounds like there’s more of like a traveling angle, almost doing like a, I don’t know, like a, the Anthony Bordain style stuff, but through podcast and, and from the beach. What else?

[00:27:58] Paige: Yeah, I would love that. I would love to be able to travel the beaches around the world and bring that to my listeners.

[00:28:05] I kind of experimented with original episodes. And like I said, I interviewed guests that had conscious businesses and things like that. I still want to do that. However, I do want to, like I said, bring a little piece of the beach to people where they can’t be. And my, the response I’ve been getting from my listeners and my followers is that, oh, we just love to listen to the beach.

[00:28:28] We just want to feel that feeling like we’re right there. So that is what I intend to bring. I have a good friend. She’s a travel agent and she’s been a co-host sometimes on, on my podcast and we talk about places to travel. And she actually put this trip together to Costa Rica, knowing that I’m a beach girl, she found some really great experiences for me.

[00:28:50] So we’re going to sit down actually tomorrow and do a little followup on how the trip went. And I want my listeners to, I want to give them what they want. So I’m always open to, to their feedback. And I think a lot of podcasters get in their mind that it’s going to be a certain way. I’m going to tell a certain story and, and it’s okay to morph and change and pivot.

[00:29:16] And maybe this podcast will be something completely different a year from now. Maybe I will no longer be here, but I will be (laughs) I don’t know somewhere, in Greece on the, on the beach broadcasting who knows I’m, I’m open to it all.

[00:29:33] Rock: (interview ends) Paige was such a delight to chat with. Also, she lets us know that it was her first podcast interview, where she was the guest. Congrats Paige! You crushed it. In our chat, Paige ended on a note of flexibility and the importance of being able to pivot as a content creator. And I couldn’t agree more. That’s a really important skill for podcasters to have.

[00:29:53] And just for people in general. Sometimes our Between Two Mics interviews have to be pushed because of scheduling conflicts. And since Zach and I are committed to producing weekly episodes, we quickly get our heads together with the production team to come up with a replacement episode. Up until this point, we’ve been able to make it work, but flexibility is a muscle and we got to work at it. And that’s a skill or a muscle that our next and last podcasters have embodied since the start of their cohosting relationship.

[00:30:22] Arun and Jojo are last up for today’s episode. They co-host a podcast called Skraps, which is sparks backwards. It’s a podcast about science and innovation. Arun is a scientist and entrepreneur in a bioelectrician. His goal in life is to ideate, innovate, and develop new therapies, targeting the nerves and using stimulation of these nerves to treat many chronic conditions.

[00:30:46] JoJo has worked with some of the best researchers in the field of neurotechnology and bioelectronic medicine. She builds strategic partnerships, collaborations, and research partnerships in the hopes of curing and caring for some of the toughest diseases and conditions facing mankind. Woo that’s amazing.

[00:31:04] Arun and JoJo met before the pandemic at a conference in their field: bioelectronic medicine or neurotechnology. She says different people call it different things at different times. Arun and Jo Jo kept meaning to connect after that conference. And one day Arun called JoJo and said, what if we started a podcast. The rest is history.

[00:31:25] We had an incredible conversation about science, technology and communication. I asked Arun and Jojo about how they found SquadCast and how it’s impacted their podcast production workflow.

[00:31:37] Arun: We use SquadCast for every single thing I approached JoJo pre COVID, right? The conference that was January 2020. Little did we know at the time that, I mean, we have actually known each other through the area for four years now. Uh, but that’s when I kind of thought-okay. There is something interesting because I was leaving my well said job as the head of discovery for a $715 million company that got investment from both GlaxoSmithKline and Google life sciences.

[00:32:05] And then I said I was going to do something different in life. And I, of course, I’m not dependent on podcast for my, my bread. Uh, but as I was venturing into the new areas, I think that’s when I had the idea. But we started working together in probably last May Jojo? Probably, and every single episode of SquadCast, including the recordings for our documentary style podcast with JoJo being in California and I, me being in the UK. And we kind of referred to the Stu- the, the attic that I’m in as Caprino studio and JoJo, because she likes the color red. So she calls her office, uh, and the, and the set up that she has a Slightly Red studio. And if you listen to our documentary podcast, we basically say it was recorded in Caprino studio and slightly red studio.

[00:32:52] The only thing that we forgot to mention was that it was all done via SquadCast. Right? But I think it’s, we’ve actually put every single episode out there via recorded through SquadCast. So it’s been a very important part of our journey. And, uh, JoJo was the one who actually found out about you guys because we were looking for good recording platforms.

[00:33:13] And I think, I think she could probably tell you more about how she found you guys.

[00:33:17] JoJo: Yeah. I actually had, I had been a guest on a few other podcasts before and the recording. I didn’t know anything about recording. I was using my Apple headset or my Apple mic that came with my phone and just, you know, didn’t, wasn’t really paying any attention.

[00:33:33] But the recording platform that, that had been used on, on these other interviews was complex. It was kind of clunky. It didn’t work. There was no video component, even though we don’t capture video when we record. It really helps cause Arun and I, we love to talk. We both love to talk and we’ll step over each other quite a bit.

[00:33:53] So with the video component that came with SquadCast automatically, it was much easier to avoid that, that step over. And then Arun has taken on the role of engineer and everything technical. I just hit record. And then, you know, everything goes up to the cloud and he takes all the separate files and makes them sound great.

[00:34:13] And so I think having the separate file recording was important, having the backup, um, like I said, I’m on the road a lot. Arun is too. Um, so knowing that, that everything- even if there are technical difficulties and somebody gets disconnected that we’re not going to lose that what we already got, because like I said, we’ve had grown men cry and telling their stories and you can’t just go back and say, oh, darn you know, that didn’t record.

[00:34:41] Can we do that again? It just doesn’t work. So you guys really, I mean, it was great because without even knowing what roadblocks we would run into. You guys solved them all for us before we even know that they might be there. So it was serendipitous.

[00:34:56] Arun: For the third season, which is a documentary series. I think my personal experience is I actually did all of the edits, all of the sound design for the documentary, kind of podcast, et cetera.

[00:35:09] And then I was working with professional sound engineer because I’m from India. And one of my friends, he kind of referred me to this amazing sound engineer who actually has a lot of experience in the Indian film industry. So he kind of does a lot of kind of sound engineering for a lot of the movies and TV shows, et cetera.

[00:35:28] So he knew nothing about podcasts, right? But I think he was amazed at the quality of the recording. And I actually did as a comparison, I think one of the other, I kind of scent him a one. Uh, episodes where our guests was, one of our guests was older, so we kind of had to do a zoom recording for it. So we actually had to redo the entire episode because the sound quality that we had from that recording, which was not SquadCast, was so bad that we released the episode.

[00:36:02] And then even after mastering, it sounded okay to me on my headphones and my homes- home theater and everything. But then as soon as we put it out, two days later, we were like, we got to redo this. So we basically that stretch of the interview in one of the episodes, we basically did the- we wrote a script and we basically redid that episode.

[00:36:21] But then what the sound engineer had told me was that if this is all virtual. He was like, it actually sounds as good as, as kind of doing it in a studio is what I told him. And, and it’s been an incredible experience. Just learning about the sound quality differences between desks. And I did go and I’m not going to lie.

[00:36:39] I did go and look at Zencaster and other things after, before we started doing a documentary series, but I was so convinced that the, that the SquadCast audio quality was, was better, at least in, in my hands, in with my equipment and everything. We’ve decided to stay with SquadCast and, uh, it’s, it’s been great. Uh, that’s my kind of personal reflection on the sound quality.

[00:37:01] It’s, it’s fantastic. In my opinion.

[00:37:09] Rock: As I said in last week’s episode, Zach and I are so grateful that we’re able to help creators connect and collaborate. It’s such an honor that folks use our platform to make these audio stories come to life. And that those creators come together to teach their listeners and about everything from science and innovation, to the beach, from the Ozarks and allyship, to traumatic brain injury and everything in between.

[00:37:34] Thank you to the SquadCasters have joined me for this episode of our, Between Two Mics series, the community interviews. In order of appearance, Chris Angel Murphy, host of Allyship is a Verb, Joe Borges and Felice LaZae of the Neuro Nerds. Paige Friend of The Beach Speaks. Randy Wilburn of I am Northwest Arkansas and Arun Sridhar and JoJo Platt of the SKRAPS podcast. Of course we’ll have links to all of their podcasts and contact info in the show notes of this episode. Since Zach and I started SquadCast in 2016, we’ve had a community to rely on, but over the past few months we’ve made it official. We’ve put in some programs that have really centered and honored that community.

[00:38:21] We now have monthly workshops for podcasters at all stages of their journeys. We have a Slack channel dedicated to the community. We also have Facebook groups. We have a content submission page where podcasters can share their content with us to be blasted all over the internet. And our community efforts, all hinge on the idea that we want to amplify you and the amazing work you’re doing through your podcast.

[00:38:44] As a reminder, you can join our community on Slack. We have all sorts of backchannels stocked with helpful resources and opportunities. And we’d love to have you there. Check out the link in the show notes. We’re back next week with another episode of Between Two Mics, the community interviews series. Get ready for more Squad stories, more inspiration and more podcast advice.

[00:39:11] This episode of Between Two Mics is hosted by me, Rock Felder. It was written and edited by Arielle Nissenblatt. It was mixed and designed by Vince Moreno Jr. Our website and logos are designed by Alex Whedbee. My co-founder and co-host is Zach Moreno. And we couldn’t do anything without the support of the community.

[00:39:32] Thank you for everything, SquadCasters.