In the Fall of 2010 I decided to try something a bit different: I spun up my own podcast. I was having a beer on my deck after work and I was listening to my (still) favorite radio show/podcast: This American Life, and it occurred to me that something like that, but for geeks, would be fun to make and fun to listen to.
So I sat down that very night, whipped out GarageBand (Mac sound editing tool) and tried my best to approximate a “cinematic story-telling style… only for radio” – which is how I describe This American Life.
It was a bit of a mess – but a lot of people liked it. Including my friend Scott Hanselman – who joined me after I interviewed him on show #3: Fame. I’m so happy he did – I can’t imagine this show without him.
You can see more about the podcast, and listen to each of our shows, here. You can subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or your favorite media player.
Below are a few of my favorite episodes. Hope you enjoy them!
This episode is one of my favorites because of Bill. I know Bill – I see him quite often. But I never knew he was “that” Bill – I knew he worked at Microsoft for a long time, but mostly I would run into him while surfing … he was the jovial, burly Scotsman with a big gray beard and sparkling blue eyes. His story was astonishing. I’ll always remember that day.
This episode was a different one for us. Emotionally and somewhat politically charged… it was the first time the entire sound of it just fell out of the sky and into my lap. I actually teared up at one point as I was stitching the tracks together. Scott’s interview skills are just… unreal.
This episode meant a lot to me personally. I was working too hard and not spending enough time around my two most-excellent friends on Girl’s Team (my daughters, Maddie – 9, and Ruby – 6). Mom went away for a week and I was by myself… Scott took time to leave his phone, blog, and Twitter behind as he and his family went off to Disneyland.
I still listen to this episode when I get burnt out.
