Quick update on taking an AI Slop Detox over the month of April 2026.

Be Safe, Be Well.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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[ Episode Recorded with the Røde Wireless Micro for iPhone ]

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Gear Doesn't NOT Matter in Podcasting:

I'm getting pretty sick of the Podcasting Gear Shaming that I'm seeing more and more online at the moment, in particular on LinkedIn.

If you want to have pretty things, and you can afford them, go out and get them. Just make sure you understand the following two things:

1. Often, more expensive audio gear has a steeper learning curve than entry-level gear. You will need to spend the required time to get the most out of your equipment. ...and
2. Quality gear should improve the fidelity of your show, but it can't guarantee the success of your show. It's just getting you in-the-game with a little more professional edge.

The narrative that Gear Doesn't Matter and a Creator or Host having an interest or passion for gear is leading to their inevitable failure, simply pisses me off! ...and it's wrong.

Wanting good or better gear is fine if that's how you approach your interests and passions. Sometimes the technical and the tinkering IS what people find engrossing about making things, and it's not so much about the output. If that's you, keep being you.

3 Reasons Caring About Gear IS Worth It:

1. It's fun! Some of us just like to tinker. We think microphones, mixers, headphones, plug-ins, (Guitars even) are interesting and awesome in and of themselves.
2. Having decent gear from day one means that your earliest episodes will at the very least sound good, and if you do video, look good. It's a sign that people (read: former Real Estate Agents with an AI) don't really know Podcasting when they say "Gear Doesn't Matter", as they clearly don't understand that new Listeners may go back and listen from episode 1 after finding your show. I think having those episodes sound and look as good as they can, only helps you in Podcasting.
3. Besides the improved fidelity of the output, better gear should allow for more robust recording processes and fewer issues with lost and corrupted recordings.

Enjoy your week in Podcasting, and if you've got the cash and want that microphone or whatever, go get it.

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What gets covered in this episode:

1. The problem with underperforming Podcast Guests, it's not what you think.
2. Defining Respectful Interrogation in Podcasting.
3. Focus on your Guest, not the questions list.
4. What are spark moments in Podcast Interviews?
5. Curiosity is the single most important factor in creating memorable and unique Podcast interviews.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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1. Your Printer.
2. Your Fridge.
3. Your Air-conditioner.

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Email the Show: josh@jcaldigital.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SOUNDRAPPORTING

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Even Avengers: Endgame needed a press tour (AI is an Absolute Yawnfest):

Part of what makes Art meaningful (and why it touches people) is the Creative Risk the person (or persons) making it took to create it. That's the one aspect of entirely AI-generated things that I still haven't heard a satisfactory answer for: "How do you tell a compelling story about a thing that has no story?"

If you remove the making (struggle and toil) and the triumph (actually getting the thing out the door), how do you talk about the thing you've made?

Remember, even Avengers: Endgame needed a press tour, panel show appearances, and gripping storytelling around the making of the film to get people to turn up and watch it.

Much of the lore around great things, is the making of those great things.

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This episode was recorded using the following kit and workflow: Røde Wireless Micro >> iPhone Voice Memos App >> Auphonic's web service (for Levelling, Voice EQ and De-Noise) >> Adobe Audition (+ iZotope de-Reverb and Waves X-Crackle) >> mp3 encoding.

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Email the show: josh@jcaldigital.org

7 questions to help you pick the perfect Podcast name:

1. Is the name available?
2. What names are common in the genre of show you’re considering entering with your show?
3. Do you feel more comfortable fitting in with genre conventions? Or do you want to push back against them with a more differentiated show name?
4. Does the name you have in mind sound good when you say it out loud?
5. Does it feel good to say out loud? Is there an energy to it?
6. Is the name easy to understand, spell and remember?
7. Is the point of your show name to make the topic of your show obvious, or it designed to create a little mystery in the minds of potential Listeners/Viewers?

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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1. RSS +1. For shows where the back-catalogue has been hidden or the feed is being re-used for a new show, when new episodes are being added to the public feed, I wish I didn't have to go in and expand my RSS by 1 episode each time. If I could turn on a RSS +1, it would save me from having to manually expand the public RSS with each new release (read: help me NOT forget to do this). Just give me a global ON/OFF and also a pop up at Publishing with a RSS+1 Yes/No. (This function would need to be toggled ON, to avoid all regular Hosting Users having to navigate the extra Yes/No publishing step).

2. Automatic Gap Finder. When the Hosting processes the episode, if the system sees a gap of no audio or super low audio greater than a chosen length, it flags the section for review. Perhaps the gap is an Artistic choice, but perhaps I had left space at the end of export for no reason (besides being a dope).

3. YouTube Title Length Warning. For show's that have been sent via RSS to YouTube a character limit warning that the title you're considering in your main RSS Feed is likely to be truncated by YouTube in the future. Just a warning is enough.

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josh@jcaldigital.org

3 Things I Hope Podcasting Leaves Behind, Back in 2025:

1. Excessive Feed drops, and "You Might Also Like" Promo drops. (The intentions of these two types of drops are very different, but the annoyance remains the same).
2. Shows trying to sound, look, and feel like "Dairy of a CEO."
3. Clips and Reels where the Hosts and Guests are 2 inches from their cameras. Ease up on the zoom. If I find myself thinking "why is this giant forehead speaking right now?" ..you're too freakin' close to the camera.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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1) Lehto’s Law - with Steve Lehto. https://lehtoslaw.com/

2) The ReDriven Podcast. https://theredrivenpodcast.podbean.com/

3) Monday Match Analysis - with Gill Gross. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/monday-match-analysis/id1432259450

4) Scratch Track - with Chris Robley. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scratch-track-build-a-fearless-music-career/id1830015934

5) Geologic Podcast - with George Hrab. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/geologic-podcast/id213468056

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It’s not dominated by it, it’s inundated by it.

No cares about (or for) the slop, except perhaps the psychopaths pumping the slop.

Keep Going: the Good Stuff might be just beyond the Bad Stuff.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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Inception Point AI are pumping out entirely AI-generated "Podcasts" at scale, but are they any good? In this episode, Josh listens to three random Podcast episodes from Inception Point AI and shares his thoughts on their quality.

Spoiler: Quality is not the metric Josh should have used when reviewing these episodes, "Can low effort work as a corporate mission statement?" would have been a much better approach to this listening session.

Shows in Review:

1. Weather in New York City.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo Audio Biography.
3. Serial Killer: The True Crime Podcast.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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If you record your Podcast on-location, or you're travelling and need to record outside of your normal recording environment, make sure you have the following 8 items in your Podcasting Go-Bag wherever possible:

1. A roll of good quality Gaffer Tape.
2. A small Phillips Head Screwdriver, and a small Flat-head Screwdriver.
3. A spare Mic Clip.
4. A spare basic Mic Stand.
5. A spare XLR Cable and/or a spare USB Cable.
6. A spare mini-SD Card.
7. Anti-bacterial wipes.
8. Chewing Gum - it's great for your breath and to get your instrument moving and working.

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A: Congrats to all involved, but still, NOPE.

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Note: the only Golf Podcaster that is allowed to care about Hosting, Conferences and Podcasting Data/Research, is Mr Mark Asquith from Captivate.fm 😉

1. Joe Rogan Experience.

2. Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast.

3. Cordkillers.

4. The Bugle.

5. Making Sense.

6. Your Mom's House.

7. Abroad in Japan.

8. Crime Junkies.

9. Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum.

10. Roderick on the Line.

Instagram: @futureisaudio

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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See some pics of the IsoPop on the SM7B >>> Instagram: @futureisaudio

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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7 Ways to Support Your Favourite Podcasters (without spending money).

1. SHARE their posts.
2. LIKE/HEART their posts.
3. Tag a Friend that might love the show.
4. Comment Nice Things.
5. Rate & Review the show.
6. Keep Listening.
7. Post a Pic or Story featuring the show.

If Books Could Kill: https://www.ifbookspod.com/

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The Original Article (in-full).

If you ever find yourself feeling down about your show, or wondering if making a Podcast is really worth the effort, I recommend spending a week or two focussing your energies on the shows that you love most as a Podcast Fan, instead of obsessing over your own show and its current successes, or lack thereof.

If you reverse your creative focus from outside-in (what can the medium do for me?) to inside-out (what can I do for the medium?), you will feel better about Podcasting as a creative medium, and that will help get you feel better about Podcasting as a creative outlet for yourself. I'm confident that you will go back to your show with renewed focus, positivity, and excitement.

It all sounds a bit woo-woo, right? But it works, trust me! These periods of inside-out focus have saved both my Podcasts and also me as a Podcaster many times over the past 13 years - I've felt like quitting a lot, and haven't thanks to getting-over-myself and being a better Podcast Fan.

I trust that giving some more love to the space always brings me closer to reason I first started making shows, I Freakin' Love Podcasting.

7 Ways to Support Your Favourite Podcasters (without spending money).

1. SHARE their posts.
2. LIKE/HEART their posts.
3. Tag a Friend that might love the show.
4. Comment Nice Things.
5. Rate & Review the show.
6. Keep Listening.
7. Post a Pic or Story featuring the show.

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What do you do when you're feeling a little lost or down as a Podcaster?

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

Get 'The Future IS Audio' Newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-is-audio-7283949012901076992/

Recordings Notes.

1. Correction: the iPhone app displaying "Audio Session. Unable to connect to audio. Please try again or restart the application" was the Rode Capture App (not the Rode Central app). Rode Central was used on my Macbook to update the devices/hardware.
2. Clarification: The episode was recorded in one continuous take, but the finalised episode was in fact not "One Take" as edits were made, to cut down on long gaps negotiating gates, and neighbours.
3. Production: +12db of amplification was added to the RAW audio track in Audition, and a Hard Limiter was added (set to -3db) to catch 4-5 extreme peaks in the recording. Much of the raw recording (pre-amplification) was coming in around -23 to -18db.
4. Edits: 1. Some loud breaths were reduced during the inside-spaces on the recording, as those loud-loud breaths served no purpose other than to make the audio less pleasant when in the Kitchen and Lounge spaces. 2. The only other major edit was made in the carpark as the gate (that I had left open) had been closed by a neighbour, so some of the time taken reopening and closing the gate was cut out.

Instagram: @futureisaudio

Em: josh@jcalmediagroup.com.au

The 4 Reasons I’m Going Back to Handwritten Prep Notes:

1. It was harder to get distracted by formatting and perfectionism when I was sketching out episodes by hand, in particularly when one has my scribble-level handwriting.
2. I rarely had to use my notes after handwriting them out. (The ideas were just there in my brain, ready to go).
3. The Mind Map style layout on the A3 Pad, were much easier to read from and flow with than a typed out list - when I did have to look at my notes. (The way I sketched out the Mind Maps mirrored how my mind works - wonky bubbles and wobbly arrows all over the place).
4. The Mind Maps acted as interesting Marketing Assets in-and-of-themselves that I could post.

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Email your thoughts to Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-editing-your-show-from-howard-fine-roman-mars-josh-liston-jjvtc

Unless you have a really compelling reason not to do at least a little editing on your show, do a little editing on your show.

To paraphrase celebrity Acting Coach, Author and Broadway Director, Howard Fine, if you think editing doesn't matter, then go find your favourite Speech, TED Talk, Joke, etc. and start adding ums, ahs, likes and you knows back into the dialogue, and see if it makes it better. Hot Tip: It Doesn't.

Further, to paraphrase Roman Mars of 99% Invisible fame, if you have 500 listeners, and you cut out a minute of fluff from your Podcast, you’re not just saving one minute, you’re saving the collective, 500 minutes.

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Do you edit your show? If yes, why? If no, also why?

Email Josh: josh@jcaldigital.org.

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Question: What's the Best Podcast Media Hosting in 2025?

Answer: Captivate.fm

Why Captivate?

1. Their technology is pretty, easy, and reliable.
2. Their audio downloads are super fast for Listeners.
3. The Team are both incredibly helpful in Podcasting, and non-jaded about Podcasting.
4. Captivate don't push AI and Ad Tech down your throat every single chance they get.

Email Josh Your Podcasting Questions: josh@jcaldigital.org

For better communication in your Podcast, avoid using the following phrases in your show.

1. Avoid "This Is A True Story".
2. Avoid "This Really Happened".
3. Avoid "To Be Completely Honest With You".

Email: josh@jcaldigital.org

The Future IS Audio newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-future-is-audio-7283949012901076992/

4 Ways to Make Your Audio Podcast Sound Dated (Potentially).

1. Cliffhanger-Openers to every episode of your show. These can be great, but most often are not.
2. Adding Background Music to every segment of the production. The emotionality in the melody of the music can enhance the mood of your Podcast (when it's perfectly chosen or composed to suit the episode), but it can also distort the intended delivery and tone of the dialogue. It's also a poor substitute for putting real emotion and intention into the voice recording itself.
3. Using Music and Sound Design Elements straight out of a 2014 Tim Ferriss YouTube Video.
4. Overloading your production with audio clips from film and TV from the 70's, 80's and 90's. I love this stuff personally (in moderation), but too much of this can feel like, 'HEY! I've got a new toy with heaps of buttons on it, and here's a bunch of now 30 year old noises I like."

What makes a Podcast sound dated to you?

Happy Podcasting!

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Episode Production Chain: Rode Wireless Micro >> Rode Capture App for iOS >> Auphonic Desktop App for Levelling and Noise Reduction >> Adobe Audition for Compression, Reverb and Click Reduction, Editing, and Export.

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Email me your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM me here on LinkedIn or comment below on this post.

Get the Audio Podcast: https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

TL;DR: Guesting on other Podcasts is amazing and you should definitely jump on the majority of opportunities to do so, but don't let your success or lack thereof getting booked define your value as a Podcaster.

No single piece of Podcast Growth Advice bothers me quite as much as "just be a guest on other shows" does, like it's so easy to do. As the great Alban Brooke (Head of Marketing at BuzzSprout) said recently on X, "If it (Guesting) was super easy then we’d all be doing it constantly", and I couldn't have said it better myself.

I've been living and breathing Podcasting and the Podcast Medium since 2012, and I've never met a single person (outside of domain experts, famous folks, and subculture superstars) that find getting booked on Podcasts as a Guest, easy. In fact, it's rare, it's difficult, and is often outpaced by the sheer rejection of trying to get booked.

My advice would be to Share the H out of the shows you CARE most about, and instead of thinking, "how can I get on that show so they can help me grow?", start by thinking, "what can I do (over the long-term) to help them grow?" Good things come most often from a good place.

The other short-long of it: Although I believe that being a Guest on other shows is incredibly valuable for growing your own show, anyone out there pushing "Guesting" as an easy to implement solve-all for growing your Podcast, is leaving out a great chunk of the process and the negative impact of continued-rejection in the Arts, and in business.

Happy Podcasting!

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Episode Production Chain: Rode Wireless Micro >> Rode Capture App for iOS >> Auphonic Website for Levelling, EQ, Compression, Reverb and Noise Reduction >> Adobe Audition for Editing and Export.

Email Josh your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM him on LinkedIn.

Get the Audio Podcast: https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

TL;DR: I'm an Audio Podcast Super Fan and a Video Podcast Dabbler.

Today's Newsletter is purely anecdotal, and I'm not sure what it really means, but I feel like it means something. I asked myself what format of Podcasting (audio or video) has held my interest the longest and/or which format I burn out on the fastest, and I came to the following numbers.

Note: I'm most often Subscribed to 40-50 programs at a time in both Overcast (audio) and YouTube (video).

Format vs Fandom (the Questions):

1. How many audio Podcasts do I still listen to that I started Listening to 2 or more years ago? = 20-25 episodes per week (to completion of each episode).
2. How many YouTube Channels do I still consume (that don't also offer an audio version) that I started watching 2+ years ago? = 1 (Bandrew Scott's Podcastage main channel).

Video has been and continues to be a useful tool for finding and sampling new shows that I might like, and if I do like them and they do offer audio Subscription (some don't which PMTHO), I'll then move them over to my long-term consumption app, Overcast for iOS.

One last note, I still miss the shows that for whatever reason stopped producing their Audio Podcast ('Crash Course in Awesome' and 'CD Baby's DIY Musician Podcast'), yet I can't name a single YT Channel that has stopped making their show that makes me feel that way.

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Episode Production Chain: Rode Wireless Micro >> Rode Capture App for iOS >> Auphonic Website for Levelling, EQ, Compression and Noise Reduction >> Adobe Audition for Editing and Export.

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Email Josh your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM him on LinkedIn.

Get the Audio Podcast: https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

TL;DR: Start by cutting some (or all) of the things that would really really really annoy you as Podcast Listener.

Not everyone can afford Professional Podcast Editing, nor do they need it. In fact, I’d encourage you TO edit your own show at least for a little while, as the lessons you’ll learn around your own speech patterns, pacing, word choices and verbal disfluencies (read: crutch words and verbal tics) are absolutely invaluable to you as a communicator.

A 3-part primer on Podcast Editing:

1. Low-hanging Fruit. (Cut stand-alone ums, ahs, likes, you know(s), coughs, sniffs, desk knocks, off-air conversations with people in the room, and clearings-of-the-throat).
2. Any (non-entertaining) Parts. (Unless it's really funny or fun, cut out technical issues, connection issues, drop-outs and glitches, looking up names, fact-checking, confirming URLs, and saying hello to endless people in the chatroom or on the stream. Don’t make your on-demand Audience(s) feel like a second class citizens).
3. The Promise of your Podcast. (Cut standalone segments that work against the intention/promise of your show. Profanity if your show is Clean. Silly if your show is serious. Overly serious if your show is meant to be light and bright. Political if you’re not).

If you start your Podcast Edit with those three elements in mind, you might not need to ever get more granular with your editing, a light edit might be all you need.

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Email Josh your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM him on LinkedIn.

Get the Audio Podcast: https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

[ No Links Below are Affiliate Links ].

Microphone: Rode Wireless Micro USB-C Lav Mic.

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The Mute Function Is More Useful Than AI (In Podcasting).

I’ve found myself more than a little down-in-the-mouth of late, reading and listening to all the discussions around AI in Podcasting, and its potential impact on our medium. With prominent voices in the space even going as far as to suggest that the human element of Podcasting may soon be superseded by AI and ASI Agents.

Now, whether or not you fell that that particular line of thinking is correct, is actually not the point of today’s post, I’m simply here to remind you that the thoughts of a singular Technologist (or a group of Technologists) can only affect a Podcaster to the extent that we allow it to. You have the option to simply disengage in conversations that suggest that the days of human connection are numbered Podcasting, and if you’re not willing to give at least part of your Craft over to AI then you’re going to fall so far behind that failure is inevitable. You can just shut all that stuff out.

TL;DR: Save all the energy that you might otherwise spend on arguing with people on Reddit, Discord, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. about AI, and just go make more cool sh*t!

The other Short-long of it: It’s often easier to unleash your creative flair onto the world in the form of a well-constructed rebuttal to the prognosticators in your medium, but just try to redirect that momentary frustration into ongoing fuel for making.

I need to keep telling myself this!

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Email me your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM me here on LinkedIn or comment below on this post.

Get the Audio Podcast: https://www.jcaldigital.org/the-future-is-audio

Subscribe to The Future IS Audio Newsletter on LinkedIn.

[ No Links Below are Affiliate Links ].

TL;DR: Gear isn’t just about utility, it’s about excitement and energy. If a new piece of audio gear has you making more content, having more fun (or experiencing less stress), and it reduces the timeline from idea creation and idea execution, then please STOP punishing yourself for desiring new gear, and for buying new gear. (**caveat: as long as you can afford that new gear**).

My Portable Podcasting Gear List (2025 Edition).

1. Recording Device: any modern device with a USB-C port (that can run the free Røde Capture app).
2. Microphone: the Røde Wireless Micro system (USB-C).
3. Production: Auphonic.com where you get 2 hours of advanced and automated audio processing for free each month. I used this today for Adaptive Leveling, Noise Reduction, Reverb Removal, and hitting my LUFS targets. My Auphonic settings are in the show notes and the LinkedIn Newsletter.
4. Editing App / Software: Audacity for MAC and Windows. https://www.audacityteam.org/

John Lacey's Rode Micro Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Ctq2CBlkc

LUFS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LUFS

Subscribe to The Future IS Audio Newsletter on LinkedIn.

TL;DR - Your Podcast doesn’t have to be an Interview Show or a Panel Show built (from format to presentation) to enable video production. It can be different, unique, more.

In 2012, when I first started ramping up my Podcast consumption into overdrive, one genre that I always enjoyed was the Soundseeing Tour genre. Travel, Language and Culture all wrapped up into an incredibly organic form of audio-storytelling. I’m not sure any Podcast genre has had me on the edge of my seat quite the way Soundseeing Tours did back in the day: What is going to happen next, and what will I hear next? So, I guess the question becomes, why aren’t Soundseeing Tours still getting produced, and if they are, why aren’t they getting shared, promoted and embraced by Podcast Listeners and/or the Podcasting Industry?

At the risk of sounding anti-video here (that’s not my intention), I think the reason is pretty clear, if your mindset is Video-First, then much of what makes Soundseeing Tours so unique can be easily reframed as uniquely-annoying elements of producing a show.

1. Planning for travel and recording locations.
2. Physical movement, and the ability to move and communicate at the same time.
3. Dealing with unknown environmental variables like weather, temperature, noise and human activity.
4. Permission and privacy considerations when recording on-location.
5. The increased need for advanced storytelling skills to describe the Tour / Location in the audio format.

Call me selfish, but I genuinely hope we see (and hear) a return of the Soundseeing Tours in 2025. I want to experience more audio tours from Japan, Africa, Newfoundland (Canada), and the Pacific North East in the USA. I miss closing my eyes and just escaping to a different part of the world.

Theatre of the Mind is real folks, and audio is where the magic starts.

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If you happen to have Listened to some unique audio in Podcasting lately, please post in the comments here on LinkedIn or DM Josh on Instagram @joshuacliston . Speak to you again soon, and bye for now.

4 Reasons TO put Audio-only episodes on YouTube:

1. For Increased Accessibility. (Every day at my day job I sell TV's to folks from across the age and cultural spectrum, and the number of people that ask about running Wireless Headphones out of their TV's so they can easily listen to programs and shows continues to surprise me. YouTube is the app that gets the majority of mentions from Customers, and I think it's because a) the Customer themselves has mastered the YouTube interface and wants to stay there for everything, and b) the non-English versions of the YouTube app on the major TV-OS offerings are stable and navigable).
2. To allow non-technical people to map listening progress seamlessly across multiple devices.
3. To allow people (who Care) to comment, give a thumbs up, Subscribe to your show, and even support your show on-platform.
4. To take advantage of the streamlined UX (User Experience) on YouTube. (There is no account required to get to the content, and the YouTube app doesn't hassle you every second day for your email address and for your preferred genres/tastes/interests before you get to LiSTNR .... sorry .... sorry, I meant listen).

The caveat I often hear about Audio-on-YouTube is the "extreme drop-off rate", which I believe is real, but I would posit that the drop-off rate for almost all content posted to YT (audio, video, amateur mime, everything that's NOT Cats) is "extreme".

The Short-long of it: If someone likes to Listen to shows, they don't really care how or where it happens, as long as it works and it's as simple as Click Link >>> Press Play.

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Email me your thoughts to josh@jcaldigital.org or DM me on LinkedIn or on Instagram (@joshuacliston).

'The Future IS Audio' newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/slayers-buffyverse-story-audio-storytelling-gave-me-josh-liston-nzgvc/

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story - Audio Storytelling That Gave Me Goosebumps.

In 2023, Audible released an exclusive program called Slayers: A Buffyverse Story - an original Buffy the Vampire Slayer audio-drama, co-written and narrated by members of the original Buffy cast.

Now, I need to preface what I’m about to say by letting you know that Buffy The Vampire Slayer was my absolute favourite show growing up, and I consider the Buffy episode titled “The Body” as the best episode of television ever put to air. So yeah, I’m a little biased here.

When I first hit play on the Slayers audiobook and James Marster's voice (who portrayed Spike on Buffy and also on Angel) came through my headphones, I had goosebumps running down my arms and tears forming in my eyes. When I heard Charisma Carpenter’s voice later on in the production, I couldn’t help but smile; Cordelia was getting some of the spotlight her character deserved and perhaps didn’t get in the original Buffyverse shows.

It was Theatre-of-the-Mind at its most powerful.

I still watch Buffy on a regular basis and although I still enjoy it very much (it’s comfort-viewing for me at this point). I haven’t had a deep emotional response to anything Buffy related in over 20 years like I did to the Slayers audiobook.

It was just me, my headphones, and the human voice, and it was the most intense reaction I’ve had to a piece of art in many years. The last time I remember being completely blown away by a creative work was Season 1 of Ted Lasso, albeit in a very different way, but this was even more intense. Slayers taking several much-loved characters and rendering them in the most intimate of dramatic mediums (being audio) elicited a reaction that was beyond pure nostalgia, it was pure joy.

It’s not often that I find myself thinking, “I’m so grateful that this was made”, and Slayers made me feel that way. I clearly needed an original yet familiar story, told like it was told just for me, and the audio-drama format allowed for that revelatory experience to happen.

Slayers was my favourite Audiobook of the past several years, it was beautifully written, and the performances and production are as good as it gets. Check it out, and let me know your thoughts.

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PS. I put my initial reactions to Slayers back in 2023 on my Instagram profile @joshuacliston - but I thought I might include the audio from that video right here in this episode, so you can hear a life-long Buffy fan expressing their reaction to Slayers in-the-moment, and I’ll leave you with that today guys, speak to you again soon.