S7E7 - An Inside Look In Podcasting - A Canvas for Friendship, Community, Connection & Creativity!!

Are you ready for a riveting journey into the creative and emotional world of podcasting?

Our guest, Charlie, talks about his passion for podcasting and the emotional journey it has led him on. He reveals how he transitioned from residential real estate to podcasting and the importance of keeping tangible mementos to stay connected to our past.

This episode is an eclectic mix of emotion, creativity and contemplation. We immerse ourselves in the artistry behind Charlie's podcast sketchbook, exploring the intricate process behind his sketches. Charlie also shares his love for comic strips and cartoons, and how he incorporates the Taoist philosophy into his work. 

We wrap up this segment by reflecting on the joyful chaos of PodFest and the intriguing Pecha Kucha format.

Looking forward, we delve into the future of podcasting, the potential of new media platforms, and how music can be a powerful form of connecting just like a podcast. 

Tune in, as we converse about personal branding through podcasting and how it can serve as a formidable tool for expanding one's sphere of influence. 

Whether you're a seasoned creator or just starting out, this episode is a treasure trove of inspiration for your creative journey. Let's embark on this adventure together!

Charlie Birney, Co-founder of Podville Media, began his journey with Podcast Village in Maryland, leveraging his love for public speaking and acting. With over 25 years in the DC/MD/VA commercial real estate scene, he notably contributed to the management of Queenstown Harbor Golf courses on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Notably, he served as president of both the Maryland Tourism Council and the National Golf Course Owner's Association.

In his pursuit of podcasting excellence, he co-authored "Podcasting Made Simple" and authored "The Tao of Podcasting," drawing from his background in Philosophy and his intricate understanding of the production process. His focus lies in highlighting the often underestimated aspects of podcast creation, emphasizing the significance of the pre-recording phase. Beyond his professional endeavors, he takes pride in being a devoted father to 23-year-old twins and indulges his musical side by playing the ma

Transcript

Emotional Podcasting and Creative Journeys

Charlie 0:00

I did want to say that episode was so emotional I was driving, almost had to pull over. Thank you so much for being so open and sharing your journey and those things that you did, just like the one, just like two weeks ago. You know what I'm talking about. I think it was episode one of season seven. Is that right? Maybe?

Paula 0:17

Yes, featuring my dead best friend.

Paula 0:21

Yeah yeah, the amount of time I dragged recording that episode. Like I kept on postponing, like and because it was Labor Day weekend, my season came back after Labor Day weekend, so from that week I had so much time to record it. But every day I'm like tomorrow, tomorrow, cause I knew how much weight it would have on me, right? So I ended up literally recording it on Monday night she's the editor. Because they put it out Like. Eventually I was like okay, tomorrow is Tuesday and I need to edit cause of getting that sound clips and everything. I was like let's just do it. So I had to smoke a blunt and do that to give me a courage. It was.

Charlie 1:15

That's good, that's a good thing, that's a good thing.

Paula 1:19

But, yeah, thank you for listening and thank you for pulling over, cause I wouldn't want bad news with my episodes. Thank you for pulling over.

Charlie 1:32

Yours is one of the two podcasts where I've had to pull over. A friend of mine does a show I'll give him a shout out called who Am I comma, really and he's an adoptee and he does interviews with people who have gone on the adoptee's journey. I am not adopted, but I just I helped him get started a little bit and I'm a big fan. And I said to him how many people who are not adoptees listen to your show and he's like I have no way of knowing that. But sometimes those stories, paula, are so incredibly emotional that I literally had to pull over. This is like three years ago, I remember, and I immediately texted or I might've tweeted at him. I don't know. You're better on social media than I am. My gosh, you're prolific and I want you to when you come to Baltimore. I want to lessen it, paula. You know, 10 minutes with Paula on social media. We'll be more like a hand off probably.

Paula 2:24

Hi shit talkers, Welcome to Talksio Whip, and I am your host, paula the shit talker. I mean, don't we all like talking shit anyway? Are you a creator? If so, you are in the right space. Talksio Whip is a place where we showcase and celebrate the talents, works and stories of creative minds from all walks of life, while also raising awareness for mental health through providing a supportive space to share their stories, insights and experiences. We will be discussing creative journeys, the high lows and the ways we manage our mental health through it all. Join us each week for inspiring conversations, useful resources and a community of like-minded creators as we dive into the minds of creative beings to explore their journeys, struggles and triumphs. So, whether you are a seasonal creative or just starting out, talksio Whip is the podcast for you.

Paula 3:28

So shit talkers. For you all who don't know Charlie Charlie, I met him at a podcast this year and he became a very good friend of mine, richard. I don't think there's a day that I did not hang out with Charlie like would stop or just disturb him at his booth, because he was also ambassador of Port Fest. So his booth where he was volunteering was on the front desk of where I was volunteering. So we saw each other a lot and we hang out a lot and oh my gosh look at that.

Paula 4:06

That's my book, yeah, so the best part about receiving this book right oh my gosh.

Charlie 4:18

Oh gosh.

Paula 4:19

I don't think I'm gonna ever throw this envelope because it's just so incredible. Like Charlie, I wanna be as productive as you. Like you know, podville media. Like yeah, yeah, my stickers. I'm trying. I haven't used them because I wanna make sure you know the thing with stickers once you put it, it's there. So I'm always very particular with where I put my stickers.

Charlie 4:48

Well, I'll just copy you and do buttons soon, so I'm gonna do some buttons.

Paula 4:54

Yes, I'm gonna just shout out Stick on you, they always are. If you sign up for their newsletter. They always have these offers that they do every now and then where you can kind of they do it for a cheaper price so that way you can sample them and if you actually like them, then you can go make your orders. So most of the shit I always order during the sample week and it's for a very good price. And even when it's done wrong and you tell them that, there's one time we went back and forth and they send me almost four shirts to the next and I was like stop, because every time the design wasn't exactly. But the fuck that they go above and beyond was like this is some nice customer service, right? Because they couldn't keep going on and on, and on and on.

Charlie 5:43

No, I'm so happy you liked it. I've been doing those envelopes my whole life and my mother never saved one, but my mother-in-law used to put them all around. It was so cute. But that's just what I do, Paula. That's just what I do it is, and that's one thing.

Paula 5:59

After my fire I said I'm gonna get a safe cause I'm a person like I lost a box cause I keep all my cards. If anybody's ever sent me cards, letters, I keep those things. So I didn't care much about losing the electronics. To me was my donuts and those cards and those letters, cause you don't get them back. And I'm a person who even my house. I had pictures all over the world. I print pictures. I like to say, well, it was those little things where you're like damn.

Paula 6:32

But now you know we're setting all over and I'm glad I have my new collection.

Paula 6:37

This was very amazing. So let's talk about the tower of forecasting. I was very impressed when I found out you did the sketches in this. I was like oh my God, so tell us, how did this grow Like? What was the birth of this?

Charlie 7:00

So it's. I'm very long-winded, paula, so unfortunately you can't kick me under the table. I'll try to do it quickly. I studied religion and philosophy in college and I haven't really used it in the business world. I've been in real estate, property management and a whole bunch of other things till I started podcasting, which is actually 10 years ago now, and I just knew there was a future in podcasting. So, to give sort of behind the backstory, careful if you go to Amazon, because I do have a book on Amazon and this book is not yet on Amazon. If you want to sign copy, like Paula has, just reach out to me and find me and I'll be happy to send it to you?

Paula 7:37

Are you talking about the podcast made simple book?

Charlie 7:40

That's on Amazon and I wrote that with one of our clients and we were trying to get something out and make a little difference and I used my sketches in there. Thank you, paula. And the trouble with that is software and hardware. I'm now using a roadcaster duo because I'm about to do a podcast with my cousin. But as soon as that book came out, about a month later, the first roadcaster maybe it was Roadcaster Pro, I don't know if you remember, paula, but that came out and it made things like Mix Minus that we don't talk about anymore how to capture two phone your voice and then the other person's voice and the highest quality and multi-track on phones. All of that became useless. So I'm very proud of my first book and I'm proud of you for mentioning it, but it is somewhat outdated just due to the updates in software and hardware.

Charlie 8:32

So with Dow podcasting, the origin of that is I was I don't have that picture with me, I'm afraid, but I was at home alone during quarantine and so I did a lot of drawing. I made a lot of crazy ideas, just like Paula you do, and drew what I call the Yin Yang microphone. If you look at like the first image under the cover there's a microphone with the Yin Yang symbol in it and I drew that and next to it I wrote the Dow podcasting. And then, as my dad would have said, I went about my business and playing my trade. And then I came back to that and I thought well, cause, I was my, if I'd had a major in philosophy, it would have been in Chinese Taoism. That's the one, that's what I call the Yin Yang microphone.

Paula 9:17

By the way, this is signed. Y'all, this is signed.

Drawings and Podcasting

Charlie 9:19

I'm just saying continue, I'll be happy to do one for anybody who's interested. And so I thought. I don't know if you're familiar, but in Taoism, in Chinese Taoism, there's sort of the seminal texts called the Tao to Qing, and it's these 81 passages that the Taoist master, lao Tzu, wrote as he was leaving civilization and his disciple, his student, whatever you want to call it, said don't go without leaving us with something. And allegedly he wrote this. It's about 3000 years old. So I have read many books in my years since my college degree in Taoism and philosophy. There's a great American Taoist, alan Watts, and I thought what if I tried? Cause I'd seen it done in. There's a Tao to Qing of parenting. There's a Tao to Qing of relationships. There's many books written that actually take the verses and try to put them in their own subject matter, and so I thought I'll get to the closing relatively quickly that I would try to interpret. So it's not a translation of the Tao to Qing, it's an interpretation of the Tao to Qing into the world of podcasts and really media and communication.

Charlie 10:24

Now the drawings that you asked about. So 10 years ago when I started there, I am Paul, I've got an iPad one and you know the two guys are talking and I'm monitoring equipment. So I've got an hour with nothing to do. So I would take a picture and then I would sort of sketch out a storyboard, if you will, drawing, and then I would make drawings. So I've been doing drawings for about 10 years, what I call podcast sketchbook.

Charlie 10:47

And when I went to do the book and when I finished all those, I realized that in the Tao to Qing, in the translations of the original Tao to Qing, there's always Chinese calligraphy and it's really cool because it's very much like flowing water and that it simplifies the lessons of Taoism. So I said, no, I'm not going to put in Chinese calligraphy, I'm going to use all these ridiculous drawings that I've never had a home for and I'm going to put them all in there. And so it kind of tells two stories my interpretation of the Tao to Qing and of the world of podcasting and communications, and then, through the pictures, it's kind of my evolution as a podcaster. So sorry to go on and interrupt you.

Paula 11:24

Oh, no, no, no, no, you're fine and I love that. Wait, so did you teach yourself to sketch, or was this something?

Charlie 11:33

you always did. I was a doodler in high school. There wasn't a margin that was safe for me.

Paula 11:39

You know, the best part of it is the usage of colors.

Charlie 11:48

You chose, you know. Yes, thank you, that's so cool.

Paula 11:52

Yeah, and it's different colors. It's not like the same. There was a part where there was dinner and it was brown and gray. I'm trying to picture what made you decide to do half colors. Where does that creativity come?

Charlie 12:13

Well, at first I was just in love with black and white comic strips and cartoons, like you see in the New Yorker and other magazines, and trying to far side was, of course, a great one Very creative, not incredibly well drawn, but incredibly good comic strip, comic, single panel comic. So when I started out I just was lazy, paula, and I didn't color them in. And I interviewed a graphic artist when I did launch podcast probably my first year or second year of podcasting and he looked at all my drawings, because of course I'm going to show him my drawings when we're done right.

Charlie 12:51

And what do you think? And he said well, I think you ought to have a little color to these. So ever since then I've been adding color just on an intuitive basis, trying to bring out sparks. Every once in a while I'll hide an actual photograph, you know, inside a frame, in the back in the wall or something. I'm just trying to be a little different. I have fun drawing. It's really something that gives me pleasure, and so that's kind of the whole story. So I kind of a little bit self taught Paula, I certainly took an art class or two, but not any detailed classes on it, I just like doodling. I've got a couple of thousand old comic books from the 80s in my basement and I just I know what I like. I do draw microphones a lot. That's from a.

Paula 13:33

No, it's the Martini's.

Charlie 13:36

The microphone in Martini is from a thing it can probably find it buried. I should reprint it on my one of my Instagram pages, which was the pod bar, where they give you a drink that's paired with a microphone and everybody you know, and so there was a, you know, a special microphone. I have a microphone, a Fisci Nato, here at podville media and he would do a little writing about the microphone and we write about the beverage, and so we do pairings you know, pairing your microphone with a beverage and did a whole little sort of strip on that.

Paula 14:10

You should create a T-shirt line for that, and then everybody buys on what they drink, as with you know.

Charlie 14:19

You could do that. Yeah, paul, I got to get you in with me because I need your creative input. We're going to do that. Pod bar pod T-shirt, pod shirts pod shirts.

Paula 14:30

I'm ready. I'm ready. Let's do that. I'm going to ask you if you want a.

Charlie 14:35

Pechacucha shirt for before next year, because I could get you one in your size. You know it's print on demand, baby, so we could get you a Pechacucha T-shirt.

Paula 14:44

Yes, bring it to Baltimore. I'm out with it. When presenting, I'll have to make it you know I'll get it.

Charlie 14:52

I have to do it in purple right, so yeah.

Paula 14:57

I love that. You know that.

Charlie 15:00

I love that you know that.

Paula 15:01

Yeah, so before we get to pod film, what would you say your most? Can you highlight some of your most memorable moments while creating this?

Reflections on Podcasting and Evergreen Content

Charlie 15:18

Well, I was traveling with my daughter for a week when I wrote about half of it and it was just a wonderful, you know, I was out of the house and not around my stuff and my distractions, and I would sit down. She was taking a class in musical instrument repair she's a music teacher and I would go back to the hotel and just think about trying to get one not to be sort of a philosophy, you know weird, but try to get one with the content. And it was wonderful. The first book, as I mentioned to you earlier, it was sort of locked in technical stuff and I was trying to write what you and I call evergreen material that wouldn't get old or, you know, outdated because of my experience with the first book, and this just made sense to me. You know, if I could go on a slightly alternate path. When I finished, I actually took the book and now I've tried to sort of relook at everything that I wrote as I went through that process and find out to me what I think the book means set large, and I think what I'm trying to say is in the sort of busy lives of podcasting and our busy lives in general, and I'm not suggesting media. I'll leave that up to Katie Kremizos and stuff like that, because but I do look now because of that, first drawing the yin yang microphone.

Charlie 16:34

So this is for all my podcast friends out there who listen to talk shit with Paula. It made me think and remember about the duality of nature. You know, that's part of Taoism. So when I walk around here at night and you're very sweet to make comments on, you know, when I put pictures of people producing a show and stuff and you always make comments when I walk around here at night, however, the studio is empty. The lights might be out, a few lights might be on, and it makes me think that there's another side to this. And in my comic strip I'm trying to interview a microphone and give him a voice or her a voice, and so I think about the pause. I call it two things.

Charlie 17:13

You probably remember me saying this. I think about the pause before the podcast or the silence before the sound, because the studio, at least ours here, are empty more than they're full, you know, would that that were not so, but but they're not. They're empty all night, they're waiting for you in the morning and they're absolutely quiet. So it's just sort of a micro moment of adjustment to think of before you get started. Before the onslaught of all of my words and all the busyness of the production and the uploading and the marketing and everything else, I just want to sort of suggest that it does parallel itself with the things that Lao Tzu was saying. We just need to take a deep breath and going. I'm here to communicate with Paula and I think that's the overwhelming message that I've, you know, have found it was a really fun experience. I'd like to keep doing it, but there are no more verses in the Doubt of Ching, so I'm going to have to, you know, work on my comic strip instead.

Paula 18:09

No, I will talk to you with peace, Jan, you will create one.

Charlie 18:15

Well, I definitely have to have you as a guest on my comic strip about a podcast, so you'll be there and you'll probably have to stick your tongue out.

Paula 18:24

Definitely that's the brand. That's the brand.

Charlie 18:27

That's the brand that's right, that's the brand yeah that's the brand.

Paula 18:30

Just like you. You said you wanted to be different and you did stick to the brand. Like this is different, like this is memorable. This is you know. Now I'm going to look at things different, and there's one. Oh my God.

Charlie 18:45

And next year it will be on Amazon, I just don't know. Sometimes in February, I hope, and then everybody can find it, you see, something like this can be turned even into a paint wall art.

Paula 18:57

You know like.

Charlie 18:58

I literally have in my closet for those two ladies who used to produce at our studios and once going on to fame as a comedian and once moved to California. We're all of us close. Still, they had been the Area 54, is that right? Area 54, where the aliens are and they don't have pilgrimage there. And so they had these prism glasses on. If you look really closely at that, you'll see faint color in their glasses and then that's the logo for the Sarah Frasier show, the lips behind them, and I just like doing that of them. And I have about, you know, about two feet by two feet canvases from Canvas on Demand, if you want a canvas that.

Charlie 19:38

I made for them, but they moved and they keep forgetting to send me their address. So I still have them, yeah.

Paula 19:43

Oh yeah, you know, you look at it and you're like I would want that, even for just a podcast. I was like you know I'm finished. If I ever had an office in my podcasting studio, this would be a piece of one up there.

Charlie 20:00

It can be done. I can just forget about them and send you the one in the closet. What I really want is to try and then ties them back in the studio because they haven't seen where we are. This is our third location, so I'm just trying to use that as bait to get them to come back so I can get some pictures with them.

Paula 20:17

And definitely, definitely. It might take a while, but they'll come, and when they come, it will still be a moment for them to be like, oh my God, you know, because if it was me I would definitely want that. So I'm just putting it out there. When you get bored and decide to do this, somebody, I'm available, you know. Just saying, I'm just saying you know.

Charlie 20:39

I'm listening, I'm listening, you got it, you got it. I love watching you unbox stuff anyway, so I need to send you more stuff. And I'm working on a new drawing. So yes, I understand, Pauly, I'm getting it.

Paula 20:53

I'm the best person to send shit to, because I will definitely do an unboxing video for you and do a whole photo shoot for your shit. Like you know, I want to do this process to hear this.

Charlie 21:07

You got a new hashtag send shit to Paula along with talk shit with.

Paula 21:13

Send shit to Paula.

Charlie 21:15

Hashtag send shit to Paula. So when I send you my next something, whatever it is, it's going to be hashtag. I wrote it down there and it's fun.

Paula 21:23

And it's fun because I attend this clubhouse room and podcasting room with Mark and Nick every Monday to Friday. So for the last three weeks I've been winning shit on Friday Because on Friday, on Fridays, we all spin and wins. So I want to teach it from the song swap show with Amanda and Chris and I won next gen Paul and Max ironic t-shirts. So the first day before that we were talking about merchandises, right, and like how many people have merchandise, what do you do with your merchandise? And so when they asked how many people out here buy other podcasters merchandise, and though like, if you buy, raise your thumb up, and if you don't raise them, so I raised down, right. So when I want that, nick was like this is why Paula doesn't buy people's merchandise, she's always winning them or somehow getting there, I'll create a boxing video.

Charlie 22:31

Well, I was looking to volunteer at pod fest last year for a day and I got the softest t-shirt I've had in like 10 years and I sleep in it all the time because it's really soft cotton. I don't know what it is, but I should try to track that down Because we have all our shirts made out of that soft cotton.

Paula 22:47

I swear I had four cause. For some reason, when I registered my friend, they were giving them each one one t-shirt and because none of my friends came, ended up coming, even though they were planning to cause, they had attended the pod tour. So when I went to pick up my t-shirt, it showed Paula four t-shirts, so they gave it to me and then I volunteered, I had another t-shirt and, oh my God, pod fest has the pod fest and mop up. Their t-shirts are legit. It's very, very soft. Oh my God, let me know, get cancer, because I get a lot of t-shirts with pod fest. Every your sponsors, all your t-shirts are good. I love all of them and I can't wait. I can't wait to get all of them in pod fest 2020 form.

Charlie 23:34

Absolutely no, I'm super psyched, yeah go.

Paula 23:37

Speaking of pod fest 2020, you are a Pecha Kucha speaker and this is the first time doing it. Share with us how that experience has been for you and how many, how many times have you done?

Charlie 23:50

it. It's at least three, I think it it might be four. I may have come to the second or third pod fest. I know it was new, and that's when Chris would tell the story of sort of how that was born out of a slightly different community event in in where he lived, which was in Florida I don't remember if it was Tampa or not, doesn't matter and it was such a great community.

Charlie 24:16

But so I, so I signed up, I we were in maybe our fifth or so year of podcast village that's now called podville media, and and I thought, well, pecha Kucha, the five slides I mean 20 slides and five minutes. Well, I've been doing public speaking and now, of course, podcasting for a long time and it's well I can do that. And I was completely nervous and terrified and and I really had a lot of fun and the wide variety of people in that's, in that room, which was smaller than than what we saw last year, was just incredible and I thought this is really it's like a turbo TED talk. You know it was really crazy. And I made friends sitting in the fifth or 10th row last year that I'm still communicating with on on Instagram, and Regina who does yoga, and a whole bunch of other things, and so I just like the format, paula, I think it's fascinating.

Charlie 25:14

You've got five minutes, you've got to get up and talk, and I don't think I figured it out. It's like Ben Affleck talking about Batman. I don't think I've quite figured it out. Maybe I've got it this year. I'm going to go a sort of another way, a little bit more free form instead of super structured with note cards, because I'm just trying to sort of say like, like in city slickers, I'm just trying to say one thing and just to get people to take that moment and pause and be appreciative of all these things that we're doing and we're, you know, continuing. The sacred art of communication, you know, starts with the very first storytellers, so we're just doing it on a different way, with microphones and video and and, and stickers and and t-shirts.

Paula 25:57

No, I'm excited. Yes, I remember your Pecha Cucha stickers and that was one of the packed room. Literally nobody else was able to go in. You had to wait for people to come out, for you to go in and everybody had amazing things to say about all the speakers inside of you. Because I was volunteering, I didn't intend any of them and I was so mad.

Charlie 26:22

And then you spoke on a panel. Yeah, I saw your panel.

Paula 26:28

Every time I tried to come it was like like every time I left the desk and I got a second and I'm like let me go up here. And they're like it's so full you can't go in, and then I'm back on my desk. So it was. But yes, I was on the panel and, um, oh my God, I was nervous, but apparently I did amazing for them to still want me to speak next year.

Charlie 26:50

No, you were, you were a natural. I was there at least one of your panels, because I don't know, I don't remember if you did more than one, but I was at one of them. It was the day I was leaving and I just got in to see you and I saw you speak and you were a huge asset to that panel. You have great knowledge about that subject material and it's very important and you spoke really well.

Charlie 27:12

I haven't been on a panel yet and I, you know I've offered, but they just need to find a sort of nut job who draws comic strips panel for me. But, um, I want to encourage you to keep doing that and cause I thought you were an excellent addition to the, to that whole lineup that you had there that day. It was really, really good and that's one of the reasons I like podcast, because it's a really good community and you know, I found that since I started out, there was a wonderful sort of community of people who are willing to share best practices and help the other person get a, you know, get a leg up if they could. So I just had a great time and made so many friends. You and I were friends slightly online before the event because I think we were both doing wacky Instagram videos and I did one with Kermit the frog.

Paula 27:59

And you know that's what we followed each other, because we all got upgraded VIP tickets.

Charlie 28:04

That's right, that's right and I've got. I don't know what I'm going to do this year, but it might involve our two T two.

Paula 28:11

We'll see Me too. I said I can't wait for the real competition because the amount of fun I had with my VIP ticket last year.

Charlie 28:18

I was great.

Paula 28:19

Right.

Charlie 28:20

Yeah.

Paula 28:22

I don't think I'll be comfortable in content creator station. I need to go on the episode. I have to come up with a plan for my room for this year.

Charlie 28:31

That's exactly the way I feel, because one of my favorite sessions was in that hall where you had to have that and and I learned a lot at that several of those sessions that I really valued and I was like, well, I got to come up with another winner. There's going to be more competition this year, paula. I'm worried.

Paula 28:49

I am. I am so excited and that's the thing right With me. I didn't start with it in person because I started podcasting 2020. So the fact that I got I got that ticket from BuzzFraud and I went to that online one and then the presence that I felt, I was like I'm going to keep coming back to this and when the last year I was like I have to go and I went last year and the amount, like rich, I came back and it was the first time I got covered. I said it was worth it. It was worth it, cause being around that energy, that love, I tell everybody but for the purpose, is like going back home for Thanksgiving, you know to be with your aunties, your grandkids, your grandkids, cause it's a family, it's beautiful and it's funny, cause I'm going to outflows.

Paula 29:44

And now, jen, this time I mean I'm moderating this time I've never moderated, so they're giving me the chance and I like taking chances. I'm like I've never done it, but I like the challenge and they're like sure, and I'm never so excited.

Charlie 30:02

No, you'll be great. You've got so much time behind the microphone now and you did that panel. You'll be absolutely perfect at it, yeah.

Paula 30:11

And I think it's. Entertaining behind the mic, on the screen is totally different than entertaining in front of people where you know this they get to eat afterwards, no-transcript. I'm like right there and there, they're looking at you. If you make a joke that they don't get it, everybody's looking at you like huh are you.

Charlie 30:32

Well then you make a joke about yourself making that joke. You'll figure it out. You don't need to think about it anymore. You'll be great. You have such a flowing natural personality. You'll do wonderful and everybody will think we've gotta have her back every year. You know that's what's gonna happen.

Paula 30:47

Thank you so much. So, Podview, you are co-founding of Podview Media. What's the story behind founding Podview Media?

Podville Media's Journey in Podcast Production

Charlie 30:57

Well, 15 years ago, or much more, I don't know a friend of mine who's in marketing suggested oh, I gotta adjust my hair suggested that I listen to this podcast, and after I said what's a podcast? I started listening to it and it took me about six months it was sort of a B2B marketing podcast for me to even understand their material. But now I'm literally on a Thursday afternoon once a week phone call for half an hour with that guy and we just talk about families in life. You know, it's been a wonderful journey. So I started podcasting in a co-working space, paula, in about 2013. I had just left my job of many years, for reasons I won't go into now very amicably, and started trying to figure out what I was gonna do. I tried selling residential real estate and I'm sorry to disappoint all your listeners, but I was just horrible at it. I was just really, really.

Paula 31:57

I don't blame you. When I look at the commissions the money they make I'm like that must be nice. But I know it's just not for me. I would suck at that shit and I would hate every piece of it.

Charlie 32:07

You also. Not that it was ever not competitive, but there are. It's a very or at least in my region. I don't wanna over-generalize, it was very sort of I'll take commission out from underneath if you kind of feeling all the time and then get the big checks. Paula, you gotta be a big seller, you gotta sell over a million dollars or 10 million dollars worth of real estate in a year and it's just, it's a very, it's a grind.

Charlie 32:31

And I just I hadn't thought it would be a grind. I didn't mean to not be good at it, I just wasn't good at it. And I would have other agents who didn't even know me come up to me and say you gotta, you can't be that nice. And they literally I had that happen to me twice. I was like I'm not a good guy and I knew him by reputation. He was on the news at six o'clock talking about the market and he came to an open house I was doing unpaid for another agent and he said you're too nice, you can't be that, you gotta be more aggressive, dude. And I'm like this is a sign.

Paula 32:59

So I was in a but that shows how brave you are, cause you tried it and you realized it wasn't for you and you left and you went and found something else. So that's braveness of them.

Charlie 33:12

Well, at that time I was in a little co-working office, right, and that was a concept that, as a former property manager in commercial real estate, I just it was new to me. So I was offered a spot and told to try to help promote it because I lived in that county, that county here in Maryland, montgomery County, and I said, well, I kind of think I know how to podcast. I didn't. Why don't I do a podcast for the co-working space? Because in all the offices in the co-working space it's all different people. It's not like it was a law firm, it's not like it was an insurance company or take your pick. And so I got the instruments together, which I thought I had everything, and I didn't.

Charlie 33:51

This is an old Beringer two track from those days that I used to go with my kids backpack and I'd go out and do interviews for people and I started doing what's called launch podcast. You can find it on SoundCloud still and I think I did about 88 episodes before they said we need to get rent for your space. And that was just when I was partnering with Oscar and we built podcast village RitReal and then became Podville Media after that. So I was doing interviews, I was making about 60 bucks a client which was never going to do much and learning the trade. And then video came on hard in my last year in Gaithersburg and I started hiring people to help me do the video because I just didn't have that knowledge.

Charlie 34:35

Paula, it was too big a lift for me to learn Premier Pro in Adobe when I had just taught myself how to do all the audio. So I partnered with a guy who was doing a local radio show that had become a podcast. We became very dear friends, called the podcast village and then, because that sort of shoe harmed us if you know what I'm saying into the non video world and we were already doing a ton of video by that time, we were doing some work with ESPN and podcast village sounds rather audio only and we didn't want to keep that impression permanently. So we changed the name about five years ago I think now to Podville Media and we do the social media assets for some clients, we do only audio for some clients. It's a little bit different all the time, but we've turned into a media production studio from those very, very humble beginnings. So Nice.

Paula 35:32

So what would you say, gets into the production process of creating a podcast episode at Podville.

Podville's Services and Custom Sets

Charlie 35:41

Well, we work with a whole bunch of clients. We're doing an ESPN show with Dominique Foxworth. We just had the White House Historical Association this is not either party. We do the Lincoln Project podcast Not all of their media but we do their audio podcast with Reed Galen. So everything's a little different.

Charlie 35:59

Paula, it's one of the things that I'm sure you'll find interesting, or are sure you'll agree with probably, is back in the days four, five and six years ago, clients would come in and talk about their thought and idea and often when we'd go through the creative process with them, it would come out slightly different Because we'd sort of be able to align people with what maybe they really wanted to do but didn't quite realize.

Charlie 36:22

So there's a lot of part at the beginning, but now with AI, with so many changes in the software and we've just put new cameras into our television studio there's so many advancements it's hard to sort of put that in one box.

Charlie 36:36

Usually we have a preliminary meeting and talk about what that person's goals are not goals, and I just met with my friend Damon last night and talked about where he's doing. He's done amazing work with this and I got to make sure that I tell this person that I'm busy, and so we have a whole production process. We have two studio, two audio and video podcast studios and one really big room where we can stage a whole set. So for the White House Historical Association, it looks like the White House would look if it had a media desk, but it's all very White House-y all around it with a tartan and all these other things that I knew nothing about. So we'll build a set for you. We've done online health conferences as well. It just depends who is really interested in coming in and being a creator and maybe not doing the editing and not doing the posting and not doing the social media creation, if that makes sense.

Paula 37:37

Interesting, so why White House room?

Charlie 37:40

Well, they wanted it, so they can pay for it, right? I mean, I'm just being serious. They wanted a certain look for the background for their show, so it's just commemorating, so you guys do provide.

Paula 37:54

If I say I want my talk show with people, you guys create that.

Charlie 38:00

Yeah.

Charlie 38:01

Got you the quickest way we create that is the quickest way any of us do. In Studio C, where the Michael Marish show is every day, we simply have a huge monitor between the two guest chairs and even if it's only one person, we'll put your logo on it big. But if you want a design we have, it's really cool. I wish I could show you. In the hallways around the studio there are a cleat or a davit about six feet up the wall and we have different panels hung on there, so we're not always using green screen. We can have a studio that's all wood, a studio that's distressed metal, a studio that's brick it's just this fake brick facing and then we just hang them on the wall literally and can change, given 40 minutes, the entire look of one of these studios, just like we would back in school or in college or something when you're putting on a play. I love stuff that uses the old techniques along with the new techniques, but if you wanted your name in neon, we'd order it and have the name of the show in neon.

Charlie 39:02

Most coasts to answer that question. It's very interesting. We want their name huge on a very high quality television behind them. We have some 5K monitors in our television studio and generally the show is just like. If you look at the Dominique Foxworth show, it's just huge and it's right behind where they're sitting in that set. So that's usually the way we do that. But we've got a guy who helps us build stuff and if you want a custom set, we'll do a custom set. If you want to just use one of these things, with what choices we've already got in-house, then we do that as well. But we're set up for audio, we're set up for video. We've got about 10 people here at Pogville.

Paula 39:42

In short, as long as the member can afford it, you deliver, that's all.

Charlie 39:50

That's as clean as it can get folks. Yeah, If you want, we can do it. What do you do and how can I help you? So it's pretty straightforward. Some folks really are looking to make a big connection with a high audience and sometimes that's what it takes. I think in the case of the White House Historical Association, they're going for a definite look and a definite feel and they have some pretty fascinating content. Again, it's not partisan, it's just about the history of the White House itself and it's a fascinating show. But they are going absolutely intentionally going for a look.

Charlie 40:25

Now, if you're doing an audio show which we still do, pure audio shows the looks and material we'll still dress the studio so you feel comfortable when you get there. And the return to the studio. We've actually built, I'd say, at least three or four studios for our clients in their homes so they can just do it from their home. Yeah, definitely, that has happened and that happened during quarantine. My partner and his wife, who's our COO, would go out in the white suit and go to someone's house and build a studio for them it takes a couple days and soundproof a room in their basement or something like that.

Charlie 41:00

At least rudimentarily. Do that. Yeah, it's at least three or four for sure, and we have a rig that we send out. So it's pretty high end, Paula, we won't just take the lid of a laptop. We're going to send you a big plastic nuclear suitcase and that's going to have microphones, and we have some devices like Comrex where we can just get plugged into your network and then we will control the sound levels for Mac here at Podville and stuff like that.

Paula 41:32

There, yes.

Charlie 41:34

I like that stuff.

Charlie 41:36

We do that for everyone Because we really want to get you know. I started out on the audio and I came in kicking and screaming to the video world, so we really want to get the best audio experience. I call it a cocktail for the ear. You really want the best experience, the best you know. I kicked myself. I just wrote about this recently. I started. It wasn't until I met Oscar that I started using these microphones. These are what we have in the studio the Electrovois RE27. And I was just. I was a performing amateur musician and some open mics around town, paula. So for three and a half or more years I used a Shure SM57. Nothing wrong with a Shure SM57. You can hammer and nail in with a Shure SM57. But these are just a higher quality and lots of people talk there's totally affordable ones that are of better quality for your studio and I'm always working to make that listening experience the best we possibly can. So we do spend a lot of time on that.

Paula 42:32

I love that. So we put feel like, when somebody wants to to work with you, is it like, does it have to be an entire season or do you guys do a season episode Like what's the package? That is like ways the direction on that.

Charlie 42:50

Sure, with the Michael Marys show, which is a daily, which was here before me, they just pass rent and we have and we give them one of their studios, you know whenever they're doing it, and they run all their gear themselves basically. And but then with other people, I like seasons. You know you're doing seasons, but it gives you a chance to not feel like your chain to the microphone. So it will be a series of negotiations. For example, we have some that have to go twice a week because they're talking about the Lincoln Project, for example, is doing it twice a week, if not more, depending on if some crazy thing comes up Right, and so in that case that's a standing contract.

Charlie 43:35

But I, as a guy who started out not knowing what he's doing, I like it when people do choose a season. I think it makes it just an easier lift on everybody. And even if you want to do it quickly and pile it all into a few weeks and then go off on a long vacation, I think there's a lot of value to that. Certainly, in starting podcasters, there's a few things that I would always recommend that they do, and you know doing a weekly is hard. You've got to do it every week or you lose. You know you lose what your audience is expecting. I think when you say we're doing seasons and then you can say I'm going to reproadcast season number one while I'm on vacation, there's nothing wrong with that right, you know that's what I do.

Paula 44:10

I can't do weekly Like when I started I used to. When I started, I used to do that and I'd get overwhelmed because I'd be like, oh shit, it's Tuesday and I haven't put, I haven't recorded. So I'm going to set up the all night recording, editing to make sure it goes out. So that's why I take breaks to record, watch them and then, yeah, I have to worry about this promoting.

Charlie 44:35

I think that's a really smart way to go. But so for us, to answer your question, it's always a little different because there are different, you know, communication goals that clients have. Like the Michael Maher show is a daily. They just want to get out to their crowd. Every day they do some advertising and everybody expects it every day. It came out of radio. So it's a little different than the average podcast that you and I might be on or work on, which is generally weekly. It can be bi-weekly, can be anything else. I think weekly in seasons is. You know it's nice because your audience knows that they're expecting content. I try to listen to as many, you know, shows of ours and of other people's every day. I have now given myself the title, paula, of chief listening officer.

Paula 45:19

I cannot.

Charlie 45:21

So I try to. So you know it's going to say C L O and the next next time I do my business card you know you should, because you are in the podcasting industry and then you, your business is also podcasting.

Paula 45:39

That's, that's, that's a lot. And speaking of the job, you've been in this industry, as you say it, for 10 plus years. What are some of the of podcasters or media creators who have inspired you in your journey?

Charlie 45:54

Well, certainly the show for immediate release, which was that show I mentioned to you. My friend said, hey, you ought to listen to this podcast, and it took me a few months to understand what they were even talking about. But that's how we learned to write. I could never learn a language by listening to Spanish spoken podcasts, but I wish I could. But in this case they were talking a guy in San Francisco and a guy in England. We're talking about B2B marketing and I'm just always fascinated by marketing. I wasn't formally trained, I'm just a you know fanboy back from brochures and things like that, and so I love listening to this show. I think they've been a great force for podcasting way before me. They've been doing it for 20 years, way before people. You know they had to download it the really difficult way into your iPad, I, your, I. What was the device that we had back when we listened to the podcast player? Anyway, the music player from before. You had it all on your phone and and you know they've been doing it a long time.

Admiration for Podcasts and Anime

Charlie 46:53

I really admire and I really like that show and I still learn things from it. It's a little bit of a sort of an acquired taste because of its niche. I listened to you know I listened to you. I listened to Damon Davis talk about these incredibly emotional stories about adoption. There's a lady and Pazmanic who does her show Power Station from our studios. It's about community need, community housing, community pro bono law and all these things and it started out being mostly in this area, washington DC area but it's really global. She's talked to Indians and people all over the world and I said to her and I say to her to this day and I can't believe how much I've learned about my own community that I didn't know, being now 61, thinking I knew pretty, I was pretty smart, I've lived here my whole life and figured I knew everything and then, from the very beginning, her show would come out and be like I cannot believe I've never heard of this agency or this particular need in my community. So there are so many podcasters that I like and admire. I like people who are trying to cut a new path.

Charlie 47:56

Like you, totally unrelated to podcasting, my son only watches anime. You know I have 23 year old boy girl twins and he's because he's in LA studying massage. We try to stay connected so we watch shows long distance with our daughter, who's in Vermont, and our son, who's in California, and I've been listening to and watching anime and you know what's amazing Because I call you a trailblazer is they're different stories told differently than any of the ones that I'm used to, and I watched a lot of cartoons, let me tell you, and these anime projects that he has me listening to. It can open your eyes to a whole new world of using music, of telling stories of perspective, because culturally it came out of a different place and I find that absolutely endlessly fascinating. And so, just if you're looking for something different, go. There's a lot of this on anime on Netflix now is a ton of it.

Charlie 48:56

So and it just puts your brain in a different place. It's not like watching Bugs Bunny or Phineas and Ferb or Pinky the Brain or any of those things. It's just different, and I'm grateful to him for making that suggestion. But there's so many podcasters that I really do admire Paul, it would take too long. Shout out to Ray Ortega. He had a great story and gave me advice, like an old guitar teacher would in the beginning. But it's also a school of teaching yourself and listening to your show and trying to figure out what your audience is interested in and all of those things. You know if I'm making any sense of any work.

Paula 49:34

Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes, shout out to anime. I love it. And it's funny because I tell people I watch a lot of shows and I binge a lot. Sometimes I even repeat old shows because they, every time I watch it, I get different perspective and it somehow influences either my next topic from our podcast or my next content creating or something like. It always gives me something. Some people will be like you're just watching TV and I'm like, no, I'm actually getting a lot from it You're cultivating your mind and trying to get new ideas.

Charlie 50:10

Yeah, absolutely, and that's exactly what I get out of. The anime is just, I never would have thought of telling a story that way, but podcasting has taught me so much, paula, in these last 10 years and, of course, kept us in touch with each other. I wish I'd come to the virtual Podfest Expo. I don't think that I did that year. I did the Guinness Book of World Records thing they did, I think, and participated in that. But I may not have come to that virtual conference, but it was so great being reconnected. I've missed people so much during these last few years. It's only nice to be out again. So I guess that's what I was trying to say.

Paula 51:00

And the fact that now we start again. Pod loves his back and the podfest is coming. The excitement is like we're going to be hanging out at least once a month, or twice a month, together throughout until January 2024.

Charlie 51:17

Yeah, we had two this week. They had a pay us commission. Paula, we're talking them up so much. I'm telling you, Chris, if you're out there, we're trying to get the.

Paula 51:27

We're going to win those very few tickets. We're just saying you know.

Charlie 51:31

I don't know how I could have two kermit from last year. It's going to be hard work, man.

Paula 51:36

Those massages, those massages, the VIP, those, the Ford, like they saw the massage, so they made the massage I got to get it, so we're going to have to work.

Paula 51:51

You know it helped that I was volunteering at the front desk. So as soon as I saw them take the papers up there, I leeched and was like I'll be right back. And I waited for five minutes, but it was already half. I was like, hmm, the massages were so good, the food was so good. Loli, if you're listening, I hope you have more food for us, because Loli's food was also good at his session. I'm coming to learn, but I'm also coming to eat.

Charlie 52:24

I had to make a hotel change because I had the day wrong by one day, because I didn't know when the Pichacucha would be, and so I had me as coming in that day.

Paula 52:33

Well, you can't come in that day to start at 9 am.

Charlie 52:37

So I got that figured out. Somehow I always bring new stickers, you know.

Paula 52:42

I always come in the night before because people are always hanging out to the bar and chilling. So I always come in the night before, hang out, Then the next one. But I always miss the eye registration because my flight always comes in on 11, 12. I hang late at night but I'm excited. So you are a twin dad. How old are your kids?

Charlie 53:05

They're 23.

Paula 53:07

It's hard to believe they were born in the United States, and one is in LA and one is in.

Charlie 53:14

Vermont yes.

Paula 53:15

Oh, wow.

Charlie 53:17

I don't like that very much because you know I miss you. Know my best friend would say don't you love the empty nest? I said who are you and why don't you?

Paula 53:26

know me, it's just so, of course I don't.

Charlie 53:29

I don't like the empty nest one bit. The first year, oh, paul, I remember the first year I was I would be coming home from the studio we're still just building, building, building, building, building. And I'd trudge home at 730 or 830. And I'd stop on the street. I remember one night and I just thought why I don't get to see my kids? This sucks, I hate the empty nest and I stood there for 10 minutes just trying to work it out because I, you know, I miss my kids so much. And my daughter has said you know well, I love you and I love being with you, but I'm really not going to ever move home and I'm like, okay, that's great, but I miss you. And then, oh, and I got COVID this summer and had to miss her last four days of her being at home before she went to work her first job in her first adult department and so I was bitter that I missed the last four days of my daughter being home.

Charlie 54:22

So we'll make it if she called me today. So we were talking. But yeah, twins are amazing in there. It's such a trip you cannot afford for any of you out there from the Touch it With P community. If you've got twins, friends with twins, be nice to them. And then if anybody says the words terrible twos to them, slap them and just say it's terrific twos, because if you have twins you cannot afford to think of it as terrible. It will not help the situation. So my wife and I from the beginning we said it's going to be the terrific twos and it really wasn't. It really was. I mean it really was. We had a wonderful time. I loved.

Paula 55:00

You're mind, we search your mindset into the positivity and it and it becomes a positivity.

Charlie 55:08

It was. It was like we didn't change a million diapers and all that stuff and you know when they go off.

Paula 55:13

I mean you had two of us at the same time.

Charlie 55:17

But it was a boy and a girl. So it was very blessed and it was. I've never seen my wife so happy in our entire lives together 38 years now together where she was blissfully happy when she was in the doctor's office and he knew that it was a boy and girl and he was about to walk out and she said well, do you know? Do you know, can you tell us? He said do you really want to know? And he said and she said yes, I really want to know. And he said it's a boy and a girl and her whole face flushed and she was just jubilant because that's what she wanted and a lot of people, if you get, you know you're having twins, you'd like to get one or the other. You know I'd like two boys or I'd like two girls or I'd like a boy and a girl. And Alice really wanted a boy and a girl. It's very sweet.

Paula 56:00

Me too. I said I want twins, a boy and a girl, so I can be done one time. If I get only one, then that's it, I'm done, because I'm not doing that nine months process all over. So I've always said I want twins and let it be pleased, a boy and a girl. The way I can get best of both worlds, you know.

Charlie 56:20

So when she was pregnant, her sister in law sent her a pillow and it said OBOG on the pillow. And we didn't know what it meant. She'd made it by hand that we're trying to think and trying to think and scratched our head and don't know what it is. We had a silly idea and we called her up and she said it means one boy, one girl. Are you guys idiots? Yeah, so we call boy, girl, twins, OBOG, OBOG. In our family we call do you have twins? To say a boy and a girl? Ah, OBOG. And they're. And you know, most of the time they know exactly what we're saying is that we're saying one boy, one girl.

Musician's Journey and Podcasting Adventures

Paula 56:58

So that's a little twin stuff for your audience. That's incredible. Look at you. I got to learn a little bit about your personal life today, and you're also a musician. Can you share a bit about that journey for my followers?

Charlie 57:14

Yes, you can come see me at the Greenbelt Blues Festival this weekend, the 16th or whatever it is. Yes, my dad was a guitar player and a folks and a and he wrote songs. He wrote 21 songs. I realized when he passed away that if nobody did anything about it they would be lost, and one of them is very well known and very well liked in our in our circles, and so I've been working on since, before I started, the book that we were talking about, a book about his folks songs, and they're all anchored in the time of the day, like the.

Charlie 57:48

When John Glenn went around the world long before the moon landing, he wrote a song called whoosh, and it's about that journey and their folks songs with choruses that you're supposed to sing around a campfire. So I he told me how to play for song was big rock, andy mountain, when I was 10. And then, as soon as I could find a campfire, I was singing around it. I always loved singing, and it was many, many years later when I couldn't get any gigs on my own because nobody needs another guitarist Paul, there are a lot of them out there and so one day I Googled I'd been given a gift after 25 years at my past job he gave me a mandolin and and I thought, well, here's a mandolin, what the hell do I do with that? So I Googled to the expression two-fingered mandolin chords and I just I knew all the guitar shapes, paula. So this was a trick and all I wanted to use was two fingers. And then out of Google magically came a list of two-fingered mandolin chords. So I learned a G and a C and a D, which is what you learned on the guitar. And I found a guy who was singing folk songs in a in a local bar and I said, hey, can I sit in? And we started playing. We've played about a thousand gigs at senior centers and rehab centers and stuff all over Maryland and just have loved performing my my whole life. So, yes, and now I perform in a jug band and it's all mandolin, so I don't play out guitar at all.

Charlie 59:12

Maybe when I'm promoting the book on my dad, if I finish that next year, I'll play some some gigs with that where I just sing his songs. You know what I mean and I'll probably do that next year. On TikTok, paula, I need your feedback. From my TikTok game I got 330. So anybody out there in the talk shit with P audience. You want to follow a crazy 61 year old podcaster. It's a Dow of podcasting, t-a-o of podcasting on TikTok, and it's you know, you're, you are, you are an A plus and I am a D at best, but I'm trying. You know, I've had beautiful land of a hyperlink at 1000 followers and I've got a long, long way to go.

Charlie 59:53

But I sometimes read, you know from the book and stuff like that. You've seen it.

Paula 59:58

I love that when you read and you set your mind, it's all about showing up and and and doing it, and and you go and get there, because you're already showing up. You know that's the best thing. Yeah, you get there. Yes.

Charlie 1:00:13

I'm not on Instagram, that's just Charlie Bernie. But I'm, I'm seven. You know 770 short on on TikTok. But I'm not giving up, paula, I'm going to make it.

Paula 1:00:24

Yes, you're going to make it, then talk shit with me, go follow him.

Charlie 1:00:29

Okay, yeah, follow Dow podcasting. I'm going to get there before podcast. There, I said it out loud on this show.

Paula 1:00:35

Hell yes, hell yes, it's going to happen. Okay before, but this will be a Christmas present. I believe it's gonna happen.

Charlie 1:00:44

Yeah, I wanted to tell you one show that I thought you'd get a kick out of, cause you were talking about my twins real quick, when my daughter was in high school and, as I said, she's 23 now. Three years old now. She's an absolutely prolific reader. And so I would be the dad and I would say, isabel, you really ought to do a blog, cause everything was blogs really, you know. But this is well six years ago.

Charlie 1:01:06

Seven years ago, I said you really ought to do a blog and write because you read so much. I mean, you've got this amazing resource that you have Our whole home is, every room is a library. And she said I'm not gonna do that, dad. I'm already writing enough papers, I'm already doing this enough. And finally I started podcasting and I said Isabel, what if we did a podcast? You call it Isabel's bookcase and we can and you could do a podcast and you won't have to, you know, do any. And finally she said look, she was very nice about it. She didn't say look like that. She said look, dad, if you want to do this, I won't come to your studio, but I will come, which was like a half hour away. It was a pain in the neck for her. She said if we can do it in the basement and you do all the work and all the editing and all I have to do is come on the microphone and talk about the books and you be my co-host, I'll do it.

Charlie 1:01:55

And we did 15 episodes of Isabel's bookcase and I'm trying to turn it into a mini comic so you can just scan the QR codes and go to her episode if you're interested. And they're wonderful. And they're super wonderful for me because it's me talking to Isabel and then Isabel just going just without any notes about the book, and it was just this wonderful experience that I can listen to whenever I want. And then, when she applied to college, she said I'm a podcaster. By then she'd been on a national radio program called podcasters round table as a teenage podcaster. And there I'm sitting next to him and you know, Ray Ortega is on the other side and I'm going. Oh my God, I can't believe my daughter's on this show.

Paula 1:02:37

Yes.

Charlie 1:02:39

So, yeah, no, it's fun. And when?

Paula 1:02:42

the Do you think she'll ever want to put this in again?

Charlie 1:02:46

No, I don't, Paula, she's got her own. She's teaching now and giving lectures in public speech and speaking in college and she's teaching clarinet and music at the local middle school. She's got a lot of things on her plate. We used to even perform music together. She gave our little duo a name it was called Girl on Mars, and we do a father daughter act at the local bar and they made her fill out a K1 and get a tax return one time because they paid us $50. And it was really cute and she wrote a song and. But no, those are times I talk about that as just a incredibly. You know, not everybody's going to do that. Just do it with their friend, their daughter, their mom. If I could get mom to do it, I would.

Paula 1:03:28

She's 94 and, you know, starting to forget some stuff and I would love to do that Because once we are going, it's something that you're left with, especially their voice. You know to listen to those conversations.

Charlie 1:03:43

Before podcasting, I had a 104 year old aunt and we did one tape recording and I can't find it and it breaks my heart and I hope someday that I'll find it. But that's the use for podcasting that you know, folks in our industry we don't often talk about. You can do it just for a personal project. This is something that my wife and I and Isabel and I'm going to re promote it by creating this mini comic with the QR codes. I've got it. You know three quarters of the way done and and you could look and, if you, one of those books interests you. So when the fifth, the Harry Potter book that was written after the seven books, which was Harry Potter's son's adventures it's a play, harry Potter and the Cursed Child or something like this that came out, we went to the bookstore at midnight. She got a copy. She read it that day. That night we did a podcast interview about that episode.

Paula 1:04:36

Here's a book in one day.

Future of Podcasting and Media Production

Charlie 1:04:38

Oh yeah, if she doesn't get two to three hours a day reading, she gets cranky, you know. So she's a reader, she and my wife. Now I'm a listener, paula. I just spent all my extra time listening and doodling on my iPad. You know what I mean. So I'm telling you too many. I'm telling too much, I'm taking too many.

Paula 1:04:59

No, I'm wondering if she ever listens to this book, because she's like Don.

Charlie 1:05:05

I'll talk to you soon. I don't know if she will, to be honest with you, but I will certainly try, you never know, you never know, you never know, you never know.

Charlie 1:05:14

I've done a couple of interviews not as many as I'd like and, as I said, I'm hoping looking forward to next February when I'll have a podcasting on Amazon but my wife has been very sweet and listened and she will listen to this to all of my interviews that I have been able to have been so lucky to do to talk about it. But it's fun to sort of talk about what we're doing in a different way. So in a way that's honoring communication and relationships, which is something that you do, and trying to value our connections and our journey, instead of the craft which is what I spent a lot of time talking about and how we're using the new software, the new lights or the new AI applications that are happening all around us. Now. It's nice to be able to talk about it in a sort of philosophical way and what we're trying to do whether it's a cave painting or a guy around a fire telling a really good story, or girl sorry around a fire telling a really good story or singing a song these are ways we wanna share and communicate and be part of each other's lives. So I still like talking about it in a way.

Charlie 1:06:20

That sort of the industry doesn't necessarily talk about it, and that's why I like Pecha Kucha at PodFest, because I don't have to talk about any specific part of podcasting. I'm just sort of trying to give off a quick one-liner and look at everybody and say I love you, you're a great audience, a wonderful community, and here's the thought that I've got, and I've always loved that room. So it'd be interesting, wouldn't it, for you and me to go to a Pecha Kucha or Pecha Kucha, however it's supposed to be pronounced at a different group and see what happens. I've watched a few on YouTube and they're usually pretty fascinating. Again, it's like a turbo TED talk because it's five minutes you gotta. It's an elevator ride, it's wild.

Paula 1:07:04

And that's the thing why I'm also kind of excited and nervous to be presenting at Afros, because I'm used to presenting at PodFest. I know people at PodFest like. I know the faces, it's all right.

Paula 1:07:16

Even if I mess up.

Paula 1:07:18

Talk some shit, yeah, you know. And then here I'm going to a space where they are my people, but I don't know as many people who are going as I know at PodFest. You know, because this is the fuck I'm going and I only found out about it last year, so it's still brand new, but so far they've been very amazing, like accommodating, and I'm excited, and we just had our meeting. Yesterday I met the speakers, I had a meeting with my, my panel, everybody's just nice. I am excited, but also different stage.

Paula 1:07:55

And I can say I've also I can also have spoken in a different stage, only PodFest, because people will be like are you think PodFest always give you the stage? Why are you always just speaking at PodFest, right?

Paula 1:08:07

Right.

Paula 1:08:09

But also I wanted to say that you are an amazing dad. I love that you gave your, you allowed your kids, you introduced creativity to your kids and allow them to express through creativity, because most parents really I mean lately, because even the old people are now getting into the creative world after COVID, but before then the creative world wasn't as as initiated and as pushed on as it is right now. So I love that. You did that from the get go. My dad did that to me too. My brother has been rapping. My dad will be on creating the CDs and by ordering the shirts and doing all that, he has been very supportive on whatever creative path we wanna go to. So I appreciate parents who do that.

Paula 1:09:00

And now what I'd say? We know podcasting is growing. The world of podcasting is growing, and now with AI in here. So what would you say is the most excited thing you are about the future of podcasting and media production? Because not only podcasting, because it's also media production. Like, look at what YouTube and TikTok and these are video platforms everything they're doing with podcasting.

Charlie 1:09:28

So yeah, Well, the next iteration. I mean we're already using AI. I think that was one of the most popular topics at PodFest last January. There were a lot of AI sessions and when I looked at the roster for one of the other shows, there are a lot of sessions talking about AI. We're definitely using it in a number of ways here in our productions, but I don't think that's the thing that excites me the most.

Charlie 1:09:53

I think now that podcasting maybe you saw the there was a report put out by Tom Webster who used to be with Edison. It's now a small podcast, about five minutes every day, called the Sounds Profitable and it's talking about the business of podcasting. But he just came out with a report called the Podcast Landscape in America and the super quick takeaway. If you're not familiar, you can find it online and all of the findings are free, so it's really great resources. But he said that as of 2023, whether you've listened to a podcast or not in America there's 95% comprehension of what that means, of exactly what a podcast is. So I'm excited about that and what that means for the next five years, the next year, because 10 years ago when I started, there was maybe on a good day 5% people knew what that was, but it wasn't even 5%. I spent all of my time and other podcasters had the same stories back then explaining to people what that purple icon purple again, paula what that purple icon was on your phone. And then what it was.

Charlie 1:10:59

What is this thing? You call a podcast? I mean, I had to explain it to my dad maybe 30 times and he had done. He and I used to listen to recorded books and share the cassette tapes and I said it's just like this, dad, we're doing stories, we're doing interviews, we're doing soliloquies, we're doing comedy, we're analyzing record albums, but we're doing it and so you can listen to it like those cassettes. It never really sort of connected, but that's because it was too late. But so I'm really excited now that we know that there's so many people who understand and value it, so many 20-somethings like my 23-year-old twins who do value and listen to podcasts. One thing I learned from them is I'll listen to a podcast, but is it on Spotify and so for a great large segment of that, let's just say 20 to 30-year-old said they're gonna listen to a podcast if it's on Spotify, because they're trying maybe and I may be overstating if any of you guys are listening and you disagree, please go ahead. But we think that's a big part of the mix and to make sure that it's easy to access and people like my daughter only wanna have one app and wanna have no more apps on their phone. She said to me one day, dad, if it's on Spotify, I'll listen to it, and most everything is pulled across to that format. But I think it's a really important thing to know.

Charlie 1:12:17

Someone was just talking to me last night about all the different platforms and how we make sure that we're in all of them and broadcast properly, and that's a whole session at Podfest. Right Is how to find your spread or what. I don't even know what it's called anymore, but we have made sure that by golly that. I think a lot of people in a lot of there not just 20s and 30s but use Spotify. Even Alice and I share song lists with our children.

Charlie 1:12:48

I think it's a very commonly used app and its use of podcasts is growing. I still listen to it on the Apple app, but that's just cuz. I've been doing that for a long time. I've subscribed to all those shows on my Spotify feed as well. So if I'm traveling and for some reason one doesn't work, I'll have them saved on the other platform. But I'm excited about what this comprehension and understanding of what our industry is 95% huge to me. In 10 years it's gone from basically 2% to 95% comprehension. So when they talk about advertising and how those dollars work, that's something that just didn't really exist except for the top teeny part of the top 1%. 10 years ago. Sports, mostly right, and then along came things like cereal and other things that sort of increased the awareness, and now that show that I haven't watched yet, that's on Hulu Only murders in the buildings. Help the-.

Paula 1:13:45

My God, I love it. It's on my list. The new season just started last month, I believe.

Charlie 1:13:54

No, that's what my wife and I are gonna watch, that but we're trying to finish something else. And then it's anime night every other week with Diane. But so I'm excited about the comprehension. One thing that's always excited me, if you'll forgive me and I know I'm very long winded because I can see how long winded I am but I was speaking with a pod friend last night and he said, in addition to the one that he's doing, he's now doing one inside the company. So it's not that you and I can't listen to it, but it's not made for us.

Charlie 1:14:27

We did an episode of Uber's podcast for its inside company podcast once, because the guest was in Washington DC and they produce from, I think, san Francisco. So I'm fascinated by the inward facing podcast. So you're using it's the Paula and Charlie company and one week you do a three minute one or a ten minute one or a 30 minute one, and one week I do one, and it's a way to align with the company's message, the company's business practices, the company's goals, and you're doing an inward facing podcast Again. I saw it done at NIH by the aforementioned Ray Ortega, and if you went to the website and you tunnel down through all these awkward pages, you could find it. They weren't hiding it, but it was for the doctors, if that makes sense.

Charlie 1:15:13

So I'm fascinated by inward facing companies, associations, nonprofits, groups that are podcasting to their captive audience. They're not really looking, sir. They're looking for numbers, but they're only looking for a finite amount of numbers. They're just trying to communicate a message inside a group. I think there's gonna be a lot more of that coming on the future than there has been 10 years ago. I would explain what a podcast is Now. Generally, when I talk to someone, I'm saying why aren't you podcasting? Or are you podcasting Because there's so much you can accomplish with that. Communication doesn't have to be to 10,000 downloads, and maybe it's smaller than that. Maybe you just need to connect with 100 people. It depends Again, the interfacing ones I am fascinated by and I hope I can do some work with some organizations that are doing that. I just think it's really, really interesting.

Paula 1:16:04

That's so nice, that's very true. Like this is. I feel like I went out last weekend to a band, right, and I was giving out my stickers and I was talking to these people and next thing I know I'm telling them I'm a podcast there and about my podcast I was like, cool, I'm also a podcast and this is how I'm a podcast. Cool. It's like. Everywhere I am, I always end up bumping to another podcast and it's so nice and refreshing to see what they're doing and what their journey is and to just exchange and to see how fun I am. When I started, everybody was like you know what A podcast like, why?

Paula 1:16:48

You just gave me a great idea.

Charlie 1:16:50

Just a great idea for another set of t-shirts. One says I'm a podcaster and the other one says I'm a podcaster too. We have to wear those shirts one day at podcast.

Paula 1:17:02

I'm a need my commission.

Charlie 1:17:04

Make a cut out and we can put everybody put their face in it. It says I'm a podcaster too. You and I have to have a meeting offline where we come up with all of our ideas and we start our Shopify store or whatever, and do that together, because I think we can have a whole line, paul, a whole line of stuff.

Paula 1:17:23

Hell yeah, hell yeah. I'm getting money, I'm getting less disease.

Charlie 1:17:27

You got it, you got it.

Paula 1:17:29

And, as I was saying about Spotify, you're not lying. I'm an iPhone user, I have Apple, but I only go in there in case I want to rate or review somebody Right.

Charlie 1:17:42

That's the best place to go, yeah.

Paula 1:17:45

Yeah, because Spotify right now you can rate but you can't really rate a review. But I listen on Spotify and I love Spotify. I use Spotify. If you send me something in Apple, I'm going to look at the title and I'm going to go search it on Spotify. Like I don't want to even click there. For some reason it just doesn't. But, charlie, as we come to an end of this, no, you say no. See, everybody comes to talk to you. We're here and they have so much fun they don't want to leave. That's it. So what would you give individuals looking to enter in the podcasting or the media production industry?

Charlie 1:18:29

Well, I think YouTube is a wonderful thing, but I think, paula, what you're really asking is what I'll answer is it's great to just jump in, and when I read Chris Cremizo's book Start Ugly, I get that feeling as well, and I can't say enough nice things about that book and I think it's done really well. I think some schools are using it for high school juniors and seniors to read stuff like that. But I think it's good to start ugly. I started out my very first interview. We had two co-hosts and one person being interviewed and I only had two microphones. So I don't mind starting out the. And I just got to the other side of the room because I'm so loud and I just talked from across the room. It's really horrible. You can find it, but I'm not going to tell you where to look. It's okay just to start. But remember to taste your own cooking, listen to your show. But the clothes closet, as I said in that little book, is the best place if you don't have a sound studio, because all the shirts and dresses and slacks and stuff will soak up so much of the sound. I have several people who I sort of taught how to get started would just do there from their clothes closet and the car. If you need a studio, you can build it out of egg cartons, of course, but the car is a great place to get to test your voice, listen to your voice, and it's great just to get started and get in there and listen, listen, listen to other people and practice.

Charlie 1:20:03

Dad was a magician and there were no video cameras at that time, paula, but what did he do? He practiced in front of a mirror and he did his sleight of hand hundreds of times in front of a mirror. And the more we practice talking and the more you feel, think how comfortable you are now with the microphone. You're doing your own panel, you're moderating a panel. You're not just on a panel. It takes practice and time, and don't be afraid to start ugly to steal from Chris, because I think you don't need to wait. There's really no reason. If you're interested and you feel you have something to say, this is the time. This is a time when it's an understood form of media and communication. Whether you're doing the whole darn thing on your phone or you're doing a fancy, schmancy studio like we have here, I think it's good to just take that opportunity, say your message have a short season.

Charlie 1:20:55

I'll tell you a quick one thing that my friend, one of my oldest friends from fourth grade, has a consulting firm and he finally came to my office when I was getting started because he didn't approve and he didn't understand. And he looked at the studio not anything like our studios and he said, huh, I get it. And then I sat him in front of a microphone, put the headphones on his ear. We did five minutes of just talking trash to each other, talking shit to each other, since I'm on talking shit. And then I uploaded to the computer, uploaded it to SoundCloud, put it on private and then I put the headphones back on him and said, okay, listen to this. And I went click and he said, oh, I get it, I want six.

Charlie 1:21:36

And what he did was he did six very evergreen interviews in his lane about environmental and some literally green stuff and he uploaded them on iCloud no on iTunes, no on his website. And the reason of this story is he has six episodes of interesting material on his website. He is a very selective group of people that are watching him and he gets comments on a weekly basis. And this is 10 years ago, not 10 years ago, seven years ago, saying I'm so impressed you have a podcast and they're all on there. He doesn't care if they listen to it, he doesn't care about the numbers.

Charlie 1:22:13

It delivers a message that he can speak. It shows that he has a wide variety of clients and it expresses a message that I never would have guessed of. And I've asked him many times do you mind if I tell the stories like no, he couldn't care less. He knows exactly what he wanted it to do. It brought him more into the modern age. People call him up and say I'm impressed to see you have a podcast. Now let's talk about that contract. So there's a lot of things coming in the future that you can use these things. Sorry, I went on that sidebar, but I thought I would be interested yeah.

Paula 1:22:44

Oh no, that's not true, and I understand that, because when I tell people I have a podcast, I've had people reaching out to me on social media on dating apps like, hey, I wanted to start one. Can we talk about it? Like it really for some reason gives you this appeal or other, like you are.

Charlie 1:23:09

Yep.

Paula 1:23:10

Then you have. And then once they go check on my podcast and they're like damn, you have this much content, like it's not, and they're like modern.

Charlie 1:23:19

And that leads to the next thing. Whether it's a book or whether it's a special series, I have a friend who used it as a door opener, and I won't say his name right now, but he's wonderful guy and he used it. Instead of saying, paula, can I come in and meet with you, he would say Paula, can I come in and meet with you and interview you for my podcast that's award winning about this topic and ask you questions about why you're so smart. And he would get a hundred people out of a hundred would say I want to do that interview because you're going to come to me and do this. So it just opened doors.

Charlie 1:23:47

Now, as a result, he's a specialist in that industry. He's written a book, he's been writing, writing another book and he he earned that right. He used that in a way that wasn't the normal way, I guess what I'm trying to say of podcasting. It wasn't looking for numbers he's got them now but he was looking at it as a way to open a door for a conversation, an honest conversation. Nobody was getting taken advantage of, but it was a great use of what we do. He was trying to expand his circle of influence, if you will, and he did so. I got a million of stories like that.

Paula 1:24:20

But it's just a true cause. If I hadn't started a podcast, I wouldn't have gotten to be to do, to be on a panel, like podcast right. And I know I've always wanted to be a TEDx speaker. But if I don't have these little steps, how do I get to be at? You know, I have this and I'm getting comfortable and I'm writing a book and there's all these things that will lock me up when my my TEDx time come, because it's going to come and I'm going to be ready for it, and all because of a podcast.

Charlie 1:24:56

Absolutely. But I'll tell you we will have to talk about it online because it's a pretty cool idea that you could you and I could absolutely do together. So we don't need TEDx, we're going to make our own TEDx. I'm telling you, we're going to do something.

Paula 1:25:11

We have so much business that's coming. It's the end of the talk. Was you coming and talking shit with me on my podcast?

Charlie 1:25:18

I wanted to be a talker, paula. I wanted to have a new business card and have comma shit. Talker, that's what I wanted.

Paula 1:25:27

So I had so much fun talking to you and people you had me and Charlie's line is coming up. We're going to create an amazing line. We're going to be working behind us since for incredible shit, so watch out, it's just the beginning. But thank you for coming on and talking to you when you had so much fun. I learned so much about you and your family, and thank you for being vulnerable and sharing with us because you didn't have to. So let the people know where they can find you, what you got going on, what they should look forward to.

Charlie 1:26:01

Absolutely, and thank you. I'm the company where we produce podcasts for so many other people and and I'm actually going to be doing one next time I see you is called Podville Media, pod VILLE MED IAcom. That's our website. That's our name on Instagram. If you want to follow us, I'm on Instagram at Charlie Bernie C-H-A-R-L-I-E-B-I-R-N-E-Y, and I do some reels.

Charlie 1:26:29

I do some of the same stuff. I seem to do more of this stuff about the book on TikTok. I don't really know why, but I'm trying to establish my TikTok presence and I'm in awe of Paula's frequency and creativity and but she's an example to me, right? So I love that. And if you'd follow me on any of those, I'm on LinkedIn. My name is Charles Bernie or Charlie Bernie. I think you can find it either way on LinkedIn, and I do publish there once or twice a week when I can. I think LinkedIn is a really important vehicle for sort of hanging out your, your, your resume these days, and that's how to find me, and I would love to to. You know, I will see you next month, I think it is, and I'm just so excited to have been on Talk Shit with Pee and now that I am a shit talker.

Paula 1:27:15

Yes, officially certified.

Charlie 1:27:18

And if you're interested in the dial up podcasting with my illustrations, just please reach out to me because I can get you a you know a signed copy and that's fun and include some stickers. I've got some new stickers, paula.

Paula 1:27:28

Go for LinkedIn on social media and support the hell out of him. He has some numbers to make up by December, so go help make that happen.

Charlie 1:27:39

Thank you.

Paula 1:27:41

Thank you for officially being a shit talker.

Charlie 1:27:45

I'm so excited I'm going to get, I'm going to, you'll see, when I see you I'll have a business card and we'll say shit talk. So I'm absolutely going to do that. It's too easy. It's too easy. I've earned it too. So thank you, paula. So am.

Paula 1:27:57

I?

Charlie 1:27:57

I'm so proud, yep, and I'll talk to you very soon, thank you.

Paula 1:28:02

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Paula 1:28:12

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Paula 1:28:18

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Paula 1:28:31

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Paula 1:29:08

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Paula 1:29:16

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