The Tim Ferriss Show

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Ep 58: How to Create a Blockbuster Podcast (Part 1)

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Jan 29, 2015

Guest

Alex Blumberg

01:45:38

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Episode notes

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ADVICE

Good Tape

Look for emotionally resonant moments in interviews, unexpected events, or authentic emotions.
Prioritize good storytelling with a clear narrative arc, like anecdotes with a beginning and rising action.

insights

INSIGHT

Podcast Production Time

Documentary-style podcasts are much more time-consuming to produce than interview podcasts.
Alex Blumberg questions if the extra effort is worth it compared to simpler formats.

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ANECDOTE

Reply All and Editing

The hosts of Reply All specifically sought Alex Blumberg's expertise as an editor.
They valued his ability to help shape their stories and refine their scripts.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

How Do You Balance the Real Time Documentary Nature of the Show With Planning?

What Makes Good Tape?

08:53 • 4min

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How Many People Are Working on Start Up?

12:40 • 2min

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What Are You Doing as an Editor?

14:15 • 4min

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What Do You Do as an Editor?

18:25 • 4min

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What Are the Symptoms of Boredom?

22:09 • 2min

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What Does a Producer Do?

24:25 • 4min

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What Type of Editing Soft Word Do You Use?

28:26 • 2min

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What Tools Do You Use for Organizing All This?

30:46 • 2min

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Do You Use Base Camp for Project Management?

32:22 • 3min

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What Do You Use the Boom Mice For?

35:49 • 3min

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Doas, What Numbers Do You Check Daily?

39:13 • 5min

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How Did I Get a Job as an Administrative Assistant?

43:46 • 2min

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I'd Produced the First Blackmair of Chicago

45:42 • 3min

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Freelancing - The Tim Far Show Is Coming to You by 99 Designs

48:56 • 3min

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How Did You Come to Planet Money?

52:25 • 2min

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You Can Produce a Radio Story From the Past

54:28 • 2min

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Verses, Soundslike, Sounds Like Man on Wire?

56:12 • 2min

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The Benefits of Being a Perfectionist

58:00 • 3min

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Are There Any Habits That You Picked Up From Ira?

01:00:56 • 3min

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A Kid, Can You Give an Any Particular Moment Come to Mind?

01:03:46 • 3min

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Is There a Commitment to Excellence?

01:06:20 • 3min

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Are You a Good Editor?

How to Turn a Bad Situation Into a Good One

01:15:35 • 2min

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The Sky Is Falling - Is Everything Over Ra a Response?

01:17:56 • 2min

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Is Your Viewpoint Changing as a Journalist or Documentarian?

01:19:41 • 3min

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I Feel Like I'm on the Other Side of This Hole, You Know?

01:22:26 • 3min

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Is There Any Favorite Documentary or Documentary?

Is There Any One You'd Like to Emulate?

01:30:32 • 2min

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A Who Might Not Be the Barocco Bamas, in Their Respect?

01:32:07 • 1min

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Investing in the Early Stage Start Up Game

01:33:36 • 3min

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Is It Inside Job Inside Man?

01:36:10 • 3min

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Is the Four Profit a Good Thing?

01:39:17 • 2min

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What Would You Give Your 20 Year Old Self?

01:41:22 • 2min

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The Art of the Interview - Part 2

01:42:57 • 3min

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The Power of a Good Narrative

01:45:33 • 3min

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How do you create a blockbuster podcast? This episode explores the tips, tricks, and best practices of a master. My guest is Alex Blumberg, who cut his teeth on the king of all radio shows (This American Life) and recently co-founded Gimlet Media. Gimlet swiftly conquered the iTunes rankings with two blockbuster podcasts: Reply All and StartUp. Podcasters everywhere asked: how the hell does he do it? This episode provides some answers. The discussion is split into two parts, and we cover a ton. Please listen to both parts, as they work together. We discuss what Alex learned from Ira Glass, his field recording gear, the nuts and bolts of producing world-class audio narrative, and much more. Part 2 also features a preview (5 min) of my episode with Arnold Schwarzenegger! Show notes and links mentioned can be found at fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

***

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