From Dry January to Sports Stadiums and Comedy Stages! Exploring Live Podcasting with John Katsavos
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From Dry January to Sports Stadiums and Comedy Stages! Exploring Live Podcasting with John Katsavos

What time is it?

What time is it?

The only live news podcast about

podcasting from the ST

News.

The only live news podcast about

podcasting from the stage.

The only live news podcast about podcasting from the

stage. And I have an amazing guest joining me today, John

Katsavos, Tech Forge Media, Podcast Business

Insider podcast. John, welcome to the show. Thank you for

having me, Jeff. So glad to have you here. I've been reading up

on your bio Tech Forge Media, and I even heard you had a

fitness podcast before all this. Kind of where you cut your teeth in the

podcasting industry. Yeah, it was called the Fitness Oracle, and

let's just say the Runway ran out before the

podcast could take off. Yeah, but a lot of great lessons

from there. You learned a lot of strategies, a lot of ways to position it.

And is that how you got into. To really helping other podcasters?

Yeah, you could say that. I was

running it for three years of 300, over 325

episodes, and most of those

episodes, and that journey was me bashing my head up against the wall

and trying to figure out what's going to work, what's not going to

work. So there was a lot of more error and little.

And a lot of trial, but a lot of error. But what

came out of it was the lessons that I learned

and I'm implementing now with not only podcasters, Business

Insider, but also an audio

podcast called Boots on the Ground, a text life, which is my day to day

life, and a couple of other episodes, a couple of

other podcasts. So a lot of hard

lessons, but very important

lessons to learn. And I'm trying to not help,

not get new podcasters

to fall into the same traps that I fell in for

three years. Yeah, there's tremendous opportunity to grow

your reach, expand your audience, make connections on a different

level that you can't do with a display ad or, you

know, a blog post. And podcasting is this great way to.

To connect what you do with. With people looking for you and your services

and your products. Yeah, 100%. 100%.

And people want to look for the podcast. Business Insider. Any

recommendations? You have a dedicated website or just go to the apps,

go to YouTube. Type in podcasters Business Insider.

I'm on itunes, Spotify and

Amazon. Amazon, Amazon

Audio. I don't know what they call it now. Yeah,

they keep changing the names and it's like, stop doing that.

It's a guessing game. Like, HBO Max is now Max. Now it's

HBO Max again. And then it's back to hbo.

Well, I'll have all those links for John in the show Notes. Make sure you

check out John, check out his podcast, see what he's working on, what he's building,

all those things over there, helping other business owners, helping other

podcasters. The podcaster Business Insider. The link

will be in the show Notes. And this is our Saturday morning version of the

show. We, we grab our coffee, we just sit down, we kind of slow down

for the week. We want to, you know, we're all busy during the week, working,

doing episodes. You're doing interviews during the week. But on

Saturday morning we can pour up a cup of coffee, sit down and

talk about six new live podcast stories about people doing

live podcasts around the world. And everybody who comes on the show

gets inducted into what we call the crew. So John is now part of

Poduty and the Crew while we have coffee with Poduty and the crew. And on

the website news.poduty.com, you'll see everybody

who's ever been on the show. And on Monday, John will appear on there, you'll

see the links for John, you'll see any episode he's ever been on. And so

this episode today at any future episode will all be linked there

for John so you can stay in contact with him. And it's just an easy,

nice little historical record of how the show's been growing and put together.

So check it out on the website. John, are you ready to

get into our stories? Let's do it. So here we go,

our first story today. We're going dry

January. What's going on with this one? Chance Clean Cider is

leaning up or is teaming up with Sober Boozers Club to record

a live podcast episode during the Dry January

2026, spotlighting how drinking culture is shifting,

not disappearing. Hosted by Ben Gibbs of Sober

Boozers Club and John Logue, founder of Chance,

the live event brings together leaders from low and no

alcohol space, including voices from Alcohol Change

uk, Lucky Saint Counterculture and Sober

Curious creators split into insight and

community driven segments, the show explores how brands, communities

and consumers are redefining social drinking, ending

with a live audience Q and A. The episode will be

recorded in a pub, underscoring the message that moderation

and mindful choices are now part of a mainstream

culture and not a fringe movement. And for me, this is a

news. This was a breaking news to me because I've been hearing a lot

about how the younger generations aren't going out and having a

nightlife like the Gen Xers, the boomers, and some of the

millennials did that. There's a whole new movement of just

being in the moment, just enjoying themselves without having to

rely on, you know, alcohol and partying. And there's even

dry bars popping up where, you know, people go in, they're just having

club sodas and lime or you know, specialty cocktails that are non

alcoholic. And it, it's a big movement and as we know,

dry January is a big thing that happens every January. And here's a,

here's a business leaning into all that. It's a current event,

it's a trend in mainstream that we're starting to see. And

they're hosting this event, they're bringing people together who, who think the same way. Like,

hey, we can go out and have fun without having to have

booze and drink and everything. We can have good entertaining

conversations without all that other stuff. And just to

see a pub and this community leaning together

to bring people together, I thought that was a pretty amazing experience.

And especially this time of year, tying it in with a lot of people trying

to celebrate Dry January after the holidays.

This is coming from an ex alcoholic.

I never really understood Dry January.

I understand what it's there for. It's to help under,

bring awareness to alcoholism, drinking and driving and all that stuff,

which I've done both. I've drove and

driven under the influence. Never got caught.

I don't do it, don't do it. People, don't do it. It's not good. Not

recommended. Not recommended.

I can understand why the younger generation does not want to

drink like the Gen Xers because I am, I am a Gen

Xer and I remember two dollar, two dollar drinks at the local,

at the local club. Tuesday Toonies we used to call

it. And you, with 10 bucks, you'd be just plastered,

just gone, just gone.

I like the idea. I really like that idea. I think that

is a really good idea and really good awareness. I

understand how expensive alcohol has become, especially here in Toronto

is ridiculously expensive. So I mean, I can understand

where the new generation is. Like, I'm not going to spend all that money just

to get hammered. It's not going to happen.

But also health wise, coming from an ex personal trainer who

used to be an alcoholic, it's not the best choice that

you can make. So I really like this idea where they're bringing more

awareness and the podcasting space has just blown, blown up. Especially

the, the, the live, the, the live podcasts.

It, it's just blown up like crazy.

So to marry the two is hugely

important to Me, and good for them. I give them all best

credit and all the best of luck because I really,

I'd really support. I'd really love to support these guys because it's, It's a, it's

an amazing project. Yeah. And this is. Seems different. This is a

different tone to, you know, just 10 years ago, just celebrating

Dry January was a thing you try to accomplish, but there's a

whole movement, I think, behind us that extends well beyond

Dry January, where people are living clean, healthy lives all year

long. And that's the trend. Not just, not just this one month.

Like you're saying, hey, it's a good start, but here's a bunch of people

who are embracing that year round. And to be able to bring those people together,

connect, maybe even share when you're struggling or, or, you know, hey, I,

you know, this is a crazy week. I just want to do something. Hey, here's

a bunch of people that can get together and just have a good time without

introducing any of that other. Other stuff. Yeah, I

totally agree with that, too. Like, it's, it's like I said, coming from

an ex alcoholic, it's. It's one of the hardest things that you can give up.

Next to smoking, which I also did,

it's the Greek in me. Booze and smokes. Are you.

But, yeah, I think it's. I think it's really important. But the one thing that

I wanted to let people out there struggling with

alcoholism especially is, like, don't just stop at January.

Try and keep going. And I think something like this

podcast where they teamed up with a dry bar is.

Is. It's, It's. It's important for them to, you know, become

part of that community, to help them through that struggle, through that journey for

them, because it's not an easy one. Not an easy one at all.

A lot of times you would be doing Dry January by yourself. You know, most,

maybe your friends didn't do it and they're trying to drag you back out, but

now there's so much more support for it. It's so much more

embraced. So, again, just a great opportunity

here. Way to plug in the current events. I think it's a great way to

tie your podcast into what society's doing and, you know, bring

that community together, bring them into your business, have a great night out, tell

stories, share stories, and, and, and just enjoy each other's company.

Well, to add to that point that you just said about your friends, I, I

remember. I think it was Dan Pena,

might have been Dan Pena, who said this quote, you are the

sum of your closest five friends. Yeah.

So if your five friends are going out drinking every night, guess what? You're going

to be the six man in. If your closest five friends

are, you know, being business owners and

responsible adults, well, guess what? You'll be. You'll be. You'll end up being that.

So maybe if you are looking to get out of,

you know, alcohol, drinking and all that stuff, maybe it's

time to find new friends. Yeah. Yeah. And if this

event isn't in and you don't live in this town, I think this was in

the uk, there's probably something happening in your town that's

somewhere near you. Go find out. Go out and find that community, whether it's a

podcast or just a group. Go out, hang out

like you can at our second story. This was submitted on our website

news.paduti.com we have a place to submit live

podcast news and this one is A Listening Party is bringing its

show to a live audience with a taping at Technica House

nyc. Blending comedy, music and communal listening

into a ticketed experience. Hosted by comedians Drew

Riley, Yasmin Ramos and Jacqueline Yueh,

the podcast hook is simple. They review iconic

albums while openly admitting they know nothing about music.

The live format lets audiences experience the unfiltered

reactions, cultural commentary and improvational humor

in real time, turning a familiar podcast

premise into a shared in room event scheduled for

just happened January 21st. The show highlights how

comedy podcasts are increasingly leaning into live tapings and

as experiential content where audience energy

becomes part of the product. And thanks again to Arielle

for submitting this in. If you have a live podcast coming up, let us

know. We'll review it here on Poduty and the News.

Here's an example of comedians doing something outside the

box and comedians love sharing the stage. They love

performing in front of people, they love doing improv, they love doing crowd work.

And here's a chance where they're going to set up a premise of playing a

song and then reacting to it without knowing anything about

music. It also works with comedians in the kitchen.

Whenever you see somebody cooking and they have no idea what's being made for them,

comedians can comment on it and tell stories about when they experience

that maybe that sandwich on the road somewhere. And you get to

have this other perspective, not from a professional critic but

but from these comedians making the audience laugh, you know, playing these

songs, goofing on each other, goofing on the songs and adding their

own Take maybe even a story about something they experienced while the song

was on. I've always been fascinated by

comedians. One of an old friend of mine is a very

popular Greek comedian in America and in Canada,

outside of Greece. When I see him

teaming up with his comedian friends, it's always a, it's always

the funniest thing in the world. Like the, the, the jabs that they give each

other. And I would like to

see more of that on Instagram from them because it,

because what I've been seeing on Instagram

lately is a lot of like stage

stuff and it's just too staged

for my liking. Diversify.

Yeah. Just make it a little bit more real, a little bit more, you know,

more personalized kind of thing. Like I love

comedians, don't get me wrong. I love who doesn't like a good laugh. Right.

And especially when it gets down and dirty. Because again,

Gen Xer we. I grew up with Andrew Dice Clay. I grew up

with all these really hardcore comedians like Eddie

Murphy when he was really Eddie Murphy.

There is just so much to, to say about

comedians. I, I love it. And I would love to see a comedian

do a live stream like Matt. Right?

Like Matt. Matt Rife. Do a live stream and just

do his, do his thing. Be the Matt Rife that we know and

we. That I care. That I love about, that I love about him would

be so amazing. Yeah. One thing podcasting has

shown me over the last 15 years is as much as I enjoy

comedy and stand up comedy, I love the

backstories, I love the road stories. I love hearing how

jokes came together so much more than the performances.

I listen to so many comedians podcasts because they

give you the behind the scenes stories. They tell you

about traveling on a road, traveling in a bus, going from town to town

and you get to hear this whole other perspective of what it actually

takes to get up on stage and perform in the

night after night, the grinding, the bombing, and it's

just something fascinating. So to be able to apply all that in a live experience

with some music, this sounds like a win win. And I hope to hear more

stories from them coming up in the future.

Let's keep it moving. We're going to go from music to sports. We've

got the Bobby Bones show recorded a live podcast episode

from Coaches Convention five at Almost Friday

Sporting Club in Nashville. Turning a fan heavy event into

an unscripted in the room experience. The episode captures

the raw reality of live podcasting. Spontaneous

conversations, imperfect audio when audience members skip the

mic and unpredictable moments that only happen when a show

leaves the studio. Members of Soar Losers Nation packed

the venue as hosts, shared stories, fielded audience

questions, and welcomed surprise guest pits to talk football

and life. It's a reminder that live podcasts trade polish

for authenticity, where energy, access and community

matter more than studio perfection.

This is super important, and you just said the most important

part at the end, that the community part is

the most important thing that podcasters are after.

We're not after likes. We're not at, well, subscriptions.

We're not after, you know, how many views did we get?

We're focused. Our main focus is the community,

without the community. And that's what I think a lot of

podcasts are outperforming the mainstream

media is because we are creating that community and doing. Doing this

live. It just. It just ties in that community so

beautifully, so perfectly. This is something we were talking about, you know, before the show

even started, is this is a perfect marriage of a sports

podcast at a sports club. They're go. They were at the almost Friday

sporting club, talking sports. Where do you think sports fans

hang out at sporting clubs, sporting bars. That's where they want to

be. That's where the action is when they're. The game isn't in town. Maybe it's

an away game. They all meet up at certain places, certain

restaurants, you know, places with giant TVs. And here

they are talking sports in an environment that they're comfortable with, with fans

who love doing the same thing. This is one of those perfect marriages

of. Of putting your entertainment in the place where your audience already

is. And I. I think Europe does

this beautifully. Like, if you look at the sports clubs in Europe,

that they don't follow players, they follow the club

there. I saw one quote recently on. In. I think it was Instagram or

something. I'm on Instagram a lot. Just swiping.

It's. The players come and go, but what stays is the club.

And the. The mentality

of the Europeans when it comes to their sports

clubs is insane. I don't

know if you guys are basketball fans. Not in Pittsburgh.

Not in Pittsburgh, no. Well, in Toronto,

there's. There's. There's a shift happening between hockey, basketball,

and soccer. Right now. There's a kind of a little bit of a shift.

Now we're leaning more towards the Toronto Raptors. But

if you see a Raptors game or a Sixers game,

and you compare that to a game in,

say, Greece, because I know Greece, like Olympiacos versus Panasonicos,

the two differences between those Two

games is night and day. You do not want to be

cheering for the wrong team. In Greece. You might

die. Where. Here

it's okay to root for the. For the wrong team. It's very

humbled. So I like

to see that kind of community come here in North America

where it's like. Like live and die your team. But I'm not

a big sports fan myself. I'm under

the idea that, you know what? Where's my millions to

support you? I'm dumping all this kind of money in.

Into you. Into you, into you. But this is coming from a Leafs fan, so

I'm very well aware of disappoint.

So. But it's nice to have that kind of feel like

me cheering for Libyakos in Karisaki Stadium rather

than going to Scotiabank arena and cheering for the.

For the. For the. For the Leafs. It's two very

different environments and two very different feels. American sports

have kind of become like a celebration and a party and the. The game

sometimes is secondary in America where everybody just listen for

the DJ or the sounds and the cheers and it

looks like what I see for European countries, you're there for your

team and that's the number one priority. Not. Not so much the

entertainment and the nachos. Yeah. And you know who creates

that? The community. The

community creates that for the team. The communities there

are much stronger than what they are here when it comes to sports, I'm just

talking about sports. And to see this

podcast trying to do this for their football team, I mean, that's

one step closer to where it's supposed to be, where the

community is building that hype for the club.

We saw it here in Toronto with Toronto FC back

in 20. I think it was 2016, 2017,

when other clubs from MLS were

looking at the fans and what they were doing for the

club. And the only reason why we won an

MLS championship was because the fans said that we're not. If

you keep bringing in players that are not going to perform,

we're not going to renew our season tickets because I was one of them.

So they brought in better, better players.

Our stadium erupted. It just. BMO Field

was just insane. And that was the community

of the fans that created that environment for the

club to succeed. And that's. And

the rest of MLS had taken. Taken over that. Which

I love. I love to see that. I mean, I'm not a big

Montreal fan because I'm from Toronto, but

I like to see Montreal and New York and

Philly and Miami have a huge,

amazing club fan experience so that when

you go to the games, the community of the club has created

an environment where you can enjoy the game.

Absolutely. And you mentioned the community is the one building it.

And this next story that we're moving into here, this podcast

is going to each of these cities and building a show around

the city. So this is really cool, kind of that concept you were just talking

about, but in reverse. TNH has announced the

Summer Sessions Live Podcast tour, sending hosts Jay

Walker and Sean Murphy on a multi city run across the US

this summer. Designed as a true live taping, not

a scripted stage show, the tour puts the duo alone on

stage with the audience fully integrated into each episode.

Produced by Whoa Ray and 1097 Group, the

tour emphasizes raw energy, city specific moments and

viral ready content. Each stop is structured to feel like

that city's episode, featuring audience participation,

rapid fire debates, story time segments and

unscripted moments built for both the room and digital

distribution. Alongside the tour, TNH

confirmed a new season of the TNH show airing this

summer on the iHeart podcast network, showcasing a

coordinated strategy that blends live touring, weekly audio

releases and social first content momentum.

This is something that after my own heart, you're taking your show

on the road, doing tours through cities. Everything

about this screams let's go, let's get some tickets.

This is actually pretty good. I like the idea behind it.

I think it's really cool. Good for them for coming up with

this idea. To be able to tailor

your show to the city, to that community.

Imagine the bond that that's going to build in each of those stops where

people now they really relate to the host that they're already listening

to and love. The hosts, they're going to go see them live and now they're

going to give them back an episode based on their hometown.

That's pretty big. It's going to be hard to overcome. You know, that type of

engagement that's powerful. And this is why mainstream media

is having a hard time right now. It's because of

men like this that are going out town to town and

really customize, really speaking to their audience

in that specific area, in that specific demographic.

And this is the power of podcasting and live

streaming is that you have the ability to do that

instead of saying, instead of having all these broad,

broad conversations with millions of

people, instead you're just having a conversation with just a few people

and you're really connecting with them. I think, I think this

is, this is amazing. I think it's powerful and I

Think this is a good

platform to copy? Maybe you're not ready for a

US Tour, but you probably have a bar or a restaurant or a

library with a media center in your hometown. That's a great place

to start. Yeah, if you have a theater like we built here, start there.

But you know, you can take your show out into the community. There's

probably very similar events to what you're talking about already happening.

Try to plug into those. That's the same thing that the TNH is doing.

They're plugging into their fans in their town. They have a much bigger base. But

you have people in your hometown that are probably interested in what you're

already talking about. Go out and find them and see if you can do a

live show. It'll change your whole perspective on podcasting and what

you think is possible. For a podcast. There was, there was a

really interesting. I'll call it an

experiment because I don't know if it was an experiment or not. At the

Podfest when I went to Podfest back in

2022. I don't know if you were, I don't know if you went to

PodFest. I don't know if you heard of PodFest. I haven't yet. That's on my

bucket list. Well, I went and they had a,

they had a, like a small section that was

just there for pop up

interviews, pop up podcasts, kind of.

And it was quite, quite fascinating. And it got me thinking that,

that one thing got me thinking. Why not go to trade

shows that are kind of tailored to what

you're doing, Put up a podcast booth there

and then invite the other, the other

people that are there to sell their products or introduce their products

to your booth and interview them. And on top of that,

interview the people that are coming to the trade show. Why are

they there? What are they doing? What are they looking for?

And it, like you said, like, it can build such a

community. Like if you're starting to think like your audience is out there,

like you just said, and it's like you just have to go out and

come up with ideas to do it.

Yeah, we are starting to see that bubble up a lot at conferences,

events. We're seeing, we're seeing people bring in

a lot of businesses like your training already have their

podcasts and they actually start, they're starting to take them to their booth and record

a show with customers in front of them. We're even seeing some of the

main entertainment on the main stage be a podcast.

Whereas 10 years ago it might Be a band in between keynote speaking or a

magician or a comedian. They're starting to put podcasters on the

stage. So you're, you're right in tune with that pulse, John. Like this is

something that's, that's happening more and more and businesses are starting to get

that traction and momentum and, and they're starting to take their podcasts on

the road to all these conferences that they're, they're already paying thousands and thousands of

dollars to attend. They might as well get some content out of it.

It's a, it's a, it's a great idea. And like, like podfest

was the one that actually planted that seed into me,

which was another podcasting conference. And

speaking of, look at what Pod PodFest is doing. They're doing these things called

Pod Tours. So during the year when the conference isn't

happening, they go to different cities and different stops and they're

doing small community gatherings to start to build that momentum

for the main conference. So, you know, Pod Fest, Pod

tours, these things that John's talking about, these are things that's happening right

now. You plug into them, see if you can make it happen. Let's keep it

moving. Speaking of making it happen, down with the boring

kicked off of 2026 with a live recorded episode broadcast

from Rockaway beach at Butlands in

Bognor Regis, turning a holiday camp into an

unexpected podcast venue. Recorded in front of a live

audience, the episode features Antony Scissormick

and Prima Queen in a loose, unfiltered conversation,

reflecting on the chaos of 2025, creative

momentum heading into the new year, and a surreal experience of

starting January backstage at a seaside resort.

The setting becomes part of the storytelling, adding texture, spontaneity,

and authenticity that wouldn't exist in a traditional studio.

The episode aired live on Dork Radio and will be

distributed across all major podcast platforms, reinforcing

how live recordings can fuel broadcast on demand

audio and app based ecosystems

simultaneously. This sounds like they're hitting the

cylinder on all heads, I think. Is that the right thing? They're hitting, they're

firing on all cylinders. That's what we're looking for. Personally,

this just seems a little bit too fluff for me.

I'm, I'm like more like raw, real and

you know, I'm just seeing like resorts and stuff

like that. It's like, really? Guys, like, come on. Like, I don't know what their

audience is. Like, I don't know what their audience is talking, but this would not

interest me at all. I would be more

interested in

their broadcasting, their on demand radio and their app based

ecosystems. I would love to see what they would talk about that

as again, like I'm coming like from an

it perspective. Like I, that's my heart, my heart

and my soul is it and automation

and all that stuff. But to be doing it from

a resort, just south seaside resort.

Come on, man. Like I'm a big

goofball. Like I, I like, I like my shows to be a party.

Like I do a Pittsburgh podcast meetup and we're just goofing around sharing

podcast stories and I do a trivia show that makes like

everything I do is kind of like a game show. Like this, this podcast is

almost like a game show where you come on down, you're the next contestant and

you know, we're talking about stories and hanging out. So I see both perspectives.

I do see and I, and I haven't, I'll be honest, in the past,

I haven't seen podcasting as a business thing, as a thing you

could do to grow customers. I always thought it was like a fun, you know,

be a goofball on, you know, almost like your own radio show,

but being silly. So I, I'm starting to see the full circle and I

just found out about audio dramas, if you're going to believe that. So there's a

whole world of podcasting and it's kind of like the wild west. You, you can

really build whatever you want to build and then there's going to be different flavors

for different people and different opportunities for different people. You'll find the thing

that, that fits you and, and that's the one that you'll go support and hang

out with. Well, that's what I love about podcasting and live streaming.

It's like it doesn't speak to everybody. Like I've said before, it speaks to

certain amount of people. Like, the only reason why I would watch

this is to get more information on the technology behind

it. I couldn't care less about the

frills behind it,

but the, the technology is what really drives

me. It's like, okay, how, what did you do with

this app? How did it improve your business? How did it improve the,

the productivity, the back end stuff for your business?

And I was the same as, I was the same as you. It's when with

the Fitness Oracle. I never really thought of the Fitness Oracle as a business

model until I ran out of money.

Well, I got bills to pay. So yeah, I,

I was living in Florida at the time. Like, I can't afford to Live in

Florida with, you know, not making any money.

So, I mean,

it's. For me, for me, it would be, I would be

more interested in seeing the,

the dorky side of it. Yes. Because I am a dork.

I am a nerd at heart. Big dork, Big nerd.

Especially when it comes to the. On with the audio apps and the app

based ecosystems and the broadcasting methods

that they use, that something like that would really interest somebody like

me. But I can, I can see the value in having a little bit

of entertainment with that. You want to see

how the sausage is made. You want to see, you know, how did they get

to this point? How did they set up the stage? What's the technology?

What are they running for? Sound and music and slides

and is there video interactive? And then they're recording that,

they're editing that as a finished product. Maybe it's a video that goes

on YouTube later on or in a private club or private membership community.

And then you get the audio version of the podcast released at a later date.

So the, the ability for them to build this ecosystem

and take all these little pieces out of it to create other pieces of content.

I think that's, that's kind of what you want to see. The. You want, you

do want to see how the sausage is made. Yes, yes.

But I also enjoy eating it.

Well, we're going back to sports. We got our final story today,

and you were talking Toronto. You got the Blue Jays, I got the Pittsburgh

Pirates. I don't think the Pirates haven't had a season over.500

in a while. It's been a while, but here's something happening at a minor

league baseball game. Minor League baseball took live podcasting

into the ballpark when the show before the show recorded a live

episode during a game at TD Bank Ballpark, home

of the Somerset Patriots. To celebrate the podcast

10th anniversary and 500th episode, the

Patriots hosted a full podcast theme night,

integrating live interviews in game activities and a

live podcast segment broadcast over the PA system

between games or between innings. Hosts Tyler

Maughan, Sam Dykstra and Benjamin Hill

weren't just recording content. They were embedded into the fan experience,

appearing on the game broadcast and interacting with fans throughout the

doubleheader. The event shows how live podcasting

can function as in venue programming, blending sports,

storytelling, sponsors and community into a single experience

that works for fans in the stadium and audiences

listening later. This one, I'd love to go get a beer with

you or go get a hot dog with you and go to the stadium

and watch A game and then hear a podcast in between games.

That would be awesome. Again,

this is what I was talking about with the last, with the last, with the

last part that we were talking about how the, how the fans

are creating the community to support and make it a fan experience

in, in the stadiums. This is amazing. Like,

I love seeing that. I wish I could

see more of it and it said in the games, but it would

be even better if you saw, if you had it in between innings or in

between periods or in between halves. You know,

instead of, you know, the traditional, having the, having the

reporter go to the locker room to get the interview, have

the, have the athlete come on the stage and have a chit chat about how

the game went and how they felt and, you know, what led up to it.

Really immerse the player in, into the fan's

life. Like, I hear hockey all the time

with all the cliches. When they get injured, upper body injury, lower body injury,

it's like, no, dude, like, tell me what the experience was

like. Well, how did you feel like when you did get hurt? When the, when

the trainer did tell you, you know what, you're going to be out for three

months. You know, what was the journey to, what was your journey to

when you came back from the, from it? Make me a part of

that experience. I know it's personal and all that, and I get it, but you

know what? I'm paying big bucks to watch you. You're also

getting paid millions of dollars to do something. Well, guess what there,

sunshine. Your privacy has gone a little bit out.

Yeah. And if you love sports, in this case, it was a doubleheader and they

broadcast in between game. They gave them the field in front of the crowd.

So think about things that you're talking about. What are

the events in your area and your industry? These two, three guys,

they do a baseball podcast. They love baseball and they got a

chance to perform their podcast on the field in

between a doubleheader with a crowd of people who also love

baseball, love the team that they're there to support that. That's the

best way to embed yourself into something that's already happening.

You're right in the middle of this game with these fans who

love the same thing that you talk about. There. There isn't a better way to

make a connection. Oh, it's. It's the best way. It's the best way.

Can you imagine if this was live too? Oh, like

now you're speaking, you're definitely speaking my language. Well, I

Mean you. Because you already have the attention of all the fans

at the stadium. Now you do it live. And people that are

watching it on YouTube or rumble or whatever

streaming platform that they're on are already tuned in.

Now you're reaching them as well.

So it's like you're. You're really embedding yourself. And this is

what. This is the beauty of technology. Technology has made this possible. Without

it, we'd be. This is why I love technology.

Yeah. When we talk about the theater space that I'm sitting

in right now, if you wanted to do this 20 years ago,

it would cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to

figure out the streaming process, to figure out the camera work to do.

You can do something like this now for five, six thousand dollars.

The barrier to entry, because the technology has advanced so

rapidly. You can have a TV studio in your basement.

You can have the broadcast power of your local television

in 2026 that you couldn't have done 20, 30

years ago. So keep in mind what John's talking about. The technology brings

us all together, gives us a place to have a voice, to

elevate our voice into the public and to share these ideas and

thoughts with people and. And see if it resonates with people.

100%. 100%. Like, I don't have a very big

studio behind me. It's my basement apartment.

That's basically what it is. And I've.

I've never. I've never told people it's.

It costs a lot of money to get into podcasting

or live streaming. It costs a lot less than

5,000. But, I mean, if you want to do the. The studio. I've always

dreamt about having a studio myself. I just.

Right now, I'm in my basement apartment doing my podcasts.

When I do podcast training and I show people how to get started,

I always tell people, you already have everything you

need to build to start a podcast. You don't need to spend any more

dollars at this point. You have a way to record your voice. You probably have

a computer. There's free editing software. You

have enough to get started. You don't have to invest another penny to

just play around, try to figure things out, get started

with it. You don't have to do any of this. You can just

start to find your voice on a microphone and start to share your

thoughts in real time. As we all know, everybody's first episode isn't going to be

great anyway. You might as well start with your phone microphone or your computer

microphone just to get started Hear yourself. How can

you improve on that for episode two? And that learning

curve is part of the growth of your podcast and it's part of the

identity of your show that makes your show unique. But everybody's episodes

one through ten are a bit rough. Yes, they

are. Well, John, this has gone

so fast. We're at the end already. One last

time. People want to connect with you. Find more about the

podcaster, Business Insider and and Tech Forge Media.

What's, what's the best way again? Give us those websites and we'll

put those make sure everybody knows that they are in the show Notes I

the. Best way to find me is to just find me on YouTube.

Podcasters Business Insider

we are. I'm doing a special

series. I'm launching a special series today

on how to grow from 0 to

100 subscribers. Now, I've never been a big fan of

subscriber count. I'm just using that as

a measure to success and that

everything that I am doing is on is going exactly where

I need to go. So you can find me on YouTube,

LinkedIn and

YouTube and LinkedIn. Those are the only two platforms I'm focusing on because I believe

another thing I believe is in being hyper focused in the

platforms that will that are where your audience is not

being out there too far because

Voice in the woods is not heard by anybody.

That's a the tree falling down and no one's around to hear it.

Yeah. Did it make a sound? Don't let that be your

podcast. Follow John Check out the links in the show notes. We'll check them out

on YouTube and LinkedIn. It's a great strategy too, you know,

get good at one platform. A lot of times you hear people

saying you got to be everywhere all at once, all the time. But then you

don't become good at anything. If you can just become good at YouTube and just

become good at LinkedIn, there's enough of a community, enough of a foundation on

those two platforms to build something great. Then you can start to expand.

And I like that strategy, John. Thank you. And if

you like that strategy, we have a whole podcast theater here. We like to invite

people down, check out our website for upcoming events. We have all kinds of

podcasts coming up live on the stage in the next couple months.

P-O-D-U-T-Y poduty.com and we want to host your show

here. If you're in the area and you'd like to come through Pittsburgh and do

a live show. It's no contract, it's no minimum

ticket sales. There is no out of pocket expense for

you to do this. I will build you a landing page. I will build you

your tickets. I will help you facilitate the sales of those tickets. I will

record and produce the event for you. And at the end of the night I

not only give you the recording, I take no ownership over it, but

I also split the door with you. 50. 50. That's the only

time money exchanges hand. You can't even give me money if you want to. Let's

build your audience, build your ticket sales. You'll take home half the door

at the end of the night. Check it out. Poduty.com

P-O-D-U-T-Y.com and you can

check out our upcoming events. And if you really enjoyed this show, if you enjoyed

the conversation with John and I, please leave me a review.

News it's called Poduty and the News. On your favorite podcast app you can

find on the website at news.poduty.com and

John, that's the end of it. I'm gonna go ahead and play us out of

here. Thank you for joining me. We will see you on Tuesday.

What time is it?

Time is

it's

time for.

News. The only live

news podcast about podcasting from the

st.

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only live news podcast about podcasting

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