Like a lot of creative people, I’ve kept busy over the pandemic. Since I moved back to Los Angeles last year, I’ve been biding my time for this whole COVID-19 thing to blow over so I could get back to creating with people on the stage and in front of the camera. A couple of months back, Brian Ibbot, the host of Coverville (the first podcast I ever listened to) put out a call for the fourth season of his podcasting reality competition America’s Next Top Podcaster. I also know a few of the other judges/coaches (namely Tom Merritt, Justin Robert Young, and Scott Johnson) from various team-ups over the years. They even guest-starred on my comedy podcast The Fakist.
Naturally, ANTP sounded like a fun way to collaborate with online friends new and old while I waited for things in Los Angeles to open back up. That’s happening now, and I’ll be knee-deep in comedy and acting stuff by the time you hear the season finale, but ANTP has been a welcome respite in an otherwise lonely six months since the rest of my family got back to school/work. I’ve got to work with a wide range of podcasters of all skill levels and disciplines, received productive feedback from successful podcasters, but the biggest thing I’m getting out of this is a chance to play with new people and work on something that isn’t “The Bill Meeks Show” where I’m leading the charge on everything.
I’ll keep this post updated with new content as the team at ANTP releases it. Who knows how it will all end up? For me, it’s all about the process. If you want a peek behind the scenes of podcast production, you’ll love it and learn from America’s Next Top Podcaster. If you don’t have any interest in that, you’ll still hear a lot of silliness and some useful tips from me. Win/win, right?
Week 0 – Introducing The Contestants
It’s a brand new season of America’s Next Top Podcaster, and we’ve got new challenges, new twists, and the same judges you know and love. We’ve also got a brand new batch of contestants – let’s meet them!
This episode will introduce you to me and my distinguished competition. After some preamble from the host and producers. I outlined some of my reasons for joining the show this season above, but the Patreon version features the incomparable Bobby Frankenberger asking me about my history in podcasting going all the way back to the year 2000 + my book Fan Podcasting: The Complete Guide. Stick around after my interview to learn about the other contestants.
Week 1 – “Getting To Know You” Challenge
It’s the first time our contestants meet our judges, Scott Johnson, Jennie Josephson and Justin Robert Young, to see how they did with their first challenge: Creating an Audio Drama that introduces us to who they are!
ROLES: Editor, Voiceover, VO Director/Improv Coach
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “QUESTIONABLE CHAMPIONS” Scripted Game Show Sketch
FULL EPISODE
I’m not going to lie. You won’t hear much from me in the first week. I was on set here in Long Beach during the first team meeting, and by the time I recovered from a late shoot and wrapped my head around what I’d missed, the team had already pulled together this game show concept to introduce ourselves to the judges. I think my willingness to play the “villain” in this piece was a big mistake and might have soured one of the judges against me from the jump. It also felt like my team moved too far, too fast, and we were all trying to get our voices in, so it ended up a bit of a jumble that didn’t teach the judges about us, which was the whole point. I enjoyed working with my teammates in that first week, but I wasn’t happy with the final product.
Week 2 – “Scripted Non-Fiction” Challenge
We’ve asked our contestants to create scripted short-form non-fiction podcasts, and we got three excellent history lessons! Which one will reign supreme? Find out!
ROLES: Project Manager, Producer (Script Rewrite/Polish)
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “INVISIBLE HISTORY – ANIMALS ON TRIAL” History Podcast
FULL EPISODE
As Bobby points out in the full episode, I took the title of Project Manager to heart and attacked the week with a clear plan, including a production schedule. Since we came in last place in Week 1, we had to do a podcast about something that happened in the 1500s. I had the team all come up with two pitches for our topic, then we met to discuss and vote on them using a Google Form and a super fun spreadsheet. We narrowed it down to two topics, then our Writer and Researcher went off and developed an elevator pitch for both. By the time we had our coaching session and finally settled on a topic, the week was half over. My team was apprehensive, but I operated under a philosophy a former manager used to drill into me: “The smart money is in the ground.” Basically, the more time you spend planning something, the easier it is to execute. By Friday, I’d polished and formatted Kelly’s script, and we had the podcast “in the can” with time to spare. We didn’t win the week, but I think our team of “Questionable Champions” put together a hell of a history show about animal trials.
Week 3 – “Tight Format News” Challenge
A common style of daily podcasts is the news format, where headlines and editing are all done on a very rapid basis. We’ve asked out teams to create news stories based on headlines that are given to them just a day before! How did they do? Find out!
ROLES: Writer/Producer/Co-Host
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “TURBO MODE” Gaming News Podcast
FULL EPISODE
This challenge took me a little out of my element. While I enjoy playing Zelda and a few other games, I’m really not much of a gamer. I did, however, work in TV news for a number of years so I did my best to bring that expertise to the challenge. I also created the show doc, which I always have a lot of fun with. Yay spreadsheets! While the judges dinged me for sharing my actual opinion about Nintendo’s practices concerning library releases, I thought we did a good job of separating out fact and opinion. Then again, I wrote The Fakist so I might not be the best judge. Regardless, I was pretty happy with how this one turned out. And for the record, I do love a trip to Shoney’s.
Week 4 – “Podcast Mad Libs” Challenge
A common style of daily podcasts is the news format, where headlines and editing are all done on a very rapid basis. We’ve asked out teams to create news stories based on headlines that are given to them just a day before! How did they do? Find out!
ROLES: Editor
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “Pop Culture Smarts” Game Show Sketch
FULL EPISODE
This week was stacked against all of the contestants, but it presented a few specific challenges to my team. The teams got shuffled after Week 3, so we were all on uneven footing while we figured out how to work together. I booked a big background acting gig on a major production which knocked me out for a chunk of the week. Worst of all, “Podcast Mad Libs” week challenged us to make a comedic self-help game show. I requested the Editor role since I knew I’d be on set most of the week, and suggested a general throughline for the main characters and the sketch comedy approach. I thought my teammates did a good job executing on the script, but ultimately it didn’t gel for the judges.
I tried to “fall on my sword” during the judging since I suggested the concept and wasn’t there to help them tighten the script, but the judges determined the Project Manager was the one who should go. They sent him home, and he didn’t go quietly, spitting venom against his team and the show on his way out. He was pretty upset with me about my lack of availability for part of the week, which I get.
On a personal note, the PM in question was a listener and frequent contributor to my Universe Box podcasts, so I was shocked and surprised by his negative view of me and the way he chose to exit the competition. After listening to the finished episodes, I think our PM was a little too concerned with making himself look good and less concerned with managing his people. A great manager helps their team, but our PM’s “confessional” interview was filled with complaints about my acting gig and September’s need for a good manager to help her write a good script.
Week 5 – “Interview” Challenge
What does it take to conduct a great interview? Planning, interaction, focus and listening more than you talk. We introduced our teams to Ali Spagnola this week for 15-minute recording session and asked them to pare those down into 10-minute podcasts. How did they do? Ali joins our judges this week for a critique session where someone will be going home!
ROLES: Host, Concept, Editor
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “Where I’m From” Interview Podcast
FULL EPISODE
Where I’m From is my second favorite pilot I’ve worked on during my ANTP journey. I’ve interviewed Ali before on my short-lived I Made This podcast, so the leadership challenged me to find a new angle. We talked extensively about her creative work on I Made This, so I decided to talk about something I already knew we had in common: Pittsburgh, PA. When I first met Ali, she was still living in Pittsburgh. I lived there twice, and spent my teens and early 20s an hour away in West Virginia. I even remember a few tipsy post-Power Hour conversations with Ali about Pittsburgh culture.
It all came together pretty naturally, and my teammate September and I fell into a good rhythm. She coined the phrase “a team of two alphas,” and I think it was pretty fitting. We’re both used to self-managing our own projects, which made things easier. We had mutual respect for each other’s opinions, and if we really believe in something, it was our job to convince the other person.
I thought we killed it this week, and the judges agreed. We won the week. I really love this concept, and I’m half-tempted to take Where I’m From to series… Stay tuned.
UPDATE: I took it to series. My new podcast can be found here. My first guest was Stephen Page, former co-lead singer of my favorite band Barenaked Ladies! Big thanks to Streann Studio for sponsoring this one!
Week 6 – “Teaching” Challenge
It’s about time we all learned something from this whole podcasting thing, and our three teams are going to teach it to us! Will they get the apple on the teachers’ desk, or will it all sound like nails on chalkboard? Find out on today’s episode!
ROLES: Project Manager, Writer, Producer
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “Hey, Marie Molecule!” Kids Educational Podcast
FULL EPISODE
I was shocked with how naturally I transitioned into writing this science podcast for kids, and the judges agreed! We took the week again, and had a lot of fun doing it. I also got to bring my daughter Eliza along for the ride. She plays the “Sherman” to Marie Molecule’s “Peabody.” Her character, also Eliza, is worried because her brother Liam got an x-ray after he broke his arm and she thinks he’ll turn into a crazy sci-fi monster. Marie Molecule leads her around to various stations in her weird basement laboratory, teaching her about the history of x-rays and why they aren’t a big deal. There’s plenty of Nickelodeon “kids rule” attitude, gross sound effects, and a framing narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. I’m considering developing this one as a cartoon.
Big thanks to my partner September, who voices Marie Molecule. She also suggested the first name Marie, after Marie Curie. Great idea, right?
Week 7 – “Comedy” Challenge
Comedy isn’t easy, and every season we have a new batch of contestants who learn that the hard way. This time around, we help them by giving them a requirement: use archived audio! How will they do integrating an old recording into their shows? Find out on today’s episode!
ROLES: Writer, Played “Justin
MY TEAM’S SUBMISSION – “LOVE@NIGHT” Serialzed Advice Show Parody
FULL EPISODE
This week was hard. It was both the week I lost and the piece I loved the most. Since I have a history of scripted comedy in both my podcast The Fakist and my work with the Humor Mill Orlando, I felt pretty confident taking the lead on this one. I’d had an idea in my back pocket that I’d been saving for Comedy Week: A Frasier-esque radio advice host who had a blind spot when it came to his problems. When Tripp Rogers (former radio DJ) got added to our team after the previous week’s drama-filled elimination, it felt like Kismet. I banged out the 20 page script in a matter of days, then passed it off to September and Tripp to produce with the help of some former ANTP contestants playing callers. It was awesome writing the script and walking away, since I’m usually managing most of the pre/production/post on my scripts. The team did a hell of a job too. Our guest advisor/judge who has a comedy background loved the concept and seemed to love the episode. Most of the other judges did too. Still, the field was tightening and we didn’t end up making it through this round. So, as I promised my team when they agreed to go with my idea, I fell on my sword and made sure the buck stopped with me. Other cliches. My teammate September eventually made it to the final round, and I couldn’t be proud of her.
Conclusion
Overall, the ANTP experience was a fantastic warm-up for working with a team again after a couple of years hiding out from COVID-19. It gave my renewed confidence, a handful of samples to use when looking for work, and a bunch of new friends. It also gave me a new show, Where I’m From.
Thanks to Brian Ibbot, Scott Johnson, Justin Robert Young, Tom Merrrit, Jennie Josephson, and all my fellow contestants for the fun time!
Learn More
If you like what you hear and want more, I highly recommend supporting ANTP on Patreon. You get to hear our team work together and with our coaches throughout the week, in much more detail than they have time for in the main show. More drama some weeks too :).
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