On the Road, Behind the Scenes
My "real" job has carried me to Dallas, Texas where, for the past several days, I have been attending meetings. In between meetings, however, I have been working hard on the podcast.
Because I knew I would be working on the show, I had to bring some equipment so that I could work on finalizing Episode 4 (which will drop on November 28).
But there is so much that goes into producing a podcast, that I would have never anticipated when I decided to do this. In the past few days, I have had to tackle a list of To-Dos, so that I can--to the best of my ability--keep abreast of the show and its production schedule.
At the top of the list was working with Blake Walker, our engineer, on some final audio changes we needed to make on Episode 3. It was pretty much there, but it needed a little more fine tuning.
The next thing on the list was the chore of reaching out to local/regional media to announce the podcast, so it can get some coverage outside of me just blowing up everyone's inboxes and social media accounts with announcements and reminders. You should be seeing some coverage shortly.
Daily tasks involve, but are not limited to, monitoring the show's analytics and metrics. This includes monitoring data from my hosting platform, the show's website, and the the individual distribution platforms (i.e. Spotify, Apple iTunes, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, etc.).
It also involves responding to fans of the show (I try to respond to everyone, even if briefly), answering questions, and sorting through various tips and ideas listeners have about the cases.
Daily tasks also entail posting updates to social media, and having my son post to Instagram for me (I still need to figure out how to more easily navigate that platform).
Other critical tasks that come up: paying bills that come into the show, monitoring all the various subscriptions and services I have had to sign up for to launch the show.
And then there is the task of creating content. Content for the web and content for the actual show itself. This morning, for instance, I had to create a quick map of Kristin David's bike route so that when people listened to Episode 3, then could see the route I reference in the show.
Last night, I had to record some audio on my cell phone in the closet of my hotel room, as a way of minimizing background noise. That wasn't terribly successful, and I will likely after re-record when I get home, but it was definitely a new experience. And last but not least, is the ongoing task of research: combing through articles, examining timelines, scrutinizing each story, questioning the likeliness and probability behind each and every assertion made by those invested in, or affected by, these cases.
And here, I will mention something shocking and disturbing. Last night as I finished my recording session the closet, I received a text from the Washington State University alert system. It stated that police were investigating a homicide near the University of Idaho campus, just 8 miles east of WSU, and the same school Kristin David had attended 40 years earlier. Within the hour, we were learning that four people had been murdered in the same residence. And because these are small towns--a fact I have emphasized on the show--it wasn't long before we learned that we had friends and family who knew at least one of the individuals who had been killed.
I don't know what to make of this heart-sinking news. I'm still trying to process it all, as I work on the show and attend meetings for work, and as a gray rain falls steadily on Dallas.