Things I've Learned From Flash Recording a Podcast
Alternate Worlds has been a blast to put together, and I would probably do things a little differently next time around.
First things first — what is the Alternate Worlds Podcast?
Initially it was a series of informal chats with seasoned game makers to discuss their journeys, and our life and times.
I didn’t know it would turn into a full-blown podcast, but it certainly is fun that it did. :)
Over time, I’ve incorporated a diverse group of creators and Magic: the Gathering legends into the mix, with a similar bent — let’s have an informal discussion that drives wherever we want to drive to, tackling meatier topics along the way.
Learning #1: Don’t release a full-length podcast (or really, a full-length movie) every day
It’s funny to think, but for the first week of the podcast, I just wanted to go through reps getting the content out and understanding how the process worked.
I didn’t know whether people would listen to the podcast, really, so going fast to learn seemed better than being overly precious.
My friend Matt, who is a longstanding podcaster on Escape Hatch, sent me an impassioned text: “Weekly, man. Weekly.”
It turns out most people don’t have the time in their day to listen to what equates to a full-length movie.
Who knew?
Recording within a limited timeframe is one thing, but listeners need room to breathe.
Learning #2: You also need time to breathe
I’ve recorded 45 podcasts over the course of eight weeks, and have another 25 podcasts scheduled over the next four weeks.
Fortunately, the people I’m chatting with are interesting on their own so if I’m “merely adequate” the calls still shine.
But I discounted how important it is to have time pass by, to rest, and to provide room for thoughts to grow.
I think the quality is still there, thankfully, but not allowing the neural networks to do their thing definitely feels like a cost.
I am more tired & drained today than I was in early January, when recording began.
Pace yourself, if you can.
Learning #3: It’s probably worth building your media scheduling tools upfront.
An enterprising friend of mine mentioned that he streamlined a lot of his marketing & social media flows with Claude Code, and so I excitedly went down the path of creating my own media controller.
I have YouTube, specifically, working for the long-term, but I began to get migraines while coding in-between two-a-day recording sessions.
I like to think I can tank a lot of damage, but I didn’t quite have the energy required to build tools & record a ton of sessions in the same cycle.
If I could do this project again, I’d likely slow down recording sessions and build a better stable of tools from the get-go. Automation will help reduce the energy requirement considerably.
One caveat though: there’s nothing to say I can’t build the tools once the majority of recording sessions have occurred.
I just couldn’t do everything I wanted at once, without paying a price.
Learning #4: It’s really nice to connect with people that you like & don’t get to see very often.
I wanted to create a time capsule with & for people I’ve been lucky enough to know, which hopefully endures long after we’re done recording.
If there are communities you want to bring together, creating a podcast like this one is a great way to do it, in a way that can easily fit into most people’s lifestyles.
Alternate Worlds may not be the most popular podcast in the world, but it’ll be important to the people who benefit from its existence.
(i.e., Do things that don’t scale.)
Substack Live allows you to bring on guests throughout each call, so you can bring friends together who haven’t seen each other in years (or really, decades), which has been a ton of fun to orchestrate.
And sharing clips from calls ends up being fun for everyone in our collective walled gardens. Almost everyone enjoys being remembered fondly.
Learning #5: Substack’s YouTube connectivity provides a gateway to prepare for where Substack seems to want to go next.
I have enjoyed YouTube so far — it’s a good place to learn how to post shorts, it’s a good place to engage with a potential audience, and because it’s so video-forward, it ends up being a great place to learn techniques for crafting & tailoring video content.
I like it more than I suspected I would.
Most of Substack’s auto-generated clips can be further curated & quickly used w/ YouTube’s editing tools (which are far better developed than Substack’s, presently).
In addition, Substack likes you to own your content & your list — but it can be a heavy lift to store a ton of video & audio content if ever you do decide to leave the platform (hint: I don’t). YouTube ends up being a great place to learn the video trade while also storing your information for potential future use.
Strong recommend on hooking this up & learning from the process.
Learning #6: LinkedIn & Substack aren’t friends. Avoid this hookup unless you’re already well-situated on the LinkedIn platform.
Prior to sharing Substack content on LinkedIn, I had strong reach with almost everything I posted.
Now, after sharing video clips & long-form content there, LinkedIn rarely surfaces by Substack-linked content much at all.
This is so glaring that I often try and promote from LinkedIn to YouTube because the former seems to have it out for the latter, less.
I stopped putting out reels to LinkedIn, and assume that over time the algorithm will get back to loving me again the way it used to.
So long as I don’t mention Substack. :)
So should you start a podcast?
Substack certainly makes it easy to do so.
I’ve been really happy with the calls so far, and happy with the response so far, too.
If you do a podcast, try and slow down enough to process it all while you’re recording. Give yourself room to breathe and grow.
I can tell that each conversation changes me a bit, and that “how humans work” in groups, the Rashomon-style dynamic that dictates how people interact with each other, make decisions, and feel about it afterwards, reigns supreme here.
I can tell that people closer to making analog products focus on very different things than people who focus on making digital products.
Big company creatives differ from startup hackers.
Some can look back without bitterness, some can’t.
Alternate Worlds has been a great way to reconnect with who I was to contrast with who I am — and will be most helpful as I key in on who I want to be next.
Hopefully it’s helpful for others in the same way, too.
It’s a blessing to get to spend a few hours with really smart people, who let their enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, design, family, life, etc. shine, which can push you out of your comfort zone (in a good way) without realizing you had created one.
Take the time to feel & synthesize those feelings, and then…
Live your life.
Hope this helps you on your own journey,
b
BONUS CONTENT: Recommended questions
After recording 50+ Substack Live podcasts over the last few months, figured I’d share a few of the questions I found especially helpful to have in my back pocket.
1) When did you start having the confidence to go after bigger dreams? What was the sea change that led to you stepping up?
As a dad & a team builder I’m always looking for ways to help people grow through inquiry, understanding, appreciation.
“When did you become you?”
This question can tap into “think” or “feel” or both — and some of the most real & powerful moments from my calls have come from asking the above.
2) If you could change one decision in your life or career, what would it be?
I was at a dinner at Tacolicious in San Francisco, and my friend said his daughter, Lucy, cold-asked him the above.
I was like, “damn…”
But it almost always evokes a valuable insight & a potential learning to be shared & learned from.
Lucy knows her stuff.
3) With so many options of what you can now do, how do you decide what to actually focus on?
We live in an amazing time, where we can create and distribute so many different forms of content & try and connect with people & improve lives.
Everyone has their own take on this, but if you’re someone who’s always looking for ways to improve, I’ve found this question invaluable to ask.
4) What’s on your bucket list at this point?
I could see an argument for time-boxing here — “what will you have accomplished by this point next year?” but I’ve found the question as written to be valuable more often than not.
When my dad says he wants to enjoy each day & not sweat the things that don’t matter, that’s sufficient. He doesn’t need to strive in his 70’s, he needs to be.
Each person has their own vantage point, their own talents, their own mindset — so it’s often helpful to know what the next few major milestones people aspire to given the myriad options available.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Brian! Super helpful insight for those of us thinking about taking that plunge.