When I’m working around the house or have a few moments of free time, one of the things I enjoy is listening to Podcasts. I listen to what I think is an eclectic mix that ranges from The Adam Carolla Show to Protocol Radio to NPR: Pop Culture Happy Hour. I like variety.
Since I’m a voice actor I listen to a number of Podcasts for inspiration and some to help me grow my business. I currently have a dozen I listen to weekly. The producer or host of each one takes on a specific approach to influencing me about voiceover or audio. In no particular order, here are the first 6 of my recommendations.
Monday evenings would end miserably without watching this live, streaming vid-cast with hosts Dan Lenard and George Whittam. Their hour long VO-centric show features interviews with celebrities, hardware reviews, information and opinions. LOTS of opinions. If you miss the live stream, you can grab the audio portion through Podcast and listen to what you missed.
Looking for a place to kick back, enjoy a virtual bean beverage and hear about talented voice actors? Stop by the Voice Over Cafe. VO Hosts Terry Daniel and Trish Basanyi along with appearances by Tom Dheere, Peter Bishop, Sean Caldwell and Rob Sciglimpaglia have the scoop on current VO happenings. Recent episodes featured an interview with Susan Bennet (the first voice of SIRI) and an in depth chat about IpDTL, an alternative to ISDN.
This weekly podcast covers a lot of home recording ground. While it’s specific to musicians, I find the range of topics fascinating and occasionally they align with what I do in my studio. Microphone suggestions, DAW recommendations, and audio manipulation are often discussed. One of my favorite segments focuses on song remixing. Veteran hosts Ryan Canestro, Jon Tidey and Jesse Zoller have years of combined talent and studio expertise.
What do Yakko Warner, Pinky, and Dr. Otto Von Scratchansniff have in common? They are characters voiced by Emmy and Annie award winner Rob Paulsen for the Animaniacs cartoon series. Rob brings his craziness, voices and in depth guest interviews to this amazing podcast. If you have even the slightest interest in animation voice acting, this is THE podcast to laugh with.
The Sound Advice Voice-Over Podcast
It’s valuable to be aware of multiple perspectives about voiceover. Questions sometimes get the same answer no matter who is asked. What are the benefits of pay to play sites? Is there a valid replacement for ISDN? Who is John Florian and what’s his deal? What’s a slate and how should it be used? Host Kate McClanaghan reveals the answers to questions like these with her unique, cut to the chase insight.
Now that you have a smokin’ VO business (or at the very least are on your way to one) it’s time to think about creating your own podcast. Mike and Izabela Russell open the mic and take a deep dive into podcast creation, networking, creating audio apps, Internet radio and more. The advice given and topics covered will inspire you to find ways in which they can be applied to VO.
These will get you started and probably wanting more. Come back for part 2 of my Podcast playlist in my next post.
Tell me what your indispensable podcast is and I’ll post all the suggestions in an upcoming post.
© 2014 J. Christopher Dunn
Other posts you might find interesting:
Your Next Client Could be a Return Call Away
The Disturbing Voice Disappearance
J. Christopher Dunn's Voiceover Blog 
Thanks for putting the list together. As always an enlightening and practical contribution
Much appreciated
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Hey Gene- They’re pretty easy to access and packed with a lot of punch. Thanks for checking out the list.
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There’s another you left off. Ryan Drean in Dallas Texas does a killer podcast …His website is http://www.ryanontheradio.com They focus mostly on radio imaging but he does interviews with some of the biggest voices in broadcast VoiceOver and radio imaging… Great content too!
Mike Russell is awesome too. He is very knowledgable on adobe audition!
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Hi John- The Producer’s Podcast is a great suggestion and one of the next six in my list of suggestions. Can’t agree more about Mike Russell. He’s got mad skills with Adobe Audition. I appreciate you stopping by!
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Thanks for a summertime list of great podcasts!
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I hope you’re spending more time outside than in and enjoying your summer. HOWEVER, if you’re looking for the perfect thing to pass some time and maybe learn something new, these podcasts are a choice to consider.
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No 1 for me is VO Buzz Weekly. Brilliant. Chuck and Stacey.
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Chuck and Stacey have a fabulous gig interviewing the top peeps in our biz. Chris, you’ve given me another idea for a blog post. Thanks for that!
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May I suggest another podcast for part two? I’ve been listening to LoveThatVoiceover (http://lovethatrebecca.com/lovethatvoiceover.html) since I discovered it 10 months ago, and I’ve learned so much! Rebecca interviews folks from all parts of the industry, and I’ve found her interviews with agents and producers to be professionally informative, and her interviews with talent to be inspirational as well as entertaining. My partner is in VO too, and he put together a killer gaming demo from listening to her show. My approach with my agents has improved and we’re both booking more. Rebecca’s podcasts introduced me to a wonderful coach and opened my eyes and voice to other training like audio-only improv. She just has a great way of making the VO industry friendly and accessible. There are so many great things to say, but really, I really do “LoveThatVoiceover!”
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Excellent suggestion, Justin. It sounds like Rebecca has a good mix of everything VO and has wrapped it up in an easy to listen to podcast. It’s on my list of shows to checkout. Thanks!
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Hi Chris, thank you so much for including MRC in your lineup of podcasts for VOs!
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Mr. Russell- So nice of you to drop by and check out the blog. Your podcast is one of the best. Looking forwards to hearing others!
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Killer list J! I love that you mentioned Home Recording Show. Great buddies of mine and have even guest hosted a few times with them. Great tech advice on that show for home studios in general.
And of course, thank you for the shoutout for our podcast, The Voice Over Cafe :).
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Glad you liked the list! I had no idea you guest hosted on HRS and part of the craziness of The VO Cafe. How cool is that?!
Thanks for checking out my blog and commenting. 🙂
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Thanks for the huge plug, JCD!!
EWABS is also a true Podcast for those who prefer audio-only so you CAN mow the lawn while listening to the show after it airs live. Search for it on iTunes or visit ewabs.com
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Laundry, mowing the lawn, washing the dog… you name it! They’re all good tasks to do while listening to EWABS. I’m sure they might even seem fun (it could happen) while listening.
I appreciate you stopping by and commenting. Thank you!
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