#504: Shameless Self-Promotion Theatre Part 2

July 17th, 2015

I spent all Thursday talking to myself, listening to my voice over and over again, snipping out ums, uhs, and aaaaah-okays with a flick of the wrist on a program called Audacity.

I would love it if you heard the results.

But it’s not that simple.

I like podcasts. No, I’m sorry. I love podcasts. I’ve got an iPod Nano stuffed to the gills with BBC’s Elements, On The Media and of course that nerd shibboleth Serial.

Part of it comes from my unapologetic love of NPR, which, if I had my druthers, would play around me in an airborne soundtrack like “Stayin’ Alive” when John Travolta’s just gotta strut. Like this, but with Terry Gross.

But podcasts can go further, deeper. They don’t have to be as populist and crowd-pleasing asĀ a Backstory on the history of soap or that time Afternoon Shift brought in a certain, really sexy guest star.

You can drill down in a podcast, get all sorts of obscure and geeky.

Like, say, 1,001 stories about life in Chicago.

So I started a podcast. But it’s not that simple.

I enjoy the finer things in life, such as Aldi’s pasta and not going into debt in the purchase of Aldi’s pasta. So in May, I launched a Patreon campaign designed to cut my costs just a smidge.

It’s a crowdfunding platform where you pay what you want per story, which gets collected at the start of each month. The lowest membership tier is 10 cents, so I’m not asking anyone to go broke for this, but it helps me pay for my opulent lifestyle of food and shelter.

As one of the donor benefits, I promised a podcast collecting the best stories of each month. The first one went live yesterday, for patrons only.

If you want a go at this podcasty goodness, you’re going to have to put your money where my mouth is and support the Patreon campaign at the dollar-a-story level or higher.

I’ve pulled the first few minutes of the first episode as a teaser for you, so you know what to expect. The first episode collected both parts of the Hunter of Magic story about noodle soup and Cambodian sorcerers.

Give if a listen, if you will.

I do realize we live in a world where free has become the expectation. Heck, I don’t even pay for my Elements podcast and I can’t wait for the episode on Fluorine.

But think of it as an investment, a chance to be a patron of the arts without going full Medici. Fewer puffy Renaissance hats and stabbings.

My gratitude will be endless, and I think the podcast’s pretty good.

Read the first Patreon-funded story, a look at a lost captain

Read the first of the stories I turned podcast

Listen to a Christmas message from some CTA musicians

Listen to a group of men completing the last canoe a friend was working on before he died

Hear me at a live lit event

What's this?

You are currently reading #504: Shameless Self-Promotion Theatre Part 2 by Paul Dailing at 1,001 Chicago Afternoons.

  • -30-