hrj | Entries tagged with literary community

There are a few more podcasts in my iTunes feed than I previously blogged about, since I wanted to stick to ones I'd listened to enough to have an opinion. On the drive from Tampa to New Orleans, I ran through several episodes of The Writer and the Critic, another Australian program that discusses two book picks each episode as well as general community discussion.

The episodes are quite long -- typically 1 hr 40 min or so -- which is why I've tended not to listen to them on my commute. I think I may have bounced off the first one I listened to back when I first subscribed, simply for random topic-related reasons. But when discussing podcasts recently someone reminded me of this one, recommending it highly. So I listened to three episodes back-to-back along the Florida panhandle.

So here's where individual taste comes into things. In general, the books they cover are quite interesting and well within the larger scope of my interest. The discussions are incisive and analytic and wide-ranging. I would love this podcast if it weren't for one little thing. The two hosts regularly interrupt and talk over each other in a way that sets my teeth on edge. And the male host talks over and interrupts the female host with far greater frequency than the other way around, which makes me want to punch something.

I stopped being able to enjoy the content of the book discussions and found myself tallying conversational infractions. So if you're ok with a high-overlap conversational style (and the gender-imbalance aspect doesn't drive you crazy) then you quite possibly would enjoy this podcast. Not on favorites list, alas.

Having finished my round-up of podcasts I've been listening to, it's interesting to think about the podcast phenomenon in general. A wonderful thing about access to technology and the internet, is the democratization of media. Unless you are operating at fairly high levels of professionalism, the limiting factor in being about to put out an audio program (or a youtube video, or a blog, or ...) is largely your own skill and expertise.

By that I mean: the difference between recording a podcast using the audio capability of a smart-phone or laptop (including multi-person options such as Skype), and doing so using the sort of higher end recording equipment likely to be available to the average person outside the music industry isn't that large. And the spread of sound quality is even smaller when you consider the non-optimal listening conditions most people enjoy. (Earbuds on public transit anyone?) Even for a step up to doing some editing and adding music intros and fades and whatnot, you're dealing with tech that (at least in some versions) is easily available and has a small learning curve. If you want to move on to a professional level, then there's a major jump in expense and expertise, but the entry level is very accessible.

So the difference between a great audio program and a so-so one is largely going to be a matter of interesting content, program structure, and a certain minimal level of vocal technique. The difference between success and obscurity seems to be mostly a combination of the first -- interesting content -- and having a network that connects you to your potential audience. From what I've seen, financial considerations (e.g., Patreon support) tends to come into it when people want to level up their sound equipment or for those for whom audio programming is part of a multi-level freelance career. Most people get started purely for the love.

As with an democratized process online, the failure mode for the consumer is wading through a flood of material you have no interest in to find the programs you do. And for the creator, the failure mode is being unable to communicate your existence to those who would enjoy being your audience. And, as with all other democratized online media, that combination of failure modes has yet to find a resolution.

I don't have a good sense of large-scale trends in who consumes what sort of online media. I hear things like "kids are all about vids these days" or "the blog is dead" or "if you don't have a YouTube book trailer what are you thinking?" and so forth. But for me, text versus audio versus video content is rarely in competition. Rather, they fill entirely different spaces in my life. I can't read blogs while commuting. I don't want to listen to fragments of audio programs while waiting for the photocopier. It's hard to multi-task around videos when I'm working on a small laptop screen (and impossible on a phone). So I gravitate toward content that matches both the technical and attention-window parameters of any given context.

On a personal level, I've sometimes thought about doing a parallel podcast version of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project. Something that combined the text discussions with some more informal thoughts. (Even the potential for bringing in multi-person discussions, although that ratchets up the emotional work considerably.) And then I have two reactions. The first is: Hey, with just a little initial set-up work, I could expand access for next to no additional work. The second is: are you bleeping crazy? The last thing you need is another hobby! And yet, if the blog format has become a stagnant pool at the side of the river of information, might it be something worth considering?

This is the third and last installment looking at the SFF podcasts I've been following (or at least tasting) in concerted effort to get a broader view of what's going on these days in the field. I'm going through these more or less in the order they appear in in iTunes display, which means starting from the earliest ones I subscribed to and moving forward.

Midnight in Karachi

This is another of the podcasts that appears as part of tor.com, hosted by Pakistani book blogger Mahvesh Murad. I think this podcast got off to a bad start for me with several guests/topics in a row that simply left me cold. I'd estimate the show runs about 50% "standard A-list authors", though with a more international slant than typical and with the discussions on a more in-depth and literary level. I keep meaning to try some more episodes selected by topic, but somehow it never rises to the top of the priority list. In part, this is also a defect of my listening context. The MiK discussions don't have the same interruptible episodic internal structure as many of the SFF talk-show style podcasts, which makes it more difficult to get back on track when I'm listening in commute-sized chunks. Perhaps I should save them for long road trips.

Fangirl Happy Hour

This show tends to be toward the "positive squee-fest" end of the SFF talk-show style, with an emphasis on media (and there is a strong emphasis on other-than-book media) that simply makes the hosts gleefully happy. The hosts are Ana (of the Book Smugglers) and Renay (of Lady Business), so if you're a fan of either of those sites and aren't listening to this, what's wrong with you? There's a strong woman-centered focus in the covered material (not necessarily female characters, but material of particular interest to female consumers) and a definite feminist consciousness in the commentary. One of the things I like about this show is that it helps keep me culturally literate in various types of media that I don't personally consume (such as comics, anime, games) without making me feel like I'm not the target audience for the show. Fangirl Happy Hour is on my "absolutely must listen" list.

The Heroine’s Journey

I added this podcast due to a reference on another show (although, as usual, I've forgotten which show and what reference). As the title might indicate, the focus is on women in media: movies, games, tv, comics -- pretty much everything except books. In contrast to my comment about "aiding cultural literacy" with regard to Fangirl Happy Hour, the depth and nature of the coverage in this show feels aimed at in-group listeners. If I'm not already at least vaguely familiar with the topic (which generally means it's a movie), it's pretty much like eavesdropping on a group of serious fans geeking out about their fandom. Well, ok, and I think that's exactly what it's intended to be. No harm, no foul. It just makes it less interesting to me personally. I'll probably drop this one eventually and I've only listened to a few episodes.

The Way of the Buffalo

I'm trying this podcast out because -- as mentioned on another show -- they're doing some serialized audio fiction as well as the talk-show style episodes. At some point I'll need to do some manual tinkering in iTunes to set up a play-list of the fiction I want to check out because it's too awkward to try to listen to older material through the default feed. I have to say that the ordinary episodes aren't doing much for me, though. The biggest minus is the production values and a certain chaotic scatteredness of script. It kind of reminds me of improvising radio dramas with a portable tape recorder as a kid. I understand that most podcasts are, literally, amateur productions (in all senses of the word), but a bit more organization and less random giggling and obscure personal in-jokes would give the show broader appeal. Also, for all that the serialized audio-book that pulled me in is Sarah Diemer's The Dark Wife, the overall demographics of the material has the sort of oblivious dude-heavy feel of guys who haven't quite realized that they pay disproportionate attention to guys.

(If it might seem that I'm being hypocritical in admiring shows with strongly female focus, I'll point out that they have a conscious and deliberate female focus. Also: not a level playing field. If a podcast had as its organizing principle "examining models of masculinity in SFF" I'd have absolutely no problem with a dude-heavy schedule.)

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And speaking of Fangirl Happy Hour, they just posted a list of 81 podcasts recommended by their listeners that you might want to check out.

Future topics in my Wednesday Literary Community series will cover my favorite SFF bloggers and zines, and a plea for recommendations of online short fiction sites to add to my gym reading.

This is the second installment (of an unspecified number) looking at the SFF podcasts I've been following (or at least tasting) in concerted effort to get a broader view of what's going on these days in the field. I'm going through these more or less in the order they appear in in iTunes display, which means starting from the earliest ones I subscribed to and moving forward.

SF Signal

SF Signal is another podcast-blog pairing and, like Skiffy & Fanty, primarily presents author interviews, book reviews, and topical discussions, although the mainstay is interviews. (These two, along with Sword and Laser, and Rocket Talk, are the shows I tend to see as heavily overlapping in content and approach, although each has its own flavor and specialties.) I tend to listen to most episodes of this show, with the previously noted exception of multiply-overlapping guests promoting the same new release. There’s a pretty good gender balance in guests, though I’m sometimes left with a subjective impression of a lot of “guy books” (especially the current fad for epic grim-dark fantasy) but that may be just because I have less interest in them that my perception gets skewed.

Sword and Laser

This show is focused around a book club run through Goodreads and a portion of each show is dedicated to discussing the book of the month, as well as presenting club member feedback and recommendations. They occasionally have guests on the show, but generally not in the author-interview format. The content is varied enough within each show that there’s always something interesting, even if the book of the month isn’t to my taste, and the hosts have a strong sense of format and presentation (and either are incredibly organized or have seamless editing skills). For all these reasons, I listen to pretty much every episode. The hosts are geographically local to me and sometimes host live meet-ups at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, but so far I haven’t managed to get to one. (I’m also a bit hesitant because I don’t participate in the book group and I have no idea how tight a social group it is. As a mere listener, I don’t entirely feel like I’d belong at such a gathering. But you have to take into consideration my own social peculiarities here.)

Speculate!

Speculate! is a departure from the standard “talk show” format and focuses a bit more on analyzing the nuts-and-bolts of writing with a more literary analysis point of view. There are author interviews but not always with the “flavor of the month” author and often as part of a series focusing on that author’s body of work. Given this, the chosen authors are often established and respected writers who have a body of work, rather than newer voices. Another standard feature is roundtable discussions with multiple people in the field on special topics. Although I like the content and format, for various reasons I find myself coming back to this show less often. (For example, when they do one of their three-part series on an author I’m not interested in, that’s a big chunk of episodes to wait out.) The episodes are also often a bit on the longer side (over an hour) which is an awkward length for my standard listening periods.

Rocket Talk

Rocket Talk is one of several podcasts appearing under the tor.com umbrella. (Essentially, one might think of them as "audio columnists".) It very much follows the "talk show" format, with one or more related guests, typically discussing either their own, or someone else's new book release. Also featured are discussions of hot topics on the SFF community and fandom. The gender balance for guests is pretty close to even and the show is pretty good at choosing entertaining speakers (or presenting them in an entertaining way) with only a few clunkers. I listen to pretty much every episode of this show.

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Next week, the last (current) installment on on SFF podcast list, with shows that I've sampled more recently: Midnight in Karachi, Fangirl Happy Hour, The Heroine's Journey, and The Way of the Buffalo. Given my commentary, what other podcasts do you think I should check out?

As previously mentioned, I’ve been coming up with some day-of-the-week themes to fill in the gaps in my blog schedule, what with scaling back the Lesbian Historic Motif Project. So, tentatively, Wednesday is going to be “larger literary community day” where I talk about my efforts to keep up with all the various media communities, fandoms, bloggers, and whatnot that are part of the conversation I try to participate in. Let’s start with sff-related podcasts. (I've ended up breaking this list up into multiple parts because it got so long. Look for a continuation next Wednesday!)

I confess I’m very much a latecomer to following podcasts. I love the iTunes podcast app, but when I started out using it, I was mostly following a few NPR shows (Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!) and doing some attempts at self-education (news shows in German and Welsh that I was trying to use to improve my listening comprehension…which is pretty much crap, sometimes even in English!).

I think I first started systematically looking into sff-related podcasts when I decided to take seriously my responsibilities as a Hugo voter last year. From there, I moved on to other shows mentioned by the ones I enjoyed, or linked to in blogs I read. I’ve pruned some that I ended up not really being interested in. Others I skim through and only listen when the topic or interviewee is of particular interest. So here are the sff podcasts that I’m currently subscribed to (I’ll do the lesbian-related podcasts in a later entry) more or less in the order I added them, since the app lists them in that order unless modified.

Podcastle.org

This is an audio fiction show, the fantasy branch of Escape Artists who also put out Pseudopod (horror) and Escape Pod (science fiction). I originally subscribed because the story lengths are just about right for a gym session. Now I’m a fanatcially dedicated listener, since they published my own story, “Hoywverch”. A lot of the fare seems a bit on the grim side for a show that isn’t specifically labelled “horror”, but we’re talking about genre labels rather than descriptions and there is a difference between dark fantasy and horror. Historically they’ve tended to lean towards “reprints” – audio versions of stories that already appeared in print – and have covered many of the fantasy stories that get a lot of buzz in the community (such as the delightful “Makeisha in Time” by Rachael K. Jones who later became one of the show’s editors). More recently they've become more open to previously unpublished stories.

SF Squeecast

A general talk-show format hosted by sff authors Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente in “a neverending panel discussion of vague positivity.” Basically: things they’re excited about. It seems to have had nearly monthly episodes through March 2014 but has become less regular since then, with the latest episode at this point back in January 2015. If you’ve ever heard any of these authors on a convention panel, you have some idea of the synergy to be found when you put them together on a podcast. And if you have any idea of the general fannish popularity of these authors, you have some idea of why they won the Hugo for Podcasts the first two years that category was in existence (2012 and 2013) after which they recused themselves from future nomination. It's a "must listen" for me, although I seem to have missed the show's heyday.

Coode Street Podcast

I subscribed to this one because it was nominated for a Hugo in 2014. Mostly book discussions, author interviews, and the like. I haven’t tended to follow it much since then. My recollection was that it simply didn’t stand out as being particularly special in any way, and – at least in the episodes I listened to – tended to skew towards male authors and guests disproportionately. A perfectly ok talk show, but it didn’t elbow its way into my regular rotation.

Galactic Suburbia

Again, I subscribed originally because the show was a Hugo nominee in 2014. (They’re also one of the two non-Puppy-slate podcasts on the 2015 ballot, along with Tea and Jeopardy.) The format is general chat in a very slow, laid-back manner among three Australian women, and leans heavily (in my listening) on non-book media. This makes it a bit less of interest to me than more book-related shows. Also, the episodes tend to be fairly long (1-2 hours) and the ones I’ve listened to have a lot of general social chatter, all of which have moved it down on my priority list for listening, though I’ve pulled it up sometimes for long road trips.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show

Another show that first came to my attention due to a Hugo nomination in 2014. A fluctuating group of show hosts (the most consistent seems to be Shaun Duke) presents author interviews, book reviews, and topical discussions. Also a regular series in which the staff hate-watch bad sci-fi movies. I listen to most of their episodes (though not usually the movie ones). This is one of a group of similar-format podcasts who often end up covering the same new releases and hot-topic authors, and I’ve learned to only listen to one of the set (whichever comes up first in rotation) when that happens because the repetitions rarely involve significant new material or insights. From a purely selfish point of view as a listener, I could wish that there was a lot less overlap and a lot more variety in the material covered, but who’s going to choose to pass when the next best-selling sff author wants to do an interview? The show also has a blog that includes columns, reviews, and features separate from the podcast topics. (Ethics compel me to note that I contributed an entry to the website’s “My Superpower” guest column and have queried about other contributions.)

Come back next week for more podcasts! Do you listen to any favorites? Which ones?