Rebecca Delgado Smith

Rebecca Delgado Smith is the host of The Alarmist. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow The Alarmist on Twitter here.

Kindly introduce yourself and The Alarmist.
Hi. Rebecca Delgado Smith here! I’m a writer, performer and host of “The Alarmist” -- A comedy podcast where I take history’s greatest tragedies & disasters and figure out who’s to blame. 

Are you truly an alarmist in real life? How much of Rebecca on The Alarmist is YOU, and how much is a character?
Rebecca is the alarmist and the alarmist is Rebecca. Believe me, sometimes I REALLY wish it was a character! I’ve dealt with anxiety for as long as I can remember and I started going to therapy almost 10 years ago (bless the heavens for that!). One of the ways that my anxiety manifests is by catastrophizing, which then makes me prone to ringing ALL of the alarms, most of the time unnecessarily, but every now and again I’m right, which then gives me the validation I need to continue my alarmist ways. I sound super fun and chill. Wanna be friends?! I’ve always relied on my sense of humor socially and I thought I was doing an excellent job covering up my alarmism, until one day I ran into my friend Mary who told me she was on her way to eat a salad for lunch. Now, this was during the E. Coli Romaine Scare of 2018, and I politely told her that sounded delicious, but to make sure she got an arugula or spinach base. Mary laughed and jokingly said, “Oh, Rebecca. You’re such an Alarmist.” And that was the moment I realized my secret was out. From then on, I just let it ride. A few months later, I started developing the idea for the podcast. I’ve always loved history (I had a high school history teacher who taught history like it was gossip and I was hooked!) and so I took my interest in history and thought of the way I would like to explore it (through the blame game, obviously). My friend and producer Amanda Lund helped me develop the idea and the format — and that’s how we got The Alarmist. It’s probably the most natural thing I’ve ever created. 

Has there been an episode that got people really excited or angry?
The episode that a few people have taken issue with is the Gender Reveal Disaster episode about a gender reveal party where a guy blew up a box that then ignited a 47,000 acre wildfire. Perhaps it’s because we sent Toxic Masculinity to the Alarmist jail? We knew some people would take issue with that, but after much thought and consideration, it was found guilty!  

What have you learned about yourself making The Alarmist? What have you learned about people? 
I must say, for the most part, everyone who has written in disagreeing with things we’ve said on the show has been eager to engage in productive dialogue - they’ve been respectful and willing to see the other side. It’s been very inspiring and reassuring to see that happen. Especially during a time where our country feels so divided and it feels like we are doing a lot of talking AT each other, instead of WITH each other. It gives me hope. 

Women are constantly being criticized for their voices on podcasts. What is your relationship to yours? 
I’ve been surprised by the amount of people who have reached out to compliment me on my voice specifically! A listener from Nepal recently wrote in saying most of the podcast there are hosted by men and that he was happy to hear one hosted by a woman. It was a nice email to get. Look, like many people, I’ve re-recorded my voicemail message a bunch of times and sometimes I hear myself and think, “Really? Am I always that high-pitched?!” That said, maybe it’s because I’ve been acting since I was a kid and I’ve experience a lot of rejection in my life, but I really don’t care what people think about my voice. Other than some vocal warm-ups (which I don’t do) there is very little I can actually do about it. I don’t pay attention to anyone who’s main gripe is “the tone of my voice.” If that’s our starting place, I don’t have time. I’ve got way too much research to do to deal with you. I’m grateful for the compliments though!

If you were going to start a new podcast, don't worry about whether or not anyone would like it or any of the logistics, what would it be?
If I didn’t have to worry about anyone being interested in it, I’d do a podcast where I voice my two dogs having conversations about them coming up with a plan for peace with the squirrels in the backyard. There are lengthy negotiations and the squirrels don’t make it easy. But I would like to give it a happy ending. Perhaps with a romantic b-story. 

Are there too many podcasts?
Never. This is still such an experimental medium. When I started working on The Alarmist I remember feeling discouraged and thinking to myself, “Just what the world needs, another podcast.” But I’m glad I didn’t give into that. There’s a lot to talk about in this world and until there’s a podcast for every single human, our work is not done!

How do you plan the show? Do you have a list of topics you want to do, or are people approaching you?
Both. I have a list of tragedies I’ve wanted to cover since the beginning and I’ve also gotten a lot of recommendations from listeners. I love to know what they’re interested in learning more about. My goal is to cover tragedies/disasters from all over the world - one from every country! I’ve got an ongoing list and we curate the episodes based on what is currently going on in the world and what we’ve already covered. 

What makes a good podcast host?
The podcast hosts I like are honest but not self-indulgent. They keep the conversation moving in a thoughtful way. They also don’t take themselves too seriously. Self-awareness is important to me. 

Can you recommend any other podcasts?
I really enjoyed season one of “Nice Try!” focusing on failed utopias in history and “Cocaine and Rhinestones” about country music history.  Also, if you like murder mystery podcasts and haven’t already listened to “Root of Evil” I don’t know what you’re waiting for. Warning: it’s intense. For something lighter, my go-to is “The Big Ones” hosted by Amanda Lund and her Earios Network co-founder Maria Blasucci, where they take hypothetical moral dilemmas and discuss what they would do.

Thanks, Rebecca!