Ryan Broderick
Ryan Broderick is a journalist and host of Panic World. He writes the Garbage Day newsletter.
Do you consider yourself a podcaster? Or just a creator or writer or what?
Identifying as any kind of creator is embarrassing, but the only thing, in my opinion, more embarrassing than identifying as a podcaster is identifying as a YouTuber.
Describe Panic World in 10 words or less.
Witch hunts, moral panics, viral freakouts, fun times, oh yeah.
You started with your newsletter, Garbage Day, which I love. What made you decide making a podcast was the right decision.
My producer Grant and I had been kicking around ideas for about a year before we started working on it. I was hesitant to start a podcast just because they're very tough to grow and Garbage Day felt like a big enough job. But the idea we settled on felt too perfect to pass up.
Was it the right decision?
So far so good! We're growing a good sized audience and it's opening up new opportunities that the newsletter couldn't. Plus it's a lot of fun.
What was your goal for the podcast when you started it?
What is the goal for your podcast now?
Pretty much the same as when we started. We were really inspired by shows like Maintenance Phase, Behind The Bastards, and also film podcasts like Blank Check or How Did This Get Made. We want it to be fun, but also informative. Obviously, we want it to keep growing and pay the bills, so to speak, but ultimately we're trying to build a unique news-focused show and it's been a lot of fun figuring out how to do that.
How do you think about having a podcast and newsletter together…do they work together? Do you speak to the audiences separately?
We thought they would but the truth is they really don't. Based on what we can see, the majority of people only get podcast recommendations from other podcasts. There's a barrier between text and audio and no one wants to cross it. Which I sort of blame on podcast apps and social platforms more than actual users. But the two projects do fit together nicely I think and we're brainstorming ways of making them fit better together in the future.
How would you describe your audience? Can you give me like 5 words?
We actually don't know yet! I've done a bunch of live Garbage Day events and I feel like I understand who they are, but I really don't know what the average Panic World listener is like yet. Which is kind of exciting.
How do you book guests and plan episodes?
My producer Grant and I have a big spreadsheet of topics. We try to record them a month or two out and so we have a backlog to choose from. We pick guests not because they are experts in a subject, but closer to how film podcasts do it: Is this person excited about the topic? Then our researcher Adam does a deep dive into the topic, Grant throws it together into an outline, and then I handle things once we get on mic. We don't want it to feel scripted, but we do want it to be paced well and flow nicely.
If you were going to make aNOTHER podcast…don’t worry about any of the logistics, if it’s possible at all (there is no time and space) or whether or not ANYONE would like it…this podcast is for you and your budget is $1M…what would it be?
I know my producer Grant has some projects he's dying to do, but I, honestly, would love to do a super self-indulgent documentary, complete with sound design and music I do all myself. I really love that stuff — I did the Panic World theme — and I used to do little musical motifs and stuff for my previous show The Content Mines back when I had more time. I would basically use a podcast as an excuse to get super in the weeds on sound design and scoring lol.
Thanks, Ryan!