1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: Tech Are You So. Once upon a time in mid 5 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, an editor and a writer for 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: the website HowStuffWorks dot Com were approached by their boss 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:38,319 Speaker 1: about launching a podcast that would focus on technology. At 8 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: the time, most folks didn't know what a podcast was. Now, 9 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: the media form had been around since at least two 10 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: thousand and three or two thousand and four, depending upon 11 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: whom you asked, But the concept was this podcast would 12 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: serve as a kind of brand extension for the website. 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: They would reach new audiences, and each episode would tie 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: back to articles on how stuff works dot com. The 15 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: hosts would encourage listeners to go to the website and 16 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: to read the articles as well as, you know, just 17 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: browse around in general. There was no monetization plan for 18 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: the podcast itself, not initially anyway. That would come much later, 19 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: and it was really just kind of a new type 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 1: of marketing, a brand extension for the website. The editor 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: and the writer agreed to give it a shot, So 22 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: the two went into a little used room that had 23 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: a very odd shape. So the house stuffworks dot Com 24 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: office took up an entire floor in a building in 25 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: a neighborhood called Buckhead. That's a fashionable neighborhood in Atlanta. 26 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: That's where a lot of money is in Atlanta. It's 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: mostly known for having lots of office buildings as well 28 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: as a mall filled with shops that sell stuff at 29 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: prices that are way too high for my wallet and 30 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: perhaps most notably for us, it was also the location 31 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: where the owner of how stuffworks dot Com happened to live. 32 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: The quote unquote studio wasn't a perfect rectangular room. It 33 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: actually had some odd angles to it. And in one 34 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: corner of this room there was this alcove like thing. 35 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: It was almost like it was a closet, but there 36 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: was no door separating it from the rest of the room. 37 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: Someone had hung up a curtain to cover the entrance 38 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: to that little alcove, and that alcove would become our 39 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: podcast studio. A table inside this little alcove was nestled 40 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: between shelves. The table was just large enough for two 41 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: chairs to sit on either side of it comfortably. You 42 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: could smash three in if you had to, and on 43 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: the table were a couple of microphones and two sets 44 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: of headphones. The producer would actually sit at a desk 45 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: that was inside the larger room, but on the other 46 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: side of the curtain, so they were not in the alcove. 47 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: They were on the opposite side. And it was a 48 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: bit of a weird approach because there was no visual 49 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: contact between producer and hosts. But all in all, this 50 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: strange little setup worked. There was very little noise coming 51 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,359 Speaker 1: in from other areas of the office unless the sales 52 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: or marketing teams were celebrating something, which always did make 53 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: quite a bit of noise, and the recording space was 54 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: isolated from the exterior walls, so you didn't get stuff 55 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: like traffic noise. Those two geeky, nerdy newbies to podcasting 56 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: were Chris Pollette and yours truly, Jonathan Strickland. We sat 57 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: down and we recorded a half dozen or so test episodes. 58 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: Those early ones were absolutely unusable, but eventually we got 59 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: to one that emerged from being awful to it's not 60 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: so bad, and so that became our very first episode 61 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff. The episode was titled how the Google 62 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: Apple Cloud, computer will Work. It was based off an 63 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: article that Chris Pollette had written for how Stuffworks dot 64 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: com and it originally published back on June tenth, two 65 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: thousand and eight. It was just six minutes and eight 66 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: seconds long. That is a heck of a difference from 67 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: tech Stuff episodes today. Now, to be clear, tech Stuff 68 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: was not the first stuff show to launch. That honor 69 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: technically goes to a podcast called brain Stuff, which was 70 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: originally hosted by how Stuffworks dot COM's founder, a guy 71 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,679 Speaker 1: named Marshall Brain and yes that's his real name. Brain 72 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: Stuff episodes were really short back then, like sometimes only 73 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: a couple of minutes long. This was followed by what 74 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: would become the most popular show in the Stuff library, 75 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know. Fun fact, my co host Chris 76 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: Pollette was an original co host of Stuff you Should Know. Though, 77 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: of course, the program would really find its footing once 78 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: it paired Josh Clark with Chuck Bryant. The third podcast 79 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: to launch was what would become Stuff You Missed in 80 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: History Class. I seem to recall that the original title 81 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: for that podcast was fact or Fiction. And then there 82 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: was tech Stuff. The shows launched just a few weeks 83 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: apart from each other. It's not like Stuff you Should 84 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: Know had a huge head start on us. And what's 85 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: cool is that all of these shows are still publishing 86 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: today now. Stuff You Missed in History Class has been 87 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: through a few different host pairings over the years, but 88 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy have helmed it since twenty thirteen. I 89 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: argue that once you get past a decade hosting a show, 90 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: it's safe to say it belongs to you. Brain Stuff 91 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 1: now has Lauren Vogelbaum as the host. Episodes typically come 92 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: in at around ten minutes each, and of course Tech 93 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: Stuff has been through several changes as well. Chris Pollette 94 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: left the show in early twenty thirteen, and then the 95 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: aforementioned Laura and Vogelbamb stepped in for a couple of 96 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: years to be co host, and then she too left 97 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: the show in twenty fifteen, and since that time, Tech 98 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: Stuff has been solo hosted by yours truly as dropouts. 99 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: Sam Reisch might say, I've been here the whole time, 100 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: but that's going to change too. Yep. The final constant 101 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff will be departing in the not too 102 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 1: distant future. Specifically, the plan is for the handoff to 103 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,160 Speaker 1: happen on January tenth, twenty twenty five, where I will 104 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: no longer host this show. That's assuming we stick to 105 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: our schedule that we have in mind. But you know, 106 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: schedules can change, so that date could move around a little, 107 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: so don't hold me to it. Maybe it's not going 108 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: to be January tenth, but that's what we plan. Right now. 109 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is going to continue. Tex Stuff's just going 110 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: to have new hosts, and I'll talk more about them 111 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: in a future episode. You'll learn all about them. They 112 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: are veterans, they're not, you know, fresh faced newbies to 113 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: the podcasting game, and they're incredibly accomplished in their own right. 114 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: But that's for later. And I want to be clear 115 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,359 Speaker 1: about this. This was actually my decision. In case anyone's 116 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: worried that I was shuffled off my own show. No. 117 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: In fact, I've been thinking about transitioning away from tech 118 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: Stuff for a few years now. I would have loved 119 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,559 Speaker 1: to have done it last year, but at that time 120 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: I was publishing five episodes a week, and frankly, it 121 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: was just impossible for me to do that much work 122 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: and also engage in succession planning or search for potential 123 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: new hosts. But then something happened at the end of 124 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three that really convinced me it was time 125 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: to figure out a solution, and that was I had 126 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: a big ole health scare. So on December thirtieth, twenty 127 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: twenty three, I developed a migraine. And I've had migraines before, 128 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: but this one was worse than any I had ever 129 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,239 Speaker 1: had previously. I could not lay down, I couldn't find 130 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: any comfortable position. I could not shake it, even though 131 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: I took my medications. So I told my partner and 132 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: we headed to an urgent care center, where they took 133 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: my blood pressure and found that it was dangerously high. 134 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: I mean like super dangerous. I was in stroke territory. 135 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,559 Speaker 1: So I was immediately sent to the emergency room, where 136 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: I was given some drugs to bring down my blood 137 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: pressure and some other drugs to treat the migraine, and 138 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: I returned home once the migraine had sort of subsided. 139 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: But a few days later, on January third, twenty twenty four, 140 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: I again started to feel awful, and this time we 141 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: went straight to the emergency room. By the time I 142 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: got there, I was incoherent. I could understand what people 143 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: were saying, but I could not speak. It was the 144 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,559 Speaker 1: oddest sensation. I remember. I was put into a wheeled chair, 145 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: but not you know, like a wheelchair, and I was 146 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: wheeled to a room in the er, and then the 147 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: following eight hours of my life are gone from my memory. 148 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 1: I have absolutely no recollection of what happened from that 149 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: point forward. My partner would later tell me that I 150 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: was given a lumbar puncture, but I have no memory 151 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: of that, and also told me about a nerd who 152 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: was apparently incredible and really kind and looked after me. 153 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: But I have no memory of this nurse, like nothing. 154 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: I don't know her name or what she looks like 155 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: or anything. My next memory is being in the hospital's 156 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: intensive care unit, and I actually had to stay in 157 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: that room for two days, and I saw a whole 158 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: bunch of different doctors in that time. Everyone was really 159 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: keen to figure out why my blood pressure was so high, 160 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: and ultimately the determination was that it was a convergence 161 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: of factors. One was I put on a lot of 162 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: weight since the pandemic. Like leading up to the pandemic, 163 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: I was in good shape, the best shape of my life. 164 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: But I really fell apart once the pandemic hit and 165 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: I wasn't walking as much and I didn't go to 166 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: the gym anymore. I also have sleep apnea, which probably contributed. 167 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: I also had a huge honkin kidney stone in my kidney. 168 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: As it turns out, I was also probably a contributing factor. 169 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: So for the first half of twenty twenty four, I 170 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: measured time in doctor visits. I think I had five 171 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: different doctors that I had to see on a rotating basis, 172 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: and visits were sometimes as little as a week apart, 173 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:09,959 Speaker 1: or once in a blue moon, I would have two 174 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: different doctor visits in the same week to two very 175 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: different doctors. I ended up having to have surgery to 176 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: remove the kidney stone. So if I ever really seemed 177 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: out of it this year, now you know why, it's 178 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: because I was dealing with this stuff. Now. One of 179 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: the big changes in twenty twenty four for tech stuff 180 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: is that we reduced the number of shows we published 181 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: per week. We went from five episodes to three. Really 182 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: it was more like four episodes to three, because if 183 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,080 Speaker 1: you remember back when I was doing five a week, 184 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: I was publishing classic episodes on Fridays, so that wasn't 185 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: really a heavy lift, but going from four to three 186 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: was a huge change for me, and it was really 187 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,199 Speaker 1: important for me to reduce work stress because stress was 188 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: another contributing factor to my blood pressure, and that change 189 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: gave me a little bit more time to do what 190 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: I had wanted to do for a few years, which 191 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: was to figure out a way to transfer tech stuff 192 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: to a new team that could take care of it, 193 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: that could take tech stuff beyond my contributions and hopefully 194 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: to much greater success, while still staying true to what 195 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: I think is the underlying philosophy for the show. It's 196 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: the same as it's been for the entire run of 197 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: the show, which is that tech stuff. Yes, it's about technology, 198 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: but the guiding principles are a combination of compassion and 199 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: critical thinking that those two things should guide the show 200 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: no matter how it's tackling tech. But this would also 201 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: mean that I would be able to move on from 202 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: tech stuff and focus on other things while still remaining 203 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: at iHeart Podcasts. I'd be doing more executive producing work, 204 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: and you know, with more than two thousand episodes of 205 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: this show under my belt, it is time for me 206 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: to move on. I think some of y'all would argue 207 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: I've overstayed my welcome, but I'm not leaving just yet. 208 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: I'll be recording episodes through the end of this year 209 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: and into the beginning of next year. But I didn't 210 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: want my departure to be a huge prize, so I 211 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: thought this episode would be a good opportunity to let 212 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: you know that changes are coming in the new year, 213 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: and also to look back over the history of tech 214 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: Stuff so far and reflect on what has happened. Also, 215 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 1: just to be clear, I'll still be working for iHeart Podcasts, 216 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: in case you missed me saying that earlier. I'm just 217 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: not going to be the host of tech Stuff anymore. 218 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: I might occasionally pop up here or there on various 219 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: other shows. However, you never know, so I'm not going 220 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 1: to do a retrospective of how tech has changed over 221 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: the years since tech Stuff was founded. I'm actually going 222 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: to do that later in January, when I'll be chatting 223 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: with the new hosts for tech Stuff. Instead, I thought 224 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: I would talk about how the show itself has changed 225 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: over the years, So we're going to spend some time 226 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: thinking back on the origins and evolution of the Tech 227 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast before we do that. However, let's take a 228 00:12:53,040 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 1: quick break to thank our sponsors. We're back, all right. 229 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: So I mentioned in June two thousand and eight we 230 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: launched tech stuff. At that time, HowStuffWorks dot Com was 231 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: part of Discovery Communications. That's the company that now is 232 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: part of Warner Brothers Discovery. So Discovery had acquired how 233 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot Com in October two thousand and seven. I 234 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: had I was there for that. I joined how Stuffworks 235 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 1: in February two thousand and seven. I remember getting a 236 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 1: DVD box set of Planet Earth as a kind of hey, 237 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: you just got acquired. Here's a present gift. But the 238 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,599 Speaker 1: idea was that how stuffworks dot Com would help Discovery 239 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: establish a digital presence to extend beyond its reach on 240 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: cable TV, and podcasts would be one tiny part of that. 241 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: The website would be another. But this would just be 242 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: the beginning, and HowStuffWorks dot Com ultimately would just be 243 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: one component of this strategy. Discovery would also acquire other 244 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: platforms like Revision III and Source Fan. And you may 245 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,559 Speaker 1: be aware that all of the platforms I have mentioned 246 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: are no longer under Discovery. That's what we call foreshadowing. 247 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: It tells you how things ended up going So anyway, 248 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 1: we started publishing tech Stuff in two thousand and eight, 249 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: and the episodes were intended to just be a few 250 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: minutes long. They were supposed to be kind of a 251 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: summary and analysis of articles that you could find on 252 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: the website, so every episode was supposed to relate back 253 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: to an article on the website. But Chris and I 254 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: quickly ran into a real problem because tech changes fast. Now. 255 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: Ideally you would have staff who would be dedicated to 256 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: reviewing and updating articles on a sort of rolling basis 257 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: as things change within the tech sphere, but we didn't 258 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: really have those resources, and in the meantime, we were 259 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: having to write and edit new articles for the tech 260 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: channels all the time, so there was no time to 261 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: go back and revise things constantly, which meant that a 262 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: lot of the tech articles on the site we're pretty dated. 263 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: For example, there was one article that was about how 264 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: to build a gaming computer, and that article referenced ports 265 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: and cards that hardware manufacturers didn't even bother to include 266 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: on PCs anymore because the world had moved on to 267 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: other standards. And so after just a few months of 268 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: publishing tech Stuff, we were told we could cover any 269 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: tech topic we wanted to, and there didn't have to 270 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: be an article on the site for us to reference 271 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: in order to create an episode. So that was a 272 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: huge relief. Now with that change came another big one. 273 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: Our earliest episodes were meant to be around five minutes long. Now, 274 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: remember this was before monetization, so there were no ads 275 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: running against those early episodes in those days. Now that's 276 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: a different story. Now if you go back and listen 277 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: to those episodes, now you're going to hear ads. But 278 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: I'll get to why that is in a minute. Chris 279 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: and I were still struggling to be able to say 280 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: anything of merit in just five minutes. For one thing, 281 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: we're both jokesters. Chris actually was the one who was 282 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: more heavily into making puns than I was. But for 283 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: some reason, that reputation got saddled on me. Not that 284 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: I dislike a good pun, I love them, and I 285 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: love a bad pun even more, but we found we 286 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: were bumping up against that five minute time frame and 287 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: it just wasn't really working. So eventually we were told 288 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: the episodes could be ten minutes long, and then later 289 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes long, and then not long after that, we 290 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: were told Hey, just make the episodes as long as 291 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: they need to be in order to cover whatever topic 292 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: you're talking about. Chris and I aimed to try and 293 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: keep our episodes under thirty minutes if we could, and 294 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: under twenty five if that were possible. And you contrast 295 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,680 Speaker 1: that with the average episode these days, which typically times 296 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: out at around forty seven minutes or so, and you 297 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 1: see how drastically things have changed now. I think originally 298 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: we were publishing either one episode or two episodes a week, 299 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 1: but we would go back and forth, like I can't 300 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: remember now. I guess I could go into our publishing 301 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: platform and look at the publication day and just figure 302 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: it out that way. But this changed a lot in 303 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: the early years, like how many episodes we would publish 304 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 1: a week. We're trying to find that sweet spot, like 305 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: is two too many? Is one enough? Should we look 306 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: at doing three? Typically we were around two a week, 307 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: as I recall, but later on it would go up 308 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: to three, and then for a few years it was 309 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 1: a grueling five episodes a week schedule. The reason if 310 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: that largely comes down to ad inventory, and we might 311 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: as well cover that. I mean, so podcasts, you know, 312 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: obviously are a lot of podcasts anyway, are ads supported, 313 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: Not all of them. Some podcasts are a labor of 314 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: love and aren't monetized at all. Some podcasts are behind 315 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 1: a paywall, so you subscribe for a certain amount per 316 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: month and you get them. Some are sponsored, so that 317 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: deal is a little different from ads. But a lot 318 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: are ads supported, and you typically figure out how many 319 00:17:55,800 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: ads will will comfortably fit within a pot, or sometimes 320 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: uncomfortably if we're being honest, those are not my decisions. 321 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: By the way, I have never been the one to 322 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: make the decision on how many ads per ad break 323 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: we should have for our podcasts. I have to abide 324 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: by the rules. I don't make the rules. So once 325 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: you figure that out, like how many ads can a 326 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: podcast hold within a certain amount of time, then you 327 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: have an inventory that you can sell to advertisers, and 328 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: your goal is to sell as much of that inventory 329 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: as possible. But sometimes you get a little a little 330 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 1: over zealous. Maybe you sell more inventory than there actually is, 331 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,239 Speaker 1: which means you have to create more inventory, and there 332 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 1: are different ways of doing that. One is you add 333 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: more ad spots per break, so instead of having one 334 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: ad or two ads, you might have three or four 335 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 1: maybe even five ads per ad break. Another is adding 336 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: more ad breaks per episode, so you say, well, we 337 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: used to say every thirty minutes put in an AD break. 338 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: Now let's say every fifteen minute you put in an 339 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: AD break. That's another way. Another way is you start 340 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: adding more episodes, you have people recording more, or you 341 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,439 Speaker 1: might do a combination of all these things. And if 342 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: you notice, Tech Stuff was one of those combo shows 343 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: where we were publishing five times a week with you know, 344 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 1: fairly long episodes and lots of ad breaks. So that 345 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: ended up being a big reason for the way tech 346 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: Stuff evolved is that it was the money side of 347 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff. You know, you can't just do this for free. 348 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: Podcasting does cost money. You have hosting fees, you have 349 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: the salaries of the people who work on the shows, 350 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,199 Speaker 1: so there has to be a way to monetize or 351 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 1: else you're losing money on the deal and that's just 352 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: not a business, right. So that in large part shaped 353 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: tech Stuff for quite some time. So we get down 354 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,439 Speaker 1: to five times a week, and then we scale back 355 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: to three times a week once I have my little 356 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: medical whoopsie as I like to call it. But for 357 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 1: a really long time we didn't have any ads at all, 358 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: but no one did really. I mean, there might have 359 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: been a few podcasts that were monetized, but by and 360 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 1: large most were not. Podcasts were so new and seen 361 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: as being such a niche form of media that no 362 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: one had really established a model for advertising or sponsorship 363 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: for those shows. In the early days, Rarely Chris and 364 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: I would get a request from our boss to do 365 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: an episode about a specific topic, and it would turn 366 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 1: out that the request was part of a larger ad 367 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: deal that had been made for the website houstuffworks dot com, 368 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: and a podcast episode was kind of thrown on top 369 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: as sort of a perk for that ad deal to close. 370 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 1: But that was the exception, it was not the rule. 371 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 1: Ninety Nine percent of the time, Chris and I got 372 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: to pick our own topics and there was really no 373 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 1: outside interference, which was great. We would each do our 374 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 1: research separately for our episodes. We wouldn't share notes or 375 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,640 Speaker 1: anything until we got to the studio, and then Chris 376 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: and I would have a conversation. It was mostly unstructured, 377 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: and most of the time it worked out great. We 378 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: usually ended up leaving some off unmentioned, just because the 379 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: flow of conversation didn't allow for every little factor tidbit 380 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: we had researched. Once in a while, however, things just 381 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 1: didn't work. I remember there was one recording session where 382 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: Chris and I struggled through a topic. I can't remember 383 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: what it was at this point. It's on the tip 384 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: of my tongue, but I just can't quite remember. But 385 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: I do remember that at the end of the recording session, 386 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: we looked at each other and just kind of said, 387 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: that was terrible, and we made a very hard call. 388 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: We decided to go back into the studio to scrap 389 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: the original recording and to have the conversation all over again, 390 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: and luckily our producer agreed to do that. I don't 391 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 1: remember who was producing that particular session at that time. 392 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: Our original producer was Jerry, who is famous for being 393 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: the producer of Stuff You Should Know. But we also 394 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: had other folks. We had Tyler Klang, who now is 395 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,120 Speaker 1: a leader in production at iHeart Podcasts. We had Matt Frederick, 396 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:55,919 Speaker 1: one of the hosts of Stuff They Don't Want You 397 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: to Know. Noel Brown, one of the hosts of Ridiculous History. 398 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,959 Speaker 1: We also produced several episodes of tech Stuff. Ramsey Yunt 399 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: served as a producer, was a phenomenal producer who booked 400 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 1: a lot of really cool guests for Tech Stuff. And 401 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,879 Speaker 1: then I have my current and awesome producer, Tari, who's 402 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: been taking care of me for years now. Anyway, back 403 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: to the evolution of Tech Stuff, I'm not sure when 404 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: we first started to monetize the show. I don't remember 405 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:25,119 Speaker 1: what year that was. I do remember it wasn't a 406 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: frequent thing for the first few years, like some shows 407 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: would get ads and some wouldn't. Eventually, though, advertisers began 408 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: to recognize the potential value of podcasts, and sales teams 409 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 1: were able to start making ad deals for them. Our 410 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,920 Speaker 1: early ads were baked in or embedded ads. That means 411 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: we would just record the ads directly into the show 412 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 1: recording itself. The idea was that those ads would just 413 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: be part of that episode from that point forward. That's 414 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: different from the way web advertising typically works. You know, 415 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: usually a web advertising deal is to last for a 416 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: certain number of impressions or paid and then once it 417 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: hits that the ad deal concludes, and at that point 418 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: the web administrator can sell that same advertising space to 419 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: someone else. Initially, that wasn't really a possibility with podcasting, 420 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: but later on publishing platforms would introduce dynamic ads. These 421 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: would be digital markers that you put in a recording 422 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: and they designate where an AD needs to go within 423 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 1: that recording. So you then record those ads separately, and 424 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 1: then those ads can swap out as one deal concludes 425 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,120 Speaker 1: and a new one starts up. So if you've ever 426 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: dived into a back catalog of one of our shows, 427 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: whether it's tech stuff or something else, and you thought, hey, 428 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: that's weird, I'm hearing the same ads I would hear 429 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: if I was listening to yesterday's episode, well, that's why 430 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: it's this dynamic ad insertion. But yeah, in the early days, 431 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: we didn't have dynamic ads, so they were recorded directly 432 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: into the show. I think someone actually had to go 433 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: back manually and cut out those old ads in order 434 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:04,399 Speaker 1: to introduce new digital markers to previously existing shows. That 435 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 1: had to be a heck of a thing to have 436 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:10,120 Speaker 1: to do. Our early advertisers were ones that all podcasters 437 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 1: weren't working with. You know, you had brands like Meandes 438 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,959 Speaker 1: or Blue Apron or Casper Mattresses, and we loved working 439 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: with these folks. They were really enthusiastic about using podcasts 440 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: to reach customers. They really believed in the medium, and 441 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: they made great stuff that we really liked, and so 442 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: it was just a really good match. Now, over time, 443 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: as our shows grew and the business evolved, as well 444 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: as our corporate overlords changed over we'll talk more about 445 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 1: that extensively in a bit, we eventually tapped into larger, 446 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: more established companies as advertisers. That's not to take anything 447 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: away from our earlier partners, whom sometimes we still get 448 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: to work with, which is awesome. It just widened the 449 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: spectrum of the types of advertisers who were working with us, 450 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: and we had really big company names purchasing ad space 451 00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:00,199 Speaker 1: or sometimes working with us to create sponsored episodes. That 452 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: was an enormous change industry wide. Other changes were happening 453 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,239 Speaker 1: behind the scenes and probably weren't quite as evident to listeners. So, 454 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: as I mentioned, Discovery Communications acquired how stuffworks dot Com 455 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: back in two thousand and seven. That deal didn't go 456 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,400 Speaker 1: so swell for Discovery in the long run, I'm afraid. 457 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: So back in two thousand and seven, Discovery paid two 458 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty million dollars for house stuffworks dot Com 459 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: a princely sum. Seven years later, in twenty fourteen, Discovery 460 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 1: would sell off HowStuffWorks dot Com to another company, this 461 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: one called blue Cora, for just forty five million dollars. 462 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: That's a big old ouch when your your selling price 463 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,640 Speaker 1: has dropped by two hundred and five million dollars. Yikes. Now, 464 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: In the years between two thousand and seven and twenty fourteen, 465 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: there were some other changes, some of which were painful. 466 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: One change was that our office was relocated from occupying 467 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: a full floor of the building we were in to 468 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: a little less than half a floor. So obviously that 469 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: was a big downsizing, and part of that relocation meant 470 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: the room that we had been using to record in 471 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 1: needed to be repurposed. So the podcast studio ended up 472 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: moving into an unoccupied office. Actually, technically it office hopped 473 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: a couple of times to different offices, and it made 474 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 1: recording a real challenge because the offices had windows that 475 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: faced out to the exterior world, and obviously the exterior 476 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: world could sometimes be a bit noisy. I actually remember 477 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 1: at times when we sat down to record, we would 478 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: be able to hear Baton Bob as he blew his 479 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: whistle and marched up and down Peachtree Street outside. Now, 480 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: if you don't know who Baton Bob is, well, that 481 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: wouldn't surprise me. He's a local personality, is a good 482 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: word for it. He's an ambassador of fun and joy 483 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: and a force to be reckoned with here in Atlanta. 484 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: So there are some episodes of tech stuff that, if 485 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: you were to listen really carefully, you might actually hear 486 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: the Toon Bob blowing a whistle way off in the background, 487 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 1: because even though we were on like the fourteenth floor 488 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,120 Speaker 1: or something like that, you could still hear them. In general, 489 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: traffic noise in the light became a real nuisance in 490 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 1: this era. We would also later relocate to a lower 491 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: floor in that same building, which just made it worse 492 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 1: because we'd be closer to the traffic. Now, tech stuff 493 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,240 Speaker 1: continued to change too. There were other growing pains. For one, 494 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:29,199 Speaker 1: Discovery Communications would occasionally require us to do episodes that 495 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: were aligned to some Discovery programming. I'll never forget the 496 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: first time we were asked to do a Shark Week 497 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,400 Speaker 1: episode because there wasn't a whole lot of tech related 498 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: to sharks that we could talk about. I mean things 499 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: like you know, tracking pods and stuff were pretty low 500 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 1: tech and easy to explain, and shark cages aren't particularly 501 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:50,960 Speaker 1: high tech either, but we made the best of it. 502 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: But yeah, those were some growing pains, but a lot 503 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: of other big changes were coming. I mean, Chris Pollette 504 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: left the show in twenty thirteen, and Lauren Vogel Bomb 505 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 1: came on at that time, and other things at the 506 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: house Stuffworks dot Com office sometimes got a bit rough. 507 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 1: I'll explain more, but first let's take another quick break. 508 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,680 Speaker 1: So before the last break, I talked about how things 509 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: at house Stuffworks sometimes got a little dicey. That's because, 510 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: like in September, we would often end up having some layoffs. 511 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: Sometimes the layoffs would be small and sometimes they were 512 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: more extensive. September was just a rough time of year, 513 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: and I believe personally that's because Discovery would be heading 514 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: into its final quarter for the fiscal year and would 515 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: be looking for ways to cut costs in order to 516 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:50,240 Speaker 1: maximize shareholder value. And Discovery was a publicly traded company, 517 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: so cutting costs would be a great way to boost 518 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: If revenue wasn't doing great, then cut costs and things 519 00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: look better. And one way to cut costs is to 520 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 1: cut jobs and I remember there was one year in 521 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 1: particular where the editorial department was called into a meeting, 522 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: and once we all got into the meeting room, we 523 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,480 Speaker 1: noticed that a good number of us, like at least 524 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,520 Speaker 1: a third, maybe half, of the editorial department wasn't in 525 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: the meeting room. And then we were told that those 526 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: folks have been let go. And I additionally noticed that 527 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: nearly everyone who was left was someone who was currently 528 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,959 Speaker 1: working on a podcast. There were a couple of exceptions, 529 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: but most of us were working on at least one podcast, 530 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: and I found that interesting. At the time, I was 531 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,880 Speaker 1: still actively writing articles for the website in addition to 532 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: hosting tech stuff Now. Around the same time that Discovery 533 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: sold us to the company Blue Cora, the house Stuffworks 534 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: dot Com offices relocated out of Buckhead entirely and we 535 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 1: moved into new spaces in a building called Ponce City Market. 536 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: This was in a neighborhood in Atlanta called the Old 537 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: Fourth Ward. So for the first time, we were able 538 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: to plan an office space with podcasts studios in mind. 539 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: From the get go, we weren't repurposing a space to 540 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: become a studio. We were building studios from the get go. 541 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: And initially in that space we had two audio podcast 542 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: studios and two video studios. This was during the whole 543 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: pivot to video era of online content creation. Eventually we 544 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: would end up converting those video studios into two additional 545 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: audio recording studios. We actually assembled whisper rooms inside those 546 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: video studios, which meant you would open a door to 547 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: what was once a video studio and you'd step in 548 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: and you would see that inside that room was a 549 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: tinier room, you know, a little free standing recording studio. 550 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: Those whisper rooms were really quiet, but they were also 551 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: kind of stuffy, so actually preferred recording in one of 552 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:51,239 Speaker 1: the older podcast rooms if possible. Blue Cora ended up 553 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: being a very odd fit for us. The company was 554 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 1: mostly known as a tax and wealth management service company. 555 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: Last year it actually changed its name to Van Tax, 556 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: but at the time it was blue Cora, and we 557 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: went to it and none of us are really sure 558 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,240 Speaker 1: what it would mean, And it turned out we didn't 559 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,920 Speaker 1: have to worry for too long because Blue Cora had 560 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: a division called Infospace. In fact, originally the company was Infospace, 561 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: but Infospace became associated with a specific service and then 562 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:24,479 Speaker 1: ended up creating a parent company organization called Bluecorra because 563 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: it didn't want to have confusion with other properties that 564 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,520 Speaker 1: the company was acquiring, how stuffworks dot Com was nestled 565 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 1: under Infospace. In twenty sixteen, Bluecorra sold Infospace and how 566 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot Com along with it, to another company called 567 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 1: OpenMail for the princely sum of forty five million dollars. 568 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 1: And you might say, huh, so Bluecorra sold house stuffworks 569 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 1: dot Com for the same amount of money as what 570 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: they paid back in twenty fourteen, But that's not totally 571 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 1: correct because Infospace was a huge honk of that deal. 572 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 1: So in other words, this was a really demoralizing time 573 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: to be part of how Stuffworks done. It had gone 574 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: from being this prize of a content company in two 575 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, which sold for two hundred and fifty 576 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: million dollars, to being part of a package deal for 577 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 1: just forty five million. Anyway, open Mail then renamed itself 578 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:18,480 Speaker 1: as System one system with the numeral one all one word. 579 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: So for those keeping track tech stuff existed under the 580 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 1: regimes of well, there was a Web Content Group, but 581 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: after that there was Discovery Communications, Blue Cora via Infospace, 582 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 1: open Mail slash System one, So I hope we're all 583 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: caught up. By this time in twenty sixteen, I was 584 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: the solo host of Tech Stuff, though I would often 585 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: reach out to my peers and colleagues to get guest 586 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: co hosts to come in, and folks within the house 587 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: Stuffworks family would join in. Sometimes. That included Holly Frye 588 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: and Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, Ben Bolan, Noel Brown, 589 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 1: Scott Benjamin, Joe McCormick, and Robert Lamb. They would occasionally 590 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: help me out and join the show from outside our network. 591 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: Folks like Shannon Morse and tom Merritt, Veronica Belmont, I 592 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 1: as actar, Jason Howell, Ashley Esketa, and Moore have joined 593 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: me as guest co hosts, and I owe them all 594 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: big time. In fact, folks like tom Merritt and Jason 595 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 1: Howell and Veronica Belmont were all huge inspirations to me 596 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:20,440 Speaker 1: before I even started podcasting myself. I had been listening 597 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:22,880 Speaker 1: to them podcasts for a couple of years before we 598 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,480 Speaker 1: launched Tech Stuff. Of course, the changes didn't stop with 599 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: the open mail system one acquisition. Another huge change happened 600 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen. This one would actually split houstuffworks dot 601 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: Com up into two different entities. One of those entities 602 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 1: was the website side. That one would stay with System One. 603 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 1: The other half, the podcast division, would spin off to 604 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: become a subsidiary called stuff Media. Now, up to this point, 605 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,160 Speaker 1: I had been working in both divisions while also doing 606 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: stuff like hosting a popular video series called Forward Thinking, 607 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,760 Speaker 1: which was part of a big sponsorship deal with Toyota. 608 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: But at this point my care moved with the media company. 609 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: I became part of Stuff Media. While we stayed in 610 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,320 Speaker 1: the same office space as the house stuffworks dot Com folks, 611 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,839 Speaker 1: we technically worked for two different divisions, and that would 612 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,839 Speaker 1: change even more the following year because it was in 613 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:18,840 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen that we got word that iHeartMedia was acquiring 614 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,280 Speaker 1: Stuff Media, and the house stuffworks dot Com folks moved 615 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,759 Speaker 1: out of our office space. That was really sad for 616 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,720 Speaker 1: a lot of us. We had all grown really close 617 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,359 Speaker 1: over the years, but they had to move out, and 618 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: Stuff Media would become kind of a nexus for Iheart's 619 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,759 Speaker 1: podcast initiative, what we now call iHeart Podcasts. Now, to 620 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,399 Speaker 1: be clear, iHeart was already producing podcasts at this time. 621 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,520 Speaker 1: The company owns hundreds of radio stations, and lots of 622 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 1: those radio stations were already converting their broadcasted programming into podcasts. 623 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,600 Speaker 1: Either they would release a full recording of a complete broadcast, 624 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,080 Speaker 1: or they would cut it into a kind of best 625 00:34:56,200 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: of cut. Stuff Media would sort of become a strategy 626 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,800 Speaker 1: central for Iheart's podcasting arm, and the stuff legacy shows 627 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:07,360 Speaker 1: like Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, 628 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,840 Speaker 1: and tech stuff would become flagship shows on that network. 629 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:12,799 Speaker 1: And there were a lot of other stuff shows that 630 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 1: launched in the years before the iHeart acquisition, So we 631 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: had shows like car Stuff, Stuff Mom Never Told You, 632 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 1: Stuff they Don't want you to know, which actually I 633 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,279 Speaker 1: named that show, which is a fun little fact, and 634 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,920 Speaker 1: lots more other stuff shows and non stuff shows had 635 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: launched over the years. Now I can honestly say that 636 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 1: out of all the corporate moves I was part of 637 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,520 Speaker 1: since joining how Stuffworks dot Com back in February two 638 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:45,759 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, the iHeart acquisition was by far the smoothest. 639 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 1: It was a natural fit, far more so than Discovery 640 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,759 Speaker 1: Communications had been, and to me, it made way more 641 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,680 Speaker 1: sense than the Bluecorra infospace deal. We continued to work 642 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: out of Pont City Market for a couple more years, 643 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,040 Speaker 1: but our lease was coming up, and something else what 644 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,720 Speaker 1: happened that would become a catalyst for another relocation. That's 645 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:08,800 Speaker 1: something was, of course, the COVID pandemic. So our office 646 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: shut down on March thirteenth, twenty twenty. And I know 647 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: that because every now and then I would have to 648 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: go back into the office. It would be completely empty, 649 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: but I would have to go in there for some 650 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,840 Speaker 1: reason or another. And one of my colleagues had a 651 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,440 Speaker 1: desk calendar on his desk and it was set to 652 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,120 Speaker 1: March thirteenth, twenty twenty, and it just stayed on that date, 653 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: which was a sobering reminder. You'd be walking by in 654 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 1: like October and it would still say March thirteenth, twenty twenty. 655 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: It's just rough. Eventually it became clear that we were 656 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 1: going to let go of the Pont City Market space 657 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: and that we would relocate so that we would be 658 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: working side by side with the iHeartRadio Atlanta office, with 659 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,320 Speaker 1: the actual radio folks of iHeart. Now, that move took 660 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:53,880 Speaker 1: a while. It took actually a long time longer than 661 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: we had anticipated, in order to set up the space. 662 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,759 Speaker 1: That is not anyone's fault. I should add because the 663 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 1: Pan and Dimmick did such a huge number on supply chains, 664 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,000 Speaker 1: that's no surprise that stuff like construction took a really 665 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: long time. But now in our current space in Atlanta, 666 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:15,439 Speaker 1: we have the nicest audio recording studios I've ever had 667 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: the pleasure to work inside. The Crown Jewel is one 668 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:22,280 Speaker 1: studio in our office that has multiple high definition cameras 669 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,239 Speaker 1: positioned around it. All of those cameras are controllable from 670 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:29,440 Speaker 1: a producer workstation that has a broadcast television studio kind 671 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,000 Speaker 1: of set up where you can do live switching between cameras. 672 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,720 Speaker 1: It's super cool. Now most of the time I record 673 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 1: tech stuff out of my home office because it's just me. 674 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,640 Speaker 1: I mean, it seems a bit extravagant to take up 675 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: a whole studio when it's just one guy talking into 676 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:46,759 Speaker 1: a microphone. But soon that time will come to an end, 677 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:51,240 Speaker 1: and I'm really excited to see where tech stuff goes next. 678 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: Now I don't want to spoil the surprise just yet, 679 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,560 Speaker 1: but as we get closer to January, I'll talk more 680 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,799 Speaker 1: about the team that's going to be the new stewards 681 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,359 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff. As I mentioned, It is a team 682 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 1: that already has an impressive history in media. They have 683 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:10,160 Speaker 1: a long list of accomplishments, far more accomplished than I am. 684 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,799 Speaker 1: So tech stuff is in great hands. It's going to 685 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,440 Speaker 1: go to places that it never could under just my 686 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:21,000 Speaker 1: own stewardship. But as for me, I'm not really going anywhere. 687 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to remain with iHeart Podcasts. I will be 688 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:27,680 Speaker 1: an executive producer. You might occasionally hear me pop up 689 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 1: on Ridiculous History. I play a character called the Quizt 690 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,080 Speaker 1: on Ridiculous History. Haven't been the Quiztor Cush. It's been 691 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,040 Speaker 1: like a couple of years now, But if we can 692 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,360 Speaker 1: ever get our schedules to work out again, I'll be 693 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 1: popping back up there to make their lives a living hell. 694 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: Outside of iHeart, there's a tiny little podcast called large 695 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:51,280 Speaker 1: Nerdron Collider. We used to have it on the iHeart network. 696 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,759 Speaker 1: It's independent now. You can seek that out if you 697 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:56,240 Speaker 1: want to hear me chat with my friend Ariel about 698 00:38:56,239 --> 00:38:59,400 Speaker 1: geeky movies and television shows and stuff like that. We 699 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 1: typically cover like geek news and give our perspectives on it, 700 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,040 Speaker 1: and we have very different perspectives, so it's a fun conversation. 701 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:09,040 Speaker 1: You can check out that show if you like narrative 702 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:13,319 Speaker 1: fiction podcasts. I would absolutely love it if you would 703 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,000 Speaker 1: check out the show Kadi Womple with the Shadow People. Yes, 704 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,799 Speaker 1: it's a very silly title. It's a whimsical title, I 705 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:21,920 Speaker 1: guess I should say. And it's a show that was 706 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:26,680 Speaker 1: created by my friend Shay Lee and I edit that podcast. 707 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 1: So if you listen to Kadi Womple with the Shadow People, 708 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,240 Speaker 1: all the soundscaping and stuff is done by yours truly. 709 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,640 Speaker 1: Plus once in a while, I lend my voice to 710 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 1: a couple of characters. And I've written a few episodes 711 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:41,239 Speaker 1: for the show. And who knows, I might end up 712 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:44,799 Speaker 1: working on some other series as a host in the 713 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:47,360 Speaker 1: future with iHeart. We'll have to see. There are no 714 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,279 Speaker 1: current plans for that, but it's an open door, so 715 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 1: I might be doing other shows, probably limited run shows, 716 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:57,000 Speaker 1: because I do plan on taking on a lot more 717 00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:00,360 Speaker 1: executive producer duties in the years to come. But I 718 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,719 Speaker 1: don't plan on getting out of the game entirely now. 719 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,320 Speaker 1: As I mentioned, I'll still be recording Tech Stuff episodes 720 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,600 Speaker 1: through the end of twenty twenty four and into the 721 00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:09,839 Speaker 1: very beginning of twenty twenty five. So you're not rid 722 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:13,080 Speaker 1: of me just yet. But yeah, I wanted to take 723 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,759 Speaker 1: this opportunity to announce that this change is coming so 724 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,359 Speaker 1: that it doesn't take you by surprise, and to get 725 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:22,360 Speaker 1: you excited about it. This isn't something to be upset about. 726 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,920 Speaker 1: This is something to be excited about, because I was 727 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 1: really worried for more than a year. Now that I'm 728 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:31,120 Speaker 1: just repeating myself, and I don't want to do that. 729 00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:34,000 Speaker 1: It does a disservice to you, the listener. You deserve 730 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,839 Speaker 1: better than that. You deserve to have fresh perspectives that 731 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:41,359 Speaker 1: are able to dive deep into the tech topics that 732 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:45,399 Speaker 1: are important to us today and to really demystify them 733 00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:49,839 Speaker 1: and to analyze them and kind of turn them over 734 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:52,440 Speaker 1: to see what makes them tick and how they interact 735 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:56,000 Speaker 1: with us and how we in turn shape technology. And 736 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,920 Speaker 1: I have full confidence that that is going to continue. 737 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:01,759 Speaker 1: So that's it for today's episode. It's a different kind 738 00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:03,799 Speaker 1: of episode of tech stuff, but we'll be back to 739 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:05,880 Speaker 1: the normal stuff for at least another like month and 740 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:09,399 Speaker 1: a half before things get really weird. Then we'll see 741 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: where it goes. I hope all of you out there 742 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:15,000 Speaker 1: are doing incredibly well, and I'll talk to you again 743 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:25,919 Speaker 1: really soon. Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more 744 00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,719 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 745 00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:36,240 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.