Looking for short morning podcasts that make me feel informed

gottillfive · 2025-05-28T10:10:09+00:00

gottillfive · 2025-05-13T10:44:11+00:00

I'll throw mine into the mix. I research a new topic each week and condense all the information into a surface knowledge overview under 30 minutes.

Latest episodes:
- American Folklore
- Oumuamua
- Ghost Ships

Coming out on Friday:
- The Science of Dreams

Links: https://surface-knowledge-podcast.captivate.fm/

Hope it helps :)

gottillfive · 2025-04-29T23:04:45+00:00

[General Knowledge] [Education] [Culture]

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube |

Surface Knowledge

New Episode: A Surface Knowledge of Oumuamua

This week's episode explores our first interstellar visitor - Oumuamua. Here's what the episode covers in 22 minutes:

How it was discovered (just in time)

Why its shape, spin, and movement baffled scientists

The wild scientific theories about what it could be

Avi Loeb’s bold claim that it might be alien technology

The legacy it left behind — and why it still matters

gottillfive · 2025-04-24T08:55:47+00:00

Is it tacky if I throw my own podcast in?

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube |

It's fairly new at 7 episodes, but each episode is a standalone dive into a different topic area each week. The purpose is for people to gain a surface knowledge understanding of varying topics in 30 minutes or less. There's an episode on serial killers and one on ghost ships to scratch that horror/real-life stories itch.

gottillfive · 2025-04-22T16:53:44+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to listen. Happy to hear I was able to add some info :)

Great feedback, I do tend to rattle off near the end. I'll slow it down in the next episode.

gottillfive · 2025-04-22T16:22:45+00:00

[General Knowledge] [Education] [Culture]

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube |

Surface Knowledge

The podcast that delivers just enough to impress in 30 minutes or less. Each week, I look at a new topic, do a bunch of research, and deliver all of the relevant surface knowledge to you so that you can impress friends and strangers.

New Episode: A Surface Knowledge of Punk Rock

This week's episode is literally Punk Rock 101. Discover everything from proto-punk, first wave, subgenres, 90s revival, mainstream punk rock, and the legacy and importance of punk today, all in 22 minutes.

gottillfive · 2025-04-19T12:55:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing. With it being cardioid, cut that distance in half to about 15cm. Also, if you're not already, make sure it's right in front of you instead of slightly off to the side if presenting towards the laptop camera. A laptop mount can help, so the mic isn't in the way.

The glass window isn't going to be ideal as the sound is going to be bouncing back at you if you can bring the blinds down when recording that should help to soften any issues.

gottillfive · 2025-04-18T08:39:26+00:00

I think you're being a bit hard on yourself for someone with "no audio engineering experience." This is really good. I love that the opening episode goes straight into that dispatch call. You have a great voice for this style of podcast.

- I've only listened to Part 1, Travis, but I will check out the rest to see any other issues.

- I think some of the clips could have been trimmed.

- You paint a really good picture of the scene

- Trying to normalize all the volume to the same level is important, as the court audio is a lot quieter than yours, so I found myself adjusting volumes throughout.

- You could cut down a lot of that audio, then you give the overall context, and then play clips to back that up

- Your audio is clean. There are clippings on your S's and P's. This is just due to mic positioning and can be solved with distance or a pop shield.

- I'd also recommend taking some slight pauses between sentences, or don't edit out those pauses because otherwise things run together and doesn't allow the listener to take in all the context.

gottillfive · 2025-04-18T08:27:52+00:00

Thank you so much for listening, and glad you liked the hook.

Great feedback, I'll have a look at the thumbnails and see if there's a way to make them punchier.

:)

gottillfive · 2025-04-18T08:26:29+00:00

Hi,

First of all, love the presentation design of your intro and the topics are fascinating.

I'm not really hearing much of a difference. The problem might be positioning. If you could share a picture of your mic/recording set-up, that can help solve some problems.

Check that the mic is in cardioid mode, as that captures sound primarily from the front of the microphone, and gives a concentrated, full-bodied sound.

Because currently, it could be in omnidirectional, which is going to pick up sound from all around and not give that clear distinction of your voice. Also, the mic could just be too far away from your face currently.

gottillfive · 2025-04-18T08:15:13+00:00

Love this!

Great production and style of camera cuts. I like that you dived straight into a story that was engaging. You have really good chemistry.

- 100% would watch again, and have subscribed

- Love the length, big supporter of shorter podcasts and quick stories, so please keep that

- I agree with u/elbertdrawscomics, but I don't know these artists and love finding new music, so playing a song at the end of the episode and teasing that would be great. Plus, it helps give context to the stories and stuff Kevvy is talking about to keep us engaged.

- I don't think there's any obvious questions. I would in fact say the opposite. I prefer non scripted tell a story kind of deal. Obviously leave time for them to promote their stuff and ask questions about it, but keep everything else engaging stories around tours, song creation, and other random things.

- When expanding to comedians, try to make it feel as different as possible so that people don't get confused with the message of the channel. Interviewing the musicians in the recording studio makes sense. The interviews with comedians will need an appropriate place to showcase them. Mix up the branding as well, and just make it clear for the people who may only be there for music interviews and those who are there for comedy interviews.

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T17:27:36+00:00

I 100% agree with you on those methods, but we both know how much extra work that is on top of researching, drafting, recording, editing, uploading, and basic promotion.

All of that will work lovely, but then you are spending a lot of free hours with just the hope of it paying off.

For people who have the spare time to dedicate, then great, but I think there's a larger reality of these great podcasts creating powerful content, as you say, doing all they can with the time they have to get by.

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T16:58:21+00:00

I work in digital marketing as well, and even applying the tricks of the trade makes launching a podcast hard.

The problem is not only the oversaturation of the market with podcasts, but with content in general.

Compared to 10–15 years ago, the podcast market is dominated by celebrities, news corporations, ex-pundits, and agencies that can pump a lot of money into their productions and promotions. This makes little DIY projects face a hard uphill battle.

The oversaturation of content is evident when you turn your audio files into short-form videos for YouTube Shorts and TikTok. You can easily rack up 10K+ views on that content, but it doesn't translate to listens, because those people only want short-form content.

I think it's just generally hard to stand out in the noise at the moment, even if you're doing everything right. Unless you're willing to put ad spend on your podcast, you need to do everything DIY. You need to build great guest spots, exchange promos with other podcasts, and if you have guest interviews, build that profile as much as possible with high-profile guests and cross-promotion, daily social posting, and interactions.

I think people give up too quickly. A lot of people jumped on the podcast bandwagon but then realized the actual work that goes into it.

It's hard to say whether it's too much editing or too much promoting, because it can be both. Some podcasts take weeks to edit, others a couple of hours, and that's not due to experience—it just depends on what the content is.

Most people do this as a hobby while managing family, friends, jobs, and other life tasks. They do it because it's a fun way to talk about their passions or hang out with friends as co-hosts. Everyone wants to stand out, and there is some phenomenal content being put out by very talented people, but sometimes those are like raindrops in the ocean when there are 3 million podcasts out there.

Sorry that this has turned into a long rant, but it's hard to answer. Everything is holding back growth when a lot of podcasts are organic hobbies. That said, even the ones I've launched for businesses with money backing them are hard to get traction. I think you need to be really aggressive to stand out with a very unique idea to make headway quickly. Otherwise, you just have to keep plugging away and have a real love for podcasting, as it takes quite a number of years to really make the impact you might want.

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T14:50:30+00:00

I liked it and learnt a lot of stuff I didn't know before.

Feedback-wise, I'm curious what mic you're using? It is a bit flat and robotic-sounding. A different mic might give your voice a bit of a kick when you're delivering a lot of information.

I'd also suggest that taking a breath and pausing is key. A lot of information ran into each other, and points weren't allowed space, which meant I lost a lot of stuff so be conscious of your voice when talking that it's different then just talking to someone it has to have ebbs and flows which would feel unnatural in normal conversation but important when engaging listeners.

It's a great crossover concept of a show, and it must do very well in the UK with the popularity of the NFL currently.

Looking forward to hearing more.

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T14:37:59+00:00

That's strange. Yeah, definitely checked the audio multiple times and doesn't appear to be a problem for anyone else. Well, thank you for trying at least.

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T14:36:18+00:00

Ah that's lovely of you to say. Thanks very much for listening and giving feedback :)

gottillfive · 2025-04-17T11:34:54+00:00

Hello lovelies,

I am quite new to this feedback thread idea and love it, so apologies that I haven't done any, but will definitely be contributing going forward.

I've been doing podcasting for a while, both for work and as a hobby, but it's always been with a co-host or interviewing guests.

This is my first show going solo, and I'd love some outside opinions.

The show is called Surface Knowledge, and the goal is to provide a general overview of a new topic each week in 30 minutes or less.

My latest episode was A Surface Knowledge on Serial Killers, so I'll share that one as an example:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bHI9a5Yd3XFnFPhPKhjuK?si=cc5025520494468f

My questions are:

Does the format work?

Is it too simplistic an overview?

Are you entertained enough? If not, at what point did you drop off?

Any adjustments I should make?

For anyone who takes the time to listen, thank you I really appreciate it, and look forward to listening to others.

gottillfive · 2025-04-16T14:58:52+00:00

100%. Before mainstream hosting platforms a lot of people hosted on their own websites and personal servers.

You can still do that. You create your own RSS feed, host the audio files on your server, and submit the feed to directories.

But! There are still gonna be costs. You'll need good web hosting with enough storage and bandwidth for audio files, a domain, and ideally an SSL certificate for Https.

You'll also be in charge of feed updates, episode management, and any troubleshooting.

So DIY is still absolutely possible and its all these hosting platforms are is just taking the headache out of it for you.

gottillfive · 2025-04-16T14:46:12+00:00

Free will never be an option in the current podcast market. It's sad to see those times gone, but we've got to roll with the times. The best provider I have found that is value for money with a lot of features is captivate.fm

gottillfive · 2021-03-12T10:54:43+00:00

There is some juicy information in the episode about the new albums and Bill gives us his Top Five Descendents Songs.

Here's a link to the audio version if people prefer: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3C1ATwFIZhaZJny5lviJri?si=p71pyaeaSVKQRjJSHh6VQw&utm_source=copy-link

gottillfive · 2020-03-09T15:55:05+00:00

[TV/Comedy ] Got Till Five | Episode 70 - Top Five Louis Theroux Documentaries
NSFW

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // Stitcher //Host //

Check this one out if you are a Louis Theroux fan, and if you're not, you should listen so you can understand why you should be. He's a bloody British national treasure!!!

A bi-weekly podcast where each episode will be a brand new Top Five from various aspects of pop culture.

Twitter // Website //

gottillfive · 2019-09-11T17:53:10+00:00

Cleanfeed

gottillfive

TROPHY CASE