Geek life <raises fist>! Nerdom podcast hold a special place in my heart (see: Game of Thrones podcasts, Star Wars podcast, etc). That’s why I was excited to write a Spotlight on Two Bit Geeks, the podcast hosted by Ped and Tom. They self describe their podcast as “Two Bit Geeks is a casual conversation between two longtime friends who proudly inhabit the wide world of geekdom,” which yeah, that’s about as concise and clear as it gets.

So whether you’re into national parks, space, Doctor Who, Star Wars, or anything else that remotely fits the “geek” mold, this is a podcast you should tune into.

I got a chance to speak with Tom from Two Bit Geeks on how they differentiate their podcast from others in a similar space, the challenges they face producing an indie podcast, and how they got started. See below for our full Q&A.

Discover Pods: What’s your podcast about?

Tom: Two oddball nerds having intelligent conversations about science, philosophy, education, art, literature, geek culture, technology, and other human endeavors.

DP: What’s unique about your podcast?

Tom: We are a conversational podcast between two friends who share a life-long passion for learning new things. Our goal is to ignite that passion in our listeners.

DP: Why did you choose to podcast?

Tom: We were inspired by the endlessly entertaining conversations on Hello Internet. We felt we could contribute to the two-nerds-talking genre with our own view of the world.

DP: Geek culture tends to be a competitive podcast space, how do you differentiate yourself?

Tom: We try to cover a wider variety of topics than your typical geek podcast. The conversations are a reflection of our eclectic interests. Episodes can range from swapping opinions on the latest Doctor Who series to a deep dive into the music of J.S. Bach; or from a free-wheeling discussion on the philosophy of morality to a debate on the importance of space exploration. We celebrate the wide world of human interest and achievement.

DP: What’s the biggest challenge in regards to your podcast?

Tom: Like most all podcasters, we struggle with the discovery problem. The hardest part of podcasting is finding new listeners. We grow mostly upon the word-of-mouth of our dedicated fans. We also try to support fellow small-audience podcasts through our social media channels whenever we can.

DP: Where do you think the podcast industry is headed?

Tom: I’ve been enjoying podcasts since before they were called “podcasts.” As a regular reader of software pioneer Dave Winer’s long running blog, I followed along as he, Adam Curry, and Christopher Lydon made the first steps into what eventually became podcasting.

Now over a decade later, the format is exploding in popularity, yet the underlying technology (RSS, XML, MP3) remains the same. My hope is with the growing influx of advertising dollars that podcasting does not get subsumed into monolithic distribution silos with corporate gatekeepers. We all need to ensure that podcasting remains a decentralized platform where independent creators can share their creativity with a global audience.

DP: What type of equipment do you record your podcast with?

Tom: Since my co-host and I live in separate parts of the state, we conduct our regular conversations over Skype, with each of us recording our audio locally with Blue Yeti microphones. Post-production is done in Adobe Audition.

DP: What are your five favorite podcasts?

Tom: Hello Internet
The History of Rome
No Dumb Questions
Science of the Lambs
A-Town

DP: Anything else you’d like to add?

Tom: Podcasting is a fun and rewarding hobby. If you have an idea for a podcast, don’t wait for someone else to do it. Do it yourself!

DP: Where can listeners find you?

http://www.twobitgeeks.com/

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