A rewarding aspect of being somewhat involved in the podcasting community is seeing creative people continue to innovate the medium by testing and experimenting. Their success begets more success — it’s truly great to see. We previously Spotlighted My Neighbors Are Dead — the improv podcast about the bystanders in horror movies — and creator, Nate DuFort.

DuFort is back with another podcast, Unspookable, a podcast the analyzes urban legends, scary mysteries, and general folklore to discover how and why these stories have become part of our society. What do the stories say about ourselves and how should we think about them moving forward?

We caught up with DuFort again to discuss Unspookable, what he’s learned throughout his podcasting career, and what trends he’s paying attention to in the larger podcasting space. See below for our Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

DUFORT: After almost twenty years of working in the theatre developing both content and talent I needed a fresh start. I partnered with an old Second City friend named Adam Peacock on a podcast called My Neighbors Are Dead essentially as an excuse to keep working with some of our hilarious friends. After some early success with Neighbors, I was having a lot of conversations about the future of the medium and wondering what other stories I wanted to tell. That’s when my daughter showed an interest in podcasting and I realized pretty quickly that I wanted to turn my energy towards children’s programming.

DP: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to Unspookable?

DUFORT: At a quick glance, Unspookable seems like a family friendly show that explains the backstories behind urban legends and scary myths- but it’s so much more than that. We do start with the backstories- possible origins, historical facts, and anecdotes, and then we also get to go beyond that, into things like the brain science behind why we want to post challenges on the internet or why we may be prone to seeing ghosts at certain times, we talk about the foundations of myth itself, the human need for storytelling and connection. While we unpack why some of these stories have such a hold on us as humans, we get to do something most children’s shows aren’t able to do- dig into social structure and power dynamics and the way racism, sexism, and xenophobia can become part of these stories.

DP: What have you learned from My Neighbors are Dead that you’ve added to your podcast arsenal for Unspookable?

DUFORT: My Neighbors Are Dead taught me about the power of community and to make the content I want to listen to and not obsess about being too niche. When we were approached by horror networks, we worried about being the only comedy show and when we were approached by comedy networks we worried about being the only horror show. We lost a lot of time worrying and still found our audience and that had a lot to do with engaging directly with our listeners and with podcasts in both the comedy and horror worlds. When it came time to make Unspookable it was very important for me to engage with and find our place in the children’s audio community. I’m happy to say we are now a proud member of Kids Listen and their amazing community of shows.

DP: You’ve lent your voice to other audio drama podcasts. Is this something you’re looking to do more of?

DUFORT: I’ve been lucky enough to be cast in some of my all time favorite shows, most recently Love + Radio, the episode Wide Awake from The Big Loop, and as a bartender in an episode of Creepy, and while I’ve done voiceover professionally for most of my adult life, getting to voice characters in audio fiction is a dream come true. I’m always looking to do more (winks at podcasters who may be reading this now).

DP: What podcast trends are you paying attention to?

DUFORT: These days I am most inspired by all of the unique creators gaining traction in the indie audio fiction world. The lack of gatekeeping has given us stories with a greater variety of voices and perspectives than almost any other genre or even medium. I watch and listen to these creators because they both challenge how stories are told and teach me about possibilities for the future of podcasting.

DP: Where do you want to take your podcast?

DUFORT: We launched Unspookable with an abbreviated first season because we wanted to gauge interest. Now that we have a sense of our listenership, the hope is to up the frequency of episodes and build on Unspookable by launching more shows within our children’s network Soundsington Media.

DP: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

DUFORT: I listen to so many, but here are some I never miss broken down by category:

  • Audio Drama: The Big Loop, The Bright Sessions, Greater Boston, The Truth, Everything is Alive
  • Narrative Nonfiction: Reply All, Heavyweight, The Nod, Love + Radio 
  • Kids: But Why, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Mars Patel, Cadavercast, The Show About Science

DP: Anything else you’d like to add?

DUFORT: We have some great things planned for the new year from Soundsington Media including our first audio drama about a sixth grade paranormal investigator named Eddy. Make sure to follow Soundsington on FB, Instagram and on Twitter.