Something You Should Know: A Kickstarter to be Smarter
Podcasts that make you smarter – Stuff You Should Know, Science Vs, Slow Burn, How Stuff Works, Part-Time Genius – have discovered an enthusiastic and voluminous audience. In this “fake news” hyperbolic sandbox we now all play in, people more than ever search out factual truths, well-researched life hacks and just “I never knew that” information.
Did you know that Something You Should Know – the grandfather of all the “make you smarter” podcasts – actually began as a radio show more than 20 years ago?
Mike Carruthers, the host of Something You Should Know, has been a radio DJ, talk show host, producer, writer and talent director. Over the years, Mike has hosted and/or produced national radio programs for all of the major radio networks and works as a popular voice-over talent for television, radio and corporate videos.
Mike recently became a managing partner in OmniCast Media, LLC – which produces Something You Should Know – and is dedicated to helping podcasters with a variety of services including program and talent development, audience growth and ad sales representation.
Discover Pods sat down with Something You Should Know host Mike Carruthers to talk about the podcast, the transition from radio to podcasting and the future of podcasting.
Discover Pods: More than 20 years ago, you created “Something You Should Know” as a short-form radio show. How did you come up with the concept for the show?
Carruthers: At the time, I saw there was a market for a short radio feature that offered people usable and/or fascinating information. Short features were popular on the radio but mostly they were focused on contemporary music artists or very hard-news-y. I saw a need for information that could help people deal with issues in their own lives that was delivered is a short, easy to digest format. It seemed that kind of feature would be more memorable and useful. And it really seemed to catch on. Over the run of the radio show, we had thousands of radio stations run the program. And the audience feedback was great.
Discover Pods. When did you begin the current podcast? Why switch from radio?
Carruthers: The podcast version of Something You Should Know launched on Labor Day 2016. The radio show continued for another year while the podcast got up and running. The primary reason for making the jump was simply economic. Being an independent producer of short radio features was a profession that was fading away. The national, network radio business is dominated by the big radio companies and it was just too hard to compete.
I’m sure some people may think that Something You Should Know was patterned after – or copied “Stuff You Should Know” but the radio feature was around long before and our content is very different than theirs.
Discover Pods. How is a podcast different from a radio show?
Carruthers: The radio show was 90 seconds long, five times a week. And the only way you could hear it was if you lived near a radio station that played it. The podcast version is three times a week and each episode is around 35-45 minutes and you can hear it anywhere. So there is a lot more time to dig deeper into topics and a lot more opportunity to connect with the audience. Plus, the podcast is “direct to consumer.” People proactively choose to listen to the podcast whereas people heard it on the radio if they happened to be listening at whatever time the station played it. The podcast audience is much more loyal and engaged than the radio audience was.
Discover Pods. How do you come up with your ideas for the podcast?
Carruthers: We have two basic criteria. Either the topic has to offer listeners information they can use in their lives or, if it isn’t useful, it’s just so fascinating that people would likely talk about it at the next party they go to. Most of the guests are authors and we are pitched a lot of authors by the major publishers. Also, we spend a lot of time beating the bushes looking for people who fit our needs.
We are very selective and give a lot of thought into what topics we feature. One of the great lessons I learned from radio business that is particularly applicable to podcasting is – “It’s not what you play, it’s what you DON’T play.” In other words, it is not just who you DO have on, it is just as important who you DO NOT have on. As an example, we have been offered people who are MAC experts who want to come and talk about how to get the most out of your MAC computer. That’s great but we have a very general audience so we would never do that because only about 10% of the population are MAC users. That means 90% of people would not care or benefit and likely would not listen to that segment.
Discover Pods: You recently interviewed Carlyn Beccia – the author of the book Monstrous. Her interview with you was fascinating? How did you fine-tune your interviewing skills? What the toughest part of a podcast interview?
Carruthers: The toughest part of a podcast interview is keeping it interesting. I have a little voice in my head that keeps asking me right from the start of every interview “Is this really interesting?” Or “Is this going on too long?” Or “Is he/she really answering the question?” I try to assume the mindset of the listener. And in my view, a listener wants every interview to get interesting – FAST. It would be easy to let people talk in the beginning about how they got interested in the topic or what is their background. But I don’t think that’s what an audience wants to hear first. They want to hear why this is interesting to them and why they should be listening. Then once they care about someone, then they might be interested in their background.
That’s why I think editing is so important. I’ve done interviews where the first several minutes are edited out because the guest was just warming up. They didn’t get interesting until 6 or 7 minutes into the interview. So in the show, that’s where the interview starts.
Other times I have had a guest say something really interesting two-thirds of the way through the interview. I will move that to the front of the segment to grab the audiences’ attention.
Also, we do two things that make certain every interview on Something You Should Know sounds great:
- We ask all guests to watch a short video that tells people exactly what we expect from them (www.somethingyoushouldknow.net/guest-prep-video)
- If an interview doesn’t work – we don’t use it. About 20% of the interviews we do, never make it on the show because it just didn’t gel. That might seem like a waste of time but I won’t relax our standards. As a result, listeners know that what they hear will be interesting.
Discover Pods: Do you knowingly search out authors for the podcast because of their knowledge on topics and their desire to market their book?
Carruthers: Our podcast is topic driven. We first look for topics, then we find the right person to discuss. We don’t have a lot big names on our podcast because that’s simply not what we do. With that said, we have had Alan Alda, Mike Rowe, Steve Case (founder of AOL), Marc Randolph (founder of Netflix) – not because of who they are but because they had something to say that fit our criteria.
Discover Pods: What’s your background, Mike? How did you get into broadcasting?
Carruthers: I got into radio as a teenager and worked as a DJ on stations in Connecticut and Los Angeles. However, I knew I wanted to do more and got into the network radio business and worked with some great people who taught me a lot. Eventually, I started the Something You Should Know radio feature and then developed other short-form features for radio stations that were also successful.
I’ve also done a fair amount of voice-over work for radio and television. In fact just today I got a residual check for an episode of Baywatch where I did a voice-over back in the 80’s. It was $8.82. Party time!
Discover Pods: Can you tell me about your training program “Perfect Your Podcast?”
Carruthers: When I started the podcast version of “Something You Should Know” I quickly learned that there was a lot to the process of creating a podcast. So I really studied the business and tried to get a handle on what made a great podcast. At the same time, I saw that much of the podcast training available online was mostly about the technical side – what microphone to use, what editing software is best, etc.
So I saw an opportunity to offer help on how to create audio that people actually want to listen to. Things like: How to conduct an interview, how to edit audio to make it more interesting, how to use techniques like self-disclosure and curiosity and how to think like a listener so you actually give what the audience wants.
I created a series of videos and offered them as a training course but I quickly learned that most people don’t really need a whole course in podcasting – they need help with THEIR podcast and their problems. So it turned into more of a one-on-one consulting business. However, with the success of Something You Should Know and other new projects, I have to be very selective about taking on new clients. I truly love helping people with their podcast but I only have a limited amount of time so I can only take on people who are really committed to making it a success and willing to pay for the advice.
Discover Pods: When did you become a managing partner in OmniCast Media? What does that step mean for you?
Carruthers: OmniCast Media is a partnership between me and Ken Williams, who I have known and worked within the radio business for many years. Ken was the founder and CEO of Dial-Global which then merged with Westwood One and was ultimately sold to Cumulus.
We started the partnership when we started the podcast which was in the summer of 2016 and working together has allowed us to grow the podcast very carefully. Now that Something You Should Know is really doing well, we are developing new podcasts and projects which we will be announcing soon.
Discover Pods: Your extensive experience in radio as a broadcaster truly shines in the podcast with what I and others believe is one of the best radio and podcast hosting voices in the business. Did that skill come naturally or was it fine-tuned after years of on-air training?
Carruthers: You are very kind to say that. I don’t know if it was fine-tuning so much as just working at it. I have tried to make my voice sound good, clear, authoritative yet friendly. Not in any formal way but just by listening to other people, comparing my voice to theirs and trying to present myself well, vocally. Having worked with some of the best radio people, I got to know some techniques about how to use my voice that has really helped me.
Discover Pods: Any thoughts on podcasting? Its direction? Its potential?
Carruthers: I love podcasting! And I am honored to be part of it. I do see a lot of big radio companies coming into podcasting – and I already see it is becoming more “corporate” in some ways. However, I still believe there is an opportunity for anyone with a good idea to breakthrough. It’s harder than it was a year or two ago but still possible.
That’s what makes it so exciting. We are always looking for people who have great podcast ideas to help them navigate the creative side and business logistics. Between Ken and I, I think we are really good at that.
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In recent episodes, Something You Should Know offered listeners valuable information on how to be an effective negotiator, how to cope with daily stress, the factual accuracy of Wikipedia and the “27-second effect,” which is the time it takes drivers to recover their focus even after a momentary distraction like just looking down at their phone.
What makes Something You Should Know so successful as a podcast is its ability to deliver life hacks and helpful tips and host Mike Carruthers, whose long experience in all kinds of audio is clearly evident in his vocal virtuosity.
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