Taylor Gonda and Kevin O’Brien are the hosts and co-creators of the These Things Matter Podcast, which has been melting people’s faces in the Denver podcast scene and beyond for nearly four years now. Full disclosure, I was a guest on their show last June and talked about The Karate Kid.

I have an intense admiration for their show, whose tagline: “A podcast where we talk about pop culture autobiographically” is a perfect summation of the listening experience. They’re both skilled hosts, so I thought it fun and opportune to put them on the other side of the mics. And what this episode yields is a fascinating peer through the keyhole – a peek behind the curtain – at how the podcast sausage gets made.

We talk at length about the work that goes into creating a show before its launch, handling yourself and everything you do with an air of professionalism, how you conduct an interview with a guest who clams up, why Taylor doesn’t grant a lot of interviews outside of her own show, how Kevin compares a good show to a basketball practice drill, and a ton more. If you wanted to subtitle this episode, you’d probably call it “How To Be a Podcaster.”

WARNING: Avalanche of links forthcoming! This is not spam! I put these here!

You can follow Taylor on Twitter right here, and Kevin on Twitter right here. You can find Kevin at The Matchbox spinning punk and emo tunes during his weekly Taking Back Mondays set – here is The Matchbox’s website. You can also find Kevin hosting Arguments & Grievances at the Vine Street Pub one Sunday per month – here is the Facebook event invitation from the last one. And finally, be sure to Like These Things Matter Podcast on Facebook, and check out their impressive back catalog at their homepage.

This episode is available on iTunes and Stitcher. Our sponsor is 4 Degre.es, and we’re produced by Deft Communications.

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