Podcast at last!
Audio versions of PainScience.com blog posts, read by yours truly, are now, finally, available in the form of a podcast. That is, all episodes are there for you on demand in your podcast app of choice — 88 of them to date — and new episodes automagically appear. This is the way.
This is a significant upgrade from just embedding audio in the post, which is especially awkward and suboptimal in email. It’s not terrible, but a podcast is much better.
As a hardcore podcast listener since the dawn of the medium, it’s cool for me to see the PainSci salamander mascot right there in my podcast app, Overcast [Apple App Store], hanging out with several of my favourite podcasts. Makes it feel very real, you know?
How do you get the podcast? Hint: it’s not free
This is a private podcast, so it is not listed in any of the podcast directories, and you won’t find it if you “search” for it. So exactly how do you get it, then? You have to add a personalized link to it “manually” in a podcast app (but not Spotify, which has stupidly never ever allowed this basic feature). And to get that address…
You need PainSci membership, and not just any old membership: “better” or “awesome” membership required (not the cheapest $3/month “good” membership). The podcast is now one of the most substantial benefits of membership, second only to the full newsletter.
But you are one of those members, so you can now get the podcast address from your PainSci account page.
If you a free subscriber or “good” member, you can upgrade to $5 or $10/month at any time to get access to the podcast (and much more).
Pro tip: You can “cheat” and upgrade temporarily, listen to a bunch, and then downgrade. I don’t want people to do this, obviously, but I won’t stop you … or, indeed, even notice!
Pause, cancel, or switch plans at any time. Payment data handled safely by Stripe.com. More about security & privacy. PainScience.com is a small publisher in Vancouver, Canada, since 2001. 🇨🇦
What does the podcast sound like? I review myself
It sounds basic. 🙂 But good!
My audio versions are just casual, loose readings of what I’ve written, with frequent digressions and embellishments. The audio is a bit raw — I do them in one take, and I do zero post-production work on them. I actually have the skill set, but I one man with too many jobs already, and “polished audio” is just not in the cards.
So it’s just me reading into a good mic, laughing at my own stumbles, sneezing now and then, or correcting a typo (clackety-clack).
But I really am good at reading. “Me talk pretty.” I am not horrified by the sound of my own voice, and the episodes have a pleasant, amiable vibe to my ears.
I think this is a solid addition to PainSci membership. I’d be delighted to hear from anyone agrees, and frankly I don’t want to hear anything else after the last 18 hours of work pulling this launch together. 😜
But seriously, it’s new: do let me know if you have any issues with it, especially the technical kind.
P.S. Ironically, there is no audio version of this post.