We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. Overdue will be recording live on Sunday, July 23 at 5:00pm at Kitchen Table Gallery. You can find the full schedule of live shows here.
How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts?
We've actually been friends since really early in college, where an enthusiasm for Katamari Damacy and two-ingredient cocktails brought us together. Overdue was initially a selfish way for the two of us to stay in touch, born out of us both saying "I don't read enough." Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), enough people started listening that it took on a life of its own.
Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners?
Our "greatest hits" tend to be one of two types of book: a seminal classic that we can poke fun at while still discussing why it was canonized and installments in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. We'd point new listeners to the Fifty Shades books for a thorough deconstruction of a bad story, or to our Infinite Jest, Jane Eyre, or Peter Pan episodes if you want to hear our takes on some well-regarded classics.
What do you appreciate most about this medium?
Podcasts are a pretty intimate medium - most of the time you're listening with your headphones in or alone on your commute, so you really feel like you're developing a relationship with the hosts. We love getting emails and tweets from people who look forward to spending time with us every week, or people who say that we helped get them through a tough time. We're sure that happens in other mediums, but those connections feel closer in podcasting.
What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change?
Live shows change the show by adding a third voice in the mix. We live for bad jokes, so there's nothing like making a roomful of people groan when usually it's just the two of us. We've also found that certain books work better than others for live shows. If it's a newer release or a book that's gone under-appreciated, it isn't as easy to crack jokes because our audience might not be as familiar with the story. When they're listening at home, they can rewind or go look up a synopsis if we make things really confusing. When they're in the room with us, we just want them to sit back and enjoy two goofballs having fun with a good book.
Where can people find your podcast and hosts?
The show's at www.overduepodcast.com! Andrew is on Twitter at @AndrewWrites and Craig is @mcgetting.