Starting a podcast is easy, but keeping it going and making a name for yourself is much trickier.
There are lots of guides online for how to start a podcast (you basically just need a microphone, a hosting service, and an idea!).
Typically podcasts don’t make much money beyond what listeners are willing to donate when they love the show.
Podcasting for the everyday person is usually a labour of love, we do it out of a passion for a topic and a desire to share that with the world.
My podcast is now my full time job, along with writing books, but having that as an end goal can often lead to disappointment.
It’s not impossible, but it’s best if you start a podcast and keep it going because you want to, not because you expect it will turn into a career (that’s just a bonus, if it happens!).
I’m a full-time podcaster and author, all thanks to the Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! podcast. I’ve always loved Greek mythology, since I was a child, and I studied it in university not with the intention of ever working in the field (I double majored in English literature so that I could work in book publishing), but because I absolutely love the ancient Mediterranean and I wanted to learn everything I could.
It wasn’t until many years after I finished my degree that I started the podcast, and so started actually working with Greek mythology. I had worked in publishing for a number of years and when that didn’t work out I was a bit lost and aimless, starting the podcast was a way for me to connect with something I was passionate about.
2. How do you choose the myths and prepare for storytelling?
After four and a half years of the podcast I’m much more meticulous now when it comes to choosing stories and sources, and writing out episode scripts. I’ve already covered most of the most famous myths, and most Greek myths in general, but there are still lots of lesser known stories to be found and I’m fortunate enough to have amassed a large collection of reference books (I’ve also mastered the ins and outs of Greek mythology online).
These days I try to pick interesting stories that have lots for me to talk about when it comes to characters, particularly women or underrepresented genders, complexities in the versions and stories, or really anything else that makes the story stand out to me.
I do also love to go back to some of the sillier or more ridiculous myths, though, and try to keep the podcast going with a bit of both.
When it comes to preparation I typically pull out whatever books I know will have sources. I have a great set of books called Early Greek Myths by Timothy Gantz that details early sources for any character or story you can think of, it’s great for getting all the minor details sorted.
I also use the website theoi.com regularly, it’s a real life saver for finding primary sources. If I’m working with a play I try to find a few translations to work off so that I can get a real sense of the meaning and language, since unfortunately I don’t (yet!) know ancient Greek or Latin. These days I only work off primary, ancient sources, so I try to pull as many as possible to refer to in order to retell my version of the stories.
3. How can one start their own podcast?
Starting a podcast is easy, but keeping it going and making a name for yourself is much trickier.
There are lots of guides online for how to start a podcast (you basically just need a microphone, a hosting service, and an idea!).
4. Can story telling or starting podcast become a full time career?
I’ve managed to make it into one, but unfortunately that isn’t the norm. Typically podcasts don’t make much money beyond what listeners are willing to donate when they love the show.
Podcasting for the everyday person is usually a labour of love, we do it out of a passion for a topic and a desire to share that with the world. My podcast is now my full time job, along with writing books, but having that as an end goal can often lead to disappointment.
It’s not impossible, but it’s best if you start a podcast and keep it going because you want to, not because you expect it will turn into a career (that’s just a bonus, if it happens!).
5. Which is your favourite book ever and how did it change your life?
That’s a very tricky question! I’m a big reader and as I used to work in publishing, I’ve got a lot of books in my life. If I have to pick, I’ll go with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.
I read these books when I was thirteen and they definitely changed my life, opening my eyes to worlds of fantasy and the abilities of the human imagination. I’m sure these books contributed to my love of Greek mythology, it all comes from the same place of wonder and interest.
6. What are the best story telling tips that have worked for you?
I don’t know that I have any tips! I suppose I’ve just always done what comes naturally for me and it’s worked out that people really enjoy my storytelling. I use my personality in my writing and I think that makes a big difference!
7. Which part of mythology fascinates you the most?
This has evolved a lot for me over the years of the podcast, but now I find the most fascinating thing to be the history that revolves around the mythology itself.
Most of what we know from Greek myths comes from a few sources that have survived over almost 3,000 years since the ancient Greeks began writing down these stories.
But in fact most of them were told orally long before they were ever written down, they were adapted and changed based on the audience and the general evolution of the ancient world.
There’s so much we don’t know because versions were never written down, or they were written down but they didn’t last the test of time. There were certainly stories told by women among themselves that we don’t have now, and I like to think about what those might have been!
Check out her podcast here.
Interviewed by - Deepshikha
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