The Sound Off Podcast

I met Mary Chan at Podsummit a few years ago. Mary is the owner of Organized Sound , about how to make your podcast sound more natural, clear, and engaging. With years of radio production experience, Mary shares practical advice on microphone technique, choosing gear that suits your voice and recording space, and why wired headphones matter during remote interviews. We also get into the human side...

How much time are we spending chasing the next big thing in podcasting—and what are we giving up on too soon? I’m joined by Lauren Passell, founder of Tink Media, who wants to call her business “the slow company.” She helps podcasts grow through thoughtful recommendations, strong relationships, and the kind of consistent work that rarely delivers overnight results. Our conversation had me question...

I push back on the idea that every podcast needs video. A video strategy isn’t about following trends—it’s about choosing what fits your audience, goals, time, and budget. I walk through seven approaches, from going audio-only to using short clips, audiograms, simple YouTube recordings, separate audio and video productions, video-first shows with an audio version, and horizontal and vertical forma...

Richard Stroobant has spent more than 40 years in broadcasting, although for a good chunk of that time, most people in radio knew him simply as "Big Dick." And yes, there's a story behind that nickname. Richard and I first worked together in Edmonton in 1994, before he returned to Calgary and became part of the legendary team at CJAY 92. Those were some wild days in radio, when a 19 share was poss...

Can a podcast make you feel less alone? I’m joined by Jay Nachlis from Coleman Insights to explore what research can tell us about community, companionship, and the relationships listeners build with podcast hosts. Picking up on our conversation at Podcast Movement in New York , we discuss Coleman’s research with the Locked On Podcast Network and why listeners often describe their favourite hosts...

There are a million people online trying to crack the algorithm. Sam Bird might be better off because he never really tried. Sam is a comedian, content creator, podcaster and host of CBC’s Street Cents. He grew up around broadcasting, experimented with stand-up and acting, made a hockey comedy podcast, created branded content and worked behind a bar and at Starbucks while figuring out exactly wher...

We remember David Marsden, who passed away on September 25 at the age of 85, by revisiting a conversation recorded in December 2016, during the early days of the Sound Off Podcast. David helped shape the Spirit of Radio at CFNY, and his passion for discovery continued through NYthespirit.com. When we spoke, he was looking ahead—exploring how the internet could give broadcasters the freedom to be c...

Maria Palmer got her start in radio because iHeartMedia's James Howard walked into a dive bar in Washington D.C., possibly ordered a whiskey, and witnessed talent in action. She was bartending, working her way through acting school, when James, then Program Director DC 101 noticed something: she was both entertaining and taming simultaneously. He asked if she'd ever considered radio. Two weeks lat...

Susan Reade got her start in Edmonton radio wearing an orange Tina Turner wig and leopard-print pants as CHED’s “Janet from Another Planet.” As she prepares to retire from Stingray, I catch up with her to talk about a career that took her from the morning show to sales and leadership—and why she still believes in radio. Susan shares how a difficult experience as a talk show producer in Vancouver l...

Nigeria has consistently been one of the top five countries listening to this podcast. With so much great English-language radio being made there, I wanted to hear more about what’s working—and what’s changing. Dami Dawson is an award-winning writer and new media executive based in Lagos. Dami’s career has taken him from radio into television and digital media, including his work at Pulse and now...

I went to PodSummit or the first time last year, and it quickly became one of my favourite podcast events. In this episode, I talk with founder Tim Truax about what makes it different—and why he believes community is the answer to the isolation many podcasters experience. We talk about Calgary’s growing podcast scene, the need for a truly Canadian podcast event, and how Pod Summit brings independe...

Nearly six years after I released an episode called Death of the Diary , It's the dawn of a new era for Canadian radio with the release of Radio Local + by Numeris. Derrick Gray, Chief Research and Operations Officer at Numeris, joins me to explain Radio Local +—the hybrid ratings system replacing the online radio diary in 22 Canadian markets. The system combines streaming information with online...

OMG it's been 7 years since Kolter Bouchard was on this show. When he last joined me in September of 2019, he was doing afternoons at 102.1 The Edge in Toronto. Since then, his life has taken some dramatic turns: a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis, a stem cell transplant, leaving radio, launching a creative agency with his wife, and building a powerful presence as a content creator and author. Kolter...

Radio's relationship with its audience has fundamentally shifted, and the industry's summer of mass layoffs at Cumulus, iHeart, Rogers, Audacy, and Corus has exposed a deeper crisis than spreadsheets can solve. I basically recap the absurdity of how radio companies built their talent's social media followings only to sever connections abruptly, freeing listeners to explore alternatives. While indu...

It's been a long time since I've spoken with Gaëtan Harris, founder of Syrup Sound, to talk about working in radio at Power 97 with me in Winnipeg to becoming one of Canada's most respected podcast sound designers. Gaëtan shares how an early fascination with This American Life inspired him to move to Vancouver, where he eventually joined Pacific Content alongside Steve Pratt and Dan Misener to hel...

Chris Brunt of Jacobs Media joins me to talk about radio’s 30‑year struggle with digital—from those first clunky station websites and primitive email blasts to today’s sophisticated streaming, social, and video ecosystems. Chris explains how programmatic audio has become a major revenue driver, even for public and non‑commercial stations, by fitting into the broader “digital audio” story agencies...

I am joined by veteran Canadian broadcaster Lynda Steele to trace her four-decade journey across TV, radio, and now podcasting. Lynda recalls growing up in Hinton, Alberta, having no clear career path, and how government-funded aptitude testing unexpectedly pointed her to broadcast journalism. She shares early newsroom stories from CKVU in Vancouver and ITV/Global Edmonton, including covering majo...

Bryan Barletta , founder of Sounds Profitable and president of Podcast Movement , shares what to expect at this year's event. Bryan walks me through how Sounds Profitable has grown into a trade association focused on research, education, and connecting buyers and sellers in podcasting. We also dive into how the acquisition by Podcast Movement is transforming this year’s event in New York City —wit...

Justin Jackson grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with an active radio in the house largely tuned to CBC or 630 CHED. Today he owns and operates Transistor.fm, a Canadian company that is one of the leading podcast hosting companies. We discussed the evolution of podcast hosting and where the industry is headed, and he shared how he and his partner bootstrapped the company starting in 2018 with $5,...

Jason Rockman, former frontman of Canadian nu-metal band Slaves on Dope and Montreal radio personality, discusses his music and broadcasting journey. He recounts forming the band in the early 1990s, winning the CHOM L’Esprit competition, recording independently, and relocating to Los Angeles where Sharon Osbourne offered a record deal and the group toured. Jason reflects on industry upheaval—from...

Matt Cundill and Dan Misener discuss the launch of the Bumper Dashboard, which offers a unified view of podcast metrics across platforms like Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. The Dashboard includes a new metric, the Bumper score, which measures the gap between file delivery and actual playback, helping shows understand their ad engagement. The score ranges from 0 to 200, with 100 being the median. The...

I invited Nails Mahoney to unpack what it really means to be a radio presenter/personality today. We talk about how the shift from DJ and announcer to “content creator” has forced many presenters to overthink and lose their natural talent, and why formal training for content creation is almost non‑existent. Nails explains how branding—narrowing yourself to three defining words—helps you stand out,...

I welcome back Rob Greenlee for a discussion about how podcasting is changing under the weight of new media, big platforms, and AI. Rob and I talk about how the real battle lines are drawn around who controls distribution and audience, as companies like YouTube and Spotify push proprietary ecosystems while RSS still quietly powers most of my downloads. We look back at the early days of video podca...

Anthony McNutt is one of the best when it comes to radio imaging. He gets it. He is a senior imaging producer at Stingray Radio, managing multiple brands including Q stations, K Rocks, and The Breeze across 5 time zones. We discussed what separates exceptional imaging from average work, the evolution of production styles, and how remote work has transformed the producer's role in modern radio. Inc...

Jen Austin is the founder of Riply Media . We talked about how AI can actually strengthen local news rather than replace journalists. Jen walks me through her journey from a shy high school student in rural Nebraska to working at iconic stations like KZKX, later producing for The Dorsey Gang in Dallas, and reporting news on 9/11 with support from the CBS News network. We talk about the long, slow...