DB Media

This week, I sit down with Kevin Steinberg, host of the Frankly Kev podcast, where he talks to everyday heroes who have experienced one or more of life's many challenges.

No experts giving you a checklist of how to perfectly do things. Or spokespeople and gurus to sell you products with pitch-perfect phrases. No celebrities to gawk at or fawn over. Just real people telling you real life stories.

When Kevin first started his show, he used to do a quick intro about his guest and then get straight to the "meat" of the topic they were talking about. But then he had an epiphany - you wouldn't talk like this away from podcasting, so why do it now? This led to a much different, and more valued, approach to his show.

Kevin's background is in acting, and he feels this is a key part of him being able to make guests feel comfortable when it comes to talking about very difficult topics. He tries to put himself in their shoes, to see what feels right and what shouldn't be asked, and that helps him really empathize with his guests.

Despite the topics on the show being dark, Kevin shares how he and his guests often laugh while recording, because sometimes that's the best defence - and offence - against the horrors that life can throw at us.

Kevin takes his inspiration in life from other people. Whether that's people whose views he agrees with, or those who differ greatly - just taking the time to talk, listen, and learn. Because at the end of the day, we're all we've got.

While Kevin's podcast is about everyday heroes and what they've overcome, his goal for the second season and beyond is an interesting take on the people behind the heroes.

Connect with Kevin:

• Frankly Kev Podcast
• Frankly Kev About page (check it out, it's awesome!)

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Accusonus audio plugins
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Season 4 of Podcaster Stories is sponsored by Accusonus. Make okay audio sound great with their built-in plugins to repair bad audio, for podcasters and creators alike! Visit podcasterstories.com/audio and use the coupon PodcasterStories10 at checkout to get a sweet 10% off the ERA Bundle Standard yearly subscription!

If 1994 was the year that the 3DO finally got the quality games that had offered the promise the machine held, 1995 was when it truly solidified its reputation as a serious piece of kit.

Owners of the system were treated to excellent games like:

• Killing Time, a photo-realistic take on the first person shooting game
• Return Fire, an excellent multiplayer war game, where vehicles and strategy played a huge part
• Slam 'n' Jam, an awesome and super fun basketball game
• BattleSport, a futuristic sports battle game, and a forerunner to this generation's Rocket League
• Space Hulk: Vengeance, a hugely atmospheric shooter based on the popular board game
• and Demolition Man, a movie tie in that offered scenes from the Sylvester Stallone movie alongside a multi-genre platformer. 

These were just some of the games that helped the 3DO company enjoy their best sales since launch. Coupled with the ongoing teases of the upcoming 64-bit upgrade, the M2, and other hardware partners releasing versions of the console, 1995 looked as if it was going to be a banner year for the machine.

However, there were storm clouds on the horizon, from both a gaming and a financial viewpoint. On the gaming front, while Sega had released the Saturn at the end of 1994, it was industry newcomer Sony who was making the biggest noise with their PlayStation, also released in Japan at the end of 1994.

Back at the 3DO company, despite the excellent games lineup the company published throughout the year, it was clear things weren't looking good. The Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation had essentially stalled sales of the 3DO console, and the licensing model that the 3DO company hoped would change things in the industry hadn't made the impact the company hoped for.

Get involved:

• Support the show
• Follow Danny on Twitter

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Accusonus audio plugins
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

This week, I sit down with Suzanne Falter, host of the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast, a show about the importance of self-care and building healthy self-care habits for women everywhere.

She's also the author of several books and continues the legacy of her daughter Teal, who passed in 2012 ,through helping other women be who they were meant to be.

Suzanne shares the importance of taking care of ourselves. She had never done that her whole life, and it was only when she lost her daughter that she made the time to truly focus on her and her wellness.

As we enter the third year of the global pandemic that is Covid, Suzanne makes an important point about the toll it's taken on us as human beings, beyond the obvious physical loss of life.

Suzanne's show has a multitude of guests on a variety of topics, and she shares the example of one who talked about the rise in verbal abuse, and how we may not treat that the same as we do with physical abuse. 

This then results in tragic circumstances as we see the fallout of silence and inaction. She hopes social justice movements like #MeToo will drive more conversations and awareness.

With Suzanne's podcast and books geared towards empowering women to live the life they want and deserve, she talks about how cultural conditioning is stopping women from meeting that goal. Often they feel guilty for wanting more, and this line of thinking has been instilled almost from birth.

As her daughter Teal lay in her hospital bed, Suzanne realized she knew she was going to die, and this realization made her determined to be the kind of person her daughter would have wanted her to be. 

Connect with Suzanne:

• Suzanne's website
• The Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast
• The Self-Care Group for Extremely Busy Women

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Accusonus audio plugins
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Season 4 of Podcaster Stories is sponsored by Accusonus. Make okay audio sound great with their built-in plugins to repair bad audio, for podcasters and creators alike! Visit podcasterstories.com/audio and use the coupon PodcasterStories10 at checkout to get a sweet 10% off the ERA Bundle Standard yearly subscription!

This week, I sit down with Andrew Davie, co-host of the Happy Hour with Heather and Guest podcast, a show that highlights local artists to perform and promote their music, live events, and more.

Andrew is also a survivor of a life-changing event that happened on his 40th birthday, and he shares that story and more on today's episode.

While the podcast that he co-hosts with Heather is his current passion project, Andrew had another podcast that ran for several years, over 500+ episodes. He shares how listening to a podcast where one co-host had to convince the other host why a certain band was good helped him on his podcast journey.

Andrew used the example of how heavy metal music fans are supposed to look a certain way and how he looks anything but that. And that's something that we need to look at in life, how our expectations are shaped by stereotypical learnings, and how that holds us back.

Andrew was due to fly out to visit his family, but his life was about to take a huge turn. Thankfully, as Andrew shares, there was a series of unfortunate - but, as it turned out, fortunate - circumstances that led him to where he is today.

Connect with Andrew:

• Andrew's website
• Happy Hour with Heather and Guest

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Accusonus audio plugins
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Season 4 of Podcaster Stories is sponsored by Accusonus. Make okay audio sound great with their built-in plugins to repair bad audio, for podcasters and creators alike! Visit podcasterstories.com/audio and use the coupon PodcasterStories10 at checkout to get a sweet 10% off the ERA Bundle Standard yearly subscription!

This week, I sit down with Nick Nalbach, host of the Nine-Five Podcast, a show that features entrepreneurs sharing what got them to where they’re at to help you get inspired to launch your own entrepreneurial journey.

From new entrepreneurs to entrepreneurial veterans, Nick dives into what made them choose this path, and how they’ve managed to find success in their given niche.

Nick's original idea was for a video show, but he felt uncomfortable being "on display", and wasn't really sure how to present himself that the audio-only option of a podcast was far more attractive.

Nick makes a really good point on how we can often talk ourselves out of creating something, because we feel we'll never be as good as someone who's already doing it. But all content can make an impact, and that's the thing we should be looking at.

Nick shares how he spent years blogging, and he could never have imagined having the guest he has on his podcast write guest posts for the blog. However, having a podcast has given him a presence that guests seem to be more inclined to appear on, and that's helped him grow personally and professionally.

One of the things that can be hard to manage is when to outsource your needs. Finances can play a part, as can being reluctant to let go of your "baby". But as Nick shares with an example from one of his guest's, hiring can make you much more efficient and thereby earn more revenue.

Nick talks about why he was always turned off by the 9-5 job, and much of it is down to the lack of control. You're always adhering to someone else's clock and schedule, and you usually have little say in how your own work life revolves around that. Not that you can't feel successful in a 9-5 job, as everyone's goals are different.

Connect with Nick:

• Nine-Five to Freedom
• Nine-Five Podcast
• Nick on Twitter

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Season 4 of Podcaster Stories is sponsored by Accusonus. Make okay audio sound great with their built-in plugins to repair bad audio, for podcasters and creators alike! Visit podcasterstories.com/audio and use the coupon PodcasterStories10 at checkout to get a sweet 10% off the ERA Bundle Standard yearly subscription!

This week, I sit down with Tommy Serafinski, host of Tommy's Outdoors, a show that looks at the relationship between humans and wildlife, and how that affects biodiversity, conservation, rewilding, and more.

Each episode, Tommy interviews guests across all spectrums of the space, often with different viewpoints from each other. It's an approach that Tommy says is super valuable when it comes to learning.

One of the things that Tommy is adamant in providing is a space for everyone to talk, even when he might vehemently disagree with his guest's point of view. For Tommy, this ensures an honest and open discussion where he, his guest, and listeners may come away with a different viewpoint..

Approaching a difficult topic with a tunnel vision point of view that only your take is the right one is not the way to go. Tommy likens it to trying to attack a heavily fortified army installation, where the only thing that's going to happen is conflict.

Instead, by focusing on commonalities, we can start to build bridges and shared understanding.

Tommy talks about the differences between his native Poland and his adopted home Ireland. One of the biggest things he's noticed is how little natural habitat is left in Ireland, and that the industrialization of the West has removed the learnings and growth we can take from human and wildlife interaction.

Tying in to his goal of offering a platform for everyone to share their beliefs, Tommy's goal for the show is to make it known as a conversation platform.

While social media sees ideas shot down in vitriolic attacks, Tommy feels podcasts and open-minded hosts are the way forward for actual conversation and learning.

Connect with Tommy:

• Tommy's Outdoors
• Tommy's Outdoors Podcast

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews

Season 4 of Podcaster Stories is sponsored by Accusonus. Make okay audio sound great with their built-in plugins to repair bad audio, for podcasters and creators alike! Visit podcasterstories.com/audio and use the coupon PodcasterStories10 at checkout to get a sweet 10% off the ERA Bundle Standard yearly subscription!

With the 3DO now launched in North America and Japan, and a European release on the horizon, it was time for the game developers to stand up and show what the machine could do.

After the stunted launch in North America, where there was only one game available on the day of launch, things were going to be different for Europe, which would benefit the North American and Japanese markets by association.

1994 saw a slew of great games released for the system, and really helped gamers see what all the early fuss had been about. 

With these games in the library, and the promise of an even better 1995 release line-up, it looked like the 3DO was here to stay.

Get involved:

• Support the show
• Follow Danny on Twitter

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews

Leading up to its North American launch in October 1993, while the 3DO still had problems (including a much-reduced launch line up due to developers getting to grips with the new hardware), excitement was still growing.

Multimedia was the future, as multiple video games and entertainment magazines were loudly screaming from their pages. News programmes were also talking about a future where a set-top box would be the hub of your entertainment set-up: from TV to movies, sports, videogames, and more. As such, 3DO was ideally placed to be at the forefront of this next wave.

However, as the months played down, it became clear that the launch wasn't going to be everything 3DO needed it to be. Because of the hardware and chips being used, the cost of the console was going to come in at an astronomical $700 (although manufacturers could set their own price, which would see a reduction soon after launch).

There was also only one game available, Crash 'n' Burn from Crystal Dynamics. While it wasn't a terrible game, it was in no way an example of the jaw-dropping graphics gamers had been promised in the months leading up to the launch.

However, Trip Hawkins and his partners were nothing if not savvy marketers, and they kept interest in the system piqued over the holiday period. Sneak peaks and trailers of the games to come looked to show 3DO owners they had made the right choice, as did upcoming accessories like the modem and expandable memory.

And there was also the bonus of a surprise success in an unexpected market...

Get involved:

• Support the show
• Follow Danny on Twitter

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews

For regular listeners of the show, you'll have noticed it's been a bit quiet here since Season 4 launched.

Instead of the usual weekly series, only the first two episodes were published, and then silence. I sincerely apologize for this, it was definitely not the intent. Here's what happened.

As you'll know, the show features podcasters opening up about their personal stories. These are stories that may not have been heard before in public, and can be very raw and emotional, and I sincerely thank all of my guests so far for being so open with their stories. This can lead to emotions in me coming to the fore, when the struggles of a guest are ones I've been through myself, or loved ones around me have.

Some of you may know this about me from an earlier episode where I spoke with my wife, but I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety around 4 years ago. For the majority of the time, it's something that I can manage, but now and again the shadows block out the light.

This has been particularly true with Covid, and its impact on all our lives. Everything has changed, and sometimes it's hard to see where all this might end. Especially when you have two young kids that you're doing everything you can to protect them, in a world where not everyone wants to be part of that protective community.

Anyhoo... as a result of the increased emotions from the stories shared by my guests, and sheer fight or flight exhaustion in trying to keep my family safe, I decided to take a mental health break where I could focus on the lighter side of life.

Summer at the beach, getting out on the lake, experiencing the beautiful natural surroundings of where we live, etc. And it was exactly what I needed to refresh both my creative and personal energy.

So, Podcaster Stories will return very early in the New Year. I have some amazing guests lined up, and each one has an incredibly inspiring story to share. 

In the meantime, to keep the podcasting juices flowing, I've just launched a new show called Memories of 3DO, which looks at the history of a gaming console classic that was ultimately doomed to fail. This is a fun little project for me, and may lead to others in a series.

The show is snackable content, with each episode less than 5 minutes long. If classic video games are your thing, you can find out more at 3dopodcast.com

Thanks so much for being part of the Podcaster Stories community, and thanks for your messages and emails asking if everything was okay, I sincerely appreciate them. 

Until the next time, stay safe and take care.

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• RiversideFM remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews

Throughout 1992 and early 1993, the plans behind the 3DO continued to take shape. Founder Trip Hawkins was using his undisputed influence and reputation in the gaming industry to get partners excited about the console.

This included both hardware and and game developers. Since the hardware would be licensed, it meant any electronics manufacturer that were interested in being part of this new era of gaming could produce and sell their own version, and pay a royalty to the 3DO company for this.

It led to respected names like Panasonic, Goldstar (who became LG), Samsung, Toshiba, and Sanyo signing up to the project (although ultimately only Panasonic, Goldstar and Sanyo would manufacture units).

Meanwhile, game developers were excited about the partnership opportunities. The CD format meant more memory to explore new ideas on, while the 32-bit engine meant a huge upgrade in graphics and sound. Developers like Electronic Arts, fighting game legends SNK, iD (makers of Wolfenstein and Doom), and Capcom all signed up, with promises to bring true next level versions of their popular games to the system. 

Electronic Arts in particular put their full weight behind the project, in no small way thanks to their relationship with Trip Hawkins. Indeed, they even marketed the partnership with the slogan, "EA is 3DO, 3DO is EA"

With an eager gaming press showering this upcoming console with praise, gamers began to count down the days when the system would launch. But problems were starting to arise behind the scenes...

Get involved:

• Support the show
• Follow Danny on Twitter

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Denon DJ HP-1100 Over Ear Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• RiversideFM remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews