Direction

Jul 21, 2025

Hello my friends! How’s your summer going so far? Here in Atlanta, things are about as good as they can be when the air feels like it’s trying to murder you. Atlanta is the only place I’ve ever lived where it can be 97 degrees outside and someone will still be walking around in three layers under a hoodie. Just thinking about it gives me heat stroke.

Heard any good podcasts lately? I recently read that the podcast boom is officially over, and it’s now harder than ever to launch or sustain a new show. That hasn’t stopped a ton of people from trying, though. As you may have noticed (hopefully?), the Outta Toon Podcast has been on hiatus for a little while. I figured it might be a good time to talk about what’s going on with the show and where it might be headed. So let’s dive in, shall we?

There are very few creative experiences I’ve enjoyed more than podcasting. Back in the days of The Life in a Kilt Podcast and This Epic Disaster with Cheri Brown, I genuinely looked forward to being back in the studio every week. We had a blast putting together silly, entertaining shows and trying to squeeze out at least a few laughs each time.

Solo podcasting, though, is a different beast. I knew that going in, and I still gave it my best shot. In spite of its challenges, I’ve had a good time with it and I think I’ve done okay.

Last year brought a few health issues that pulled me away from the mic more than I wanted. My original plan was to do two 30-minute episodes a week. That lasted until my content ideas started drying up. When Cheri and I did a show together, we could often sit down with zero notes and still fill an hour. That was sometimes painfully obvious—but still, the energy was there. Having someone to bounce ideas off of makes everything easier. Conversations spark new ideas. One thing leads to another, and suddenly you’ve filled an hour with things you never planned to say.

But when it’s just me? I’ve only got one brain to draw from—and it’s not always on fire. I can structure a show around stories, news, or facts, but sometimes my own life just isn’t that riveting. My apologies to you, and to myself. I probably overthink it, but I never want to crank out an episode that feels like filler. Not too often, anyway.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself as I’ve gotten older is that I’ve become… less opinionated. (My wife might debate that.) I still care about the world, I still have strong thoughts about politics and social issues, but I’ve never really been the activist type. I’ve been a vegetarian for over 30 years, but I’ve never preached about it. I’ve always believed people are allowed to have their own paths and perspectives. Who am I to try and change someone’s mind?

I do have opinions, sure—but I’m not convinced the world needs more of them right now. Especially loud ones. We’re all a bit burned out on hot takes, right?

And that’s tricky, because podcasting—at its core—is often about opinions. Even if it’s a show full of facts, it’s still someone’s take on those facts. And honestly? I’m kind of over the sound of my own take.

So now I’m in a bit of a creative limbo. The first year of Outta Toon felt like it had momentum. But lately, I’ve sensed that the show’s lost some of its direction—and that might be because I’ve stopped taking strong positions on things. I’ve been wrestling with big questions:

Should I keep doing this?
Does it have a purpose?
Can I give it a purpose again?

Look, I get it—I’m not out here trying to be Meet the Press. I’m not chasing a Pulitzer. I’m just trying to make something that’s fun, thoughtful, weird, and worth your time—even if that episode happens to be about farts, beer, and masturbation. I may not be highbrow, but I like to think my brow is at least higher than the norm. Lately, it’s been sagging a little, and I hope this break helps me figure out where I want to take things.

That said—I do plan to bring the show back.

I’m aiming for October. I’ll use the time to rework a few things and hopefully come back with a clearer direction. The idea for the podcast has always been to create something for the “creative outsider”—but what does that actually mean? A lot of my listeners trickled over from the Life in a Kilt Podcast days, and I still feel like that spirit is alive in Outta Toon. But I need to figure out how to build on it.

To be honest, I get very little feedback on the show. I don’t really know who my audience is—or what they want to hear. I joke that no one listens, but I do see downloads happening. It’s weird feeling like I’m talking into a void, but I still enjoy doing it.

So. In conclusion, graduates: “As you travel through this turbulent human journey, life is what you make it.” And so are podcasts. I’m still figuring out what I want mine to be. I’m still in it. I just need some time to regroup and refocus. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Third Time’s a Charm?

Nov 29, 2022

Rick at mic

I started planning a solo podcast about a year before Apocaleptic went live. At the time, I was co-hosting my second duo podcast from here in Atlanta and had no idea that it would soon be coming to its end. We had about 4 years of episodes in our show stash and we had a few more years before that in a previous podcast. So, it’s been a bit of an adjustment finding myself completely starting over and doing so alone. Recording Episode 1 was both a triumph and an upset.

There are a lot of pressures in creating a solo podcast. The material needs to be solid. It’s harder to just “wing it” with this show the way I’d done in the past. There were times when my previous cohost and I had no topics and would just go into the studio and talk. We often came out with some excellent episodes that way. It’s much harder to do that a solo podcast.

I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do in a solo show and I suppose I’m still finding that out. I have some ideas but I’m sure the show will become what it needs to be on its own. I want it to be entertaining and informative. Hopefully it will cause people to think on a topic a bit more than they have in the past. Maybe they will change their mind about something. Maybe I will.

I had almost 250 episodes of my last podcast completed and I just released episode 7 of my new one. That’s somewhat depressing but I also think there are some positive things about it. I’ve sensed some things happening in Apocaleptic that I’m very interested in. I think it has a good future. I hope it finds its audience. I hope there is an audience. Let’s see where it all ends up.