Each month we interview one of our hosts to learn about their backgrounds, projects, and passions. This month, we're introducing you to Austin Logan, one of the founders of Secret Weapon Productions and resident sociopath on 20 Minutes of Banter.
The Interview
What drew you to podcasts, and what advantage do they have for you over other forms of media?
I first started listening to podcasts just because they were sort of there, the free thing that came with my phone. The more I listened though, the more it struck me as an incredibly genuine medium. I think the challenge of getting something out on a regular basis, or even just filling the silence, brings something out of people.
“The more I listened though, the more it struck me as an incredibly genuine medium. I think the challenge of getting something out on a regular basis, or even just filling the silence, brings something out of people.”
What are some things you’ve learned in your first two years of making podcasts?
Just get it done. I think the most important part of doing it is consistency, so that the listener that you'll be there week after week.
What is your favorite episode from your podcast and why?
I think it's around episode 12. Dan, Dan's wife Courtney, Clark, Alyssa, and I are all in Fort Peck, Montana for a show Dan did. We ended up recording it on the porch of the only hotel in town, because it was the only place away from others that had a power outlet. The audio was terrible, but it was such a fun time I still think about it.
Do you have a favorite 20 Minutes of Banter bit?
Dan always has a bit he wants to try that he's really excited about, and he usually tells me right before the show starts. The whole "okay, now do your little thing" bit fills me with joy every single time. Or maybe that's just Dan's suffering.
What are you working on outside of Secret Weapon Productions?
Nothing, really. Adulting. Holding down a job, figuring out various student debt nightmares, you know. The norm.
Any new audio projects in the works?
A couple. Clark and I have been tinkering with the idea of a mental health podcast for a while. Dan also has a few audio dramas he wants to flesh out. I'm really excited about both, so we'll see what happens in the near future.
If you had to be stranded on a desert island with another member of Secret Weapon Productions who would it be and why?
Alyssa, hands down. Everyone else, every single person including myself, would be dead in a week. Alyssa is the only host I can imagine learning to fashion a spear from sticks and reeds. My only real chance for surviving would be to be the Wilson to her Tom Hanks.
What is your favorite podcast not on SWP?
I think it's a tie between My Brother, My Brother, and Me and Last Podcast on the Left. Both of them are just so consistently good, I don't know how they do it.