How do you know if you have a good podcasting voice?
Marc Maron: I’m self-conscious about my voice, I have weird tics and weird things. Does everything come through, does it connect with people? I don’t know if you can manufacture that. I’m lucky, those mics work for me because I don’t have to just be funny, I can show my flaws, I can talk about whatever I want, I can wrestle with myself.
Are you born with an innate talent for podcasting, or can it be learned?
Marc: It took me a while to learn the ability, the craft of being on a mic alone. I have to be aware of ‘uhs’ and ‘ohs’ and ‘likes’. Once I figured out how to just sit in my garage and talk for 20 minutes, that was a big break. It’s not easy to do that. I don’t know what makes someone good or what doesn’t. Production has a lot to do with it.
What do you make of podcasts of groups of mates who just decide to record their banter on their smartphones?
Marc: I don’t know what people’s tolerances are for a mic in the middle of a table, and four guys sitting far away from it… But get good mics.
