Doug Downs joined me to trace his journey from a tape-recorder-obsessed kid in Scarborough to radio, TV, corporate communications, and ultimately podcasting. Doug shared how overnights at a country station, brutal newbie pranks, and a move through Ajax, St. Thomas, London, Kirkland Lake, Sudbury, and eventually Edmonton shaped his love of audio and storytelling. We reminisced about the ITV / CFRN days, that micro-fame of local TV, and why he ultimately pivoted into PR at Epcor, learning to think in terms of stakeholders, key messages, and strategy.

We dug into why ums and ahs can actually help comprehension, how PR thinking makes for sharper podcast positioning, and why your premise and target audience matter more than trying to be Joe Rogan. Doug broke down the real role of video and YouTube (discovery, not depth), how to use consumption metrics from Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and why podcasters should not disappear over the holidays.

Please sign up for the SOUNDING OFF Newsletter. All the things that went unsaid on the show.

Also we added the Sound Off Podcast to the The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out our downloads here.

Thanks to the following organizations for supporting the show:

Megatrax - Licensed Music for your radio station or podcast production company.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After nearly 10 years, Todd Hancock is back. As only a select few may remember, Todd's last Sound Off appearance was on our second-ever episode. At the time, he had just been let go by CFOX in Vancouver, and was in the process of launching The Toddcast, his own podcast endeavor. With a great website and some excellent audio, there's no doubt he had about as strong of a start as one can possibly have... And now, a decade later, we're both still here.

If you've ever wanted to make a living from your podcast, this is the episode for you. Todd goes into every detail that allowed him to build the 10-year legacy he has today: starting strong with a ready-made website and music focused content, the slow build to monetization through long-term local sponsors and a few big clients, his strategies for maintaining professional relationships, his constantly evolving social and video strategy, and even the digital tools he uses to simplify the nightmarish challenge of keeping your content on schedule.

Even with 10-15 years of prior radio experience, he calls The Toddcast the highlight of his career. People with a passion and drive like Todd's are what makes this industry go 'round, and if you've got that same passion, Todd is the perfect guy to show you where to direct it.

Please sign up for the SOUNDING OFF Newsletter. All the things that went unsaid on the show.

Also we added the Sound Off Podcast to the The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out our downloads here.

Thanks to the following organizations for supporting the show:

Megatrax - Licensed Music for your radio station or podcast production company.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Let's go to Lagos! Tony Doe is one of the most thoughtful voices in Nigeria, and he's here to provide some excellent insights into the past, present and future of podcasting. As a former Nigerian radio broadcaster turned podcaster, Tony reflects on the lost intimacy of radio as studios chase visual appeal and social media reactions, and explains why he rejects the idea that video is the “next phase” of podcasting. He warns creators about building shows inside walled gardens like Spotify and YouTube, sharing personal and second-hand stories of lost control and opaque platform decisions.

We speak quite a bit about one of Tony's most important personal projects, the Nigerian Podcast Index. Built by Tony and other Nigerian industry veterans, it's an independent public directory designed to document, preserve, and make discoverable every independent podcast created in Nigeria or by Nigerians. It's an incredible tool created to fill a critical gap in data, discovery, and monetization for African podcasters while navigating language barriers, infrastructure limits, and payment restrictions.

He also introduces his own shows: His long-running Arsenal fan podcast, Up Gunners!, as well as Into the Podverse, a show about the innovation, challenges, and opportunities shaping African and global podcasting, which Sound Off fans might particularly enjoy and should definitely check out. If it piques your interest, make sure you also subscribe to the newsletter on Substack.

Please sign up for the SOUNDING OFF Newsletter. All the things that went unsaid on the show.

Also we added the Sound Off Podcast to the The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out our downloads here.

Thanks to the following organizations for supporting the show:

Megatrax - Licensed Music for your radio station or podcast production company.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.