RaeLynne
What are your favorite Tarot podcasts?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Menage a Tarot. So funny and chill. It's the only one I really like to be honest.
Biddy Tarot has a really boring voice, but sometimes she has interesting guests so that one can occassionally be worth listening to (Benebell Wen, Anthony Luis etc)
I agree. No tarot podcasts grab me. And I also agree - poor Biddy - the voice grates so I couldn't listen beyond one episode. There's also a pacing issue. Because there probably isn't much to say, it needs to be strung out. I need something upbeat. Tarot Connections was interesting, but nowadays I tend to read books or keep up to date here. Anyone who is thinking of doing a podcast - a bit of advice - keep it snappy!I'd love to find a podcast that was a good as Tarot Connection that Leisa ReFalo used to have. While I do enjoy some banter most of the podcasts out there now are just people promoting themselves or their friends with little substance to hold my interest. The whole lets-sit-around-and-catch-up-this-week deal wears off on me fast.
Aeclectic for example is considered one of the meanest, toughest places around because we get pretty critical but that doesn't seem to be the norm.
I don't want to derail the topic but
What? We're mean and tough? Who thinks that, and have they been on the internet?
Oooh a favorite topic!
First off: Biddy's voice is divine - you're Philitsines.
Why a podcast instead of a blog? Everyone has different tastes I suppose - I'm not actually much of a fan of blogs (though Le Fanu's Curious Cabinet is a very good read). I don't have much time for them whereas I can enjoy Tarot podcasts while I'm driving or running on the treadmill. Also, podcasts are much better for interviews than a blog, they just are.
But there are issues to be sure.
Production Values
I would say the biggest problem many Tarot podcasts have is low production values. Although my Tarot Visions co-host and I have very nice microphones, we are usually using Skype when we record (because it's free and very handy for when we have to interview someone) but you don't get what you don't pay for. We also use Audacity to edit (again, free) and while it's very easy to use it is somewhat limited.
A lot of tarot podcasts use Blogtalk Radio to record (because it doesn't cost too terribly much) and if you frequently listen to those you will have to put up with hosts and guests being dropped from the call often and other maddening technical bugs.
Some podcasts have higher production values, most often if they are using the podcast to advertise a service, and the money spent on those goes a long way toward quality.
The (Airy Fairy) Nature of Tarot
Something that is great about Tarot is that we can all make it our own. It's your thing! Do what you wanna do! (as the song goes). This does mean it's hard to say anything definitively. I suffer from this - once a writer or podcaster says we can't really predict the future I think "Well to heck with you then" and switch off. Ok, no I don't. Ok, once. The more specific the host/s can be the better the show. I'll also just mention here that a very large number of podcasters seem to wing it too often (my co-host and I follow in this category). With a blog you can fix this with edits but with a podcast you really don't want to do too many takes
A no drama zone
For all the talk of drama, the Tarot community doesn't like controversies or anything that can be seen as "negative." This limits a lot of what you can say and also makes most shows seem a bit fluffy. There's almost an unwritten rule that you don't discuss books or decks you don't like. One of the only emails we ever received for our show was from a deck creator whose forthcoming deck neither Rose or I thought we would buy when we did our annual new deck preview in January and I felt incredibly guilty
Aeclectic for example is considered one of the meanest, toughest places around because we get pretty critical but that doesn't seem to be the norm.
Also, when you have a deck creator on the air with you, you're probably not going to say "Can we talk for a minute about the horrible borders on your cards?" Tarot podcasts need guests WAY more than the guests need the podcasts to promote themselves.
This is probably a quality problem, there is only one tarot podcasts I know where the hostess spent a lot of time on negativity and... it wasn't much fun to listen to.
Tarot without Tarot
Because podcasts are purely auditory there is a lot about tarot (a visual medium) that just doesn't work. The times that we have shared a new spread on our show I cringe at how awkward it is to say "Ok so the next card goes to the left of the first one" or doing a deck review without being able to show the listener the card. I mentioned above that podcasts are better for interviews, well blogs are much better for deck reviews. Much.
Length
A lot of spiritual podcasts go LONG. I read that you should keep a podcast to about 18 minutes if you want the listener to stay on board with you. We've been trying to keep it nice and concise of late but it's hard when you have a guest. The more time you have to edit the better this will be - but the hobbyists have less time than they should. An exception which proves the rule is probably Beyond Worlds - they can generally stay captivating for two hours each week.