We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. You can find the full schedule of live shows here, and purchase tickets for By The Book's live recording on July 16 at 3:30pm at the Trocadero Balcony Bar here.
How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts? Kristen and Jolenta have been friends for years, they met at work. A while back Jolenta felt like her life was falling apart and wanted to try living by different self help books. She convinced Kristen to join her in this endeavor because Kristen is her most adult, down to earth friend. Kristen agreed to live “by the book” to make sure her dear friend doesn’t go off the rails and join a self-help cult.
Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? We love our pilot episode about “The Secret,” it’s really fun. Also the “French Women Don’t Get Fat” episode, things get very real in that one.
What do you appreciate most about this medium? Mostly we love that it’s intimate. And the fact that women and people of color can more easily make their own work in podcasting, as opposed to other forms of media that are harder to break into or cost more. Also you don’t have to look cute while you’re doing it, we love that!
What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change? This is our first live show so we are SUPER excited to experiment a bit and give our live audience a real experience. We plan on doing things like a self help book swap, reading ridiculous book reviews, and other fun things to change up our regular format!
What are you hoping to do in Philly other than record a live podcast? We definitely want to hit up Reading Terminal Market, Liberty Hall, and the Liberty Bell.
Where can people find your podcast and hosts? @bythebookpod, @kristenmeinzer and @jolentag on twitter!