Hey, it's Dave Jackson! In this episode, Ishare my talk that I did at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) about video podcasting. What are the real benefits, the costs, and the drawbacks? I also tackled the recent Apple announcement about HLS video, shared my NRB event experience, and got into some real stats and stories about YouTube and podcasting.

This episode uses chapters to enable you to jump to the most important parts for you.

Key Topics Covered:

1. The difference between a podcast and a YouTube show
2. Stats on how many podcasters are actually doing "real" video
3. YouTube's change to how Shorts views are counted
4. Pros and cons of YouTube for discovery and monetization
5. Cost breakdowns of starting both audio and video podcasts
6. Completion percentages for audio vs video shows
7. Algorithm reality and how audience recommendations work
8. Major drawbacks of relying on video platforms for income
9. The new Apple HLS video announcement: what it means, who it's for, and whether you should care
10. Real examples of creators' experiences on YouTube

My Takeaways:

You don't have to do video if you don't want to. Video can help with discovery, but the audio side offers significantly more opportunity—sometimes a 15x larger audience! Also, while YouTube provides community and powerful analytics, the algorithm and monetization risks are real. The new Apple HLS video support is mostly about helping advertisers, not creators, and comes with new costs.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

1. School of Podcasting: schoolofpodcasting.com
2. Podcast Host Survey (Dr. Colin Gray): thepodcasthost.com
3. The Truth About ‘Video Podcasts’ on YouTube
4. These 5 Podcasters Added Video – Here’s What Happened
5. PodcastIndex stats: podcastindex.org
6. Hosting Recommendations:
7. Captivate: captivate.fm
8. Buzzsprout:

In this episode, I’m walking you through why great podcast editing doesn’t start with software, plugins, or secret shortcuts — it starts with knowing your audience. Once you’re crystal clear on who you’re talking to and what they value, editing becomes a lot easier: you simply remove anything that wastes their time or doesn’t deliver value.

Editing For Content

I’ll share examples from real interviews (including Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” and conversations with my friends Daniel J. Lewis and Katie Krimitsos) to show how to tighten up questions, trim rambling answers, and keep the pace moving so your listeners stay engaged from start to finish.

If you’ve ever listened back to your show and thought, “It’s fine…but something feels off,” this one’s for you.

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Editing starts with your audience, not your software

1. Why the first question is, “Who am I talking to and what do they want?”
2. How knowing your audience’s problems, language, and attention span guides every cut.
3. The “vegetarian at dinner” analogy: if you know who’s coming, you know what not to serve.

1. Using Amy Poehler’s friend and Jennifer Lawrence as an example of a non-answer answer.
2. How to spot when guests talk *around* a question instead of answering it.
3. When to follow up, when to re-ask more simply, and when to just fix it in the edit.

1. Trimming long-winded questions where the host gives too much backstory.
2. Shortening guest answers that wander, repeat, or add no value to the listener.
3. Why you don’t need to include your guest “thinking out loud” to get to the point.

1. How being comfortable with guests (friends, colleagues) can lead to bloated conversations.
2. Why “fun to say” isn’t the same as “valuable to hear” for your audience.
3. The discipline of deleting entire questions and answers that just don’t land.

1. Why removing bad questions is more powerful than removing ums and uhs.
2. When it makes sense to leave in human imperfections for a natural feel.
3. The mindset shift from “How do I make this cleaner?” to “How do I make this stronger?”

1. A practical order of operations: repair first, then shape the sound.
2. What plosives, noise gates, compression, EQ, and de-essers do in plain English.
3. Why “listenable”