Episode 221

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Published on:

3rd Feb 2025

TFIA Issue #4 - Where did all the Soundseeing Tours go?

Where did all the Soundseeing Tours go in Podcasting?

TL;DR - Your Podcast doesn’t have to be an Interview Show or a Panel Show built (from format to presentation) to enable video production. It can be different, unique, more.

In 2012, when I first started ramping up my Podcast consumption into overdrive, one genre that I always enjoyed was the Soundseeing Tour genre. Travel, Language and Culture all wrapped up into an incredibly organic form of audio-storytelling. I’m not sure any Podcast genre has had me on the edge of my seat quite the way Soundseeing Tours did back in the day: What is going to happen next, and what will I hear next? So, I guess the question becomes, why aren’t Soundseeing Tours still getting produced, and if they are, why aren’t they getting shared, promoted and embraced by Podcast Listeners and/or the Podcasting Industry?

At the risk of sounding anti-video here (that’s not my intention), I think the reason is pretty clear, if your mindset is Video-First, then much of what makes Soundseeing Tours so unique can be easily reframed as uniquely-annoying elements of producing a show.

  • Planning for travel and recording locations.
  • Physical movement, and the ability to move and communicate at the same time.
  • Dealing with unknown environmental variables like weather, temperature, noise and human activity.
  • Permission and privacy considerations when recording on-location.
  • The increased need for advanced storytelling skills to describe the Tour / Location in the audio format.

Call me selfish, but I genuinely hope we see (and hear) a return of the Soundseeing Tours in 2025. I want to experience more audio tours from Japan, Africa, Newfoundland (Canada), and the Pacific North East in the USA. I miss closing my eyes and just escaping to a different part of the world.

Theatre of the Mind is real folks, and audio is where the magic starts.

…..

If you happen to have Listened to some unique audio in Podcasting lately, please post in the comments here on LinkedIn or DM Josh on Instagram @joshuacliston . Speak to you again soon, and bye for now.

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About the Podcast

The Future IS Audio
Theatre Of The Mind is Real, and Great Audio is where the Magic Starts.
The Future IS Audio (the podcast) is an audio accompaniment for The Future IS Audio newsletter, homed on LinkedIn. This article was written and read by long-time Podcaster and Professional Podcast Editor, Josh Liston from Australia.

In this show Josh wants to share both his love and appreciation for the audio medium (Podcasting, Audiobooks, Audio-dramas, and Voice-Over) as well as share all the lessons he's learned in his 13+ years in the medium that have helped him make better (and more sustainable) audio programs.

To be clear, we're not anti-Video Podcasting over here, we're just pro Audio-first Podcasting.

[ This feed was formerly known as Deadset Podcasting ]
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Josh Liston

Josh Liston is a veteran Podcaster and Rookie Comedian from regional Australia. He currently Hosts the shows 'My Old Hands', 'Punching Sideways', 'Beer Garden Tennis' and 'The Half Parmi'.