Aaron Mason (The Grapes of Rad), Aaron Roden (Air-raid.net) and Stephanie Drury (Dongtini) are podcast hosts based in Seattle, Washington. With regular episodes and thousands of followers, these three, via their own respective shows, bring conversation, interviews, jokes, music and “bombs for your earholes” to listeners all over the country. Below is a conversation I conducted with the hosts about their process, (angry) fan mail and dongs. Enjoy! 

–Jake Uitti, Managing Editor

 

Jake Uitti: Stephanie, you co-host the podcast Dongtini and also run the site Stuff Christian Culture Likes. What is your mission with these and what gives you the right to do any of this???

Stephanie Drury: My mission is simple: to crack the fuck up. Nothing and no one gives me any right to do any of this. Mason, what makes you think you have any right to recording equipment?

Aaron Mason: I don’t understand the question. Also, I’m white, so I have all the rights.

Aaron Roden: And male.

AM: This guy knows what he’s talking about! Roden, I have a question for you: why did you put yourself in the position of needing guests to talk to every week? Do you regret that?

AR: Well when I started the show it was going to be an excuse to get the “friends” who would never answer my text messages over to my house to hang out. Then I started to get requests from listeners, which brought things to a whole other level. I don’t regret the way I have structured the show, but there have been a fair share of hair-pulling-out situations. I’m not looking for sympathy here, but I would like to add that those “friends” still haven’t returned those text messages. Stephy, where does the obsession with Dongs come from? Could it be considered a form of penis envy?

SD: I think it comes from the same place your obsession with boobs comes from. But it helps that the word “dong” is hilarious. I think I have some penis envy. I don’t know how guys keep from walking up and just resting it on an unsuspecting shoulder in Starbucks or something. I’m jealous that I can never do that.

JU: Roden, what sort of hair-pulling situations?

AR: The hurtful kind. I have had some guests be extremely late, some with very peculiar social anxieties, and some just not even show up with no explanation as to why. So I guess I would like to retract my prior statement, I totally regret my decision to stay a guest-based program. And I think Mason and Jake would both agree that there is nothing quite like resting a dong on a friend’s shoulder. I like to call it the “Hey Buddy”. That is trademarked BTW.

JU: I want to do the “Hey Buddy” on two shoulders at once! Speaking of which, Mason, why have such long podcasts? What about that style – lots of segments, lots of drops – interests you?

AM: You guys are gross! But yeah, most people who listen to podcasts have a job that allows them to listen to something all day, so I was never that concerned with length. (Stop giggling, Steph.) We experimented with other times, but 2 hours was goldilocks, and we stick close to it, mostly just for consistency. The philosophy behind what I do is never “this is how you’re supposed to do it,” it’s more like “capture a moment,” and I wig out if I have too many restrictions. And like you said, we are constantly breaking things up, playing songs, announcing new segments – lots of great stopping points if your commute isn’t very long or you get sick of our dumb asses.

We’re like a strong red wine: it can challenge your palate, not everyone is going to like it, and even if they do, not everyone is going to drink the whole bottle at once, but some will (and they’ll love us) and others will say “I really like this wine; it might take some getting used to, but it’s worth it.” Those usually end up being my favorite things, personally, so I’m trying to offer something like that to others like me.

SD: My palate has yet to be challenged by the Grapes, but that’s because of the youth group rules.

AM: Stephanie Drury, everybody!

AR: What if you don’t like wine?

SD: I actually don’t really.

AM: Who doesn’t like wine?!

SD: ME.

AM: You’re drinking the wrong wine. That’s like saying you don’t like bread.

SD: I don’t really like beer either. It makes me feel left out. Not liking beer makes me feel left out, I mean. If I could just drink enough beer I would feel very not left out.

AR: Actually, I was using wine as a metaphor for beer, so maybe we should just make out now?

JU: This is very hurtful, Stephanie. You should know best out of all of us that Jesus loved wine. It’s his blood for Christ’s sake! What does this have to do with podcasts? Well, I’ll ask: if Grapes of Rad is like a fine wine, what is Dongtini and Air-Raid?

AR: I would like to think of Air-Raid as a smooth glass of Bourbon.

SD: Dongtini is a Dixie cup of purple drank. With maybe a Hennessy chaser. Though my podcast partner Simone would not endorse this. She does not enjoy rap at alllll.

AR: Well, a make out sesh is out of the question then!

AM: I didn’t say a “fine” wine. We’re probably more like Four Loko. But back when it was awesome and killing teenagers. Also, (Kanye voice) SIMONE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE.

SD: She also doesn’t care about making out with random podcast hosts. Believe me.

AR: Bullshit.

JU: Let’s rein this in before the FCC starts knocking at our door. Mason and Steph, how did you start doing your podcasts, respectively? We’ve already heard from Roden on this (see: his “friends” not texting him back). What was the hardest part?

SD: Whenever I talked to my friend Simone on the phone, David (my husband) would laugh at us laughing at each other. He always seemed entertained and I thought, “We should totally start a podcast!” At least that’s how I remember it. The hardest part about getting it started for me was to not erase what we’d just recorded. I kept doing that for a while. Simone did everything as far as the website. If she didn’t have any internet ability then Dongtini would not have been born.

JU: When it’s done, are you going to get a prison-style teardrop tattoo?

SD: No comment.

JU: I’m kidding! I never want it to end! Mason?

AM: I guess I mostly got into podcasting for the infighting. But seriously, I’ve always loved this kind of thing. As a kid, I would listen to DJs or comedy tapes or old-time radio shows and copy them. When Ben Parsons (my co-host) told me about podcasts and how there weren’t any rules, I was quickly sold. The hardest part then, as it still is now, is just finding time while having to work an entirely unrelated day job. It’d be nice to get paid, and to be able to work on the show full-time, and it’d be nice to have a million listeners, but I know I’d be doing the same show for 5 people as for 500,000. It’s mostly passion that keeps me going. That and I’m a complete sociopath.

SD: Yeah, I look at it as something fun that gets me no money whatsoever. Just like with blogging and being a bitch on twitter.

AM: I really like how cool everyone is, too. Our fans are super nice, smart, and caring people, and that’s been an incredibly rewarding part of the experience. Would you guys agree? Do you have any horror stories?

SD: Some of the time I start recording already half-angry at the listener, for no good reason.

JU: Why ARE you such a bitch, Stephy?? I’ve seen your Twitter feed!

SD: Because the world is a horrible place a lot of the time and to escape I pick up my phone, so the terrible world reaps the benefits of my angsty tweeting. Everybody wins!

JU: To Mason’s point: Any horror stories?

SD: There are some irascible people out there. A group of them jumped on me one time for leaving the Q off LGBTQ and also they got super pissed when I tweeted the word “tranny.” They refused to forgive me for it too, after I pretzeled to apologize the way they asked me to. Fuck that.

AM: Let’s start a rumor that one of Steph’s Twitter followers killed themselves after she was mean to them!

SD: I bet the irascible wankers would believe that!

JU: I LOVE suicide jokes! Moving on…

AR: To Mason’s question, which you guys didn’t let me answer: 
I am guessing, but I think I probably have the least amount of listener interaction with my show. It is always nice to get positive feedback from people and when you don’t get paid to spend an additional 40 hours a week on a hobby/passion that is definitely welcomed. However, one of the drawbacks of having a guest-based program is that you get emails from fans of said guest and sometimes those emails can be quite hurtful.

SD: You spend 40 hours a week on Air-Raid, Roden?

AR: That is an overstatement, but it is probably more around 25 – 30. That’s factoring in all the Facebook posting, tweeting, editing, and emailing.

JU: Let’s talk about day jobs. You all have them. When compared to doing podcasts, they must suck in a way. How do you balance?

AR: I would LOVE to do my show as my job, but that is just not realistic as of right now. It is really hard for a small (somewhat) independent podcast to get advertising money. I daydream about it all the time, being able to make a living doing what I am passionate about. However, I do have a pretty good day job that allows me some freedom throughout the day to answer emails and it pays for my massive coke habit. And, yes. Compared to talking with Pete Holmes, Macklemore, and Mudhoney my day job totally sucks.

SD: I do risk analysis for a hospital. I sit in a veal pen all day. My job doesn’t totally suck but it’s the exact opposite of podcasting so it feels like a balance, I guess.

AR: I’m a geologist. I spend my days outdoors monitoring soil conditions, water quality, landslides, and State Department of Ecology compliance for a local municipality. It’s a very unglamorous job.

AM: I’ve had the worst jobs. And lots of them. I currently spend my days sitting in a small room, staring at a white wall, and filing & buffing saxophone mouthpieces. Doing something else is basically all I think about. But, because of the type of job it is, I get to listen to a ton of comedy podcasts. I’m obsessed with guys like Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Daly, James Adomian, Jon Daly and Todd Glass. I think secretly this whole podcast thing is just a big con to get to hang out with guys like them.

JU: Who is your desired audience, Mason?

AM: I really like a diverse crowd – people from all over and all different schools of thought but who are all tied together by something. That’s what it’s all about to me. Whenever we start episodes on a particularly strong note, we joke about it being a moat that keeps out the casual listener, and I kind of like that. I want an audience who wants to be there, and who understands that the more you give, the more you’ll get. I really get a charge out of that. Eventually, I’d love to join a network like Earwolf (they’re doing some amazing things), and have the resources/audience to tour. Oh, and the money for a bronze statue of Sting for my garden. Dune-era Sting. Like when he comes out of that egg thing and he’s all shiny and flexy…

AR: I would say the same – my hope is that my show reaches a wide swath of the population from music lovers to people who like comedy. Part of it is that I want people to know about the artist that I am talking to because I love what they’re doing and part is, frankly, that I am a narcissist and just want people to like me. It is my goal to reach as many people as possible and hopefully be able to turn it into something that can at least sustain itself… and maybe a manservant dressed in a official Lucasfilm licensed Boba Fett costume. Although Dune-era Sting would be cool too.

SD: Our desired audience is maybe demented people between the ages of 18 – 65. The successful Dongtini listener will be down with hearing a lot of bitching and me cracking up at Simone.

JU: Steph, how comfortable is it doing your podcast over the phone with L.A.-resident Simone?

SD: Oh, it’s totally fine. It’s just like a normal phone conversation. And girls love to talk on the phone. AM I RIGHT LADIES?!?

JU: Roden, what’s something that surprised you about podcasting?

AR: I think Stephanie would agree with me when I say that a person who takes the time to compose an email detailing how much they hate what you are doing is definitely surprising and is something I am still trying to wrap my head around. But one of the biggest surprises for me, in the two-plus years of my show, has been how difficult it is to build an actual audience.
 When I started this, I think I just had the impression (a very naive one, by the way) that it would be a cake walk. People would just find it and listen to it because I’m awesome and super interesting, right? I found out really quick that it took a lot of work, shameless self-promotion, and realizing that I am not very awesome.

SD: I think I approach all social media endeavors knowing I’m going to get my ass kicked and my feelings hurt so I’ve accomplished everything I’ve set out to do, I guess.

AR: God, I sound like a huge complaining douche.

SD: No, I sound like a pessimistic cunt.

AM: If it sounds like a duck… Yeah, it’s tougher than I expected to stand out of what has become an incredibly crowded pool when you don’t have any money or previous notoriety. As far as assholes, we don’t really get any; I can only think of one, and he was my brother-in-law. Which sucks – I love hate mail! Seeing people work themselves into a lather over nothing is one of my favorite things in the world.

SD: Was that your brother-in-law who called y’all “fingerjerks”? That RULED.

AR: Hey Mason expect some hate mail REAL soon.

AM: Yeah, Steph, that was him! BRING IT, Roden! I really do wish we got some. Hate mail makes such wonderful content.

JU: Is there anything you’d change with the process of recording your shows?

AR: I could use to do some more research on the guests I know less about. Although not having my facts straight has resulted in some greatly funny and memorable moments.

JU: Care to name one of those moments, Roden?

AR: Well, there was the episode with Phil Ek who has produced some of the greatest bands of my generation like Band of Horses, Built to Spill, and The Shins. I was and still am a huge fan of his work. I wanted everything to be perfect for this one. I thought I had everything ready, his Wikipedia page was pulled up in front me, I had a complete list of his discography from some website I had found, and I had read a small article about him in a newspaper 5 years prior. It turned out that the discography was almost completely wrong. There was a bunch of info in the Wikipedia page that hadn’t been vetted, and I forgot everything I had read in that article I saw… It made for a somewhat awkward interview. But entertaining nonetheless. 
Then there was a comedian, who will remain nameless, that pretty much thought my lack of research and knowledge about him/her was annoying and then proceeded to berate me for a couple minutes on the show. I left it in, and it turned out kind of funny. Actually steered the conversation into a great place. 
The research thing is definitely something I need to continue improving on.

AM: Jesus, if I could do this full-time, I’d have skits & songs & bits & just WAY more pre-production. I’ve been trying to write this audio drama where a gay ghost saves the world from Bane and Vladimir Putin, but it can be tough to fit that in sometimes. And kids today need more gay ghost role models. It’s a social responsibility.

SD: So ambitious. Can’t we all just talk about dongs?

JU: Good point.