As I Please

When it comes books to help you find your way as a podcaster, the field is wide open (I've even written one myself). Having worked in broadcasting during the 80s (using vinyl and tape), and then rekindling my love of broadcasting with a podcast in 2008, I thought it about time I refreshed my own skills by reading what other people are advising. I also host a radio show, and that led me to buy Valerie Gellers' Beyond Powerful Radio – A Communicator's Guide to the Internet Age. This is quite a hefty tomb, and while of general interest to me, much of what it had to offer was for those actually working at a radio station, managing staff, or hosting talk shows and phone-in programmes. Still, I found it interesting, useful and refer to it regularly. Next up is Viral Podcasting by Kerry Lutz who proclaims the book offers a "proven process to earn a 6-figure income from your show". The book features contributions from Valerie Geller. Lutz's "6-figure income" claim is a bit hard to swallow, but hey – you might get lucky. Still, the book is well worth a read if you are starting out. Top of the pile for me though is Essential Radio Skills by Peter Stewart (there are two editions and the 2009 first edition will be cheaper than the 2010 update). I got a lot of good information from this book as plenty of what's included can be applied to podcasting. Before you splash out loads of cash, ask around to see if your friends and colleagues have any of these book to borrow, check out your library and used book sellers. My preference is to avoid using Amazon due to its exploitation of staff around the world and recent stories of the firm dumping perfectly good products. And if you have a favourite book about podcasting or broadcasting to recommend then do let me know... Book links are affiliate links.

Here's Just Jazz show 40. Please check out my new website at www.JustJazz.World. In this show... * Balance9 - Half Step'n Half* Dave Mascall feat. Julia Quinn - Feel the Same (Jazz Funk mix)* Greg Manning - Sunrise Boulevard* Walter Beasley - The Beasley Strut* Brass Attack - Brassetude ft. J Britt, W Bradley, R Zinn* Shakatak - Catwalk* Andrew Nue and Rob Zin - A to Z (A2Z)* Gary Meek - Cannery Row (Cool cut of the week)* Rob Tardik - Walk It Like You Talk It* Vanessa Poolian, Anders Olinder, feat. Tom Browne - Keep Your Spirits High* Francisco Mora Catlett - Five AM* Michael Kaeshammer - Takin Care of Business (Ft. Randy Bachman & Colin James)

If you are knew to interviewing guests on your podcast you may feel a little nervous. That's only natural. However, the more you know about your guest, and the reason you are interviewing them, then the better you will feel going in, and the better the interview will be for you, the guest and more importantly, your listeners. My golden rule is 'never interrupt' the interviewee when they're answering a question. Which is really hard to do if they say something that make you want to chip in with a follow-up question before they've finished - don't. But listen to this edition of Podcasting Made Easy for my take on interviewing your podcast guests. And do take a look at this 'how to' feature here and check out my Podcasting Made Easy book here. As always, I am keen to hear your feedback and podcasting questions via my contact form. Cheers, Steve.

In this week's bundle of zeros and ones is music from... * Azymuth - Jazz Carnival* Greg Chambers - Let's Dance* Garry Percell - Smooth Strut* Antonio Adolfo - Partido samba funk* Bill Colletti - Get Into It* Donald Byrd & Johnny Coles - Child's Play* Be'Ne Music - I'm Yours* 3rd Force - We Should Be Together* Gammar - Mongo* Balance9 - 110 at Night* Brian Culbertson - Without Your Love* Rocco Ventrealla - A New World

No matter how much you spend on a microphone the key to getting the best from it is for you to get to know it. To treat it like a friend. Only rarely can you just plug a mic in expect it to record a great performance. Every microphone has its own personality, it will like some things and not others. It might pop a plosive at one angle and not another. It might sound great if you speak into in one direction, but not another. Al mics have their sweet spot for your voice, and your environment also plays a part too. So to record the best podcast, to get the best quality recording, means you have to understand what your mic likes and what it doesn't. In this episode of Podcasting Made Easy I'll explore some of the way in which you can record your best performance as a podcaster. As always, flick through your podcasting question to me at www.stevehart.co.nz Cheers, Steve

Another week, another show - glass in hand - from the man down under. * Animal Nightlife - Love is the great pretender* Greg Manning - Twinkle* Francesco Amenta - Number 9* Dee Lucas - Full Tilt* Camera Soul - Condivisa* Gammar - Bass Blues* Lakecia Benjamin - Central Park West - Cool cut of the week* Ryan Montano - Gemini* Ilya Serove - Ironic* Louie Fitzgerald - hinkin' Back On When* Gayelynn McKinney and McKinney Zone - Lovely Day* Animal Nightlife - Native Boy

In this week's cut crystal glass of Red Label (no ice) is music from the following artistes. * Dennis Coffey - Impressions (album: Down By The River)* Christopher CJ - Follow* Johnny Britt - Good Feelin* Knick Smith - Feelin' Smooth* Will Sumner - Building Castles* Castella - So Glad I Met You ft. Willie Bradley* Ilya Serov - Ironic* Mandy Barnett - You've Changed* David Sills Double Guitar Quintet - Loverman* Michael Haggins - Gift To The World* Jake Bass - Real Smooth Like Feat Will Feinberg

Music featured in this week's show includes: * Xavier Gordon - Bridges* Günter Asbeck - Make It Work Again feat Dennis LeGree & Will Donato* Dave Dunlop - Soulful Strut* Chan Hall - Stay For Awhile feat Tony Craddock Jr.* Willie Bradley - Mystical Moment feat. Nathan Mitchell* First Light - Daybreak* Jarez - Night Life (Featuring Vandell Andrew)* Adam Hawley - Tokyo Groove* Lowell Hopper - Affection* Carl Roland - Rock With Me* Gerald Beckett - Beautiful People* Jeff Lorber Fusion - Back Room* Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You

Anyone who uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube etc will have heard of at least one person who has been banned, de-platformed, or had their account frozen for a few days. Some people wear the postponement of services as a badge of honour, others are mortified, while others probably knew they were trying their luck with comments about current issues that the rest of us only talk about in whispers to trusted friends. I was blocked from using Facebook the other week for 24 hours, and I still do not understand why. My messages to Facebook asking for an explanation went unanswered. So what would happen if your audience were shut out of using social media, or if you found yourself in hot water with the social media de-platform bots? You'd risk losing the ability to connect with your followers, to tell them of your new episode etc. The fact is, social media is so easy to use. It's so easy to build an audience and a following with people around the world. The downside is that you only have access to your followers until the platform you use decides otherwise. So in episode 30 of Podcasting Made Easy I am advising you to start building your own email database of followers and podcast listeners – so social media cannot cut you off.

Sorry for the missing shows... Just Jazz is a syndicated radio show broadcast by more than 90 stations worldwide. * Michael Haggins - Gift To The World* Willie Bradley - Mystical Moment feat. Nathan Mitchell* Inversions - Black Russian* Knick Smith - Feelin' Smooth* Alexander Zonjic - Hipster feat Jeff Lorber* Raul De Souza - Daisy Mae* Jeff Lorber Fusion - Lava Lands* Bill King - Sweet talk* NexLevel - Chillin'* Richard Elliot - Right On Time* Solex - Flying High (radio edit)* Jawanza Kobie - Imagine That

And now for something completely different, it's Steve Hart's Just Jazz featuring bits and bobs from the studios of... * Montana Sextet- Heavy Vibes (Original Version)* Judah Sealy - Off The Charts* James Saxsmo Gates - I Want You feat Robbie Cunningha* Greg Manning - Sunrise Boulevard* Martin Trotman - Beautiful Day* Shakatak - Covina* Von Stupart - Livin' It Up In The City* Nicole Henry - Feeling Good* Tony Craddock, Jr. - Magnetic* Ramsey Lewis - Living For The City* Evan Carydakis - Groove House

Get your dancing shoes on for another hour of jazz with music from... * Morrissey Mullen - Mr. Sax And Captain Axe (Remix)* George Anderson - Higher Ground* Bassmanegg - The Star Of The Story (radio edit)* The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble - Songhai* Dee Lucas - Full Tilt feat Blake Aaron* Greg Manning - Sunrise Boulevard - cool cut of the week* The Yuko Mabuchi Trio - A Night In Tunisia* Allan Harris - Shallow Man* John Carey & Will Donato - That smile* David Sills Double Guitar Quintet - Loverman

In this week's kettle of fish we have joyful tunes from the likes of... * Richard Randolph - Changing Lanes* Biscodini Organ Trio - 6 Ft. Distance* Quintin Gerard W. - Cleared For Takeoff* James Saxsmo Gates - I Want You* Ghost Jazz Trio - Brazilian Sunset* Skinny Hightower - Bittersweet* Chris 'Big Dog' Davis feat Kim Waters & Mark Walker - Caregiver* Zoe Scott - My Cherie Amore* Markus Rutz - Simone* Sonny Fairley - Sunny* Gary Palmer - Let's Ride* Dave Koz - Dr. Norm

First published 3 March 2014. In 2014 I hosted a weekly one hour news show. The audio file above is an excerpt from a radio show recorded in March 2014 where I talk about the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan with Harvey Wasserman. The Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster happened on March 11, 2011. The plant suffered a catastrophic failure due to an earthquake and a tsunami. About 38 miles inland from the plant lies the commercial city of Koriyama, where some of the smallest children have no experience of playing outside - fear of radiation has kept them indoors. According to the Japanese authorities [as at March 2014], 15,884 people had died, 2,636 were still officially missing and the remains of 98 were yet to be identified. At the the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the radioactive water that has accumulated remains the biggest problem hampering the clean-up. As of March 5 2014, 436,000 tons of radioactive water was being stored in vast tanks. Tepco, the nuclear plant’s owner, is clearing land to make space for more. But an additional 400 tons of radioactive water is generated every day. This is being poured into the ocean. Japanese authorities claim that a processing system is able to remove 62 radioactive contaminants from 750 tons of water every day. Scientists involved in the Tepco plant say it will be at least 40 years before the reactors are rendered safe, decontamination work is completed and the tens of thousands of people who used to live in the exclusion zone around the plant can return. Some believe that time-frame is optimistic. Among them is Harvey Wasserman – a life-long activist who speaks, writes and organizes widely on energy, the environment, history, drug war, election protection and grassroots politics. He teaches history and cultural & ethnic diversity at two central Ohio colleges. Harvey marched at his first demonstration in 1962, helping to de-segregate a skating rink in Columbus. He met Dr. Martin Luther King on the Meredith March for civil rights in Grenada, Mississippi, in 1966. As a student editor at the University of Michigan Daily, his 1966 editorial “The Use of Marijuana: It Should be Legal” went global on the wire services. Active in the movement against the war in Vietnam, Harvey marched on the Pentagon in 1967 and the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968. He helped found the legendary anti-war Liberation News Service, which which the FBI’s COINTELPRO operation tried (unsuccessfully) to destroy. He then helped found the communal organic Montague Farm in Massachusetts, a pioneer in a new generation’s movement against chemical farming. In 1973 Harvey coined the phrase “No Nukes” and helped found the global grassroots movement against atomic energy, for which he has spoken throughout the US, Asia and Europe. In 1982 Harvey co-wrote (with Norman Solomon, Bob Alvarez & Eleanor Walters) KILLING OUR OWN: THE DISASTER OF AMERICA’S EXPERIENCE WITH ATOMIC ENERGY, documenting that people died at Three Mile Island. In 2004 Harvey and Bob Fitrakis broke many of the major stories on the theft of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. Called “the Woodward and Bernstein” of election protection by Rev. Jackson Jackson, Bob and Harvey have published six books on the American art of vote counting and curtailment. In 2007 Harvey joined with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash to form

In this week's show there's music from... * Paolo Rustichelli - Hot* Walter Beasley - House of Sax ft. Phil Davis* WaKaNa - SilK* R.L. Walker - Coming Big* Doug Beavers - Sunshine (feat. Joe Locke)* Desmond Meyer - Lickamore* Vincent Ioia - Dreamin* The Cooltrane Quartet - Holding Back The Years - COOL CUT OF THE WEEK* Dave Dunlop - Soulful Strut* Keith McKelley - Looking In ft. Cal Harris Jr* Jeff Ellwood - Old School Blues* New Orleans High Society - When It's Sleepy Time Down South