{"id":10951,"date":"2022-04-18T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T12:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.libsyn.com\/?p=10951"},"modified":"2022-04-18T14:28:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T18:28:35","slug":"q-a-with-laura-from-shelter-in-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libsyn.com\/blog\/q-a-with-laura-from-shelter-in-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Laura Joyce Davis | Shelter In Place"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe had no idea when I began Shelter in Place that it would become a way to reimagine life, or that the best part of that would be teaching others.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This series is all about Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community<\/i><\/b>!<\/b><\/p>\n

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Q & A with Laura from <\/span>Shelter In Place<\/span><\/h2>\n
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When did you start podcasting?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I published my first episode on March 17, 2020, day 1 of the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to that I had been working on another podcast that was a finalist for WNYC’s podcast accelerator contest in 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I had 21 interviews in the can and plans to move to Mexico to finish the project \u2014 and then the pandemic put all of that on hold. I began Shelter in Place instead, a daily podcast that would change the course of my life forever!<\/span><\/p>\n

What made you think about <\/b>starting a podcast<\/b>?<\/b><\/h3>\n

On March 16, 2020, we got the news that the San Francisco Bay Area was going into lockdown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the first day my kids (ages 3, 6, and 8 at the time) were home from school. I was feeling pretty discouraged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’d moved from Minneapolis to California back in 2004 for me to get my MFA. After 8 years of siloing my writing to the gutters of parenting, I felt like a failure.<\/span><\/p>\n

That afternoon as we were gearing up for lockdown, I went for a bike ride and was struck by an idea that felt like a gift. I’d start a daily podcast! <\/span>I\u2019d write a single draft of a personal essay about whatever was going on in my life that day, record it in one take, and press publish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole thing would take me about an hour, and anyway, I’d just be doing it for a few weeks. (Ha!)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4 months and 100 episodes later, I\u2019d given myself an education in audio. The podcast had become a way for me and my family to reimagine life even as it crumbled around us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We had no idea when I began that it would become my full-time job, or that my husband’s layoff would propel him to join me in this work. We didn\u2019t know that we’d take our family on a pandemic Odyssey from one coast to the other (and back again) in search of home. Or,\u00a0 that we’d start a training program<\/a> to teach others what we’ve learned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’re celebrating 2 years and coming up on 200 episodes. We\u2019re gearing up for the next big project (which we’ll reveal in our season 3 finale next month!).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s the best and hardest work I’ve ever done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s given me joy and hope in a time when discouragement and defeat seemed to be crouching at my door.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m so grateful for that crazy idea that challenged me like nothing before, but that also gave me a new way to live.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the name of your show and what is it about?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Shelter in Place is a narrative podcast about reimagining life through creativity and community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In every episode, through open-hearted stories and intimate interviews, we\u2019re exploring how to find joy and delight in the midst of the daily challenges we all face. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately it’s a show about escaping not out of life, but deeper into it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your <\/b>podcast set up<\/b>?<\/b><\/p>\n

I record in my 100 square-foot backyard writing studio that has lots of hard surfaces (and occasional noises of airplanes and yard guys and garbage trucks). I have to do a little bit of work to get great sound (but it\u2019s worth it!).<\/span><\/p>\n

When I record my VO, it\u2019s under a blanket fort with lots of pillows and soft-sided barriers. I also have an external monitor, which I need to see since all of our episodes are scripted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in season 2, I also began using<\/span> this mini portable vocal recording booth<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I use Sony MDR-7506 headphones (and love them! Thanks to Sony’s generosity, our Kasama Collective trainees get a free pair of these same headphones when they join our program).<\/span><\/p>\n

For season 1, 2, and half of season 3, I used a Blue Yeti mic on a desk clamp with a shock mount.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I recently switched to the Shure SM7 after I started learning more about Shure’s mics from Laura Davidson. I met her at She Podcasts Live a few weeks after our show won the Shure “Changing the World One Moment at a Time Award” at the International Women’s Podcast Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lately I’ve been using Zencastr to record interviews, but I always use a backup recording too. I have the guest record directly into a DAW or I have them record their side of the conversation using the voice memo app on their smartphone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I use the recording that sounds the best (which isn’t always the one you’d think!).<\/span><\/p>\n

For audio editing, mixing, and sound design, I used Logic Pro X for a long time. I didn’t think I’d ever switch to anything else until I decided to give Hindenburg a try. They are a sponsor for Kasama Labs, the audio storytelling course I teach with my husband.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our students get Hindenburg for free, so I figured I might as well learn it myself. Almost immediately, I was sold.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hadn’t realized that, unlike other DAWs, Hindenburg is made for radio. This means it has everything you need to make really beautiful podcast episodes, but nothing to overcomplicate the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I bought my theme music off PremiumBeat. Since season 2, I’ve used the Storyblocks royalty-free music library for other music and sound effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

How have you promoted your podcast?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Other than my <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>, Twitter (@PodcastShelter & @laurajoycedavis) and <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a>, my favorite forms of promotion are the ones that give me a chance to give back or connect with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m proud of the work we do and I want people to find the show. But ultimately, the whole reason I’m doing this in the first place is to make life just a little bit better for others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of my favorite forms of connecting with listeners and other podcasters:<\/span><\/p>\n