In talking with new and seasoned podcasters I often hear questions that lead me to believe that people think they can "break" their podcast.  Today I talk about a few questions I've heard and how 99% of the time you're not going to break your show.  We also have a question of the month The Separate Track Challenge I have recommended Squadcast for years. The ease of use and the ability to have separate tracks of you and your guest makes it my go-to choice for remote recordings. then later I got a Rodcaster Pro which ( Along with the Zoom P4, and the Zoom P8) allow you to record separate tracks. I can be on track one, and my guest can be on a separate track. The question then is: Does the separate track recorded locally on the guest's computer (and uploaded to Squadcast) sound that much better than the same track that has traveled over the internet? I also had my guest join me on Zoom as I know a lot of people are using Zoom to record interviews. Nuts and Bolts of Remote Recording The zoom recording is sampled at 32 kHz where Squadcast records at 48 khz. (This is how many times per second a picture is taken of your audio - the higher the number the better the sound). For me, the zoom recording while listenable sounds "fuzzy" compared to the Squadcastrecording (which makes sense as it has a higher sample rate. Also, Squdcast provides a WAV file that is better than the m4a (variable bit rate - another "no-no" for podcasting) from Zoom. If you're going to use the m4a from Zoom, be sure to edit it, and export as an mp3 with a contact bit rate. When I compared the original Squadcast file to the one I recorded (after coming across the Internet) and there again was a slight degradation of the file (not quite as crisp). Another Benefit of Squadcast In my test, as my guest was talking the Internet slightly broke up the audio is it made its way to me. If I had been using the recording on the Rodecaster this "Glitch" would be in the recording. With the original Squdcast fie, the glitch is not there (as that recording goes from their microphone to their hard drive, and then uploaded to Squadcast. Always Have a Backup Recording Of Your Interview The other advantage of using a tool like Squadcast is in the event the recording has an issue with the Rodecaster I have Squadcast as a backup. If there is a glitch with Squadcast, I've got my hardware option as a backup. No matter what you are using to record your remote interviews, always have two systems recording. It's not a matter of if one will fail, but when. For me, Squadcast is the most reliable. School of Podcasting Moving to a New Platform Thinkific is charging me per student (and I'm not a fan of that) so I've looked at Kajabi, Teachable, and Podia . Currently, I feel Kajabi is cool, but I'm not a fan of their limits to the number of products, and I'm learning more about Podia as they allow you to sell digital products, membership sites, and courses. They also have an affiliate program. With Teachable if I use their affiliate program, I have to pay them 2%, and with Podia you pay your monthly fee, and that is it. No extra fees. Free Coaching Calls? I'm pondering trying something new. This would be to offer coaching calls at a deep discount that would then be used in episodes (which is why they are discounted). If you're interested, contact me and I'll send you an application. Join the School of Podcasting Get access: Step by step tutorials Live group coaching Private brainstorming/podcasting group You don't have to worry about sounding bad, buying the wrong equipment and wasting your time. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start Mentioned In This Episode 764 Podcast Gear Guide Webinar(free - no email address needed) Squadcast Samson Q2U Rodecaster Pro Zoom Podtrack P4 Talk About Talk Podcast Podcasting Resources Podcast