Learn Podcast Insights From the Pros
The Monstrosity Podcast’s Unique Mix of Celebrities, Comedy and the Paranormal
Monstrosity is a popular five-year-old podcast that pairs celebrities (from movies, TV and music) with paranormal investigators/experiencers who’ve seen Bigfoot, UFOs, ghosts, etc. These unique guests and comedian David Race, who serves as the host, are a combination that creates unpredictable results in every episode.
What’s the theme of your podcast?
Celebrity/paranormal/comedy interviews. We’re inventing a whole new genre.
What’s the biggest hurdle you face regularly while creating your podcast?
Booking legitimate celebrities is the most time-consuming aspect of producing Monstrosity. Most of our celebrity guests come live to our studio in L.A. to record the episode with us. So, coordinating schedules can take some time. But the more time-consuming thing is that we only book truly well-known celebrities onto Monstrosity and lining up such people takes some time. That’s why new episodes are at the most monthly.
What’s the biggest reward you get from your podcast?
The episodes are fun to do. I meet people I’m fascinated by and have deep and funny conversations with them that just happen to be on mic.
Are there any other insights about your podcasting career you’d like to share?
I think my former career as a radio DJ, and my being a comedian, both come together well on Monstrosity. I have a skillset very few people in podcasting have, when you combine those two backgrounds. It enables me to executive produce, write, and host shows like this, to an optimum level.
What is your favorite podcast/YouTube/Newsletter to listen to (besides yours)?
This is a weird answer, but I watch a lot of YouTube music reaction videos. I like watching 23-year-olds get blown away by the great bands of the 70s and 80s.
What do you wish you knew more about?
I wish I knew more about why the entertainment industry fails to understand that the professional execution level of a podcast matters much more than how many Instagram followers it has. If I’m a TV production executive, I’d rather give a TV deal to a pro broadcaster, with unique ideas, that also is top-level comedy club funny. I wish I knew someone that fits that description. Oh, wait a minute…
What was the hinge moment (one person, one moment, or event) that made the difference in your life?
It’s probably when I landed the internship on the Howard Stern show in the late 80s. At the time I was in broadcasting school, planning to become a radio DJ. I was a big fan of the Stern show, and heard they had an internship opened. They only used one intern at that time. So, suddenly I was at the show every day, sharing a small office with all of them, and on the air every day as part of the cast and fun. It was like being thrown to the wolves, but exciting. After about a year there, I went off and became a DJ myself. My DJ career leads ultimately to my stand-up comedy, and now to this podcast.
