Twenty seasons. I still can’t quite believe I get to say that.
When I started podcasting in 2006, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. At one point, I was literally recording phone conversations through speakers with a microphone because that was the best setup I could figure out. There wasn’t a blueprint for what I was trying to do, and there definitely wasn’t a Riverside waiting for me.
Twenty years later, I’m kicking off Season 20 of The Buzz with Chris Hardwick. And I couldn’t think of a better person to help me celebrate this milestone.
I’ve known Chris for years. I’ve gone to his shows. We’ve crossed paths multiple times. I’ve watched his career evolve through television, stand-up and podcasting. So when I started thinking about who I wanted as the first guest of Season 20, his name was the first one that came to mind.
Two Podcasters Looking Back
Chris started podcasting in 2010. I started four years earlier in 2006. Just typing that sentence is still wild to me.
We both remember an era when you had to explain to people what a podcast actually was. Chris even remembers recording some of his earliest episodes onto CDs while working at G4. Meanwhile, I told him about my extremely sophisticated early setup of recording phone calls through speakers.
Yes, we’ve come a long way. However, talking with Chris made me realize that the technological evolution of podcasting is only part of the story. We both also changed.
We stepped away from podcasting for roughly three years.
For Chris, becoming a father completely changed his priorities. What was initially supposed to be a short parental hiatus became three years away from the podcast microphone as he focused on being present for his daughter, Dimity.
For me, stepping away gave me time to realize how exhausted I had become after years of trying to do everything myself. Coming back meant learning how to do this differently.
I don’t have to say yes to every pitch. I don’t have to release everything immediately. And I don’t have to run myself into the ground just because I love what I do.
Chris put it perfectly during our conversation: Eventually, you start moving from questions about the quantity of life to questions about the quality of life.
Chris Hardwick’s Favorite Job
We also talked about what Chris considers his favorite job, and it isn’t hosting, stand-up or podcasting. It’s being a dad.
One of my favorite moments came when Chris talked about his daughter asking him to do arts and crafts with her. He compared the feeling to having the most famous person in the world ask if you want to hang out.
That perspective has changed the way he looks at everything else.
Chris still loves performing, and he has a comedy special coming in October featuring much of the material I previously saw him perform in Philadelphia. But being away from home now carries a completely different weight.
Hearing him talk about fatherhood was one of my favorite parts of this conversation because you can hear just how much he genuinely loves it.
Podcasting Taught Me How to Listen
Now comes part of the conversation that meant the most to me. I told Chris that one of the greatest things podcasting has taught me over these 20 years is how to listen. I am not talking about just hearing someone, but to actually LISTEN to them.
Putting on headphones and sitting across from another person forced me to become invested in what they were actually telling me. Over time, that changed the way I interviewed people, but I also think it changed me as a person.
We started comparing our approaches to interviews. He generally doesn’t prepare a list of questions because he wants to remain completely present with the person in front of him.
On my end, I do my research on a guest and/or TV show, and I have my questions ready. However, I keep them in my back pocket. The second someone says something that makes me go, “Wait. Tell me more about THAT,” we’re going there. Chris called that moment the “connection point”—when you suddenly feel the chemistry of the conversation ignite.
It’s why a five-minute press interview can suddenly become something much more personal. It’s why conversations sometimes go places neither the guest nor I anticipated. It’s why I’m willing to throw the questions out the window when someone opens a door I didn’t know was there.
Chris summed it up with something every interviewer should remember: Your guest is a human being. They’re not just content.
The “Secret Sauce”
I actually had a perfect example.
I told Chris about my recent conversation with Rodrigo Santoro. We were initially discussing his film Runner, which features first responders, when Rodrigo realized during our interview that we were recording on September 11.
One connection led to another, and suddenly we were having a much deeper conversation about 9/11, first responders and honoring those who sacrificed for others.
None of that was planned. We were simply listening to each other. Chris called moments like that the “secret sauce” of podcasting.
People invite podcasters into some incredibly personal spaces. We’re in your headphones while you’re driving, working out, traveling, having a great day or sometimes going through a terrible one.
You know when something is manufactured and when two people are actually connecting. As I continue to grow and evolve, I will always be more invested in the latter.
“You’re Literally One of the First True Podcasters”
Toward the end of our conversation, I finally told him why I wanted him for this episode. When I knew Season 20 was approaching, I asked myself who I wanted sitting across from me for the premiere.
Chris was literally the first person I thought of. His response?
“Tremendous honor.”
Then, he said something I wasn’t prepared for:
“You’re literally one of the first true podcasters.”
So, that hit different. Chris went on to tell me that I was ahead of the curve when I started in 2006 and that I helped pave the way for the modern podcasting era.
Hearing that from someone who has played such a significant role in this medium himself was a huge compliment. When I started doing this, I wasn’t thinking about paving the way for anything. I was trying to figure out how the hell to record a phone call. I also was just trying to talk about something I loved. I never thought of the longevity or business side of this.
That is a conversation at a later date…
Twenty Years Later…
Podcasting gave me something I didn’t know I needed when I started: a voice. More importantly, it helped me figure out what I wanted to do with that voice.
It made me more open. It introduced me to people I never imagined I’d meet. It put me in rooms I never thought I’d enter. It taught me how to talk to people, but even more importantly, it taught me how to listen to them.
Somewhere along the way, it helped define who I became outside of podcasting, too. That’s why Season 20 means so much to me. The interviews, events and opportunities have been incredible. But if this somehow all ended tomorrow, I could still look back and say, “I had a great run.”
I don’t take that for granted, and these past 20 years changed my life. Having Chris Hardwick sitting across from me to help begin this next chapter made the milestone that much more special.
As he so eloquently put it, “Here’s to another twenty years.”
Season 20 of The Buzz starts now. The full interview is available now to watch above. Also, it can be streamed on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
