Two podcasts have recently popped up on campus: Life on the Hill and the Techno-Feudal Lizards. Both utilize the newly-finished sound and editing room located adjacent to the makerspace. Life on the Hill is hosted by Evan Dresser ’23, Teddy Stonestreet ’23, and Ross McKee ’23 and is produced by Jack Kilcoyne ’23. So far, the trio has interviewed two guests: Jack McNamara ’10, a Colgate Alumnus and CEO of Tru Energy drinks, and Zach Geddes ’17, a D1 lacrosse player at Georgetown. Dresser described the process of production as “first, we find a guest, and we make sure that they can make it.” They then research their subjects’ backgrounds and develop a few questions to spark a conversation, even taking some suggested questions from other students. Finally, they interview their subject and edit the footage for about 15-30 mins of content.
The Techno-Feudal Lizards are also based out of the recording studio and have released five episodes. Hosted by Bert Greene ’22, Dietrich Jacobs ’22, and Charlie Cave ’22, they too started this year and have featured many on the podcast, including Luke Carroll ’22, Tommy Madden ’22, Ben Trotsky ’22, and Coach Markham, along with Mr. G. Sullivan. The Lizards typically talk for a little bit longer, lasting between 30-90 mins. However, they focus less on school ties and branch out into different subjects, including personal stories and hypothetical situations.
The podcast studio includes two rooms: a recording room with microphones and a setup and a room used for editing and filming. The space is outfitted with full-range audio recording equipment as well as cameras and a teleprompter. Due to its recent completion about a month ago, the wrinkles are still being ironed out, which would allow it to work at total capacity. Mr. Ziff mentioned that they are “working out the best way to manage the space” to “allow everyone to get a chance to use it.” Although there are multiple podcasts running and occasional recording usage for group projects, he wants to increase its availability and improve the space. Additions would include a green screen for filming and more advancements in video production led by Mr. Duarte. Mr. Ziff is delighted that “good stuff has come out of it” and is ready to get up to full speed in the fall. You can find Life on the Hill on SoundCloud, and the Techno-Feudal Lizards are available on PodBay.
