Astonishing Legends

Since entering the podcast industry I have been consistently amazed by the way creators support one another. The longer a show has been running the more likely it is that the hosts are helping out the creators coming up behind them. The hosts of Astonishing Legends are no different. I got to talk to Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess about their long-running show and about watching the paranormal genre grow over the years.

The show’s hosts felt that the paranormal genre was taking itself a bit too seriously, and Scott and Forrest wanted the same investigative focus without sounding like all the other shows. “We have a very conversational approach to these mysteries we cover,” Scott explained, which sets them apart from the usually ominous single-voice narration and music. Forrest explained that they kept the ominous music, but the duo is mostly focused on telling an entertaining story – covering aliens to historical legends to any non-fiction story with a mystery – for their listeners and enjoying talking with each other.

Because the show has been running for a while, Scott and Forrest have also enjoyed watching their genre grow and seeing creators join the space. Scott said that “most of them [new creators] reach out to us on their journey, which is really cool.” Those reaching out are often looking for advice or suggestions; with so many shows to compete with, people want all the help they can get. As Forrest said, “You have to have an angle, so that’s what everyone is trying to find… [something] to make themselves stand out.” Scott and Forrest aren’t offering out angles to new creators; instead, they are often reminding new podcasters that what is really required is time.

The Astonishing Legends hosts know a little about how much time it takes to build a following as it took a year and a half to see the show get a single commercial despite a lot of good, consistent work. Forrest said that all that time “led to a saying [Scott] and I always have, which is: it’s really hard to start a podcast, it might be harder to keep one going.” Reminding new podcasters that you have to do the work, keep making content despite the grind that comes with research and scripting and recording and editing and marketing, is a huge part of Scott and Forrest encouraging those coming up behind them.

Looking forward, Scott and Forrest are hoping to be able to build a schedule for themselves that doesn’t add quite as much stress to the process. Currently, the schedule is three weeks of new shows followed by a week off, which Scott believes keep the process from “turning into complete drudgery.” But even that week off (usually spent managing social media pages and responding to listener emails) doesn’t change that an entire episode has to be researched, recorded, and edited in a week. “Our big is to work as hard as we can at the top of the year and build a reservoir of shows,” Forrest explained, saying that duo wants to get out of the strain of making a show in only a few days.

Scott and Forrest are also really excited to put out more episodes researching new topics and telling great stories for their audience, as all great podcast hosts are. So, if you want to check out what Astonishing Legends is talking about this week give them a listen and leave a review to let us know what you think!

Chasing Pods is a Podchaser blog series dedicated to letting our readers know about podcasts they may not have heard of or provide a sneak peek into the making of their favorite podcast. We talk to podcast creators about their journey into podcasting, the creation of their shows, the ups and downs of the work, and what they’re looking forward to for their podcast

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