0:03

Hey, listeners, we know life can get

0:05

pretty hectic, so we wanted to tell

0:07

you about a podcast that can soothe

0:09

and inspire. It's called Goodnight

0:12

Stories for Rebel Girls. Based on

0:14

the bestselling book, Goodnight Stories for

0:16

Rebel Girls is a fairy tale

0:18

inspired podcast about real life women

0:20

who are making this world a

0:22

better place. These immersive

0:24

audio stories will transport you from the

0:26

courts of Cleopatra to the finish line

0:29

next to Flojo. You can listen by

0:31

yourself or share with loved ones

0:33

of all ages. These award-winning stories

0:35

are designed to build kids' confidence

0:37

and ignite their imaginations. Whether you

0:39

need a special pick-me-up in the

0:41

morning, a calming tale before

0:43

bed, or an afternoon dose of

0:46

yes, we can, Goodnight Stories for

0:48

Rebel Girls has something just for

0:50

you. So what are you waiting

0:52

for? Come wherever you

0:54

get your podcasts or find

0:56

out more at rebelgirls.com/audio. Dream

0:59

big, aim high, and

1:02

stay rebel. Hello

1:16

everyone. I'm Christoph Liputka and this is Leviathan

1:18

Presents. It's a segment where we highlight one

1:20

audio fiction creator, have a conversation, and then

1:22

play a full episode of their show right

1:25

here in our feed. I hope you'll enjoy

1:27

today's guest and without further ado, let's get

1:29

into the interview. This is

1:31

Leviathan Presents. Hi

1:35

everyone. This

1:40

is Robin with another episode of Leviathan Presents.

1:42

And today I am joined by two people

1:45

who I think are truly at the forefront

1:47

of modern audio fiction, Travis Vengroff and K.A.

1:49

Statz from Fulon Scholar Productions. If you're a

1:51

fan of our show, there's a good chance

1:54

you're already familiar with Fulon Scholar and

1:56

if not, you really ought to be. They've released a

1:58

lot of great shows across... all different genres

2:01

including the White Vault, Dark Dice, The Bourne Knight, just

2:03

to name a few, and they've won a whole slew

2:05

of awards for their work. Way too many for me

2:07

to list off each of them. We're gonna be talking

2:09

to them today about their latest series, The White Vault

2:11

Goss Hawk. Travis and Kaitlyn, thank you so much for

2:14

being here. And thank you for having us. Thank you

2:16

for having us. So

2:18

let's just start by talking about how we

2:20

got here. You guys started making audio fiction

2:22

together seven or eight years ago, right? Eight

2:24

years ago. As a hobby.

2:27

Yeah, we started off as a hobby,

2:29

like you said. And we wanted to create

2:31

something. We've always been very creative. And

2:33

we were living in England at the time,

2:35

so we didn't have like our D&D group.

2:38

So we couldn't be creative and play a

2:40

game together. So we tried to find something

2:42

that we could do instead. And we started

2:44

making a sci-fi podcast. And

2:46

what was it about audio specifically that drew you

2:49

in? Do you have like a background in music

2:51

or audio production? Or was it just that it

2:53

seemed fun? Well, I guess it seemed fun. We

2:55

listened to a few shows beforehand and we thought,

2:57

wow, this seems doable. We can literally

2:59

be half the cast and no one will know if we

3:01

just pitch our voices and act a little bit different. I

3:04

had a bit of an audio background, but I don't think

3:06

that helped as much as we would think. I

3:08

think it definitely helped. I

3:10

think Travis not being intimidated by seeing

3:12

a doll for the first time and

3:15

instead having some experience, some interactivity, kind

3:17

of knowing the ins and outs already

3:20

was definitely a help because then we didn't

3:22

feel like there were that many technical barriers

3:24

between writing something and releasing

3:26

something. We were highly intimidated though at the

3:28

prospect of how do you upload it on the

3:31

internet? Like that was this giant question mark

3:33

mystery. And having now managed

3:35

an RSS feed for years, it's like, oh no,

3:37

it's actually not hard. You just click the

3:39

upload button and then type in your name of

3:41

your show. The magic of the internet. It's very

3:44

forgiving. And eight years is quite

3:46

a while. You mentioned that it started just

3:48

as a hobby. So how is the process

3:50

for you evolved in that time? The process

3:52

to get from hobby

3:54

to professionals was arduous,

3:56

but totally worth it.

4:00

brain cells died. And

4:02

many new connections made. But

4:04

we've been working on

4:06

it full time now for probably only, oh

4:09

no, my brain just died. Only air quotes three

4:11

years. Only four. Only four years. And

4:14

a lot has changed. Just the pure

4:16

numbers of people who have entered the

4:18

fiction space between when we first released

4:20

our sci-fi show, our very first hobby

4:22

show, to now. So now we

4:24

have so many different types of stories being told that

4:26

previously it was a bit more of a slim picket.

4:29

And now it's just like a plethora. People

4:32

know what a podcast is when you talk to them now. I

4:35

know all about that. We

4:38

started even earlier than you guys and it was

4:40

like most people didn't know what it was. If

4:42

they did, they thought it was just an NPR show. No, no,

4:44

it's kind of like a movie. It's

4:48

pretty remarkable that you guys can do

4:50

this full time now, especially for like

4:52

a pretty small independent team. What

4:55

was that transition like? Was there a moment when you

4:57

were like, wait, we can make this work? It was

5:00

less of a moment and more like stair steps

5:02

towards a goal. I was the first to go

5:04

full time. Travis had a job that paid much

5:07

better than my job at the time. So

5:09

Travis stayed in his kind of nine

5:11

to five for a while and then

5:13

I became full time. The

5:15

more that I became full time and

5:18

was able to benefit from expending all

5:20

of my time and resources on growing

5:22

our podcasts, growing our reach, growing our

5:24

audience, that kind of had a feedback

5:26

effect allowing more people to find our

5:28

show, allowing us to get more for

5:30

our advertisements and get more patrons. That

5:33

allowed eventually for Travis to switch over to

5:35

being full time as well. So

5:37

it became a very much a feedback loop of

5:39

now that one person is investing more time and

5:42

energy, we can hopefully get to the point where

5:44

the next person can do it as well. And

5:46

you've alluded to it a little, but can you

5:48

guys just explain what the production process is, what

5:50

each of your roles are in the shows? So

5:53

I am the writer and creator of most

5:56

of our IP. I write

5:58

the scripts, I come up with the outlines. the

6:00

scripts. We do a lot of the casting

6:02

together. We will sit down and listen to

6:04

a lot of voices. We'll cast out

6:07

different people for different spots. Production

6:09

is... You skipped research. You did so much

6:11

research. Oh, I just do... I consider that script

6:13

writing. It's research and everything. I'm

6:15

like business admin guy, so if it involves

6:17

talking with people and dealing with people, I'm

6:20

the social one on the show. I've recently

6:22

started directing and I do a lot of

6:24

the editing and sound design. And I co-do

6:26

that with Dane Leonardson, who is brilliant. And

6:29

I love working with Dane. A

6:31

lot of the branding and marketing that

6:33

will be stuff that I generally do.

6:35

And then when it comes down to,

6:37

like you said, being the face of

6:39

something, it's most likely going to be

6:41

Travis. We do work with Rel Media

6:43

for our advertisements now, which has been

6:45

wonderful. That allows us to take that

6:47

little bit of the work off our

6:49

shoulders, which has been quite nice recently.

6:52

Something I find really impressive is that you

6:55

have done a bunch of very different shows.

6:57

And I think a lot of people in

6:59

fiction podcasting kind of get stuck on one

7:01

show and have trouble breaking out of it.

7:03

How did you manage not to fall into

7:05

that sort of thing? Was it a conscious

7:07

effort? We have a lot of ideas. I think

7:10

Caitlin has a lot of ideas. And then you're all

7:12

like, Good. And she's like, What if we did this?

7:14

And we don't have an RSS for that. And we

7:16

don't have a podcast, like anything for that. I'd have

7:18

to start from scratch. Yeah, well, that's not a problem.

7:20

You can do that, right? Like, yeah.

7:24

It comes down to being just overwhelmed with

7:27

the want for creative freedom. I

7:30

constantly push Travis to his limit when

7:32

it comes to audio design. And

7:34

then I go and I say, It's so

7:37

wonderful that you've mastered creating an

7:39

arctic landscape with roaring

7:41

polar bears in the background. Now let's

7:43

go to space. And I'll put you

7:46

on a space station. And everybody speaks

7:48

other languages. And

7:50

you know what, he's very flexible, and he's able

7:52

to get it done. Is

7:54

it difficult? Like, because you bounce between a

7:56

lot of different genres. I know you do

7:58

horror, you've got some high fantasy, you've

8:01

got sci-fi, you've done children stuff. Is

8:03

it tough going back and forth so

8:05

much? I don't think so. Each one's

8:07

like a different genre of music, and

8:09

I think a versatile musician can play

8:11

in multiple genres and still feel somewhat

8:13

comfortable. But nothing, continue. Oh,

8:15

our dog is being silly. Okay.

8:18

But we as a duo, Caitlin does a very good

8:20

job of explaining the types of sounds that she wants

8:22

out of the show, because a sci-fi world can have

8:24

a bunch of different types of beeps and boops if

8:27

it's going to have those. It can sound very... I

8:30

think it's like Alien versus Star Trek.

8:32

The Alien franchise has a very different

8:34

look and feel and sound than the

8:36

Star Trek franchise does. And

8:39

yeah, the differences between that are maybe an

8:41

anime sci-fi. They're drastically different soundscapes. Once we

8:43

establish what the brand is and what the

8:45

sound is going to feel like, are we

8:47

following one person? Like, we're the POV, we're

8:49

always this person. Is this a camera in

8:51

a room of people that's moving around from

8:54

place to place? Once these general rules are

8:56

kind of established, it becomes a lot easier

8:58

to go back to it because it's like,

9:00

oh yeah, we're back in the White Vault.

9:02

Core seasons, it's going to be found footage

9:04

and like, oh yeah, it's fuzzy because they

9:06

got some electrical interference. Or we're back

9:09

in space with Nolira on Vast Horizon.

9:11

So the POV is going to be

9:13

Nolira's shoulder basically the entire time. And

9:15

she puts on helmets and crawls

9:17

through ducks. I was not laughing at our dog.

9:21

I was laughing at one of the only noticeable

9:24

issues that I've had that you told

9:26

me about when it came to writing

9:28

two very different genres at the same

9:30

time was when I was writing our

9:32

children's show. And I

9:34

had just come off of writing our

9:36

horror show and Travis was like, you

9:38

cannot write this for children in

9:41

this way. These are not words

9:43

that are appropriate. Not appropriate. It's not like

9:45

I said anything gory or explicit, but we

9:47

have monsters in our world and kind of

9:49

explaining what it is that the monsters do

9:51

to people, but not super gory. But he

9:53

was like, you can't have somebody go to

9:55

the hospital and never wake up. He's

9:59

better now. So

10:03

that was probably the biggest issue

10:06

with writing a script from two

10:08

of the opposite sides of the

10:10

genre spectrum. Facing is also

10:12

an important difference between our shows. Dark

10:15

Dice doesn't allow a lot of downtime

10:17

between words because it bores people. In

10:19

The White Vault, most of our new

10:21

season for Goshawk is silence. And

10:23

we're trying to not run the

10:25

clock between words, but when

10:27

you're walking in the woods with your friend and

10:29

bored, you have to be comfortable with

10:31

the silence. That's a great

10:34

segue because we're actually going to be

10:36

listening to the first episode of The

10:38

White Vault Goshawk, which is part of

10:40

the larger White Vault fictional universe that

10:42

you created. You guys did five seasons,

10:44

I think, of The White Vault previously,

10:46

and you brought it to a pretty

10:48

satisfying conclusion. So why don't you

10:51

give a brief intro to The White Vault for

10:53

anyone who's not already familiar and explain

10:55

what made you want to return to it for

10:57

another season. The White Vault is about good people,

11:00

generally good people, who are intelligent

11:02

individuals who are stuck in very

11:04

terrible situations. It's about

11:06

cults and luck and human

11:09

sacrifice, a world of intrigue

11:11

that's to be uncovered. Our

11:14

first five seasons are uncovered that way through

11:16

found footage and a very particular

11:18

perspective, which makes more sense the further

11:20

you get in and is more interconnected

11:22

than one might initially think. Our

11:25

newest story is a new

11:28

viewpoint into the universe of The White

11:30

Vault, where we are following

11:32

some nature photographers as some

11:34

very interesting occurrences take place in the woods

11:36

of Maine. And also, something

11:38

terrible on the other side of the

11:41

world is befalling a seemingly

11:44

normal mother. Why did you want to return to it? Excuse me?

11:46

Why do you want to return to The White Vault? You wrote this. So

11:49

the first five seasons told one very

11:52

particular story. It took place in 2010. And

11:56

our modern season is telling the next

11:59

big story. in this world and

12:01

it takes place in the modern day. Modern day

12:03

being 2023, I know it's now 2024, but

12:07

it takes place in the winter. The period

12:09

piece. Yes, the winter of 2023.

12:12

And we got back to telling the

12:14

story because we had, or I had,

12:16

I always say we, sorry. I

12:19

had the idea of where

12:21

would this head next? And as

12:24

we learned in the first five seasons, this is something

12:26

that's been happening for such a long amount of time

12:29

that the next important iteration in this

12:31

world, the White Vault world, would have

12:33

taken place many, many years later. So

12:36

we have this brand new story and

12:38

this new place with these other people.

12:40

To clarify, we have some miniseries as we've

12:42

explored other side stories and avenues of the

12:44

White Vault and what those could be. But

12:47

at our core, our interest is in telling

12:49

new stories and not really rehashing the same

12:51

ones in different settings. We took a whole

12:53

extra year to produce, not to produce, to

12:55

write it. I say we again, it's mostly

12:57

Caitlin. She bounces ideas off me

12:59

and I help a little bit. But the

13:02

general premise is this is a completely new story

13:04

that its existence is self justified and it's a

13:06

story worth telling. And as the twists and turns

13:09

are revealed, as they're already starting

13:11

to be, as we're getting midway through the season now, it's

13:14

getting exciting to see people with their cork

13:16

boards and red string on the internet, trying

13:18

to connect the dots that are being put

13:21

down. Yeah, that kind of gets into the

13:23

next thing I wanted to ask you about,

13:25

which is, I think with this season, you've

13:27

done a really great job. I've listened to

13:29

all the episodes that are currently available. You've

13:31

done a great job of making it stand

13:33

on its own and also be accessible to

13:35

people who maybe haven't listened to all of

13:38

the previous material. Was that something that you

13:40

were like very conscious of when writing it? Absolutely.

13:44

It's strange because the way that audio fiction

13:46

works, which you certainly know, is

13:48

that in an audio fiction story, generally,

13:50

if you're not an anthology, you're supposed

13:52

to start at the beginning and work

13:55

your way through. But most podcasts, so...

13:58

Talk show, talk show podcasts, or comments.

14:00

podcasts, you just download and

14:02

listen to the newest one and it's

14:04

very much the opposite of what we

14:06

do. So it was important from my

14:08

standpoint that because Gothawk is a brand

14:10

new story in this world, it has

14:12

to stand on its own, but it

14:14

is only sweetened and

14:17

increased and bettered by knowing

14:19

and having the background information

14:21

from the other seasons, kind

14:23

of allowing you to make

14:25

your own assumptions very early

14:27

on. And hopefully I can

14:29

turn some of those assumptions on their heads

14:32

if I'm doing my job right. So I very

14:35

much want people to go in and feel excited

14:37

about there being a new season and not feel

14:39

overwhelmed if they haven't heard the rest, but also

14:41

be excited to go back and listen to the

14:43

first five seasons and even our mini-series, if they

14:45

so wish, because there is a lot more of

14:47

the White Vault than what is in Gothawk and

14:49

a lot more of the White Vault than what

14:52

is in Svalbard. And it's also a great

14:54

connecting point because the characters most

14:56

of them have no idea what's happening and

14:59

we're learning just alongside them with

15:01

the story because they have no

15:03

idea about the other seasons or

15:05

stories. So you mentioned before, and

15:07

this is something that I found

15:10

very striking, most of the previous

15:12

seasons of the White Vault, I

15:14

think all of them, relied a

15:16

lot on different sort of in-world

15:18

framing devices, archival recordings, like journals,

15:20

to give a lot of exposition

15:22

and sort of ground the listener. And you've

15:24

moved away from that completely as far as

15:26

I can tell in this season. Was that

15:28

you wanted to differentiate this show? Was it

15:30

a result of kind of feeling more confident

15:32

in the craft now that you've been doing

15:35

it for so long? Yes. So

15:39

when I first started writing The White Vault,

15:41

it was only my second ever audio drama.

15:44

And I saw the framing device of

15:46

sound footage as being something that allowed

15:48

me to tell the story by using

15:51

that idea of the unreliable narrator and

15:54

allowing me to create the artificial

15:56

holes that I would need to

15:58

lend. this horror, more

16:00

of the mystery that it needed at

16:03

the point. But as I just said

16:05

earlier, the first five seasons were also

16:07

a period piece. So by putting this

16:09

story, the other story, the first story,

16:11

one through five in found

16:13

footage format, it allowed me to put

16:15

it as a period piece back in

16:17

2010. And now we're back in the

16:19

modern day and we're able to have

16:21

an at real time story being told

16:23

in gothawk. If you also listened

16:25

to the first five seasons, the last episode

16:28

is the end of the found footage and

16:30

it very clearly bridges from this is found

16:32

footage and the fades out of the found

16:34

footage in a really dramatic way that I

16:36

was very impressed with as a listener, as

16:38

a reader, I

16:41

should say. So I'm happy that we are done with the found

16:43

footage. It was a lot of fun to work with, but this

16:45

is a new kind of story. You

16:47

really enjoy found footage because if somebody's audio

16:49

was just a little bit too scratchy, he

16:51

was like, that's fine. This tape is just

16:53

a bit scratched. I used

16:55

so many cool things. There was like one session that

16:58

was just absolutely terrible. And I was like, oh, they're

17:00

on a Skype call. Let's just put some more like

17:02

problems in it. Something

17:04

I think the white vault has always

17:07

done really well is immerse the listener

17:09

with the sound design. Your

17:11

soundscapes are like active and really noisy

17:13

and sort of the best way it

17:16

like adds to this sense of discomfort

17:18

and horror. And it also like really

17:20

puts you in the environment. I think

17:23

the current season does it maybe better

17:25

than any of the others, even

17:27

in scenes where it's like just a couple

17:29

of people talking to each other. You're always

17:31

bombarded with like the sound of like loud

17:33

cold wind and crunching snow and all these

17:36

like animal calls and fabric wrestling. And you

17:38

get these characters talking over radios where you

17:40

have to struggle to hear them because they're

17:42

so degraded. Can you talk about what goes

17:44

into that both conceptually and then the execution

17:46

of it? When Caitlin writes a script, I

17:49

usually look at something and just be like,

17:51

no. Sometimes

17:54

in my script. So I will write the

17:57

area of the environment into the script,

17:59

the actions of the environment into the

18:01

scripts. If I think there should be a

18:03

bike going by that rings its bell, I'll

18:05

write it in. If I think they are

18:07

crunching on snow with heavy boots, I'll write

18:09

it in. Transitioning to the wood exterior

18:11

of a cabin. Yes, and I'll say

18:14

heavy winds. Like I'll write these entire things.

18:16

Sometimes there will just be an

18:18

open bracket, an entire paragraph explaining the audio

18:21

cues for this next shit and then the

18:23

closed bracket. And that's where Travis just looks

18:25

at it and goes, no. I'll

18:28

do it. This is it takes a while. So

18:30

for our sound design process, I directed the actors

18:32

for the season of Goss Hawk. I sent the edited

18:34

audio over to Dane, who has the scripts and

18:36

a lot of notes that I put in regarding

18:39

like breath and how the breath is gonna fit in and

18:41

takes. He brings back a version of

18:43

the episode that has all the sound effects and

18:45

all the voices where they're supposed to be. And

18:47

I'll get that. And then I will add Foley,

18:50

change some of the timing a little bit to

18:52

make certain parts a little bit longer or shorter.

18:55

Add more intense versions of certain

18:57

things, add more animals or pass bys

18:59

of birds, and then I'll bounce it

19:01

back to him. And we will go

19:03

through a couple of mixing passes and because I'm

19:05

a bit deaf and he's a very good mixing

19:08

engineer. And it's like you're getting two sound designers

19:10

at work in every single episode. Cause it's

19:12

not just us anymore. We're very, very

19:14

lucky and thankful that Fool and Scholar

19:16

Productions not only sustains us now, but

19:18

we also have two full-time employees, which

19:21

sustain is one of them. Yeah,

19:23

it's fun. We get to do these like little virtual high

19:25

fives. Like, okay, this is a really good thing. Can you

19:27

add more base to this, like an extra thump, like maybe

19:29

hitting some potatoes? I don't have potatoes. Dane,

19:31

can you do that for me? Like, all right, I gotcha, I gotcha.

19:34

Or people are like, I need to

19:36

scream here, better scream, do you have a better

19:38

scream? Yes, I'll record a better scream in my

19:40

basement because no one's going to like call the

19:42

cops on us. We're okay. It's not Sunday. Travis,

19:44

you had a very funny tweet the other day

19:46

that I related to in a deep way where

19:48

you said, stay tuned for my perfectly time drinking

19:51

of water, which was specifically performed in

19:53

a way that won't discuss listeners. Can

19:56

you tell us about that? Yes, my

19:58

perfectly timed drink of water. seen

20:00

in episode, I think, four, where just a

20:03

girl says, can I have some water? And the answer's

20:05

yes. And I spent 20

20:08

minutes getting the perfect sip of water because audience members,

20:10

some of them really hate the sounds of eating, and

20:12

others hate the sounds of drinking, and others hate the

20:14

sounds of breathing. So you have to balance

20:16

this with volume and EQ so that

20:19

it doesn't feel disgusting when they hear that sip.

20:21

And I had the actress actually drink water,

20:24

but her sip was too gross. So I

20:26

had to- It's so mean! But it's

20:28

not a criticism of her drinking water. Her

20:31

breath at the end was great. Her reaction

20:33

after the sip was very natural. And

20:36

her drinking the water was perfectly normal. But

20:38

the sip itself was too intense for some

20:40

listeners. I would have to put an

20:42

explicit warning on it. So I had to retake

20:44

the perfect sip of water and then sneak it

20:46

in and replace that one little part of the

20:48

performance of her drinking the water. And

20:50

we do a lot of things like this. Every time

20:53

the characters are moving, they're breathing, and I have to

20:55

drop the volume when they're breathing and bring it right

20:57

back up. Every time they say anything important at all,

20:59

like, oh, and then they go back to breathing. So

21:03

it's these little moments that you experience that

21:05

you don't always appreciate as a listener

21:08

unless you are in it

21:10

and you're editing all the time like you are,

21:12

Robin. Like I- Yeah, I

21:14

laughed out loud when I read that

21:16

because in both Leviathan Chronicles and like

21:18

my entire career in audio post-production, probably

21:20

the most frequent note I've got is

21:23

like, the food or the drinking sounds

21:25

gross. Can you make it better? Yes.

21:28

So I know you've worked really

21:30

hard to build a relationship with your

21:32

listeners, create a sense of community for

21:34

your fans. You've got a Patreon with

21:36

a lot of bonus content people can

21:38

listen to. And Travis, I know you

21:40

do behind the scenes, Twitch streams sometimes

21:43

of yourself editing the episodes. What

21:45

can people expect from you in

21:47

the future if they wanna subscribe?

21:49

We have lots of new stories that we're

21:51

always coming out with. One of the

21:53

things that I enjoy the most is

21:55

the bloopers that are always available because

21:58

I make a lot of mistakes. And so does everybody

22:00

else in the best possible ways. We're

22:03

about to upload 21 minutes of bloopers. We

22:05

also have a lot of behind the scenes content

22:07

when it comes to, like, we

22:10

traveled to Svalbard, the place where the first

22:12

season of The White Vault begins. And we

22:14

were able to record a lot of audio

22:16

there, take a lot of photos, and generally

22:19

explain to our listenership and patrons what it

22:21

was like to be in the location that

22:23

had inspired our shows. And

22:25

we always plan on having more

22:28

miniseries content in the future. We're

22:30

currently in the issue though, right now, where

22:33

one of the ideas I had for a

22:35

miniseries ended up being too long and has actually

22:37

just become a full normal series. It's

22:40

coming out very soon, in April. Good

22:42

problem to have. Yeah, good problem to have. But

22:45

our Patreon is there because

22:47

it is, as you would

22:49

know, it is difficult to create content

22:51

as a small team and get it out

22:54

into the world and then be able to

22:56

do things like that consistently. And

22:58

we want to be able to tell our stories.

23:00

We think that we're doing a pretty good job.

23:02

We have entertained thousands and

23:04

thousands of people across the world, and

23:06

we want to keep doing that. And

23:09

patrons make that possible. We'll also have lots

23:11

of really cool music up pretty soon. Travis loves music.

23:15

For anyone that is interested

23:17

in subscribing, it is, I

23:19

believe, patreon.com/foolandstaller. Just

23:22

to end things off, what are your goals for

23:24

2024, the next year and beyond? Oh,

23:27

no. Professional goals or personal goals? It

23:31

could be either. Personal

23:34

goals. We just moved into a house.

23:37

So I want to kind of settle in. One

23:40

of the things that was posted recently was when

23:42

we moved, because we now live in Germany, we

23:44

used to live in the US, when we moved

23:46

from one continent to the other, everything

23:49

we had got destroyed in a

23:51

big crate. And so

23:53

now that we're here and we have this house

23:55

and we're buying new furniture and everything, my personal

23:57

goal is to actually get it feeling like home.

24:00

a real home. And it's not just a home,

24:02

it's also like our home base, because this is

24:04

where we have our little studio space and our

24:06

writing space. So my goal is to

24:08

get us under 60 hours a week each. Oh,

24:10

that would be nice. That would be that'd be very nice. But we

24:13

said goals, not dreams. Goals

24:16

are attainable. Dreams are not. Everyone

24:20

again, patreon.com/fool and scholar. So Travis and

24:22

Caitlin don't have to work over 60

24:24

hours a week. We

24:27

still will. Well

24:30

thank you both so much. And without

24:33

further ado, let's listen to episode

24:35

one of the White Vault Gothawk.

24:37

Anything? Nothing. I've got

24:39

a few brown creepers singing

24:42

over here. What's

24:46

about it? You. Nothing.

24:54

I'm just going to

24:56

sit here and listen to you. I'm

25:00

willing to give it another hour. How

25:03

about you? Not

25:20

really. Little creepers

25:22

aside, I think we missed the window. There

25:26

was just more out here yesterday. I

25:31

can't really feel my fingers anymore. Think it'll wrap up? My

25:38

blind is developing a uniquely

25:40

locker room-esque odor. Not

25:46

really any perfect shots this week. Not

25:50

perfect, but good.

25:53

Worth it. Not amazing,

25:55

nothing phenomenal, but worth

25:57

it. Yeah.

26:00

I'm gonna call it. I

26:03

got what I call. Okay.

26:06

I'll back it in. Bad

26:08

luck. What

26:12

was that? Bad

26:14

luck. Having a slow last day out

26:16

is bad luck for the next trip. Even

26:20

a snowshoe hare would have been nice. Yeah.

26:25

Birds don't tend to pay the bills. Owls.

26:28

Owls can't. People love owls.

26:34

Yeah. Owls. You're

26:37

not gonna do it? I

26:39

will. I'm just checking on

26:41

what or... You

26:54

got something inside? I'm

26:57

gonna call it. Evie?

27:13

No. Nothing. Just

27:15

thought I'd bought it something.

27:18

Yeah. Yeah. I'm backing up. I'll need you back at the tent. He's

27:24

undispointed. He was a

27:26

good trip. He was... a fox.

27:30

The other moose? Yeah. Not a

27:32

good shot. My

27:34

heart's down on the wing for a fisher.

27:37

Well... Don't

27:39

we all? I'm

27:42

back. Heading back. I'll meet you next. The

27:54

right move. After.

28:30

I'm

28:32

going

28:34

to

28:36

wait

28:38

a

28:41

little

28:43

longer.

28:52

You got everything? I

28:55

don't know. It's nothing by the watch, Mommy. Yeah,

28:57

I... no worries. What

29:08

the fuck is that? Okay.

29:14

Shit! Come on,

29:16

come on. Come down and please, we'll be there. I

29:22

don't see anything moving. The

29:26

tent still looks intact.

29:32

I hear bags of torn down. See?

29:36

See, look here. The

29:38

tracks were perfect light of white

29:40

toad for indentation. I ought

29:42

to be on length. Why

29:46

is the shutter sound back on? I

29:53

think it's all gone. The

29:57

tracks are visible. We're

30:00

going to take the food after we left this morning. I

30:04

think we missed it. And the pity about

30:06

the food. We don't

30:08

want it eating any of the plastic. We're

30:11

thinking camp sites mean an easy meal. We

30:15

still have enough for tonight, right? I can't. Just

30:19

be ready for a lot of peanut butter. Well,

30:22

we still have the... the...

30:31

...shes. Mippy?

30:41

The Lynx? No. The

30:45

Prince of the Moon, the Prince of the Human,

30:49

the Neat, without the blue, the blue. And

30:54

here it looks like they sat down,

30:56

and then they have boots on. Why

31:00

other pair of boots do you think? No, I don't want to

31:02

look at them. Well,

31:06

damn. Tell them now. Is

31:11

anything else Mippy? The

31:14

boots, the maestro's jackets, and halts.

31:19

I think the Lynx passed through after the food was

31:21

taken. One of our thermal

31:23

blankets is gone. Scarfed

31:25

you. They

31:28

didn't take everything, just stuff that... ...that

31:32

anyone would think was maybe extra supply. My

31:35

wallet's still in the pocket in the back of the tent, so it wasn't

31:37

just theft for theft's sake. They

31:42

also really needed to size. There

31:46

she was, out here. Yeah.

31:51

I wonder, I... A

31:54

hunter, maybe? Or

31:56

a hermit? Your

32:00

spare boots are still here though. Must

32:03

have been a woman. Gotta be, yeah. You

32:06

have small feet. You

32:09

okay? Yeah.

32:12

Sure. Yeah. They

32:15

were expensive boots. I

32:17

hadn't really broken them in yet, that's why I just

32:19

had them along with my backup, but... No,

32:23

if they really had nothing out here, I would have given

32:25

it to them. Well, hold

32:27

on. Are you okay knowing

32:29

someone else was here? Sure.

32:34

We were lucky we didn't encounter anyone during

32:36

our photography sessions this time, but... During

32:39

summer shoots, there's always people out hiking

32:41

or hunting. It's

32:44

different in winter though. Unexpected.

32:47

Not a lot of people aiming to come out here. Yeah.

32:52

Especially this far. Let's

32:56

get cooking. The

32:59

only choices we have left for dinner are some of

33:01

the spicier ones. Mostly

33:04

the chili... And...

33:06

curries. You go

33:08

ahead and pick. I'll set up the stove. And

33:10

I can move back before it gets too dark. It's

33:14

already getting dark. Hurry

33:16

and pick then. Time's

33:21

up. Yeah, okay. Three

33:24

sisters stew or tie curry? Ready

33:32

to be back in civilization? You

33:35

mean no more spitting, Pessin? We

33:40

do still have to hike back. Do you

33:42

know what I mean? I

33:44

look forward to getting the photos out onto the

33:46

computer. I won't know what I got

33:48

until then, not really. Now

33:55

we want a 3D holster packing. You

34:01

know, I think those thermo shots I got of

34:03

the moose-blowing snow off its note is going to

34:05

go over really well. Still

34:08

hurts my heart to film in vertical, but

34:11

yeah, more of a steam

34:13

coming off of them when the light's just right. I'll

34:16

have to see if it really came out well

34:18

once I'm back at my computer, but I also

34:20

got a short first... So... Is

34:23

that something? Is that something else you think?

34:25

Yeah, sure. No. Jean. One

34:27

of these footsteps down south. What? Well...

34:30

Shh. I'm

34:32

sorry. I'll

35:01

be a David. I have a long way over

35:03

it, right? Hi,

35:09

Sophia. Wait,

35:13

wait. Vai

35:15

ral, auf lans sie van,

35:18

wiss sound sie van. Miski

35:21

bezra. You know, Eisendig

35:23

is really improving. How's Gregor? Has

35:26

he heard it yet? Oh, he's fine. Still

35:29

on the trip in Vienna. He'll

35:31

hear me when he gets back. He

35:34

always laughs a bit, but he won't learn Polish. He'll love

35:36

it. You

35:38

just have to take him to Poland to see your family again. Then he'll have

35:40

to learn a little. Or

35:44

just toss him in a deep end. Yes, I plan on it. But

35:48

like I tried to say, I have not seen you in days. Were you

35:50

on a trip? Oh, sick. Two

35:53

weeks, actually. I was in Greece with

35:55

Jorn and Artna. Jorn is still

35:57

working there for another two weeks. We

36:00

sit in a little holiday time together. Yeah,

36:02

Greece sounds nice. Yeah, I

36:04

could use a break from the cold. You

36:07

married an Icelandic man. Yes,

36:09

yes, don't remind me. Just

36:13

you and Arna went to the Greek then? What

36:15

about the others? They

36:17

stayed home. And Arna flew over to

36:19

Berlin to meet up with friends. Alone?

36:23

She wants to go to the Perkerman Museum before

36:25

it closes for renovations. This was the

36:27

best time for it. You didn't go

36:30

with her? Yoon and I went years

36:32

ago. And she is smart, she knows how

36:34

to travel. So now I'm back

36:36

in the cold and have to go back to work. Don't

36:39

we all? The

36:42

usual? Yes, please. And

36:45

an old muffin. Yeah, they're really good today,

36:47

good choice. The total is 1250 kus. Take

36:52

a seat, I'll bring it out when

36:54

it's all ready. Edgid, Sofia.

37:00

Hello, Jesus, Can you see us in

37:02

Berlin today as videos and reports reveal

37:04

the terror of a vehicular attack on

37:06

climate activists near the Brandenburg Gate? Your

37:09

ovelte goes to our correspondent, Pierre-Enbrusine

37:12

Berlin, for more. Pierre. Here

37:14

in Berlin, at the site of the Brandenburg Gate,

37:17

peaceful climate activists have been gathering for the past

37:19

three days. Even in the

37:21

cold weather, protestant songs have lasted one into

37:23

the night. And as of this morning at 6am, the

37:26

crowd already numbered in the hundreds. With kind

37:28

locals even serving coffee to those arriving in

37:30

the early morning hours. You said

37:32

that on the scene, by the way. But the peaceful protest quickly

37:34

turned into a scene of tragedy and panic when

37:36

at 643am, three

37:39

automobiles, including one delivery truck, were

37:41

driven through the crowds. Shit. As

37:44

of updates from local Berlin police minutes ago,

37:47

10 deaths have been reported. Over

37:49

50 people have been brought to local

37:51

hospitals by emergency services so far. With

37:54

that number growing as unengined processors, the

37:56

vice and his work bring the remaining

37:58

injured to nearby medical... authorities

38:01

are still waiting to report an

38:04

accurate number of the total casualties,

38:06

with several of those taken to

38:08

hospitals still in critical condition. Police

38:11

are asking that those looking for loved ones

38:13

who attended the protest to please

38:15

avoid driving to the Grandinburg Gate area,

38:18

as all nearby roads are currently shut down.

38:21

This route on Facebook and Story. Berlin

38:24

police have arrested all three of the suspects who

38:26

drove the vehicle to the hospital. Yes?

38:29

Hello? Can you hear me? I

38:51

still think we should attract the footprints. No.

38:55

Seriously. Ify, it wasn't

38:57

a lot of blood. Probably just cracked skin

38:59

from their foot. Or a small cut. But

39:02

going out there looking for someone at dusk?

39:05

Look how dark it is tonight. We would have

39:07

been out there in that. It's

39:11

not so bad. Yeah.

39:14

It was food. You

39:18

should call Michael before it gets too late. Yeah.

39:25

What if they're dangerous? The

39:27

best weapon we have is bear spray. No.

39:30

I know you're right. But like

39:33

you said, I've got really small

39:35

feet. Okay.

39:39

So whoever needed my

39:42

boots and not yours also

39:44

must have really small feet.

39:48

Oh. Yeah. That

39:50

makes sense. But

39:52

they didn't stick around to ask for help, which

39:54

would have made the most sense if it was a

39:57

lost hiker or something. So maybe they didn't

39:59

even I want our help. She

40:01

didn't want our help again,

40:04

just guessing because of the booth.

40:06

Police tracks warning me going the same way.

40:08

Please try not to worry. Let's

40:11

just focus on getting back for

40:13

now. Did you pack everything else?

40:16

Everything we don't need for tonight and tomorrow morning,

40:18

but my camera's still charging.

40:22

It's gonna be a cold night. Already

40:24

is. I'm

40:28

gonna boil some water for a sleeping pack. I

40:31

don't pack the cooking kit. It's

40:33

just to be cold. No

40:35

coffee? You

40:38

need it that bad. Chew on it. I'll

40:42

get the fat phone. Michael's still

40:44

waiting for an update on our return. Hello.

41:03

Hey, Michael. It's Effie. And

41:05

Gene. Hey.

41:07

Good to hear from you. How's the shoot been? Got anything

41:09

good? Hoping for some strong content for you both

41:11

on this trip. What? Why? It's

41:13

not like this was expensive. If

41:16

it was, we would have better dinners. I

41:20

mean, your choice to give her extremes

41:22

is not that I'm not appreciative. But really, I

41:24

just mean that. I expect your shots to be

41:26

a stirrer mode. And I know you're both trying

41:28

to fund the next trip. Anything

41:30

you're excited about? Uh, lots of

41:32

moose, um, fox, owls,

41:35

birds. Cute pictures of some rats,

41:37

but I don't see people wanting to eat up some

41:39

rat photography. Lots of video

41:41

and bird shot content, too. Sounds

41:44

good. We'll make it work. I

41:47

look forward to seeing it all. What's your

41:49

timeline look like? We're

41:51

packing up tonight and we'll start

41:53

the hike back to Alagash in

41:55

the morning. We're thinking it will

41:57

take about four days at a reasonable pace to get back to

41:59

town. Not rushing though, that way

42:01

if we spot something worthwhile we can still take time

42:03

to send some photos. We're still on

42:06

schedule so everything in the float plan we left you

42:08

is still accurate. Uh huh. Yeah,

42:11

I have that right here. Um, yeah, four

42:13

to five days planned for turn to Alagash.

42:16

But you're thinking four at this point? Maybe.

42:20

What's the weather expected to be for Arstook these next few

42:22

days? Wait, Arstook or Alagash? Uh,

42:25

Arstook is the county, Alagash is the town.

42:28

What's expected for Arstook? Give me a moment to open your tab.

42:30

Uh, alright. Uh, oh fuck.

42:32

Fuck what, Michael? Give

42:35

me a minute. We were already

42:38

talking tonight about

42:40

how it felt a little colder. Yeah,

42:48

I'd just be more worried about snowfall.

42:52

Wind. Uh, yeah,

42:54

wind. Still

42:57

there, Michael? Just double checking if

42:59

you were things. Are

43:03

we telling him about the missing stuff? Don't

43:05

know why we wouldn't. Alright, at the

43:07

end then. If

43:10

he there? Nowhere else to be. I

43:12

just wanted to double check so I can give you the most accurate information.

43:15

Looks like you'll have a bit of bad weather

43:17

passing through Arstook County. Most of

43:19

it should be south of you though. Can

43:21

you read us the report? Uh,

43:24

cold front pushing out across

43:26

the main Canada-Arstook border, southeast.

43:29

High accumulation of snowfall expected in Arstook.

43:31

Further in Somerset. It's got a question

43:33

at Opscot. It's like 20 to 57

43:36

meters of snowfall accumulation. And wind speeds

43:38

up to 42 kilometers per hour. So

43:40

like, maybe 30 miles per hour. Temperatures

43:43

expected to drop to low as negative 14

43:46

Celsius at night. Are

43:48

you sure you both are perfect? That was

43:50

terrible. Please, just finish the report,

43:52

Michael. Right, uh, with daytime

43:54

temperatures returning to negative 4

43:57

Celsius. Significant snowstorm, pretty cool.

44:00

until tomorrow evening at 9pm. Staying

44:03

indoors is recommended. Check the

44:05

availability of emergency supplies beforehand. Avoid exposure

44:07

to the elements. Travel is not advised.

44:12

Mm-hmm. That's it. We're

44:14

prepared. We'd hope for better weather, but it's

44:17

not unexpected. Northern Maine is

44:19

finicky in winter. Are

44:21

you sure? I really wish you would have taken those

44:23

snowmobiles instead of hiking in. You could have

44:25

made it back in no time. We have the gear we

44:27

need for this, Michael. It's not our

44:29

first storm. And out here in the woods, we

44:32

can... Find a place out of the wind if you get

44:34

to it. Might be able

44:36

to catch some unbelievable videos, too. So

44:39

you're going to be okay? Yes. Even

44:42

without the snowmobiles? Yes, and

44:45

again, the snowmobiles are very helpful, but some of

44:47

our best photos never would have happened if we

44:49

came in on those things. They're just too

44:52

loud. And I love a good

44:54

chilly hike. It's

44:56

going to be a little bit more than chilly, Gene. Well,

45:00

good luck. Call me if you need anything. Can

45:03

you be waiting in Alagash with some

45:05

Irish hot chocolate? Nothing's gonna happen. I'll

45:08

see you when you get back to real civilization.

45:10

Anything else? We

45:12

had some stuff stolen from our campsite. Ah.

45:17

Camera equipment? Cards? Thankfully,

45:20

no. A pair of

45:22

iffy's boots, some food, and some small

45:24

pieces of clothing and equipment. It

45:27

wasn't an animal? There were

45:29

footprints, so while we think an animal also

45:32

passed through our camp, we're sure someone, probably

45:34

a woman, took the stuff. Have

45:37

you run into anyone? Nope. But

45:40

there was a bit of blood, too? Just

45:44

a bit. Not much at all. Jeez,

45:46

you sound like Monty Python. Okay.

45:49

Well, stay safe out there, and like I said, call

45:51

me if anything happens. I'm

45:53

renting some services first, could that be? Will

45:56

do. Thanks, Michael. We'll see you in

45:58

about a week. Great. He's

46:03

going to be worried about us now. It's

46:05

a concerning situation. Being worried is a

46:07

normal response. I'm

46:10

ready to turn those two calories into a

46:12

food coma and since everything is packed well

46:14

enough and the sun's already down, I'm

46:17

going to sleep. You

46:20

should charge your camera if you need to. Yeah.

46:23

Are you

46:29

staying out here? It's freezing.

46:32

No, I just... You

46:37

don't worry about her? Who?

46:40

Oh, I do. But

46:43

I also know she took some very functional

46:46

things. She's

46:48

somewhere in a very large, dark forest

46:50

and she didn't wait around for help. Even

46:53

I just got off the call with Michael. You

46:56

heard what he said about that storm. It's

46:59

just focus on us right now. We've

47:02

done this a few times, but that doesn't mean we can

47:04

get sloppy about it. That's

47:06

how I end up her. Yeah, you're

47:09

right. I know you're right. Sorry.

47:14

Okay. Ooh.

47:21

No, don't pull back.

47:29

I'mact bucket.

47:31

Each time she loves

47:34

you. Sorry,

47:36

then publiccity. How

47:42

about blockbo none? Ooh.

47:47

Ooh. Did

47:56

you hear that? James,

47:59

wake up. What's that? Are

48:02

we leaving? No, I heard

48:04

something... something's out there.

48:08

What are you... My

48:11

legs. That's a lift. Get

48:14

your camera off your boots. Yeah. Don't

48:16

forget your legs. I

48:19

know. Hurry.

48:30

Which way? Wait. Emily.

48:46

It's probably in the clearing. Get

48:48

down the setup. I forgot what to talk about.

48:51

If we don't spot it, we'll head

48:53

back. Look for tracks

48:55

and links. We'll snooch your hair. We've

49:06

got tracks. Look for links. Between

49:08

the big rock, the

49:11

one, two, and the tree back.

49:15

I see them. Just

49:17

the one set. Would

49:20

that scream? I

49:25

mean... Yeah, it was really

49:27

close. Do

49:29

you have the bear spray? I...

49:32

I... Maybe... No.

49:38

I don't leave it in my camera bag. Shit.

49:42

The links don't attack people. It's

49:44

probably mostly small hairs and earth and

49:47

such. Yeah. It

49:49

won't go after bigger creatures. And...

49:58

I don't see anything. Snow

50:00

will cover up the track soon. That's

50:05

so close. That

50:08

way. Okay,

50:13

fair. Track. This

50:16

is a world without snow. Snow's partially

50:18

filled in already. Snow!

50:23

Snow! Snow!

50:28

Hey, at least... Snow! Snow

50:31

minus. Just...

50:34

hunting for a link? Fucking,

50:36

you're a king for a link. No hunting.

50:40

Just... I

50:42

really thought you were a tree. Snow!

50:49

She's... a girl... for

50:51

me. Yes. Did

51:01

you see the size of my pig? Mm-hmm.

51:07

Really? Yeah, did you see the size of that pig?

51:09

No. Mm...

51:17

Mm... You should turn your

51:19

shutter stand back off. You know, I thought I

51:21

did. I must not have

51:23

saved the setting because it comes back on every time I

51:25

turn it off and on again. Well...

51:31

my heart's ready to go back to sleep after

51:33

pole vaulting into my throat. You?

51:37

Yeah. Ready to sleep. Whoever

51:42

that link says, we'd never find it

51:44

up here in the talk. Please

51:46

try them. How

51:51

do you always wake up when noises happen? How

51:53

do you not? It's a loud predator screaming

51:55

in the middle of a dark winter forest.

51:58

Most nights I'm honestly surprised. I think any of his photos will be

52:00

good. think some of them will turn out

52:02

great. I've never been that close to a bull moose before. I felt like

52:05

a hobbit. I think I got a few terrified shots of his feet. I'm

52:07

not sure if he's going to be able to get a little bit more

52:09

of a little

53:29

bit more. few

53:59

of the shots. What? You're

54:06

women, Jean. Harold

54:30

Vengraff, Michael Villegas, Dennis Greenhill,

54:32

and A.J. Penton. This

55:00

is a full and scholarly production. Thank

55:03

you for listening. I'll

55:30

see you next time. Attention

56:01

fans of fairy tales that

56:03

are magical, hilarious, and grim.

56:06

The award-winning Pina Original Podcast,

56:09

Grim, Grimmer, Grimist, has new

56:11

episodes out now. While

56:14

you've probably heard of the Brothers Grim, you've

56:17

never heard these tales saved in quite this

56:19

way. I'm

56:21

Adam Gibberts, bestselling and Newberry

56:23

Honor author of Books for

56:25

Children, and in Grim, Grimmer,

56:27

Grimist, I share the real,

56:30

weird, grim fairy tales

56:32

with real, weird, hilarious

56:34

kids. In each

56:36

episode, you not only get to hear a

56:38

story, but you also get to enjoy this

56:40

group guessing what'll happen next, cracking jokes, and

56:43

sharing their own perspectives on the tales. Also,

56:46

hecklingly, they love to heckle you.

56:49

The episodes are rated on a scale from Grim

56:52

to Grimmer to Grimist, so there's always

56:54

a great variety of tales to explore

56:56

with your family. You

56:59

can listen to Grim, Grimmer, Grimist now

57:01

wherever you get your podcasts, and

57:03

be sure to follow the show so you don't

57:05

miss new episodes.