In 2011, I launched the Pagan Pathfinders' Podcast, which got some attention at places like the Wild Hunt Blog and the Canadian National Pagan Conference. My vision was one of a panel of knowledgeable Pagans of various traditions and locations, discussing a topic online as panelists do at conferences. As I say in the preview video, people were really quite accommodating and friendly and open to the possibilities.
I stopped doing the podcast in early 2012 for a variety of reasons; though I did try to limp it along for a while. One was that getting a bunch of very busy people together in one place is problematic at best. Two was that the limitations of Skype made the conversations awkward. Three was that the constant bad sound and limited connectivity created a variety of issues that took days of editing to try to fix. Four was those days of editing. I tried bringing on a partner to help me, but Nisaba Merrieweather, although filled with enthusiasm and a desire to help, who managed to organize a great show on Australian Paganism, had no better luck with the technology than I did. Eventually I resigned myself to just letting it go.
But then I discovered Spreecast. Spreecast is a video streaming platform that lets you broadcast live from your webcam. You can bring multiple people on camera at once, and better yet, your audience can participate by asking questions in a text stream and you - and your guests - can answer them right away. And the idea to rebirth the podcast was born!
Spreecast is live; so no editing is involved. It has better connectivity than Skype. And it automatically archives everything so I don't have to upload it to another site, just post a link; which therefore won't cost me $50 a year to host (which was coming out of my pocket.)
So I'm relaunching on October 12 with the topic "Pagan Writing," at 4 pm Pacific Daylight Time, and the panelists for our relaunch will be a great bunch of people I've had on the show before; Sam Wagar, ByThor, Dr. Brendan Myers and Diana Paxson. The event is free, as will be all subsequent events, so I hope you'll join us. Our website or our Facebook group will keep you apprised of upcoming topics and Spreecast dates. Join us!
I know a lot of Pagans who meet the description of our panelists - movers, shakers, organizers and leaders - read Witches & Pagans and PaganSquare. I'm especially interested in finding Pagans outside of North America and in particular from the UK. If you think you meet the description and you'd like to participate, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!