James Enstall started the Geek To Me Radio show in 2016, which began as a segment on Trivia Night with Bill Clevlen before getting his own show on KXFN 105.3 FM. Over the years he has united fellow geeks while delivering an entertaining experience featuring news, events, and interviewing talent while promoting movies, television shows, games, and comics. His show runs live on Sundays at 9pm CT on KTRS. I wanted to share more about James by interviewing him about his show, how he got started, and highlighting how he got started, challenges he had to overcome, and more. Read below:
Wendy Shepherd: 10 Years since the founding of Geek To Me radio! Over 500 podcast episodes. What a wild ride! What inspired you to start your podcast? Was there someone who influenced you?
James Enstall: I began working in radio in 2008. One of the show hosts I was working with took a liking to me and eventually gave me my own segment on his show. Another radio station heard my segment and offered me my very own 1-hour radio show, which I immediately accepted. The rest is history.
Wendy: Where do you generally record your podcast episodes? How long does each episode take?
James: Since it’s a radio broadcast, they record LIVE every Sunday and I’m locked in to a 1-hour time frame. If guests can’t join me for my live show, then I arrange to pre-record with them rather than miss out on the interview. This always requires some degree of editing to make sure that I can make it work within the constraints of my 1-hour clock (and to make sure nothing is said that would get me in trouble with the FCC.).
Wendy: How was the experience with your first podcast? Who was your first guest?
James: I experimented with podcasting before I ever got into my radio show. Therefore, my first guest was 3-time Eisner Award winning artist Rick Burchett. Since launching my show 10 years ago, I’ve gotten to interview producers, writers, musicians, directors, actors and artists from all across pop culture including John Cleese, Nichelle Nichols, Gene Simmons, Sylvester McCoy, Kevin Conroy, Nicole Maines, Brad Meltzer, Neal Adams and so many more.
Wendy: Over the years, what are some obstacles and challenges you’ve had to overcome?
James: There are always obstacles and always challenges. Whether it’s getting turned down for an interview that I really wanted, equipment malfunctions, being overlooked for gigs, etc… it’s just part of the business. But I try very hard to look at each setback as a learning opportunity as well as a challenge to help push me forward and make me work harder.
Wendy: What are some useful tools you’ve been using?
James: I bought a Sony handheld recorder at my local Best Buy the year I first launched my radio show so that I would record interviews on-site at various events around the country. I think I paid roughly $40 for it and it’s still going and works fantastically well.
Wendy: You’ve had some incredible guests. Do you have any that stand out as most memorable?
James: I mentioned a few of them in response to a previous question. I’ve had, at this point THOUSANDS of conversations with people who I either grew up admiring their work or have come to know more recently. The standouts fall into two categories: One would be the people who I never dreamed I’d get the chance to speak with like John Cleese, Ed Asner, and John Glen. The other is with the people who I’ve gotten to become friends with over the course of having my own show, such as Susan Eisenberg, Maria Canals-Barrera, Dan Riba, and Carl Lumbly.
Wendy: Which interviews that you’ve done seem to be the most popular?
James: It’s always interesting to me how the popularity of an interview happens. Ones that I think are surefire crowd-pleasers end up with a lukewarm reception and others that I don’t know if I’ll get much interest in tend to take off! It’s hit-or-miss. It depends on who I have on and who is listening. But I’ve found that if I book a guest who I’m excited about
Wendy: Do you still have some people who would be your dream interviewees?
James: There are still several people who are on my dream interview list: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Smith, Peter Capaldi, Gary Larson, Michelle Yeoh, Michael Keaton, Frank Welker and President Obama are the top of that wish list, but there are dozens of others that I’m hoping to get through sheer determination and a dallop of luck. For every “Yes.” that I get from someone, there are 20 “No.” answers from others who I contact. The worst is not getting an answer at all, though. I’ve promised myself that I’ll keep doing this until it feels more like work than it feels like fun. So far, though, I’m still having a blast!
Wendy: Thank you for sharing James!
You can check out all of James Enstall’s podcast shows by visiting his official website at http://geektomeradio.com/ and by looking up his podcast on major podcast networks like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.
