I wrapped up my podcast after 6 years... Here's why.
One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make was finishing up this podcast (for now)
Last week, I announced that my podcast 20th CENTURY BOY, would go on indefinite hiatus after 6 years of weekly podcasting. The decision had been brewing for a while, and I spoke a lot about it in the quasi-finale episode that is below.
While I don’t want to retread on what I spoke about in the episode, I did want to talk a little about my journey with 20th CENTURY BOY, and what’s next for me in the world of podcasting.
I started this podcast in January 2019 when I was working as a panel operator on the Luke & Lewis radio show. I wanted to create a space where I could talk about whatever I wanted to talk about, with no limits or constraints. It was to be a purely blank creative canvas that I could experiment with. Eventually, the tag of the show became “the conversations you wish you were having about the stuff no-one else cares about.”
I was tired of waiting to find my “perfect co-host.” Lots of people in the radio industry speak about “finding the Hamish to their Andy” or “finding the Andy to their Hamish,” but at the end of the day, life doesn’t work like that. I wanted to get over the first hurdle and just start.
I also wanted to become better at speaking and performing, and thought a weekly podcast was a good way for me to get my flying hours up. Before this, I never felt like a strong conversationalist, but I wanted to improve.
When I dropped the first episode (which I can’t bring myself to listen to today because it makes me cringe so much), I never expected many people to listen. But I quickly built a loyal cult-like following who interacted with my podcast and helped me generate content.
As the years went on, we started a Patreon, started video podcasting on YouTube, editing short clips for social media (collectively, across platforms, I think I’ve had over 25 million views) and started to introduce spin-offs or side shows to my content, like Mike Talks - an interview series, The Movie Club, and Pat & Mike, with my incredible producer Patrick de Gilio.
It wasn’t always easy, though. Financially, making your own podcast is not rewarding, and I barely even broke even on costs with the Patreon. As a financial investment, it definitely did not provide a return.
At times it felt creatively fluid, rewarding and so much fun. But at other times, the podcast felt like a prison of my own making. I felt creatively trapped by a format that I had created. I was plagued by the sunk-cost fallacy. I couldn’t seem to break out of the friction that doing the podcast each week created for me.
When I finally accepted that it was okay to let go of something that was good for me but just wasn’t quite working for me anymore, I felt relieved. I am still making content on YouTube, and it’s very similar content to the content I would make on 20th CENTURY BOY, just packaged differently and no longer confined to the podcast format. I’d love to invite you to check out some of the videos I’ve been making on YouTube 😀
Podcasting is hard. You have to show up every week for your audience. And once you have loyal fans, you feel terrible about letting them down. Another reason I kept going so long was because I didn’t want to disappoint my audience. They were the ones the show was for, and I loved creating for them. I’ve made friends with so many of my listeners, and I’m beyond grateful for that.
In hindsight, 6 years later, I can see the compounding impact that doing a weekly podcast has had on me. It helped me gain confidence in speaking my mind. It helped me to find myself and find like minded people who were interested in the same things as me. It made me accountable to myself and to an audience. These are all immensely powerful and relevant skills as I continue my journey further into this crazy industry.
I promise I will be back in podcast form in some way in 2025. I’m still doing my Harry Potter fan-fiction podcast, Harry Potter and the Boys with Sam Garlepp, stand up comedian and writer for The Cheap Seats and The Hundred with Andy Lee. And the monthly Movie Club episodes will continue on the feed until the end of the year.
But for now, it’s time for a short break from solo podcasting. I will leave the entire 20th CENTURY BOY feed up… forever… despite the cringey content that I’m embarrassed just thinking about. That being said, comedian Lewis Spears once said to me, “If you look back at your own work and cringe, that means you’ve improved.”
That always stuck with me.
PS: 20th CENTURY BOY was named after the song with the same name by 70s glam rock band T.Rex. It’s an amazing song, so I thought I’d give it a little shout out here 😉
Mike Liberale
Hey! Thanks so much for reading another edition of my blog. Can’t wait for next time, and still considering bringing this weekly in 2025.
If you liked this, here’s some stuff I mentioned that you might also like!
MIKE TALKS - my interview series. Here’s one with Broden Kelly from Aunty Donna.
The Pat & Mike Show — on the 20th CENTURY BOY podcast feed.
A recent YouTube video you might enjoy about South Park banning Donald Trump from their show.
I’m an independent creator! If you want to support me (🙏) you can either pledge here on Substack, join my Patreon or donate $1 to my PayPal. Every dollar goes a long way!
Thanks so much! See ya next time.