What is a podcast?

See "How does this work?"

I have a great idea for a podcast topic. How can I tell you about it?

Email Cody Pinkston, director of Media and Public Relations, at pinkstonc@ripon.edu. Generally, anything that may be of interest to the entire Ripon College community could make for a suitable podcast. Podcast ideas accompanied by crisp $50 bills will earn special consideration.

I would like to use part of a podcast for a radio broadcast. Is that okay?

Sure, but please shoot an email to pinkstonc@ripon.edu so we can listen for it.

Why does the audio/video cut out in some places?

Some live recordings have experienced technical difficulties that cannot be remedied in a podcast. In that regard, it's just like being there.

Why do some "P's," "T's" and "H's" sound distorted?

Those are called 'plosives and occur when a rush of air hits a sensitive condenser microphone. Steps are being taken to reduce this effect, such as asking guests to avoid using those letters entirely.

At what bit rate, etc. are Ripon College Podcasts recorded?

Generally, 64 kbps @ 44.100 kHz. Longer podcasts may be resampled at a slightly lower quality to reduce file size.

I'd like to email someone a podcast. How can I do that?

Your best bet is to right-click on the "Download MP3" link for the podcast you want and copy the link, then email them the link. Alternatively, you can get some free editing software like Audacity and only send small clips. The files are too big to email in their entirety.

Why are the files so big?

Normal CD-quality sound take up roughly 1 MB for each minute of audio. Our podcasts are resampled at a lower bit rate to reduce the file size by half, while preserving quality. That's just the way it is.

This just isn't working for me. What am I doing wrong?

Email Cody Pinkston, pinkstonc@ripon.edu and describe the problem. He will do his level best to troubleshoot.