www.montereycountynow.com FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 5, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 eration is going to share information, on this thing called a podcast,’” he says. A dozen years later, thanks to some friends, a generous business owner and a pair of Guitar Hero microphones, the Salinas Underground Podcast is now more than 340 episodes deep, filled with stories straight from the movers and shakers of Salinas themselves, and helped launch Salad Bytes Media, a podcast production company. Podcasting, both locally and internationally, has grown exponentially since Lucero’s fateful Twitter scroll. While the cost of entry into this world is relatively minimal, the time and effort it takes to stay there is much more. What podcasters hope to get out of their shows depends on what they put into it. A podcast, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “a program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the internet,” and the term was first known to be used in 2004. At the very minimum, if you have a cell phone and a laptop, you can be a podcaster. Today’s smartphones have such high-quality microphones and cameras built into them that, with a little bit of effort, you can look (and sound) like a professional. But podcast listeners today expect much more. They don’t want to be distracted by the sounds of a coffee shop behind you, nor do they want to squint to see your face in a dimly-lit room. Podcast experts say the following equipment is non-negotiable: microphone, headphones, camera (if it’s a video podcast) and a capable computer. On the lower end, such a setup for audio-only is roughly in the lower four-digits. Initial costs are less if you already have a computer. Expect to add at least $100 for a camera, or nothing if you already have a phone made within the last few years. The more advanced the setup, the likely crisper quality of the podcast. An audio interface, which acts as a bridge between your microphone and computer, improves the sound. Expect to throw down at least a couple hundred dollars here. A microphone arm and stand not only allows you to adjust the position of the microphone, putting it in the perfect position to capture sound, but it just screams “podcast.” Add another $100 or so here. For more advanced podcasters, there are numerous other tools to list, such as shock mounts, pop filters and lighting. When Lucero started the Salinas Underground Podcast with his friends Jose Lopez and Juan Hernandez, the setup was a bare minimum: two USB microphones from the Guitar Hero video game, each connected to a laptop. Using Audacity editing software, Lucero would hit “record” at the same time for each of the microphones, then the friends would chat, each laptop creating its own audio file. “I would take both files and combine them into one, but it would sound like shit,” Lucero says. The trio began recording the show in 2014 inside XL Public House in downtown Salinas on Sunday nights, with the owner picking up their tab to show support. The podcast’s equipment has come a long way since those Guitar Hero microphones. The mics have been upgraded (Lucero says they are $400 apiece), which feed into a RODECaster Pro audio mixer using Mogami audio cables. A PC is used for editing, using REAPER software. All in, Lucero estimates the setup is valued at $2,200, not including an office space in Oldtown Salinas for recording, which is outfitted with a curtain and other materials to improve acoustics. For video podcasts, the venue is key—or at least the wall behind the podcaster is. Chris Cain, a criminal defense and immigration attorney based in Salinas, launched his Defensible podcast early in 2024, where he converses with various criminal justice professionals. Part of his office has transformed into a podcast studio, conveniently located among his library of law books, making for a background that’s appropriate for the topics being discussed, yet not visually distracting. In addition to the audio equipment, Cain’s setup has tools specifically for video: three Blackmagic cameras (one to focus on Cain, another for his interviewee and a third to capture both of them), as well as studio lighting equipment. Cain says a Hartnell College film student helps with the setup through a paid partnership. “Sound and lighting is very important,” Cain says. “The office where I film is great because it has the background of the law library. It also has really good acoustics. “You can’t just set up in a closet.” Casey Grover, a Monterey addiction medicine physician, launched his podcast, Addiction Medicine Made Easy; Fighting Back Against Addiction, four years ago (see story, page 5). Grover says he does two types of episodes, one he calls a “monologue” episode, where he asks a question about something he’s curious about and then does the research to be able to understand it and teach his audience. The other type of episode he does is interviews, where he and a guest discuss a specific topic. The monologue episodes take two to six hours to research and write. Those take less time to record and edit. For interviews, he used to just record the interview and release raw audio, but as his podcasting skills have improved and he’s upgraded the software he uses, he will take two to six hours to edit them. He says it takes from 30 minutes to two hours just to take out all the “ums” and “ahs.” Other professionally produced podcasts can take over 100 hours or more to create, and have entire teams working on them. “It’s just me,” Grover notes, although putting in the hours to learn about podcasting has resulted in improvements, including much better audio quality than when he began in 2021. That being said, he recognizes he doesn’t have the ability to add some common podcast features like layering music throughout the episode. He says it’s fairly inexpensive to get into podcasting. He pays $10 a month for software, an audio editing service is $200 a year. He bought a microphone, a couple of lapel mics and uses his own laptop. To avoid an echo, he uses a spare room in his home with soft items that absorb sound, including carpeting and a couch. He set up a table, chair and microphone in the room. “The biggest cost is my time,” he says. He says it’s not worth it to him to accept advertising—the payback would be small and he’s worried it might create a perception of bias. “Welcome to the Salinas NOW podcast.” These words open each episode of the City of Salinas’ new podcast, with the name spoken Above: Guissel Villalobos (foreground), a communications specialist with the City of Salinas, listens in on headphones as youth interns Daisy Guerrero (from left) and Juan Camacho interview Brenda Granillo for the Salinas NOW podcast. Below: Chris Cain adjusts the lighting setup in his studio office for the video side of his podcast.
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