What are the elements of a decent paranormal radio show/podcast?

[dortmunder]

I'm wondering. If there were a brand new paranormal radio show/podcast out there, what would it have to do to be successful with bellgabbers?

[MV/Liberace!]

it would help if the podcast were available through ufoship.com which i'd be happy to set up if the podcast is any good.

[Yorkshire pud]

I'm wondering. If there were a brand new paranormal radio show/podcast out there, what would it have to do to be successful with bellgabbers?

A presenter who turns up for work?

[dortmunder]

it would help if the podcast were available through ufoship.com which i'd be happy to set up if the podcast is any good.

That's mighty generous. I've never done a podcast and I'm not sure where I'm at with this, but I was just thinking today: "If you want something done right...."

Got the wheels turning a bit. Also, the gaping wasteland of paranormal shows currently on offer. They're all just so terrible.

[Gd5150]

Broadcast from your garage in the high desert?

[dortmunder]

Broadcast from your garage in the high desert?

How about the high forest? From the toilet?

[Juan]

Engaged host who can ask follow-up questions, guests who can discuss things without saying "read my book", some new topics, and callers with some degree of intelligence.  The last may be a hopeless cause, though, from my listening to other talk shows.  It seems the ability to communicate verbally has greatly diminished.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

How about the high forest? From the toilet?

Are you singing or doing a paranormal show? 

I'm wondering. If there were a brand new paranormal radio show/podcast out there, what would it have to do to be successful with bellgabbers?

How much effort do you want me to put into my answer? Quantify it with minutes please.

[CornyCrow]

A large following is required, so the better guests will want to appear on the show. 

Since most guests appear to plug their books their should be an understanding ahead of time that they will be given time to do so but during the interview it is bad form to keep referring to their book.

A host with a good memory and a real personal interest in the genre.  These things allow him to compare past information with the current discussion, hopefully making for a learning experience and also pointing out inconsistencies.  A host with a fine sense of logic and critical reasoning skills and an ability to anticipate and ask questions that the audience is probably formulating. 

A host who puts the interest value of the topic on hand in a primary position, meaning he will cut short proselytizing of religious dogma when it adds nothing to the question on hand and he will do the same for political propaganda - he refuses for a few people to turn his show into a platform to promote a particular religious or political point of view.

Someone who will not favor topics that will feed into the purchase of his sponsor's products.

Someone whose interests span multiple disciplines, who has the ability to speak intelligently on a multitude of topics and so can make seemingly boring things interesting by bringing in curious factoids and observations. 

   

[somatichypermutation]

Honestly, for me, it is all Art.  He is a great interviewer, very open, honest, and seems to ask the question I would.  The part I actually like the most is his long open where he talks about the news, more than the paranormal stuff.

[PB the Deplorable]

A trusty call screening sidekick to keep you upright and pointed in the right direction

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[More Like Borge Snorey]

A host that is genuinely interested in the material and who can ask informed and relevant questions. (No, Jorch, I don't want to know what Ed Dames thinks about Anjchuls, or what Ron Paul thinks about Anjchuls, or if maybe numbers stations are somehow connected to Anjchuls)

Not just a single host, a hosting team of two or three people who can riff off of each other with a guest rather than relying on mouthbreathing callers to fill the last two hours of the show with dumb questions. Sure, have callers, but don't rely on callers for the meat of the show.

Don't go for a lowbrow audience, go for a middlebrow one. Dump the Hoaxlands and the Dames types and instead book guests like Nick Redfern and Joe McMoneagle. Aim for being less a carny show for marks and more of a venue for guests that respect the material and the audience. Yeah, it's easy to cultivate an audience of people who let themselves be fooled repeatedly by 20 years of failed killlshot predictions and hyperdimensional bullpoop, but do you really want to? Besides, the kind of people who read Fate magazine are rapidly dying off and the younger audience is more skeptical by nature.

[TheMan WhoFell ToEarth]

I've always preferred the real guests.  Dark Matter had its finer moments with people like Michio Kaku, Seth Shostak, Charles Faddis, etc.  Less of the hoaxes and bullshit, more of the legitimate mystery.  There are plenty of real oddities out there to work with.

[DontFearTheReaper]

Honestly, Art Bell. As the years without Art on the air went by, I began to realize that my interest in a lot of the subject matter was more based on Art's presentation, his style, the way he interacted with guests/callers, etc.

Anymore, I find "edge science" topics far more interesting than the paranormal. Not because I'm not interested in the paranormal, but because there are lot more people who are capable of talking "edge science" in an engaging way than there are for the paranormal.

[bateman]

I typed out a really long answer, but this is actually what it comes down to: it's not paint by numbers. It ultimately prep & presentation, working in tandem.