What format and why?
A monologue. My interest in podcasts is to use them to celebrate the stories shared by plants and people. Most often, it is some practice (drawing, gardening, farming, basket-weaving, canning) that gives people the time and space to think alongside plants rather than just viewing them as background or as commodities we consume without thought. I have some of these stories in non-fiction essay format and a monologue seems like a good medium in which they can continue to grow
What “segments” will your show have?
- State of the day beginning, situating the listener in space/place. Where am I and the plants I’m talking about? What’s the light, what plants are blooming, what hormones are gathering in stem root or flower? Is the hemisphere of the plants I’m talking about tipping towards or away from the sun, what are the relative lengths of day and night?
- Main monologue—either a whole or part of an essay
- What will tomorrow bring for the plants and people that I’m talking about?
Adjectives: Surprising, clarifying, provocative, engaging, emotional, informative, metaphorical
Music: How interesting. I never even knew there was copyright-free music available. What a rabbithole…
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dr_Sparkles/the-war-on-shrugs/tickle-my-pickle
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/indie-pop-acoustic-background-music-1/living-life-1
Sound Effects:
I’m not sure about sound effects…I think my idea is to have voiced words carry the narrative. When I listen to audio books I often find sound effects fairly distracting, but I can think of podcasts where they sound more natural.
I listened to a solo pod last night for the first time in a long time. The speaker described her setting and went into detail about the tea she was drinking. Not usually my thing, but she fully owned it and I was immersed. I got the sense that her tea description was a recurring theme.
I can’t help thinking about Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” as I read your rationale and description of proposed segments. I listened to portions of the audio book read by the author herself, and could see myself enjoying a podcast like you describe. You mention reading essays; that you also include situating yourself in your own experience of plants will add personality to the podcast.