JCS: What is your approach to and your intention with the podcast?

MK: It is different every time. It depends on who the guests are. How well I know them. How well they know each other. I mostly just started by asking friends if they wanted to come hang out in front of microphones. I’ve wanted to do a podcast since podcasts became a thing to do. I kept doing other people’s podcasts and just having such a great time. Almost every time I did a podcast I’d come away thinking, even if I was in a bad mood before I started it, “Wow, that was just real fun hanging out with those people; I hope other people enjoy listening to it.” For me, it felt good having those conversations. Sometimes they’re about comedy, sometimes they’re about silly things, sometimes they’re just jokes and riffs, and sometimes they’re about more meaningful, philosophical things, life issues, relationships. I just enjoy communicating with people, especially in a one-on-one or one-on-a-few, like a small conversation, a hang out. That’s where the name came from. Also it came from most of the other names being taken (by 14 billion others).

Essentially, I don’t remember what exactly I put on the iTunes description but it’s something like “Myq invites guests in to hang out and have conversations full of fun, meaning, both, or neither.” So I set the bar...pretty much everywhere. It isn’t necessarily guided, which has its ups and downs. If some people come in and they’re like “What are we doing here?” I say, “You know, we’re talking, we’re hanging out. Like we would ordinarily do, if I invited you over at 3:30 on a Tuesday...with a person who you have heard of but don’t know.” 

Having two guests on each episode will mean that ideally I can have repeat guests in different combinations. So those new dynamics bring different flavors. And for better or worse, there’s not a lot of editing that gets done. One of the episodes ran a little longer than I wanted it to be. But that was my goal. In this world of unlimited podcasts, some of them are going two hours or more now. I find that an impediment. I do want to listen to all of Pete Holmes’ podcasts [You Made it Weird], because I love him, I love the podcast, he has great people on, they have great conversations. Every time I listen, I’m happy. But I also don’t think I have enough time. It used to be 90 minutes. Now, they’re all two and a half [hours]. I’m like, “Hey, where’s my extra hour?” (If you include that, feel free to include, ‘he said in a joking voice,’ because I love Pete, love the podcast.)