Andrew Stuckey has a voice for radio.

But that's not where the action really is now for audio. Podcasts (basically on demand radio style shows) have grown into a tidal surge, with now a reported 630,000 shows out there on every topic you can imagine.

The technology has progressed to the point where the gear required is inexpensive, even a phone will do, and the ability to distribute the shows through iTunes or other outlets means an audience can grow rapidly.

Stuckey produces a new one called Podcast West Seattle. He a former high school English, social studies and Speech teacher and in the last years of that job he created a project for the students that involved reading a nonfiction book and then creating a podcast episode that attempted to answer an essential question that the book made them think of.  "Working on that project made me realize how much I enjoyed audio production," Stuckey said.

The time was right for a career change, so he learned audio production.  Part of that process was starting a podcast.  He had two goals.

One was to learn the process of how to make great, public-radio style audio stories, and the other was to have a reason to learn more about the West Seattle neighborhood. 

"The first episode I did was about Kenyon Hall.  I mostly wanted an excuse to have somebody play the Wurlitzer organ for me, and saying that I had a podcast about West Seattle gave me that excuse.  I am currently working on episode 12, continuing to learn the best way to tell audio stories about West Seattle."

He formed a partnership with the West Seattle Junction Association to help bring local stories, locations and events to a wider audience and along the way has continued to hone his production skills. Now the programs have the feel and tone of a high end PBS style show with clever editing, and a flow that keeps the listener both informed and engaged. There are no ads.

He's done shows on Easy Street Records, Poetry Bridge, Walking in West Seattle, Summerfest, a West Seattle Pizza Tournament,  Kenyon Hall, South Park and in an upcoming episode will profile Patrick Robinson's life in the community as a journalist and photographer for the West Seattle Herald.

You can listen on your desktop or mobile device and gain new insights into Seattle's original neighborhood. 

Links

http://podcastwestseattle.com

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-west-seattle/id1337839066?m…

https://player.fm/series/podcast-west-seattle