This article was contributed by guest blogger and friend of The Guru Cody Wagner co-host of BSP: Believer Skeptic Podcast available on Podcast Guru or wherever you enjoy podcasts.
Helloooooo! I’m Cody, half of the ALGBTQPCP (see above for translation) called BSP: Believer Skeptic Podcast. In each episode, we pick a different paranormal topic, share cool info and stories, and then I proceed to debunk the crap out of it. I’m the typical skeptic while Chris, my cohost, is a believer. His job is to make you believe in ghosts and spirits and other nonsense (tee hee).
Over the course of the last three years (three! EEK!), we’ve covered well-known topics, like possessions, men in black, and Voodoo. But we’ve also dived (doved? doven?) into lesser-known subjects, like incorruptibles (people who don’t decay after death), tulpas (imaginary friends that come to life), and obscure haunted games you can play (that will kinda make you want to die).
Defining a genre
For three years, we’ve constantly worked to define and redefine our genre. iTunes is so freaking limiting when it comes to their podcasting categories. Seriously, paranormal and LGBTQ don’t even exist. Last I checked, we are currently listed under philosophy and social sciences. We rationalize the latter because we cover a lot of folklore. But it’s crazy that’s as close as we can get!
Given their limitations, we’ve worked on what we want the podcast to be and trying to gear content toward our evolving audience. And that landed us on an Atypical LGBTQ Paranormal Comedy Podcast. Confused yet? Let me explain each letter in excruciating detail.
Just kidding.
I think the word to focus on is atypical, because what does that actually mean? Especially stuck together with all those other words?
We call ourselves atypical, because we don’t consider ourselves your average LGBTQ podcast. Typical LGBTQ podcasts make sexuality the defining aspect of their show. They may have other topics, but they’re usually centered around the queer perspective.
Make it as entertaining as possible
Instead of focusing on sexuality, we focus on the paranormal and unexplained, making them as entertaining as possible. I mean, a lot of work goes into making a debunk fun, especially when explaining quantum physics for our Mandela Effect episode. Somehow, I managed to express it using only Venn diagrams and sea salt.
With that said, I want to emphasize that we don’t shy away from sexuality. Chris and I are both out and proud, and we have zero tolerance for hate. We are passionate about the community and don’t avoid social issues. We’ve even found fun ways to incorporate it into the show. Last year, we did a minisode on gay ghosts during Pride Month. Did you know that Harvey Milk’s ghost supposedly haunts San Francisco? Yep. We also participate in Pride48, a two-day live streaming event that benefits the LGBTQ community.
But that doesn’t define the podcast.
In fact, other than the rare topic and occasional sex joke or lewd comment, sexuality doesn’t come up in most episodes. Instead, we’re cramming as much fun, random paranormal knowledge into your heads as 48 minutes will allow. For example, did you know Abraham Lincoln wrote about an alleged Bigfoot sighting?
Also, he was probably gay and doing it with his bodyguard.
OK, maybe we’re more typical than we let on. But we promise you’ll have a good time.
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