In this post, Stacey answers a common question about sponsorship and financial support.
In the last few weeks, I have gotten several questions about how I support the podcast financially. It’s not something I talk about, generally, because there is not much to say. The answer is that I do not have financial support or sponsors nor is the site monetized in any way. I have a few reasons for prefering it that way, and I do not intend to seek any sponsors out.
I have a job as university staff/faculty where I get to work as an administrator, teach, and do research I love, but the podcast is not part of my responsibilities at my job either. My employer is very supportive of my “extracurricular” work on the podcast, but this podcast is a something I do in my spare time, usually after my three kiddos have gone to sleep in the evenings. If something costs money, I pay for it myself or I live without it. I do all the recording, production work, and social media using free or low-cost tools and public domain art and music that I also edit myself. In fact, I’m not the only volunteer: All WTL guests and contributors volunteer their time and intellectual labor to be on the podcast.
A grad student I know at my institution would call this a punk podcast because I am using what I have available to make something outside traditional structures. Since my own musical tastes run a bit in the other direction, I like to think of it more as a 1970’s-era-easy-listening garage band that I funnel all my creative energy into. In reality, it’s just an all-volunteer effort in which many people have participated out of sheer good will. If you would like to volunteer as a podcast contributor, here’s how you can pitch in to this all-volunteer effort!