We have not always been good at audio, at the Sportive. We had a laptop die in the middle of a recording once, for one; we recorded an episode in a tile-floored basement that was sans furniture once, as well. (The result was like listening to a Walkman in a metal bucket.) We also have struggled with how to audio-engineer a podcast while not having any audio engineer skills of any kind.

Really, though, our main problem has been the internet, and the inherent difficulties of recording a podcast via Google Hangout, which requires a good internet connection for good audio. This will happen, and is unfixable, and has also given our podcast a somewhat-deserved reputation for terrible quality.

I mention all this because Stu and I recorded an episode in a bar on Saturday night, and it went perfectly on the first try. You can hear us and everything. Episode 81 doesn’t sound that bad, and I think we should be proud, for once.