Prep an interview or episode
Get research on a guest and suggested questions.
Editorial · Media and publishing · When you ask · Updated
Works with
- Slack
SlackHow do you prepare for a podcast interview?
To prepare for a podcast interview, tell Maito the guest, topic and length. Maito researches them on the web, finds the stories they have told many times, drafts questions they haven't been asked, checks key facts across sources, and gives you a short brief to take into the call.
How it's done today
Producers research guests for hours.
What Maito does
- Research the guest
- Find past interviews
- Draft questions they haven't been asked
Example
@Maito Prep me for Thursday's interview with Marisol Vega, founder of Tidewater Housing. 40 minutes, for the podcast.
Brief: Marisol Vega, Tidewater Housing Founded 2017, builds modular rentals. Raised $38M Series B in March. Her city council testimony on Sept 24 got most of the coverage this month. She has told these stories five times already: the garage-startup origin, the 2019 permit fight, the "housing is a supply problem" line. Skip them or ask for what's new. Questions she hasn't been asked • Your Series B deck promised 1,200 units by 2027. How many are under contract today? • You testified against the zoning bill. What would you have signed? • What did the 2022 Denver pilot get wrong? Catch: the March funding article gives $38M, her own blog says $36M. Ask which is right. Sources: 11 interviews and her council testimony, found on the web. Full list of 12 questions attached: vega-questions.docx. Want a shorter 6-question version for a 20-minute slot?
Ines (10:02 AM):
Prep me for Thursday's interview with Marisol Vega, founder of Tidewater Housing. 40 minutes, for the podcast.
Maito (10:09 AM):
Brief: Marisol Vega, Tidewater Housing
Founded 2017, builds modular rentals. Raised $38M Series B in March. Her city council testimony on Sept 24 got most of the coverage this month.
She has told these stories five times already: the garage-startup origin, the 2019 permit fight, the "housing is a supply problem" line. Skip them or ask for what's new.
Questions she hasn't been asked
• Your Series B deck promised 1,200 units by 2027. How many are under contract today?
• You testified against the zoning bill. What would you have signed?
• What did the 2022 Denver pilot get wrong?
Catch: the March funding article gives $38M, her own blog says $36M. Ask which is right.
Sources: 11 interviews and her council testimony, found on the web. Full list of 12 questions attached: vega-questions.docx. Want a shorter 6-question version for a 20-minute slot?
How to set it up
- Set up
Nothing to set up. Ask in Slack or by email whenever you need it.
What it won't do
It only finds what is public and can't know what the guest will say. Check any fact you plan to quote on air.
Questions
The web: articles, public talks and testimony. No tool needs to be connected.
Yes. Tell it 40 minutes and it sizes the list to fit.
No. It only prepares you. If you want an email drafted, ask.
