"We As Humans Are Wired For Storytelling", with Jonah Geil-Neufeld on Podcast Production, Human Connections, Tech's Role, and Being a Parent with a Purpose.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: [00:00:00] All right. Uh, hello everyone. Welcome to the Intersection podcast program. And I'm smiling already because I just find it so funny that I'm talking to my guest today. Um, we, uh, we were coworkers or colleagues for a long time, and then we kind of lost contact for years, and then we ran to each other at, okay, now in Portland.

Getting tacos. Um, so I'm just super excited to welcome Jonah Gael Neufeld to the program today. Hi Jonah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hi, Joe. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be on your podcast.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I'm talking, I'm actually speaking to a real podcast professional. You are. I, I don't know any other person who does podcasts and getting paid to do it. You are the only [00:01:00] person who makes money doing podcasts, so I'm just so thrilled and I'm not jealous at all. So Jonah introduced.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: So yeah, my name is Jonah Guile Neufeld. Um, I am the owner and the co-owner and executive producer of Puddle Creative. That's like the little, the puddle you splash in, in the rain,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: we have a lot of rain here now. Portland, it just turned to fall.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: and we are a agency, I would say a creative agency that focuses almost exclusively on helping brands, businesses, some individuals, organizations, some, you know, we work with a couple like state governments even, or depart departments and state governments to help them create their podcast and that. like a variety of things from [00:02:00] the, the initial strategy and branding of the podcast all the way down to just the, the actual editing and distribution of the podcast.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: That's, I mean, it's so professional. I can't even fathom like the kind of work you do, um, because I'm so scrappy as I told you. It's such a tiny production, and then you have a whole thing, and listeners cannot see this, but you have a, a much more professional studio than me. Um, so I'm curious, why did you pick the name peddle?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Ooh, great question.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Tell me.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: So it has one. I would say it has one kind of, you know, one story that I just tell everybody is, oh, we're from Portland. It rains a lot in Portland. Um, and. That is why we chose Puddle. But the real reason I'll give you the inside scoop

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: we [00:03:00] chose Puddle is I actually started Puddle Creative with my wife.

Um, so she's my business partner as well, and I met my wife here in Portland. We were both attending Lewis and Clark College, we were both in a musical together. And as part this musical was called, you're In Town. If you know musicals, you'll know you're in town, is a very like it references. It's kind of self fresh, referential and making fun of musicals.

It's very campy.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, and there, there was a bunch of us in the cast who were, I was part of the, the cast that was sort of like the ensemble members, you know, people who help sing the songs don't have a lot of solo, like hardly any solos and don't have a lot of lines. And we were as the, the musical is sort of this, um, you know, [00:04:00] story between like these poor folks and this kind of, these rich business owners. And so we called ourselves the, uh, it started as a poor huddle and so we shortened it to puddle. And so we called our little group of friends the puddle. so that is where kind of the. The name really came from.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Wow. Okay.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: but that when I, I, you know, I can't tell that story. Like if I'm ever, uh, you know, stage at a conference, which I never have been, but I've been like, you know, in a Zoom kind of call telling, saying the story, and that's a little too, um, I don't know, a little too in the weeds.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes. You'll have to explain the context, the backstory.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: And yeah, it's a little risque. The, you know, the musical is not like a, it's not like Romeo and Juliet or any like famous play or something, so

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: That's really fun though. I think. I also think that's [00:05:00] really Portland,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Very,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: like I feel we can always find joy and fun out of something that maybe not super mainstream or kind of like subculture even, but. It's really fun and it's representative of, um, the city where you are and the work you do from.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm. Yeah, totally.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that story. I, it feels so special. Um, and I was going to ask this question later, but since you mentioned musical and then. You know, you are the corner and creator, producer as well. Um, at Pado. I'm curious to learn about, you know, you have a music background very extensively, and, um, how did you make that switch?

You know, um, what, what inspired you to start Puddle? A podcast [00:06:00] company.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: well, I definitely fell into podcasting because of my music background,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: and it really does. mean, like a lot of things in life, know, a lot of things just sort of happen by chance or luck. And one of those things was that, right when I graduated college, I was looking for jobs and I found an internship here in Portland with a company called PGA Team.

Um, they, they're no longer around, but they were in 2011. They were doing the kind of work that. That I'm doing now, making podcasts for,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: companies and individuals. And they had an internship and I knew, uh, you know, I had never done a podcast or edited a podcast before, I knew. Pro I knew how to use Pro Tools, which is a recording software primarily for musicians.

It was created, um, to use in recording studios, but that's what they used at the time to edit their podcasts. And [00:07:00] so because I knew the soft, basically solely based on that, I got the internship and then

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Wow.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: a small company. And so, uh, sort of turned the internship into a job. And then, um, uh. I left and worked for Ray King

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: a number of years, which is when I met you.

And we had, you know, many years of, of, of fun . I got to go and travel all around to all these I can meetings, which were, um, amazing and strange and just like, you know, uh, a really good time. Um, and so I had. Yeah. To, to sort of answer your question, I had that, it was really just that connection of like you, you know, knowing how to use the, the music software that got me into podcasting.

And then I think, um, you know, what kept me into it really was a, a sense wanting to work for myself. [00:08:00] And so, um. I had, you know, many bosses over the years actually, um, was telling somebody the other day that the boss that we both worked for, was one of the, one of the bosses that I really looked up to.

Um, I just really, um. Enjoyed his management style, his personality, his way of, of going about things. and so after working for him, I decided to sort of get back into podcast editing, freelance. Um, and so I set up my own website and, um, started working on a couple freelance clients, but then I actually worked for another company for a couple years.

Um. Before really striking it out on my own and, and starting puddle creative.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Wow.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: of, I, I may be more than answering your question and went on a tangent there about

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Not at all.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: journey, but yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: No, I think that's awesome. [00:09:00] I think everyone, you know, it's not like the dots, it's the kind of the dots they connected and then they sort of become a journey, or like a path. I think it's not uncommon for people to kind of later in life and circle back to their passion and what they really enjoy doing and then realize, you know what, I can actually do that.

I think that's wonderful.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. I mean, I, I also feel like. I sort of like did a detour. Um, like I have a journalism background, communications, and then that's my whole academic and kind of like early career, uh, background. I guess that's the story at least like educational and also, um, in my early twenties, et cetera.

And then I got into tech for various reasons. And then eventually I feel like. You know what I want to, I mean, when I was in tech, [00:10:00] I was working with people, but I really, really want to work with people like,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: you know, and, and I feel communications and talking one-on-one and have that, um, relational building skill.

Um, for me that's like really enjoyable and I want to use my language skills and my communication skills to, to do something good, you know,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Totally.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: so I, I feel, for me that's also kind of like a detour to find out what I really enjoy doing and what I aspire to be. Um, so thank you for sharing that. Um. And I had a thought earlier, but now I don't have it too early.

Uh, I guess my next question is, you know, you work with various [00:11:00] people, professionals, organization, and businesses, and, um, they can be from different industries and have different angles and different agenda, different perspectives. And when they come to you, they're like, do this for me. Right. And I feel essentially we talk about business plans, strategy, you know, branding, et cetera.

But it really comes down to what kind of stories we're trying to tell. So can you share a little bit, you know, as a professional producer, how do you view storytelling and the power of it, if possible? Can you give like an example? You don't have to name, name them.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, that's a good, very deep question. Um, the first thing that comes to mind is really just my, [00:12:00] my love of podcasts as a storytelling medium. think people, listeners have probably heard before that we as humans are just wired. storytelling as people, you know, we've, this is something that we've done for centuries.

This is how we used to pass down knowledge before there was writing, before there was many other forms of communication and still a lot of our forms of communication are about telling each other stories that have an impact.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, The reason why I love podcasting is that it is a really efficient way, you could say, of having that human to human conversation where it really is somebody sitting around the [00:13:00] fire telling a story, right?

And it's, it's so direct. You can hear you know, inflection of their voice. Um. on the podcast, it's also can be very raw, right? It

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: like it's kind of unedited and like you, you hear what, what they're saying in, in thinking in real time and it's not some polished piece with the perfect narrative arc and, and things like that.

Although there actually, you know, on the other end of the spectrum there are. Podcasts that are almost like mini documentaries or mini films, right? They're

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Uh, yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: scripted. And they

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Okay.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: they have a, a story that they're telling in, in a, in a certain number of episodes. Um, and I think beautiful thing about that, the technology, when, when I mentioned it's an efficient way,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: is that it. It can create something where somebody who's half the [00:14:00] globe away from you can put your voice in their ears and feel like they're there with you.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: and I also feel like, you know, this is. W is a big movement right now in podcasting to do some video,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: is great. I'm all for it. I do think as a, you know, somebody who has been in the podcast game a while, I do love the connection that you have when you put. Your headphones on

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: or your earbuds, and you hear somebody in your head and you're not seeing them and they're sort of like, not just in the room with you. They're sort of like in your head

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: And so people, I think, especially if you think about like if you're somebody who's been listening to like Terry Gross on NPR for, for a bunch of years, you almost. One is you feel like you know her like she's your friend. Right.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: because the way she does her interviews [00:15:00] and two, it, it can actually be really jarring to see a video or see her in person because

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Different.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: you're like, oh, like this, this person that I created in my head

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: It's almost like, almost like, you know when you're a kid and you're reading books and then you watch the movie and you're like, that's not how I picture that

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, but it really lights up your brain to like, have to imagine like what a person looks like and all those things. So, I just really think podcasting is a great medium for that sort of, um, for storytelling in general. Um, yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, I really, really appreciate and uh, love that because I have that at, um. I have that experience and feeling too, when you say someone is in your ear, in your head, when you are listening to something, and it doesn't have to be a podcast, it can be an audio book or it can be like the radio, [00:16:00] you know, like some, you made the example of uh, Terry Gross.

But like, I think a lot of podcast hosts have that kind of impact to people 'cause their voices are just it. It, it kind of like shows someone's personality through their voice and the way of speaking, and you can feel the emotions in their voices. You know, like the daily, right? Like the daily, the, the style is just so special.

And then, I don't know if you listen to City cast Portland.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: and that's another, but that's like very local, like it's about our community, our neighborhood, our city, our policy, et cetera. It's a exact, it's a entirely different style, but through these kind of voices from the host. You kind of like, you get to know them [00:17:00] a little bit even though you don't really know them.

And then I think what you just described, like you feel like you know them. It's, I think there's a word for it now, like parasocial or something.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I heard

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: smart word. I gotta start using that.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: para. Yeah, para. I heard that.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: relationship. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I, I don't think that's exactly what it is. Or like, it can be kind of unhealthy, you know? I feel like,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: like you, you think you have a, like they're your friend, but they're really not kind of thing.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: no, and I also, I almost feel in some extreme examples, parasocial could create stalkers.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right. Yes.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I don't want that to happen, but it does feel that way.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: remember, um, uh, I mean, I would love to invite you to share your experience, if any, is that when I, like, [00:18:00] you know, the recent passing of, uh, Dr. Jen Goodall,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: she used to have a podcast about Hope.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Oh, Uhhuh.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I think that was during c. Uh,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: it's discontinued, but I hope the, the old episodes are still there. But I was listening to her PO Hope podcast during COVID and her voice, you know, how her voice is, is so gentle, but very firm, and it just gave me a lot of, uh, I, I am thinking about that now. It just feels so strong, and that gave me a sense of hope.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: totally. And it's such a different experience than like, if you imagine. Her, Dr. Jane Goodall writing a blog post or an article versus hearing her speak, right? Both are impactful. Both are necessary. There's uses for both, obviously, but I just love the [00:19:00] emotional human to human connection that you can create. Um. Especially like, you know, in these times of great division we're having in our country, like just a way, to be like, this is a human talking about the things that they want to talk about. They are flawed. They may, they say ums, you know, it's like that, it's, it's not as polished, but in, in a really beautiful way I think.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, I agree. I, I totally agree. Yeah. We are all humans and I feel through storytelling we get to show some humanity, hopefully. Um, but speaking of being human and also you being very, uh, kind of sophisticated with technology. Uh, in podcasting, how do you see that relationship? You know, I feel a lot of people, like you mentioned doing videos these days and you have these like very [00:20:00] curated studio space and all the setup there and they all looks very professional and almost like a reality show in a way.

'cause you have people there, video. Um, how do you see the connection between, you know, the humanness and the technology part? Because right now I do feel some audio products, podcasts, audiobook, et cetera, they are very edited.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, from your perspective, you know, as a producer and also as a consumer of podcast products, like how do you appreciate the connection between the human part and the technology part?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, that's a great question. And I think when. You're thinking about that. The first thing that I would say, and this is something that I say to our clients when we start talking to them, is, what is [00:21:00] your end goal? Right? What's your end goal for your podcast? So I'll take two different examples. One, if your end goal is to information in a different way than you had been before, so let's say you used to send out a weekly Friday email to all of your clients telling them about your subject matter expertise, it's basically like a news bulletin, right?

It's something that they would read. Take into their professional lives and use, there, it's not like an in-depth interview kind of thing. It's more of a like, here's what happened in our world this week in our little, you know, niche. If it's something like that, I would say you, you know, you want to get that information out in a concise way.

Of course, being a human is important, but like the. The medium of a podcast is basically helping those folks listen [00:22:00] to it rather than read it.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: so if we wanna use a little bit of ai, like text to speech to help clean up some of the stuff, or if we wanna use AI to do a little intro, um. There are people doing AI for the entire podcast.

We've experimented with that. It, you know, honestly doesn't sound that great to listen to right now. Maybe it'll get better, but it sounds like a robot right now. A little

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Sure.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, if so, in, in, in that scenario and then maybe if you wanna do video Sure. Um. And it could be like in a nice studio and you wanna be buttoned up 'cause your clients are the ones watching like that.

That's fine. Like it really depends on what the, end goal is. On the other end of the spectrum, if your end goal is to show yourself as a human, as a thought leader in your space, then you really want to make sure that you're coming across as authentic. And so if you have. [00:23:00] That doesn't mean you don't have to have a nice studio space depending on what your like brand or personal brand is. But it does mean like if you do have a nice studio, make sure to also show people the sort of behind the scenes and like have a camera that's off to the side showing. like studio setup that you have, like the lighting and stuff, so people can be like, oh, they, they have a studio, but it's also like a real human who's like talking to me.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, and then, you know, make sure that you're, you know, minimally, like one thing that I talk about when we edit something is that making sure we're not. Cutting out every single little mistake that makes it sound a little too robotic,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Like we take out a lot of the ums maybe, but we don't take out all the ums. One thing we definitely try to keep in, and this is something that I love telling people about because it's something that, That it's talked about in the radio world is keeping in the [00:24:00] breaths because something that happens that's really interesting, especially on the radio,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: is if you take out all the breaths, people listening to it, because we as humans crave connection so much.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: take out all the breaths, people listening to it may feel short of breath

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: because then they hear somebody talking without bre, without like every once in a while breathing in. It can, for some people, create this sense of like, like, oh my gosh, take a breath. Take a breath. Like, what? Do you know what

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: And so having this sort of robot voice, um, yeah, just doesn't sound authentic and won't create the connection that you want.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm. That's so interesting. I think the brass part and the ums and the, I had a guest who, it was a great conversation. It, the content is amazing, but during editing, when I was listening back, they [00:25:00] said, A lot of you knows.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: they are processing information, like if it's too excessive, sure you can take some out, but I think that is actually part of the story as well. And keeping the breath too, sometimes I, sometimes I hear them in a podcast and I would, it, it is a little strange. I will say, it almost feels like, like super intimate.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: It's like very intimate. So it's, so I'm holding my breath

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: listening to them. Uh.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Well, when you were talking about the, the, you knows, I think it is [00:26:00] a really interesting, like, as an editor, you do have to do, there is a kind of like line that you walk between, you wanna take out some things to make the, the story keep flowing. Right? But you don't want to like. Remove en enough that you're kind of masking how someone um, naturally.

Right? So like for instance, we, we had a speaker on a podcast once that had a stutter and that was, um, something that, that's how they talked and we didn't want to. We had to have a conversation with the person too, of like, do, what do you feel comfortable with? Do you want us to remove some of these? But then it makes it sound like you have a speaking voice that really you don't in real life or, and so that's something that also is like, yeah, it's kind of interesting as your job as an editor is like how, um, how you're making them sound after the fact.[00:27:00]

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, that actually makes me think of something else, and. Um, that's a really good example to show, you know, to like, we are all humans and how can we, uh, deliver an episode or like a conversation authentically and still making sure the listeners have a good experience. Um, I guess, I don't know if this is a good question or if there's an answer at all, is.

Um, you know, we have a lot of folks who have amazing story, but they may not able to tell it. Like, say if they are, uh, if they can't really talk right, like, uh, having speaking issues or, um, not able to speak or using sign language. If those folks say they would like to be on a podcast, [00:28:00] how will we go about that if possible?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, no, that's a really profound question and, and as you said, I don't know that I could answer that in

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: or form.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I never thought about that.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: but yeah, there, um, I'm trying to think 'cause I feel like there was some, something we kind of ran into. with a guest, but now I'm, I'm not remembering the exact scenario, but it is, it is something interesting where, you know, I think if you have a good producer that can try to, you know, you have, you have your two sides, right?

You have the input,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: the, the interview that's happening, and then you have the audience You know, for the most part you're, you're, so, you're, you're like, okay, I want to make a show that the audience will listen to and be engaged with. if, if it's something where that, you know, let's say the person speaks through, um, a. through a computer, basically, [00:29:00] right?

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: used

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: um, they speak through a computer, you might say, okay, the best way to do this is going to be to speed up the speech a little bit.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Okay.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: then, and then also to maybe narrate some of what was said.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: And I think if you do something like that, you just have to, one is make that decision.

Two is. Potentially check with the guest about that decision

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: to make sure that they feel like that would be an authentic way to go about it. And then three is to tell your audience what you're doing. And I think in podcasting, I think that is just a really important thing. You know, we call it like signposting sometimes when you're like telling the audience where you're going next in the journey. But I think, um. Giving people the context of what they're about to listen to is, is just really important. So if you do something like

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: tell telling the audience right at the beginning like, Hey, this is how [00:30:00] this was recorded. This is what we did to the recording, to just speed it up a little

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: did that.

We did that in the interest of time and you know, so that. The, the story moved along and sort of be upfront about it. 'cause I think

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: if people know that it's coming from an, an authentic place, um, then they'll appreciate that.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I really appreciate that. I literally, um, just thought of that and I, sorry, I threw, just threw it at you. Um,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: it.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: but it just shows the importance of transparency in our line of work as well. Um, 'cause people deserve to know. And, um, and also the guests as well. And it's also just to show basic respect for people.

Um, yeah, that's, that's just so wonderful. Thank you very much. I guess what I'm always cur also [00:31:00] curious to know about is, now, wait, hold on. Actually I have another may. Maybe a better question. Um, so you usually, in your production of a podcast, you have the technical part, you have the guest part, you have the conversation part.

Do you also produce the music?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: So for most of our clients right now, we don't produce the music. We use a cup, two companies in particular that do like podcasts, um, podcast music. One of them that I'd love to give a shout out to is Marmoset because they're here in Portland and they've been here for many, many years, and they do. They work with a lot of local artists, which I love. Um, there's also a thing called Blue dot Sessions that's out on the East coast that as far as I can tell, is like a group of musicians who go into a studio and create podcast [00:32:00] friendly music. Um, like all they do. And so we subscribe to their music libraries and we use, um, music from there. I do think it, like, one thing that does kind of set us apart sometimes is that. There's a lot of, I don't know how to describe it, but just sort of like music out there that sounds very canned and. These, the two pe um, companies that I mentioned, like work with real musicians, um, it sounds like real music when you hear it, it doesn't sound as like commercial radio e as, um, of the other stuff.

Um, I do think we've, you know, we've used music, so we don't Yeah. Do our own music, but we've used music in very, the way we try to use music is in the very much the vein of like the, you know, um. The NPR shows like Radiolab in this American life

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: you try to keep it one very simple, [00:33:00] not too many instruments,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: two is, you know, keep it in something that is not gonna detract from, you know, is gonna give emotional breadth to the story you're telling, but is not gonna detract from, um, the. The, like, the voice that you're hearing.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, so you don't want something to overpower that. And for a lot of our shows, like, you know, to be honest, the, a lot of our shows are like just chat interview shows, and so we just have music at the beginning and the end and that's it. Maybe there's a little jingle or a, you know, something that happens at a transition. There are a few of our shows where we do use music as like an emotional transition piece. We have a music bed under, you know, certain parts of an interview. Um, those shows are much more like scripted and sound, you know, more along the lines of

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: of a, you know, this American life type piece.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: but

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. Like did you, and it reminds me of a throughline. There is another [00:34:00] program, it's called Throughline, kind of similar, well, not quite similar to this American Life, but Throughline is like a long form reporting.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Like, go back to the beginning and find out what happened to, like, what happened in the past that led to what's happening today.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: yeah, yeah, yeah,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: It's like digging and the music in there is also quite, like, it goes pretty well with the program. Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: yeah. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, can you repeat the name of the local business, Marset? How do you, how do you spell?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: is, I think it's M-A-R-M-O. Marmo. Yeah. M-A-R-M-O-S-E-T-A. Marmoset is a little like, um, it's a little, little like monkey like thing.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: SA real thing.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: animal.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Okay. Okay.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: So if you search marmoset, you'll get like pictures of, of a [00:35:00] little, a monkey. But um, yeah, it's Marmoset music is the, um, is the name of the company?

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Got it. Well, I have a, I don't know if it's a fun idea, but if you, if you wanted to add a premium to your package, you can say, I, Jonah would produce the into the music for you.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes. Yeah. We, the, the one podcast that we do for ourselves, we do use a song of mine, like without the vocals on it. That's just like me playing guitar a little bit. So we have done it, you know, that's like, uh, that would be a, a dream, I think to do like, yeah, some uh, custom music for a podcast, but so far we have not.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: That's so fun. That just sounds so fun. And of course, a lot of work and time and you know, when we talk about how much work we put in and then how much we, you know, come out of it. Um, but I do want to kind of [00:36:00] like circle back to. Um, the beginning, even, you know, podcasting is a business for you. Like for me, it's like, for fun, whatever.

For you. It's a business, but it's also art. Like there is, uh, artistry in it. It's not just, you know, piecing things together and throw it out. And how, how do you notice your artist inside show up as a musician or creator, things like that when you producing a podcast? Like how, how do you notice that and how does that impact you in your job?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, that's a great question. I think I would have to go back to, so as I mentioned, I was a musician. Um,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: You are a.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: I am a musician. I, I, I've been a musician for most of my life. I think one thing that has always that how art kind of [00:37:00] informs my work is as an art, if. If you're, I think the, the childhood that I was brought up in, I was, I grew up in Chicago in this family who really celebrated art.

I went to this very almost homeschool like experience through eighth grade, where we did tons of art. We play, you know, we learned lots of instruments, we all sang, we did, you know, it was very like, art heavy. Um, and my, um. My neighbors, the kids I grew up with were all, all like, started playing musical instruments at an early age. I was in a band when I was like nine years old and, and playing gigs and stuff and playing in bands in high school. And I think couple things. I think are instilled in you when you grow up in an environment like that, that kind of carry over no matter what kind of job you do. One I think is just like a [00:38:00] curiosity, right?

Of like, what can we make and how can we make this different?

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: when you're going into even just like a simple editing job and you're, you've come across something, you're like, oh, what if we do did this than like. the process, step 1, 2, 3, do it and you're done.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Like, kind of like assembly line. And so I think that helps with like trying new things. And honestly clients like that too, right? If you're like, oh yeah, I tried this and I think it sounds really cool. And they're like, yeah, that does.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: So trying new things like curiosity, um, has come out of being an artist. Another one I think is just like not, um. Know, I, I do wanna, there's a fine line between like, perfection is the enemy of good. So I, I, I wouldn't, and I would not say that I'm a perfectionist in any sense of the word, but I think a few of our team members, um, and we as a, as a company have a [00:39:00] sense of like, we want it to sound like there's a certain level of quality that you wanna, um. That you want your story to get to. And so there's just certain standards, right, that you feel like almost comes from like an artistic standard

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: we want to like be proud of this work

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: no matter what we're putting out. And so I think that comes from kind of an, an artist, um, background, but you're kind of making me think about this for the first time in a way that I haven't like articulated before.

So thank you for asking the question.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, of course. I mean, there's so much connection the the past and the present. I feel they cannot be separated.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Of course. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. Um, so thank you for sharing that. I cannot agree more. It's the curiosity part. Um, I think from my perspective as an interviewer is also like, how can I ask a question that can, you know, inspire my guests to talk openly, but [00:40:00] I don't want them to feel like pressed to talk.

But they talk because of curiosity and also a willingness to share, um, something good to the world, um, or wherever people are. Um, so yeah, I really resonate with that. Um, and you know, as we are getting close to the end of our conversation, um, I want to ask perhaps. A little personal question, um, is that, you know, peddle creative, um, was created before you had your child, right?

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: And I, when, when you, when I first saw the name, I actually thought, was that somehow related to a child? But then I'm like, no, he didn't have a child then. Um, but it does make me think, you know. Children love to play in a puddle. [00:41:00] And how does your life at Puddle impact your parenthood? Like your relationship with your child, the playfulness?

There is playfulness in your work. Otherwise it wouldn't have been called puddle

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Right. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: and a child playing in a puddle that's playing joy. So is there any. Kind of learning for you, producing, um, you know, working at Puddle and being a father.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, one is just, it, it definitely, like being a parent changed me in at work in a number of ways.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: I think the first is that you suddenly, you have this thing that propels you forward no matter how bad the day is, if that makes sense.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: You have no [00:42:00] voice.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: yeah. There, um. I, um, I saw a podcast interview recently, I don't know what podcast it was, but it was Bob Odenkirk who plays Saul in Breaking Bad.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Oh,

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: like this, this scummy lawyer

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: uh, he was asked, um, like, who? Either, I forget what the question was, but he said that his answer was really, really profound, which I really connected with, which is he said he's really jealous of parents, of young kids because there's, he felt like when he was a parent of young kids, your life had such a clear purpose, and I definitely relate to that, where I feel like so e it's, it's so easy to just like wake up every day because you don't. There's never any question of like, what's my purpose in life? What should I, what's the thing I should be doing? You just feel like my purpose is [00:43:00] to help bring this child. Up in the world. And even if I'm having a bad day at work, it's really, it's, it's so nice to sort of be grounded in him and like be like, you know, I'm gonna get home at the end of the day and he does not care what happened at work today, And so that has made me, um, just, it's just easier to like, get through the, you know, there's always ups and downs and before I was a parent there was ups and downs, but sometimes the, like, the downs felt. More down than they used to, if that makes sense.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: it's like, even if I'm down, I'm like, okay, I like it.

There's just a very like clear eyedness, I would say.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: and then it's also like, to be honest, it's also made me more efficient because as you know, work kind of expands to the space that you allow it, right? And and so if [00:44:00] you have a kid where you're like. Hey, I gotta pick 'em up at school at two 30. I gotta get everything done before two, you know?

And so it just makes you really, I think as a business owner, it can be really good to have those constraints of be like, how do I, how do I, uh, you know, organize my life so that I can go pick 'em up at two? Oh, maybe I need to be like, have these processes in place so that that can happen.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Hmm.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: and it just makes you. Like focus on the really important things rather than like, you know? Yeah. Work can just really expand if you let it. And

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: lets does not let it, if that makes sense.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: That's so cool. I think, and I mean, I'm guessing as a, as an employer, right, like it also almost forces you in a good way to perhaps delegate as well

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Totally.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: so that you don't do everything yourself.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: [00:45:00] Um, yeah. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. I think that's really cool. That's really, really cool.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: it.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Of course. And, um, and now your, your life clearly has a purpose and that is to bring a young child into a good person.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yep, exactly. And that takes a lot of work and it's not just me.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. It takes a village, you know, parents, family, et cetera. Um, maybe in our next conversation we'll talk about the power of community. 'cause not one person can do it all.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Mm-hmm.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: So, wow, that's, that's a, that's for another day. And, um, thank you so much Jonah. And as we wrap up, um, I want people to be able to find you and work with you.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yes,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: how.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: sure. So you can go to our website, which is puddle creative.com. That's P-U-D-D-L-E creative.com. And then I'm also on LinkedIn, [00:46:00] if you can. Um. Try and find my long last name. Um, but just search for Jonah Gale Neufeld. I dunno how people do that on LinkedIn.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I, I'll add that to show notes.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, perfect. There you go. Then people can just click on it. Um, but yeah, that's, I've honestly, right now I haven't posted on LinkedIn that frequently, but I don't really use a ton of the other social media platforms, so that's where you can find me. I'm in Portland, Oregon, biking the streets. You see me, you see a tall guy on an orange That might be me.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: was gonna say, actually, you are quite recognizable. I can just put a description, you know, look for this guy.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Look for this guy. Just, just yell Jonah and see if it's him. Yeah.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Um, I, I wanna add, not posting a lot on LinkedIn is a really good thing.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. It's hard. I don't know. I feel, I do feel like LinkedIn is [00:47:00] like the least bad option sometimes in a world of bad social media options,

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I think it's going down.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah, still it's not great. I do, I like shout out to in person, like

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: into you in real life. I was just at a two day conference that was really rejuvenating, that was in person. I have to say that like podcast events, we don't, we haven't done any for most of our clients. There's one client that had, that has done it, but. In this world of like AI generated slop, um, I think in person and like human connection is gonna be ever more important. And so yeah, just like text and call people and see them in person.

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I know, and I cannot agree more. If you ever, if you ever host, I don't know, a live podcast event, please let me know.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Ooh. Maybe we should, maybe this is the start of something, Joe. [00:48:00] we should start a, a live, Some sort of podcast show

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: I am very excited.

jonah-geil-neufeld_1_10-03-2025_100143: Well, thank you so much, Joe for having me

zhou--she-her-_1_10-03-2025_100143: Yeah. Thank you so much. We'll talk more and, alright, I'll stop here.