017 - Kurt Sasso - Two Geeks Talking

Kurt Sasso of Two Geeks Talking --- SUMMARY Sebastian sits down with Kurt Sasso, host of Two Geeks Talking, a pop-culture interview show that has racked up over 1,200 conversations across comics, TV, film, music, and video games over the past 18 years. The two swap stories about an unexpected overlap from Sebastian's old merchandise business before digging into Kurt's interviewing philosophy, his research process, and how the show evolved from a two-hour live call-in on TalkShoe into a full video production. Kurt walks through the growth strategies that actually moved the needle for his show, how he built a paid interview service after 15 years of doing it for free, and what he'd do differently if he launched from zero in 2026. The conversation closes with a wider-lens discussion on why long-form podcasts keep thriving in a short-attention-span world, podcasting's growing political influence, and Kurt's firm stance on AI — both in his own research process and in creative work more broadly. --- IN THIS EPISODE 00:20 — Introduction to Kurt Sasso and Two Geeks Talking 01:27 — How Kurt stumbled into podcasting through a friend's webcomics database 02:51 — An unexpected overlap: Sebastian's old merch business and Kurt's webcomic guests 04:30 — Kurt's technique for drawing stories out of shy or reluctant guests 06:58 — Kurt's research process: socials, past interviews, and avoiding repeat questions 10:20 — Looking back at early cringe-worthy interviews and lessons learned 14:21 — Has interviewing led to business or networking opportunities? 17:14 — Common traits among successful creative guests 19:55 — The moment Two Geeks Talking started to take off 23:11 — Pitching and structuring the paid interview service 25:38 — The two or three growth strategies that produced the best results (the 2010 shift to video) 33:43 — Hypothetical: launching Two Geeks Talking from scratch in 2026 39:22 — Which metrics actually matter to Kurt (and why downloads aren't one of them) 42:40 — Outdated podcasting advice Kurt and Sebastian still hear too often 49:35 — Why long-form podcasts thrive despite short-attention-span platforms 52:56 — Podcasting's growing influence on politics and culture 56:16 — AI, creativity, and why Kurt doesn't use AI in his research process 1:00:44 — Staying a fan while still asking challenging questions 1:02:54 — Kurt's podcast recommendations 1:04:22 — Where to find Kurt and Two Geeks Talking --- RESOURCES & LINKS Two Geeks Talking YouTube: youtube.com/TGTMedia Website: tgtmedia.com Social: @KurtSasso Mentioned in this episode: Webcomics.com Cyanide and Happiness (Explosm) Ctrl+Alt+Del (Tim Buckley) C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) TalkShoe (early live call-in platform) Cliff Ravenscraft, "The Podcast Answer Man" The Tim Ferriss Show Gary Vaynerchuk (content/YouTube) James Cridland, Pod News Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message" --- TALK THAT POD Are you a podcaster or podcast industry figure and you want to be on this podcast? Fill out this form. Watch or listen to Talk That Pod on YouTube. Follow us: Twitter / X Facebook YouTube Instagram TikTok Threads --- FIND THAT POD Discover the best podcasts in the world. - A podcast discovery newsletter bringing you 5 great podcasts to discover every week. Subscribe today.