We're so proud of all of our member shows and teams. And in this new series, we're going to check in with them to see how the experience has been so far. We are excited to start the series with The Tournament Podcast, produced and hosted by Trent Dozier and Nia D'Emilio.
The Tournament Podcast forces some of pop culture's touchstones into one of the world's favorite past times: a tournament to determine what's best!
Read what Nia and Trent had to say about their experience:
How long have you been a part of Trident?
Since the beginning, baby! (real answer, our show premiered on April 5, 2021)
What initially drew you to Trident?
We both appreciate having the autonomy to do our own show while also having the support of a big group of other creative people. Additionally, watching everybody else produce their own shows is motivating and hold us accountable to our own commitments.
What was the inspiration / origin story for your show?
We both had been talking about doing a podcast for about a year. We knew we wanted it to be about pop culture, but couldn't decide on a format. When the pandemic started and March Madness was cancelled, Trent created a bracket about Chicago comedy that circulated through the scene. It was received with mixed reviews, but we both thought that competitions that really had no meaning were very fun to do. And so, the tournament idea was born.
What is your favorite part of the experience of putting up your show?
While we both love waxing poetic about what our own predictions are for each bracket, our favorite part is seeing the actual results from the voters. Nothing is more exciting than being wrong about a match up, and our fans get really heated in comments sections across social media. Our show requires such a high level of engagement, and the mighty A-Tourneys at Pod never fail to disappoint.
What is a memory from working on the show that stands out to you?
For Trent, recording episodes late on Thursday nights is his favorite memory. Because we chose an ambitious two-episodes-per-week recording schedule, we're often tired on Thursday nights, so things can get a little loopy.
For Nia, the highlight of the show has been having guests on. She's always so honored to be trusted with brackets that her guests come up with, and she gets excited when they get excited. The apex of this experience was when we did the Beach Boys album bracket and we had Wyatt Funderburk on. Nia did not breathe for the entire week.
What are you most proud of about the show?
We're both really proud about the engagement level. Each tournament is so different and deals with a different subject, but the same group of A-Tourneys at Pod keep coming back with so much enthusiasm. People get really invested in these tournaments, more than we ever could have anticipated or asked for.
What is something you learned through the process of producing your show?
We both learned a lot of technical stuff to do this (Nia learned how to edit and write music for a podcast). We've also gotten creative with Reddit since a lot of our tournaments are so niche. It's been an experience!
What is something you are looking forward to about your show?
We're both excited for the show to continue to grow and reach more fanbases. We both know a lot about different media stuff, so we hope to reach as many fandoms as possible! Plus, we've got a Tourney Pod-specific bracket in the near future that we're both really excited about, but to find out what it is, you'll have to tune in ;)
Get a taste of what the show is like from The Tournament Podcast's trailer:
Check out their most recent episodes (you can also find them on all podcasting platforms
If you like what you hear, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts & Podchaser. It helps the podcast be found by more folks.
You can keep up with The Tournament Podcast on all major social platforms (even Tik Tok!) as @thetourneypod. You can (and should) email them at thetournamentpodcast@gmail.com to suggest brackets and just to chat.