My lifelong belief in the First Amendment—specifically, freedom of speech—stems from witnessing censorship in media. I never understood why a handful of words out of hundreds of thousands were deemed indecent, a sentiment famously echoed by comedian George Carlin in his 1974 monologue about the “seven dirty words.”

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The Concept and Pitch

Inspired by Carlin, I created the “Oh Fudge!” podcast to explore these words in depth. The initial idea was a seven-part series, dedicating each episode to one word. As the host, I planned to:

• Investigate the meaning of each word and find alternative terms.
• Review relevant court cases concerning indecency.
• Feature audio clips where the words were used.
• Interview free speech experts, clergy members, and community members.

While I had extensive experience in writing and research, this project marked my first foray into podcast production.

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Production Roadmap

Before diving into production, I thoroughly researched existing podcasts and radio shows to learn from others’ experiences. This informed the creation of a detailed roadmap using Asana, a project management tool. Breaking down every task into granular steps was crucial for staying organized and ensuring a smooth production process.

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Production and Promotion

For production, I recorded each segment, edited sound bites, and created intros, outros, and segment breaks. I then assembled all audio clips in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Once complete, I used BuzzSprout.com to host the “Oh Fudge!” podcast, distributing it to major platforms like iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher. Promotion began before the podcast’s launch and continued afterward on social media.

This project, taking an idea from concept to reality, reinforced a key lesson: any complex undertaking can be achieved by breaking it down into its smallest components.