Podcast Summary: “Flying Solo on a Live Show: Where's My Jamie?”

Podcast: Your Podcast Consultant: Podcast Tips To Avoid Podcasting Mistakes
Host: Dave Jackson
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Episode Length: ~9 minutes

Episode Overview

Dave Jackson addresses a fundamental challenge for solo podcasters: how to handle live fact-checking and missing information when you don’t have a producer or assistant (like Joe Rogan’s “Jamie”). Through practical examples, Dave explores strategies for managing these situations during live and recorded episodes, emphasizing the importance of preparation, improvisation, and clear communication.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Solo Podcaster’s Dilemma

Common Situation: When recording solo, you hit a spot where you need a stat, date, or other missing information.
- Your Choices:
  - Pause to research (disrupts flow)
  - Guess (risk being wrong)
  - Flag and fix in post (adds editing time)
  - Be prepared before recording (the missing option Dave spotlights)
Dave’s Framing:
- “Joe Rogan has Jamie. He can say, hey Jamie, pull that up… you don’t have the budget for that. So what do you do when you don’t have a Jamie?” (00:38)

Preparing for a Live Show

Dave’s Approach:
- For recorded shows, if he stumbles or forgets, he pauses for 2-3 seconds (leaving a blank space for easy editing later).
- For live shows, the stakes are higher since you can’t edit in real time.
- He hosts a weekly live show, Ask the Podcast Coach, where audience questions are unpredictable. Preparation is key for predictable content, but live interaction adds unpredictability.
- “The best thing you can do when you’re going live is to be ready for all the questions. So you have to think about… what are the questions your audience would ask about that subject?” (04:03)

Handling Mistakes (and a Real-Time Example)

Recording Trick:
- Leave a clear pause after a blunder, then “punch in” by picking up at the last complete sentence (03:04).
Real-Life Illustration:
- Dave plays an actual recording flub and shows how he would fix it.
- “Where was I going with that? Don’t know. But I was like, yeah, that’s not gonna work.” (03:28)
- “So it’s easy for me to stop, and then what people call punch in. I just basically go back to the last completed sentence and pick right back up where I left off. But I’m not live right now. Live is a different story. Like I said, it’s a different beast.” (03:41)

Audio vs. Video: Communication Tips

For Video:
- Can visually show software or screens.
For Audio:
- Must describe actions out loud for listeners: “I’m clicking on the file menu… I’m going to open… I’m going to click here” (02:58)
- This ensures audio-only listeners can follow along.

Planning vs. Editing: The “Teeter Totter” Analogy

Dave’s Rule:
- “The more planning you do, the less editing you do because you’re prepared. And then likewise, if you go, ah, I know what I’m talking about, I’m just gonna wing it, it’s a really good chance you’re gonna end up doing some editing…” (05:25)
Analogy:
- Reference to old playground “teeter totters” (seesaws): more effort on one end (planning) reduces the load on the other (editing).

When To Go Live (or Not)

Evaluate Necessity:
- If you don’t have many live viewers and can’t manage everything as a solo host, consider recording instead.
- Dave credits his co-host for help:
  - “Thank goodness, because I am running the show. I have sound effects, I’m checking the levels, I’m reading the chat room… There are times when I am answering a question while at the same time trying to figure out what’s the next question. And I’m a bit ADD. So my brain’s going crazy because it’s just squirrel, squirrel...” (06:30)
- Throws questions to his co-host to buy time to read chat or prep the next point.

Practice Makes (Almost) Perfect

Performance Comparison:
- Whether podcasting, playing music, or using new tech, always rehearse before doing it live.
- “You do not want to do something for the first time in front of people. It’s no fun.” (07:33)
- Humorous example: being asked to play reggae on stage unexpectedly and sweating through it.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Joe Rogan has Jamie. You don’t have the budget for that. So what do you do when you don’t have a Jamie?” (00:38)
“The best thing you can do when you’re going live is to be ready for all the questions… those are the questions that your audience would ask about that subject.” (04:03)
“More planning equals less editing.” (05:35)
“So many things to pay attention to… my brain’s going crazy because it’s just squirrel, squirrel, squirrel.” (06:44)
“You do not want to do something for the first time in front of people. It’s kind of exhilarating, and it also makes you kind of wet your pants. So don’t do that. I can help you. That’s my new slogan: I can help you not wet your pants.” (07:43)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | The Reddit Question: What do solo hosts do when missing info on air? | | 01:17 | Dave introduces the missing “prepare in advance” option | | 02:58 | Tips for explaining visuals on audio-only podcasts | | 03:28 | Example: Dave’s own recording flub and how he fixes it| | 04:03 | Prepping for live shows and anticipating questions | | 05:25 | The teeter totter analogy: Planning vs. editing | | 06:30 | The live host’s juggling act: why co-hosts help | | 07:33 | Practice & performance: “Don’t try new things live” | | 07:43 | Humorous wrap-up: “I can help you not wet your pants”|

Final Thoughts

Dave Jackson delivers practical, actionable advice for solo podcasters struggling with “missing Jamie” syndrome. His key advice: Plan as much as possible, be ready to adapt, and don’t be afraid to admit mistakes on air. Most importantly, rehearse any new process or tool before going public. His relatable stories and direct style make this a valuable, concise listen for anyone growing their podcasting skills.

Transcript

A (0:00)

So I saw this question on Reddit that says, I've been running into a frustrating workflow issue lately, and I'm curious how other solo hosts handle it. You know that moment when you're recording and you realize you needed to, you know, state a specific stat, a date, or a chart to make your point. So what do you do? You either option A, stop and Google it and kill the vibe of the conversation. B, you keep talking, guess the number and risk looking dumb later. C, flag it fix in post, which adds 20 minutes of editing time later. Well, we're going to answer that today because I know Joe Rogan has Jamie. He can say, hey, Jamie, pull that up. And you don't have the budget for that. So what do you do when you don't have a Jamie?

B (0:52)

Welcome to your podcast consultant. Small lessons with big value. With more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author, and mentor to thousands. Now, he wants to work with you. He's your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.

A (1:17)

So he missed an option here. You could Google it, you could guess it, or you can fix it in post, or d have everything you need before you start going live. In this case, we're assuming. Yeah, he says handle live fact checking when you are going live. Some people say this makes a better podcast because you do more research. You have to be ready live because you don't want to go, hold on a second. Now, there are other ways to handle it. Now, when I record this show, the one I'm doing right now, if I were to mess up, I would just pause a good two to three seconds, something that makes a very easy to find blank space in the recording. And then later I go back and fix it. I do this on all my shows that I record solo. Now, when it's live, that's a different story. And if you're doing live and you have a chat room, it's a whole different ball game. I do a live show every Saturday called Ask the Podcast Coach. You can find that at ask the podcast coach.com live every Saturday at 10:30am Eastern. And I go ahead and I have a bunch of questions ready, but primarily we are answering questions from the chat room. And so I can't prepare for that because I don't know what they're going to ask. And there are times when we will take a tangent and I will have to look something up. Now, on the YouTube version of that episode, there's no editing because, well, YouTube sucks and it doesn't let Me replace the file. But on the audio version, there are times that I will edit something out, especially if it's something very visual. So if somebody says, how do I do this in this software? In some cases I will just pull up the software, I will share my screen and I'll be like, yeah, just click here and do that and then click here and that's it. And that's the other thing. If you are doing video and you're going to later put out the audio, you have to explain. I'm clicking on the file menu. I. I'm going to open. I'm going to click here so that those that are listening might be able to follow along later. But just to prove my point, I actually just did a mess up and I will play it now. It's crazy. I do a show every Saturday called Ask the Podcast Coach. And the fun part of that is I can prepare in that the fact that I have. In the fact that I have. Where was I going with that? Don't know. But I was like, yeah, that's not gonna work. So it's easy for me to stop. And then what people call punch in. I just basically go back to the last completed sentence and pick right back up where I left off. But I'm not live right now. Live is a different story. Like I said, it's a different beast. And the best thing you can do when you're going live is to be ready for all the questions. So you have to think about, okay, I'm talking about topic A. I need to know this, that, this, that and that, and where do those come from? Those are the questions that your audience would ask about that subject. So keep that in mind if you're going to go live. And really keep that in mind if you're not going live. It stops you from having to do what I just did, which is go, oh, wait, and then kind of punch in later. I've done that before where I'll be talking about a piece of gear and I'm talking about the piece of gear because maybe of its characteristics or something. And then I'll be like, yeah, that goes for about X amount of money. And I don't know. So I will stop, I will go check the price. Then I'll come back and say, oh, that goes for about $99. So it is all about the preparation for the episode, I always say. And this kind of makes me sound old because I don't think they make these anymore. When I was growing up, they had these things called teeter totters which was basically a big piece of wood with a handle on one end of it and a handle on the other. And then you would basically prop it up on this big metal pole in the middle, and you would sit on it, and your friend on the other end would go way up in the air, and. And then you would kick your legs, and then you would go up and hence the teeter totter. And so if you think about it, the more planning you do, the less editing you do because you're prepared. And then likewise, if you go, ah, I know what I'm talking about. I'm just gonna wing it. It's a really good chance you're gonna end up doing some editing on that. So more planning equals less editing. The other thing you might consider is how many people are showing up for your live presentation. And maybe you just don't do it live. I know for me, my live show, I have a co host. Thank goodness, because I am running the show. I have sound effects, I'm checking the levels, I'm reading the chat room, I'm doing all this stuff, and there are times when I am answering a question while at the same time trying to figure out what's the next question. And I'm a bit add. So my brain's going crazy because it's just squirrel, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. Just so many things to pay attention to. And so I will toss it over to my co host and go, well, what do you think about this? And while he's answering, I'm looking at the chat room. I'm figuring out what the next question is. I'm figuring out, are we done with this topic or are we going to, you know, have other points that we need to make on this before we move on? There is a lot going on in your head during a live show. Maybe that'll be my next episode. Some tips on doing live. But that's really it. It's one of the things. Just like anything else, whether you're tap dancing, you're reading poetry, you're playing the guitar, any kind of public performance, you practice that before you do it live. And I know when I try any kind of new technology, I always do my best to practice with it first. You do not want to do something for the first time in front of people. It's no fun. Many moons ago, I played in a band, and a person walked in from Jamaica and the lead singer of the band knew him and said, hey, get on up here. And I looked at him and said, dude, I got zero reggae chops. You know, but in the end, I was able to pull it off, but I was sweating bullets up there on stage because I'm like, besides, I shot the sheriff. I'm out of that. And that's not really, you know, I know it's Bob Marley, but come on now. So you don't want to be in that boat where you're doing something for the first time in front of people. It's kind of exhilarating, and it also makes you kind of wet your pants. So don't do that. I can help you. That's my new slogan. I can help you not wet your pants. I've been helping podcasters for over 20 years at the School of Podcasting. Go to School of Podcasting. Join. And that's going to get you access to me. You get unlimited consulting. Well, unlimited up to five hours, which is pretty much unlimited. And you also get the world's most amazing podcast community. So helpful, so supportive. And of course, our step by step courses. I'm Dave Jackson. I help podcasters. It's what I do. And I can't wait to see what we're going to do together because I want to be your podcast consultant.