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JulyDiaz

Episode 67 — Aisha Tyler of Girl On Guy

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Adam’s guest is the multi-talented actress, comedian, and author Aisha Tyler. Many listeners may know her best for the very popular Girl On Guy podcast, which she hosts and produces. In this conversation Aisha shares how she started out just wanting to be a stand up comedian, but then saw her goals expand as she continued to challenge herself. She explains why--even with her success and commitments like co-hosting CBS’s The Talk--she continues to produce Girl On Guy entirely by herself, and why she considers it her “creative refuge.” Adam asks if Aisha regards herself as an entrepreneur, and she considers the ways in which her approach to life and business matches that descriptor, especially as she works on launching her own brand of spirits. Finally, they discuss the question of how to invite more women to become podcast listeners.

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As part of the 18-34 Straight White Male demographic, I realize that any suggestions I have about drawing female listeners are of questionable value. That notwithstanding, I think some trends can be identified by listening to strong female voices within the comedy and online communities.

 

Women don't want to be condescended to or have their tastes dictated by men.

 

Despite hosting a show that is ostensibly geared toward men, part of Aisha's draw is that she is an outspoken, self-made success and Girl on Guy is 100% her POV. There are millions of women who are tired of being told that they shouldn't be involved in things like stand-up or video games or STEM careers or politics, and hosts like Aisha are both aspirational and inspirational as a result.

 

Women seem to favor shorter content.

 

I don't know a single woman who regularly listens to 90+ minute episodes of WTF or You Made It Weird, but every woman on my Twitter timeline and many of my female friends are obsessed with Serial (each episode under an hour.) The daily Totally Married seems to be far more popular than the weekly Totally Laime historically has been. Given the rise of vlogging and (again, self-made) stars like Alie & Georgia, Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig, Emily Graslie, et al, it appears many women prefer shorter, more frequently updated content.

 

Bust up the boys' club.

 

The male-host-to-female-host ratio at LA Podfest has been terribly skewed since its inception. Podcasters and podcast networks need to take greater steps to make their communities more welcoming to women. Even though Earwolf fans are among the best people online, I frequently have to delete comments about whether female guests are/are not fuckable or which parts of female hosts' anatomy are/are not attractive. Until it's clear that this behavior is unwelcome in the larger community, the resulting alienation will probably make it more difficult to build female listenership.

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