POD BIBLE: Who are you, what is your podcast called, and what’s it about?
LAURA SHAVIN: I’m actress and voice over artist Laura Shavin. My podcast is called The Offcuts Drawer and it features successful writers sharing their projects that didn’t make it. We hear a bit of each piece performed by actors and then the writer shares the stories behind them – what were they trying to do, why didn’t it work, what DID it lead to ultimately? The writers come from all genres – comedy, novels, TV drama, journalism, film, sketch shows, theatre, radio, standup… although right now there is a bit of a skew towards comedy because that’s my area of experience.

PB: Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?
LS: When I originally came up with the idea I thought it would make a great radio show but there are so few outlets for this kind of speech programme that I realised it would be easier to create the content and put it out myself rather than wait to be commissioned. That way I also get to choose things like the length of the show, how many episodes I do, who I have on and I don’t have to censor my guests if they get a bit sweary. Plus my day job is being a voiceover artist, so I have a professional studio and the skills to edit and produce the show at home.

PB: What’s the first podcast you ever listened to?
LS: I don’t remember, I’m afraid. I’ve been listening to podcasts for such a long time, at least 10 years. Much as I love radio, I hate commercials (ironic considering my day job) so as soon as I heard about podcasts, that’s all I listened to. WTF was probably one of my first. I used to be in a BBC radio comedy called The Now Show and Marc Maron was our guest once, so maybe talking to him was what got me started.  

PB: Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?
LS: The Guilty Feminist was inspiring – that live format was what I was aiming for when I created The Offcuts Drawer. I’m very much a one-track-minded person so whatever I’m working on at any moment, I’m consumed by. I used to listen to a lot of comedy shows because of my acting work, and now I’m obsessed with ones about podcasting. I’ve always been a fussy listener though – I subscribe to loads of podcasts but I cherry pick the episodes that interest me. One of the only podcasts that I will download every episode is The Truth – an American series of short one-off dramas. They are uniformly excellent: absorbing, often funny, and so naturalistic – feels like listening to a mini film. It makes most UK radio drama sound OTT and stagey. And every time I listen to it I think “I should get in touch with Jonathan Mitchell (the producer) and see if I can audition to be in one of the episodes” but I never have.

PB: Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?
LS: Oh, so many! JK Rowling, Richard Curtis, Marian Keyes, Jed Mercurio, Charlie Brooker, Phoebe Waller-Bridge – I’ve got a list of about 100 and it grows bigger every day. My ideal would be to travel round the world interviewing the greatest writers in the grandest theatres. Stephen Sondheim would be a dream come true, Stephen King, Mel Brooks, Tina Fey… The problem isn’t coming up with writers but finding ones who hold onto their old material (and remember where they put it) and who are happy to be in the spotlight themselves for a change.

PB: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?
LS: I’m pleasantly surprised at how nice the podcasting community is. In other entertainment fields people aren’t always keen on what they see as competitors entering their field, but so far other podcasters have been nothing but generous and welcoming with their help and advice.

PB: Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?
LS: If you don’t mind a bit of smuttiness then I’d recommend the first episode – the only live one so far – with Jon Holmes. He’s really funny and the material’s great. Don’t listen to it near small children though, unless you want to answer some very awkward questions. Otherwise start at the second episode with novelist Jenny Colgan – she was fascinating and very entertaining too.

PB: Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?
LS: If you visit offcutsdrawer.com/insta-links/ you can listen to the episodes on whichever app you prefer. Twitter it’s @offcutsdrawer and I’m @laurashav. And my own website is fvo1.com.

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In the beginning there was The Geekly but we soon discovered that we had far too much to talk about and too many interests for one podcast. As a result geek/nerd podcasts was formed, allowing us to pursue what was important to us both individually and collectively.

We have included our current slate of shows and spin-offs below in the hope that we can entertain you with one, but maybe inform and challenge you with another. With content covering a range of topics from niche geek culture to social issues, geek/nerd podcasts offers a little something for everyone.

1. The Geekly #93 – Dark S3 | Doom Patrol 201-203 | The Twilight Zone 202
Join us as we put our years of academia and pop-culture enthusiasm into something fun and light but also insightful and informative. We analyse, review and discuss genre film and television and all the news surrounding it, with as much of an eye on character development and plot momentum as OHHHHMYYYGGOOODDDD moments.

Recent reviews include: Doom Patrol, What We Do in the Shadows, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Dark, The Twilight Zone, Snowpiercer.

2. Podcastaway #5 ft. Ross Chapman
Podcastaway is a monthly show where Jules’s guest picks the nine pieces of electronic media that would keep them sane in a genre fiction inspired isolation situation – which they also choose. Such situations have included a bunker in a post-apocalyptic landscape, the last man alive on a Mars colony base and the classic desert island situation.

Media can include films, tv shows and computer games and through the choices of the guest we get to learn about them and their journey. Episode 5 featured Ross from I Understood That Reference podcast with Episode 6, featuring one of the hosts of Bedknobs and Broomflicks podcast, dropping in the first week of August.

Contact Jules on Twitter if you would like to be a featured guest in 2021.

3. The Leks Files 001: getting the language right
Every month, The Leks Files will discuss one topic, either based on a question someone’s sent, or a subject they’d like to hear about, or maybe even just whatever Leks is obsessed with that month. Some episodes will be serious. Some will be goofy. Some will be somewhere in between. The hope and aim, though, is to inform, entertain, and not get too lecture-y about it.

Leks Drakos is a rogue academic and writer with a doctorate in English Literature and Creative Writing. He specialises primarily in monsters, monstrosity, and representations of the Other in contemporary society. You can follow him on Twitter or visit his website.

4. Vs #2 – Suicide Squad Harley Quinn Vs. B.O.P Harley Quinn
Vs pits two things against each other – what a shock – the caveat is that the two things must have at least a tenuous link.

In episode #1 Space Force and Upload went up against each other as both were created either fully or in part by Greg Daniels. In episode #2 the Harley Quinn of Suicide Squad and the Harley Quinn of Birds of Prey face off in 5 categories. Costume, Script, Fighting Prowess, Character Development and which sequel would we want to see based on where HQ’s story ended.

We discuss the impact of male and female directors, lethal and non lethal fighting methods, comics accurate portrayals compared with more actualised human beings and much more.

If you have any suggestions for future episodes feel free to submit them via DM on Twitter.

5. Q&A with Leks & Jules #2
Not it’s own podcast but we do infrequently answer audience questions. In Q&A #2 we answer six more questions including the most important question we have been asked thus far – If all the actors who ever played Batman were in a fight, as the Batman they played, with all special skills and tools and vehicles that Batman had. Who would win & why?

These sessions are fun and casual but really allow us to flex the geek muscles as we cite examples from all across the fandoms to help with our arguments.

If you have any pop culture, fandom, generally nerdy questions please submit them on Twitter.

The geek/nerd podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Acast, and YouTube.

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