i named my first-born
ENCYCLOPOD
intersection of learning and laziness

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What's this Encyclopod thing when it's at home?
It's a podcast where we talk a lot. A week or two before each episode we decide on a topic, and then we research it through any means open to us, before gathering to share what we have learned, with each other and with the world. We aim to fill in the gaps in our general knowledge by gradually learning all there is to know about everything. We research independently of each other and can get quite competitive, so Encyclopod is sort of like an educational programme with a dash of gameshow and lots of veering off topic and general chatting about stuff.

Whoa whoa whoa, genius. I was following you up until "podcast".
A podcast is like a free radio show, episodes of which you can download from the internet, usually in MP3 format or something similar. You can also subscribe using an RSS reader, to get the latest episodes sent to you with almost no effort on your part!

What's an RSS reader? What's MP3? Where am I?
I don't know, but where you shouldn't be is clicking a link to email us. We barely understand this sort of thing ourselves, so you should consult someone who knows what they're talking about if you're having trouble.

I love this idea! How can I contribute?
Just having you as a listener makes the whole thing greatly rewarding! But do feel free to send us feedback, particularly if we get something wrong, as is bound to happen from time to time. In the future, if we're more organised, we may announce next week's topic at the end of each show and invite people to contribute knowledge more directly, but for now ... well, we don't.

I hate this idea! How do I get out of this wretched place?
Click the home button on your browser and it will magic you away to a place of safety.

I like the idea but I listened and found I hate all of you. Can I do my own version?
Go right ahead. Just don't be more successful than us!

How do you come up with the topics for episodes?
Topics are very carefully chosen based on a number of factors such as what we feel like learning and talking about that week, and whether we think the scope of a topic is suitable for our show. We're not going to do one on eggcups (too specific), but nor will we do one on space (too broad). You're welcome to suggest subjects for us to tackle, but as we like to keep our selection process shrouded in vagueness don't be offended if your suggestion is politely ignored. I'm sure it was very good.

Ha! I've got you all figured out. You don't actually know anything, do you?
Erm, that's sort of the point. We're talking about quite basic things, but everyone has some gaps in their knowledge of quite basic things. We're not claiming to have studied everything we talk about in great depth, as we have other things to do as well as this podcast. But we're still learning, as well as refreshing our memories of things we haven't thought about since school.

You keep saying "we". Who are you people anyway?
We're no one very special, just a group of friends hailing from Edinburgh who enjoy taking on fun and semi-pointless projects. In the past, though, we've mostly made films.

Is your podcast name an obscure Futurama reference?
No. In fact, we started before that episode was made. That means Fox can't sue us. Right? Right?!

No one's ever really asked these questions, have they?
Of course they ... I have to go now.


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