Being a co-host for The Short Coat Podcast is easy by design. There is a tiny time commitment and usually no prep. Dave does most of the work. All you do is show up and discuss, speculate, opine, and have a good time.
We record on Fridays at noon (with a pre-show chat at 11:30 if you’re available). You can sign up for as many of those afternoons as you like, or as few as you’re able.
To sign up
Visit our co-hosts-only Facebook group and ask to join. At the top of the discussion is a pinned post that links to the signup page–pick Fridays that will work for you (a new show is available for signup each week on Friday afternoon). The group is where we talk about ideas, post announcements, and review listener feedback, questions, and reviews.
Frequently asked questions
How many listeners do you have? We get maybe 30,000 downloads across all available episodes. We are well past our millionth download.
I’m worried my views will be ‘shouted down.’ Look, this works best if the discussion open-hearted. Without a variety of respectfully-expressed positions on hot topics, the show is less valuable and probably boring. Even if yours is the minority viewpoint on a given topic, we pledge to give you the same platform we give anyone else. But you have to participate to get that.
I don’t know anything about medicine yet! Neither does Dave, but that doesn’t stop him! Seriously, you do have valuable experience as a pre-med, med school aspirant, person, and starting now, as an M1! That’s something our listeners want to hear about!
I don’t have a good voice. You don’t ever have to listen to a show your own, so who cares? Nobody likes the sound of their own voice at first, but guess what? Everyone else has already heard it anyway.
Can I watch first? Yes. Email david-etler@uiowa.edu to set it up.
What do I get out of it? Ultimately, if you put the podcast on your CV, people will ask you about it on the interview trail in your M4 year. That’s because it is unique, and exactly the kind of thing you want them to ask about!
What if I say something dumb? No problem–Dave will edit it out. You have one week to tell him you feel dumb (shows are released on the Thursday after recording, usually). Even if you don’t ask him, he’s always watching out for those kinds of things, although he generally needs more editing than anyone.
What kinds of things shouldn’t I say? No medical advice. Don’t disparage the College of Medicine, the University of Iowa, or the State of Iowa.
What about swearing? Dave bleeps out the bad stuff. Honestly, it’s more of a problem with him.
I have another question. Contact david-etler@uiowa.edu.