Check Me Boomer is a weekly father-daughter podcast recapping Bravo and reality TV, where Isabella calls the play-by-play and Da

My name is Isabella, and my Dad (who prefers to stay anonymous at the moment) and I share a love for reality television. Our topics range from Real Housewives to Love Island to documentaries like “Death of the Preacher’s Wife” and “Quarterback”. Discussions include a little recap, but are more focused on what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we thought was funny and entertaining. Generational differences often come into play, like the time I had to explain to Dad who the performer was on Love Island UK (Bebe Rexha btw) or the time Dad had to explain what a “Ramen Pride” was back in his day. To use a sports analogy (as we sometimes do on Check Me Boomer), I do the play-by-play and Dad does the color commentating. We mostly try to keep it light and relatively family friendly, but we don’t shy away from some of the heavier topics. In addition to our recaps and discussions, we like to add in a game to test Dad’s reality TV knowledge as he’s known to forget names.
 

A couple of things inspired the idea. I follow a YouTube channel called “Turning the Tables” where a father-son duo listen to music together. Usually the son introduces a new album, and the two listen and discuss together. I found the two generations coming together to be fascinating, and I knew I wasn’t alone.

I also came across a social media clip of an older gentleman passionately ranting about the West and Amanda Summer House scandal. The clip went completely viral. Why? You often see these kinds of clips coming from younger Gen Z or millennial women. To see an older man with the same passion was quite endearing, and I realized there might be something there.

So when I mentioned the idea to my dad, he jumped at it. He says the primary reason he does it is to spend more time with me.
 

We both like to watch reality TV and documentaries, so there is no extra time spent watching those, as we would do so anyway. I spend time coming up with show notes, especially to recap episodes. Dad takes less extensive notes to chime in or raise topics. Recording takes about an hour, and then Dad spends a few more hours editing, etc. So the “extra” time we need is primarily on the day we record (Sunday). We do work on some clips and shorts during the week, but those don’t take much time.

As for the money, it wasn’t much for the equipment and software.
 

The biggest thing is quality time with each other. Beyond that, having to speak confidently into a microphone as someone who is not usually the most outgoing has been a growth experience. Hearing positive feedback from family, friends, and listeners in general is always encouraging. The social media part is fun too.
 

As mentioned above, we each watch the shows we normally cover given what is currently being shown. I take recap notes and jot down other topics to raise, and Dad does the same on topics of interest to him. We will often ask each other about a new show, especially a documentary, and if we agree, we both watch it and then consider covering it on the show. We do not coordinate anything more than that in advance.

On Sunday, we record. We use Descript. We normally do so in my parents’ basement, as that is where we keep the primary recording equipment. We have recorded together on vacation, and a couple of times we have recorded separately (we used Descript Rooms). Each method has its pros and cons, but I leave most of the technical stuff to Dad.

After we record, Dad edits using Descript, puts in the intro and outro music, then cleans up the transcript and posts the episode (he uses Transistor) with a scheduled release time of 5:55 AM Eastern. (Dad’s lucky number is 5.) We then trade ideas about clips/shorts and he uses Descript to produce them.

I handle all of the social media (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). I post the clips on those socials, and then Dad will post the same clips as shorts on YouTube. I also post other things on the socials as they occur to me and based on more than just our podcast. When big Bravo news comes out, you can expect Check Me Boomer to be posting about it!
 

As of now, we don’t market the show, other than word-of-mouth among friends and family, and our social media posts.
 

I don’t know if we are yet in a position to give much advice, as we are still new to podcasting. If you have an idea and want to create a podcast - just do it. You don’t have to get hung up on the equipment or software, as there are plenty of options and tutorials out there to help you get up and running. And you don’t need to spend a lot of money.

Do not get bogged down in all the listener stats. If you enjoy what you’re doing and do not treat it as a job, the hope is that the listeners will follow. Try to stay as consistent as possible so potential new listeners will stick around.
 

We are on all of the normal podcasting platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, etc.) and on every social media. We also have a website - checkmeboomer.com.