Comedy podcast covering cryptids, aliens, and the unknown.

My name is Dave, and I am the founder and co-host of the Cryptid Cocktail Party, along with my co-host, Sarge. The show is a comedy podcast that dives into the stories behind different cryptid, alien, or conspiracy stories. Sarge does not know what topic we will be covering each week so it makes from some pretty good genuine reactions and comedic moments.
 

When the show first started in 2023, it was a way for me to reconnect with friends. I had just moved from New Hampshire to Philadelphia a few years prior, so every week I would have different friends as guests to tell them the story of some weird cryptid or alien encounter. As time went on it wasn't a sustainable model for a podcast, so I asked Sarge who had been a guest previously, if he wanted to come on full time.
 

Our show is very much being held together by a wish and a prayer. I write, record, edit, and publish the episodes all in one day, and we have no reserve episodes in the tank. Not the best way to podcast but once you find a good work routine and all that it's not so bad, and since the show started, I think we have only missed one week in two years. I'd love to spend MORE time on it but we both work full time so it's hard to find the time.
 

So around June of 2024, we actually got sponsored by Narragansett Beer. While we don't get anything monetarily from it we do get free beer, which is rad. We also won the Best Cryptid Podcast Award at the 2024 ParaPod Awards that same year, which was cool. So, besides just recognition and beer, we don't really gain much. It has allowed us the chance to have some really awesome guests like Ed Larson from Last Podcast On The Left, Jordan Holmes from Knowledge Fight, as well as Ed and Chris from Scared All The Time, and I think that's the best part. It is making connections and friends through a shared love of podcasting and telling stories.
 

Sarge and I live in different states so every episode is remote. We use Riverside.fm to record. I have a rodecaster mixer and Rode mic that I use, unsure of what his setup is. Then I take the files into Adobe Audition and do VERY minimal work. Mostly editing out noises, ums and uhs, rants that went on too long, that sort of stuff. I am very lazy.
 

I don't really. Mostly just post on Instagram and TikTok. I don't pay for ads or sponsored posts. I found the best way is just to make friends with other shows, build connections, and be guests on other shows or have other shows be guests on ours. Mutual support.
 

Make sure you sound good. I don't mean studio quality, huge network podcasts, but just good. Cheap mic, basic editing tools, watch some tutorials on YouTube, and go for it. People don't like listening to shows that sound like they're being recorded through the mic of your laptop.

Your episodes should only be as long as they need to be. Say your information, have your interview or conversation, tell your story, but once all the relevant stuff is said and done, end the show. If it ends up being 15 minutes, great! Two hours? Even better. Don't try and fill time or cut stuff out cause you think there is some arbitrary length a show should be. As long as it's engaging and entertaining, people will listen.

Have a couple of episodes done before publishing the first. If for no other reason than if you miss a day or start to feel burnt out, you have one or two to fall back on.

You will get frustrated. Not every show is a hit out of the gate. Took us two years and a lot of bad episodes to be where we are now. Pod fade and burnout are real, but if you love it and you love what you are talking about, muscle through it.
 

You can find us on all platforms (Spotify, Apple, Etc.)

Follow us on Instagram at @cryptidcocktail

Follow us on TikTok at @cryptidcocktailparty