The Work Behind the Podcast—and Why We’re Glad to Be Back

It has been a while.

For most of May, June, and July, Starcastic Remarks has been pretty quiet. We know that is a long time to go without a new episode—especially for those of you who have supported the podcast, watched our livestreams, shared our content, and made us part of your Dallas Stars routine.

Before anything else, we want to say thank you.

Thank you for continuing to follow us. Thank you for asking when we were coming back. Thank you for listening to old episodes, interacting with our posts, and sticking with us even when there was not much new content to consume.

We genuinely appreciate it.

The truth is that producing a podcast takes a lot more work than simply turning on three microphones and talking about hockey for an hour—although, admittedly, we are pretty good at the talking part.

Between the three of us—Ryan, Chris, and James—our schedules can get a little ridiculous. We have jobs, families, responsibilities, and other parts of our lives that deserve our attention. Finding a time when all three of us are available is sometimes harder than figuring out what the NHL considers goaltender interference.

Then there is everything that goes into producing an episode.

Before we go live, there is research to complete, news to organize, statistics to review, discussion topics to prepare, and questions to consider. We want each episode to have direction while still allowing the conversation—and occasional brotherly argument—to happen naturally.

There is also the technical side of every livestream. Cameras, microphones, graphics, overlays, internet connections, streaming software, and everything else must be ready. When something does not work, it usually waits until approximately thirty seconds before we go live to reveal itself.

After the episode ends, the work continues. The show has to be processed, edited, published, titled, described, and distributed. Clips have to be created, social media posts have to be written, thumbnails have to be designed, and the episode has to be promoted across several different platforms.

We love doing it, but it takes time.

Over the last couple of seasons, we also tried producing episodes after nearly every Dallas Stars game. While that created plenty of content, it eventually became too much. The NHL schedule is relentless, and covering almost every game made it difficult to devote enough time to our families, careers, and other important parts of our lives.

Because of that, we are approaching this season a little differently.

Starcastic Remarks returns on Sunday, July 26, at 8:00 p.m. Central.

From July 26 through the end of September, we plan to livestream every other Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Central. Beginning in October, we will move to every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Central.

As for postgame episodes, we have not completely ruled them out. There will probably be certain games, major moments, trades, controversies, or especially infuriating losses that make us feel like we need to turn on the microphones immediately.

However, listeners should not expect an episode after every single game.

We want Starcastic Remarks to remain something we enjoy doing—not something that takes us away from every other part of our lives. A more sustainable schedule will allow us to prepare better episodes, bring more energy to the show, and continue producing the podcast without burning ourselves out.

Most importantly, we want everyone who has stayed with us to know how grateful we are.

Whether you have watched from the beginning, found us during the last few seasons, joined us for livestreams, listened afterward, commented, shared an episode, or simply checked occasionally to see whether we were still alive—thank you.

We are excited to be back.

I hope you will join myself, Chris, and James for the return of Starcastic Remarks on Sunday, July 26, at 8:00 p.m. Central.

It has been a long offseason for the podcast.

Now, let’s talk some Stars hockey.