“Hello and welcome to Unreadable, the official Forsyth County Public
Library podcast for news, upcoming programs, and recommendations. I’m your
host, Ross Gericke, the branch manager at Hampton Park.”
Regular listeners to
the library’s podcast
will likely be familiar with this opening and Ross’s voice. But, have you ever
wondered how Unreadable is made?
History
The podcast was started in 2018, and for a long time, it was a one-man-show.
Ross recorded, edited, and released the podcast for the library.
Early episodes covered The Great American Read, Ghost Hunting, and library
resources. Listenership started pretty strong, and this trend continued into
2019. Episodes in 2019 included staff recommendations, interviews with authors
Martha Hall Kelly and Jeff Shaara, as well as an interview with professor Dr.
Larry J. Young, and an audio drama adapted by Sharon Fork Library’s Alicia
Cavitt.
However, it was in 2020, as you can imagine, that the podcast saw a huge spike
in listeners. In addition to episodes about library resources and reading
challenges, the podcast became an important avenue for disseminating
information about virtual programming and reopenings. The episode from April
2020 about virtual programming remains one of our most downloaded episodes of
all time.
As lockdowns relaxed and people returned to work and school, 2021 saw a dip in
listeners, despite having some of the library’s most beloved episodes,
including “A Ride on the Bookmobile” and “The Life Cycle of a Book,” both of
which provided behind the scenes looks at the inner workings of the library.
In 2022, the podcast took a short hiatus in order to give host and editor Ross
a much needed break, and towards the end of the year, a podcast team was
formed to help Ross produce the podcast. Despite this break, the podcast’s
listenership continued to grow.
In 2023 and 2024, Unreadable saw continued growth. Episodes highlighted
programs like the Summer of Jane Austen, Stokerfest, Diwali celebrations, and
ghost hunting in the library. Authors Chitra Divakaruni, Lisa Wingate, and
Benjamin Herold were all interviewed by Ross during this time, too.
It is only this past year, 2025, that the Library saw downloads that surpassed
its 2020 numbers. Episode highlights from 2025 include an interview with
Shelby Van Pelt for Forsyth Reads Together and the Dedication of Denmark
Library. As of July 2026, the podcast has 78 episodes!
Most Downloaded Episodes as of July 1, 2026
- Color Our World: Your Summer Reading 2025 Guide
- Summer is Back in 2022!
- Adventure Awaits, Your 2024 Summer Reading Preview
- Virtual Programming and Services (2020)
- Forsyth Reads Together with Shelby Van Pelt (2025)
- Summer Reading in 2020
- Winter Reading Challenge 2025
- Census 2020
- Ghost Hunting at the Library (2025)
- Winter Reading Challenge 2024
You may have noticed a few trends with our most downloaded episodes. Our
Summer Reading episodes are our most popular! This is not surprising since
they cover the Summer Reading theme, prizes and grand prizes, and popular
events.
The Process
So, what does it look like to make a podcast?
Well, for starters, this is what Ross sees:
And this is what the editor sees:
But, let’s start from the beginning. For Unreadable, podcast episodes
fall into a few categories: reading challenges, author interviews, book
recommendations, and peeks behind the scenes. Many episodes are connected to
events and feature interviews with presenters or library staff.
Usually, the podcast team meets a few times a year and maps out what episodes
we’d like to do. As the team is made up of staff from different branches, we
often ask if there are any library events that would be interesting to talk
about or to talk to their presenters. One episode staple is an interview with
the Forsyth Reads Together author, who visits Forsyth County for an author
talk. This used to be a once-a-year event, but it has become so popular in our
community, we started offering multiple events a year beginning in
2025.
For author interviews, FCPL's Programming Manager Sarah Brubaker often helps
coordinate scheduling the interviews. She is also a frequent guest on the
podcast for our reading challenge episodes.
After an interview is scheduled, Ross will read the author’s or presenter’s
book and prepare a list of questions. For other episodes, like “Ghost Hunting
at the Library,” Ross had a more hands-on interview, where he recorded the
active ghost hunt and interviewed the ghost hunter in-person afterwards.
After an interview, the files are then given to the editor (me!). I edit the
audio, adjusting the sound levels and removing any pre- and post- interview
chat. I try to keep the audio as intact as possible, so that listeners can
enjoy the natural flow and rapport. Occasionally I clip out flubs or retakes
of questions.
Once I have edited the audio, adding Ross’s introduction and outro, I listen
to the episode multiple times to make sure the timing is right for the opening
music, the transitions are smooth, and there are no weird audio anomalies. I
listen MANY times, not only to edit but also to create a transcript. Google
Meet generates a transcript, but it often needs a lot of editing.
After an episode is done, it goes back to Ross for approval. Then I export the
audio and upload it to our podcast hosting website. There I add a description
of the episode as well as any links to events.
The transcript becomes a blog post, so that anyone wishing to access the audio and text-form of the podcast
can.
Finally, we coordinate with the Communications Department to create graphics,
proofread the podcast show notes and blog posts, and promote the episode on
social media and the Library's website.
Then at last, dear listener, you find it and enjoy it!
Brittany
Circulation Supervisor
Hampton Park Library
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