Many podcasts are recorded with multiple hosts in multiple places. If everyone records their own side of the conversation, you get the best possible audio for each speaker. But then someone has to put all the audio together.
The editor has to sync up the tracks. There are various software utilities that can help.
I’ve long used a low-fi approach: When my friend Brian Warren and I record Sorkin’ In It, we clap in unison after a quick countdown. One of us says “three, two, one,” and then we both clap on the next beat. The clap is easy to spot in audio waveforms; you line up the tracks, and then you’re in sync.
But when my wife and I were guests on an episode of Judge John Hodgman, I learned that that show uses a different approach to kick off the clap: We all loaded up time.is on whatever device we had nearby, and then when those clocks ticked to a specific time, we all clapped. It was a little cleaner than the countdown approach. Plus, time.is also tells you how far off your device’s clock is from reality, which is a nice perk.
Now you know.
