Your Mic

Freddy Cruz
  • 5.0 (3)
  • LANGUAGE LEARNING

Your Mic is the no‑fluff, say‑the‑quiet‑part‑out‑loud podcast about podcasting for new, stuck, and almost‑quit hosts. Hosted by Speke Podcasting founder and 25‑year broadcast vet Freddy Cruz, it blends hard‑earned lessons, failures, and irreverent stories with sharp tactics you can actually use. Listen on your favorite podcast app!

  1. 1D AGO

    The Bad Podcast Ideas That Refuse to Die

    Work with us: https://www.spekepodcasting.com/ Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-mic/id1777171203 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1PQNHuqxIVhkLfjGYuWcxl Subcribe to Podcast the Newsletter: https://podcastthenewsletter.substack.com/ Subscribe to Earbuds Collective: https://arielle-nissenblatt-4cfp.squarespace.com/ Arielle Nissenblatt and Lauren Passell sit down with Freddy for a no BS round of hot takes about the podcast industry. From fake innovation to recycled failures and hype over listeners, they dig into what actually builds shows that last. If you make or market podcasts, this conversation might hurt and help.

    43 min

  2. 6D AGO

    The Algorithm Is Not a Podcast God

    This solo episode of Your Mic is a friendly exorcism for every creator who’s turned “the algorithm” into a deity. Freddy breaks down what recommendation systems on platforms actually do—sort and surface content based on behavior—and how people still primarily find new podcasts through search, social, YouTube, and old-school word of mouth. Then he draws a hard line between building episodes for humans versus contorting your show to please a black box. In this episode: What algorithms really optimize for (and what they don’t). How over-optimizing for “the feed” kills the very weirdness and honesty that fuel word-of-mouth growth. A practical two-part approach: serve the person, then respect the machine. Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    8 min

  3. FEB 24

    Welcome to the Podcast Cemetery

    Podcast graveyards are full of good intentions. Stats float around saying 40–50% of shows die after just a few episodes, and only around 15–20% of the Apple Podcasts catalog is actually active in the last 90 days. People don’t quit because they’re lazy. They quit because: they overcommitted, had no plan, expected money and fame too fast, got crushed by life and time.  New Your Mic episode: how not to become another headstone—and how to bury a show on purpose when it’s time. Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    11 min

  4. FEB 19

    "Brand-Safe" Is a Podcast Genre (And It’s Boring)

    In this episode of Your Mic, Freddy goes after the beige monster: brand-safe podcasts that sound like internal town halls instead of real shows. We break down what makes the best branded podcasts actually work—story-first, audience-first, emotionally honest content that just happens to be funded by a company—and how case studies consistently show that authenticity and subtle branding drive higher engagement and brand affinity. Then we drag over-branded, slogan-heavy shows that treat every episode like an ad, ignoring the advice from experts who say the magic is “from you, not about you. In this episode: Why the best branded podcasts feel like real shows, not campaigns. The difference between guardrails and muzzles in brand-safety. A brutal exercise to kill over-branding and add one risky, human move to your show. Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    8 min

  5. FEB 17

    The Danny Trejo Blueprint: Turning Your Worst Chapters Into Podcast Fuel

    You’re out here trying to build a pristine, “professional” podcast while the guys who actually win are the ones bleeding on the mic. In this episode of Your Mic, we steal a page from Danny Trejo’s life—heroin at twelve, armed robbery, San Quentin, then Machete and taco shops—and use it as a blueprint for turning your worst chapters into your show’s sharpest edge. You’ll hear how Trejo went from prison boxing champ to character actor and restaurateur by refusing to sanitize his past, and why your botched launches, flopped products, and face‑plant episodes are the exact raw material your listeners will trust most. Then we drag it straight into podcast land: how to mine your “bad” episodes for patterns, turn failures into recurring formats, and use your own rap sheet as the before‑picture for your audience. In this episode: The Trejo blueprint: addiction, prison, boxing, recovery, Runaway Train to Machete, then Trejo’s Tacos and beyond—and why he says everything good traces back to helping someone else.​ Why the ugliest parts of your business story (botched launches, public flops, brutal pivots) are the only truly proprietary assets your podcast has. How to treat failed episodes as a gym, not a morgue: mining low‑download shows for patterns, building new formats from “accidents,” and keeping your worst work live as proof you earned it.​ Life’s Task vs Personal Legend: what Robert Greene and Paulo Coelho would say about Trejo’s “cell to set” arc—and how your mic becomes the place you practice your own version in public.​ A 90‑day Trejo‑style playbook: naming your worst chapter, building a 3‑part mini‑series from it, adding a recurring “prison yard” segment, and stealing Trejo’s service‑first north star so your pain actually helps someone.​ For: Podcasters who are done pretending everything’s fine and are ready to turn their rap sheet—business, life, and back catalog—into an RSS feed people can’t stop coming back to. Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    14 min

  6. FEB 12

    Will You Die for Your Podcast?

    In this solo episode of Your Mic, Freddy rips the cute Hallmark wrapper off Valentine’s Day and drags you back to the third century—to a priest who got beaten and beheaded rather than betray what he believed. You’ll hear how Saint Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II by secretly marrying couples after a marriage ban and continuing to serve persecuted believers, leading to his execution around February 14. Then we translate that level of conviction into the podcast world: episodes that risk money, access, and popularity because you care more about the people you serve than the empire that profits from them. In this episode: The brutal, non-Hallmark version of Saint Valentine. The difference between a marketing channel and a mission. A step-by-step challenge to create an episode that actually costs you something. For: Hosts who are tired of playing it safe and suspect their show might be more religion than hobby.

    9 min

  7. FEB 10

    Using AI Without Losing Your Soul

    You’re not a factory. You’re a tastemaker. So why are you judging yourself for not being a one‑person production line with a ring light and a nervous system on fire? In this solo episode of Your Mic, we drag your AI guilt into the daylight and beat it with a mic stand. You’ll hear why nobody cares who normalized the waveform, what TV anchors and radio hosts know that podcasters forget, and how to treat AI like an invisible production team instead of a threat to your “purity” as a creator.​ We’ll also talk about the real reason AI makes you uncomfortable: not ethics, not robots, but ego. Because once the busywork excuse disappears, you’re left with one brutal question—do you actually have something to say or not?​ In this episode: Why you’re not a “realer” podcaster for doing everything yourself—and why that belief is burning you out, not building your show.​ The TV and radio reality: anchors and hosts don’t touch half the buttons you’re punishing yourself over. Listeners only care how you make them feel.​ A simple workflow for using AI as your invisible production team to turn one messy recording into show notes, clips, emails, and social content.​ The guilt and ego piece: how “It’s cheating to use AI” is often code for “I’m scared to run out of excuses.” Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    7 min

  8. FEB 5

    One Tiny Fish Can Fix Your Entire Podcast Process

    In this solo episode of Your Mic, Freddy goes underwater—literally—to talk about what a tiny Japanese pufferfish can teach you about preparation, obscurity, and playing the long game as a podcast creator. You’ll hear about the white‑spotted pufferfish that spends 7–9 days carving a 6–7-foot geometric “crop circle” in the sand to attract a mate, a ritual divers noticed in 1995 but didn’t attribute to the species until 2013. Then we drag that metaphor kicking and screaming into podcast land: outlines, scripts, obsessive editing, and what it means to keep building your circle when almost nobody’s watching. In this episode: Why a 3–5 inch fish is more committed to craft than most creators. The 18-year gap between “someone is making art” and “we know who the artist is,” and how that mirrors audience growth How to pick one “ridge” in your process to obsess over for the next 7–9 days. For: Podcasters who are sick of “quick hacks” and ready to become the kind of person who builds the damn circle anyway. Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

    8 min
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Your Mic is the no‑fluff, say‑the‑quiet‑part‑out‑loud podcast about podcasting for new, stuck, and almost‑quit hosts. Hosted by Speke Podcasting founder and 25‑year broadcast vet Freddy Cruz, it blends hard‑earned lessons, failures, and irreverent stories with sharp tactics you can actually use. Listen on your favorite podcast app!

Information

  • Creator
    Freddy Cruz
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    106
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Freddy Cruz
  • Show Website
    Your Mic