Trixie’s List Interview with Mat Zucker of Cidiot

Cidiot just celebrated its 100th podcast episode and fifth year! Congratulations!

Trixie’s List: Why did you decide to go into podcasting, and not a blog or another medium? Why the topic of ‘Cidiots’?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: My first job after college was as an advertising copywriter writing radio commercials so I developed an early love of audio. When the first wave of podcasting got started, I started a show for Johnson & Johnson about two teenage girls and got hooked on the format. It was much harder to produce shows then though and far fewer listeners. When I wanted to journal my experiences moving out of the city, my instinct was to write a blog but it felt like there were so many blogs already and podcasting tools had gotten so much easier to use, audio seemed like a good way to breakthrough and experiment. I liked this topic since you need to speak from an expertise and find an unmet need versus something someone else is already doing. I didn’t see anyone advocating for the area and candidly confronting the challenge of being new and playing into the stereotype. I was, and still am, also hoping that locals and people with more tenure here would get a kick out of the self-criticism and parody.

Trixie’s List: Share with us some of your favorite moment(s) with Cidiot.

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: I like the interviews because the show has been a great way to meet people, whether it’s a farmer, a shop owner, a local politician, or a creative person. In a recent episode with the folks who run Gulden Farm I loved talking about cows and with Ulster Eateries Unfiltered, had a bunch of laughs with Jason who runs that popular foodie group. But I also like just rambling about my experiences, which tend to be shorter in length, but fun for me, and I hear people think they’re funny. Creating the Cidiot anthem (an abbreviated version is at the beginning and end of every episode; the full song is on YouTube as a video) was the most fun I’ve had in a decade. I’m a vain person, so winning an award for the show is also a thrill, and every now and then, I’ll be in a store or talking to someone, and a stranger will recognize my voice!

Trixie’s List: Do you feel you are making a difference in people’s lives? How?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: At minimum, I hope I’m helping people not be cidiots and learn to acclimate to a new place. Beyond that, I hope I’m encouraging more people to experience the Hudson Valley whether it’s visiting for a weekend or moving here full or part-time. What makes a difference to me is when I feed my curiosity asking about the world (including its animals) around me and hopefully others get something out of that too. I really hope I help just a few visitors not be schmucks in Range Rovers and a few locals be a bit more generous with outsiders showing up to be a part of the place. It’s good PR for everybody.

Trixie’s List: When you lived in NYC, did you often visit the Hudson Valley? What made you decide to move upstate?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: Not really, I’m Jersey-bred and was a die-hard Manhattanite for 20-plus years. Brian [Mat’s husband] and I would visit his parents in the Berkshires and then they moved to the eastern side of Columbia County where they are now. The river towns, including Hudson and Kingston, and the Catskills were foreign to me. That’s why I often do episodes about other places across the region like Newburgh, Catskill Park and even as far north as Saratoga because I’m still learning about it all. I became a Dutchess County Certified Tourist Ambassador (CTA) which makes me almost legit.

Trixie’s List: What would you tell the NYC resident who is thinking of moving upstate? Would that advice be different if the person was from California? Or from anywhere else? Would you still suggest the Hudson Valley today?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: First of all, learn to drive. You won’t believe how many people don’t until they come up here. Several listeners have suggested I do an episode about that. The communities are so different in services, people, transportation, and beauty, so I recommend finding your town with my 10-3-1 method (explained in Episode 2). Be prepared to make an effort whether it’s do-it-yourself repairs or making friends. Get used to bugs, dirt and animal smells. For me it’s the contrast of city to country versus the Hudson Valley since it’s all I know. The Hudson Valley is marketed as one place, but it’s really multiple subregions on both sides of the river.

Trixie’s List: What would you tell someone thinking of doing a podcast?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: There are more than three million podcasts in the US already. Do you want to compete with all that? It’s fun sure, but it’s also a commitment if you want to build an audience of more than ten people. But if you’re determined, work on your concept and storyline before jumping into production and then get the technical side either self-taught or hire a pro. Bad audio quality ruins the listener experience. After several years of self-editing, I finally hired an editor, a student at SUNY New Paltz, who’s already done wonders with the editing, sound and mixing. The name is also tricky. Cidiot is easy to find on podcast search engines because it’s a fairly unique word. My other podcast about marketing careers, Rising, is impossible to find because there are hundreds of shows with that word in their titles.

Trixie’s List: If you could go back in time four years ago, what advice would you give yourself regarding podcasting? What advice would you give yourself about upstate living?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: I would have spent more time on the audio quality on early episodes. If you listen to show you know I’m useless with a wrench or even a minor repair. I should have spent more time on YouTube learning how to do some basics. It’s more challenging than you think to find and hire people to do smaller jobs. There’s delays because of weather and too few handyfolk for too much demand.

Trixie’s List: Are you having fun?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: Of course. Every time it starts to become a chore, I think about giving it up and then I meet someone or learn something, and I’m re-inspired. One of Cidiot’s brand principles is “Funny as a goat,” which means poking fun at ourselves and the human reality of growing through crazy new experiences. The only time I haven’t is occasional backlash from someone who hates the term and lashes out mean-spirit-wise but that’s part of doing anything interesting, I expect it, and try to laugh it—and them—off when it very occasionally happens. Haters are losers.

Trixie’s List: How do people listen to the podcast? How can they get in touch with you?

Mat Zucker, Cidiot: Cidiot is on nearly every major podcasting platform (Apple, Spotify, Goodpods, Castbox, etc.) or you can links to it or even play through Cidiot.com website. There’s a contact form on the website where people email me with ideas for the show, sponsorship inquiries, feedback, or even just to say hi. There’s a free newsletter sign up form too. I always give suggestions on places I like and I’m grateful when people let me know if they tried them or not.

Listen to Cidiot wherever you listen to podcasts:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cidiot/id1427547655?mt=2&ls=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52j2GNa0xCR2TXk6Di8xzR
PocketCasts: https://pca.st/269e
Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/cidiot-200287
Via the website: https://www.cidiot.com/