This is an evolving list of the tools and services we use to create and manage Spotlight On and its related properties. We may earn a commission if you purchase services through any of the links here.
This website is hosted on, with CMS provided by, Podpage. We use the Granite template, with no custom CSS. Podpage also manages our guest release process and forms.
User comments on this website are powered by Disqus.
Website analytics are provided by Google Analytics.
Email newsletter services are provided by Mailchimp.
Donations are processed by Ko-fi.
Products in our store and guest gifts are printed and fulfilled by Printify.
The podcast is hosted and distributed globally by Acast. Acast also provides native analytics around podcast usage and consumption.
Guest scheduling and related task automation is handled by Calendly.
CRM services related to guests and their contacts provided by HubSpot.
Remote podcasts conducted over and recorded by Zoom. We have a Zoom One Pro subscription license. The Zoom client is set as follows:
- Zoom background noise removal is on
- Background noise suppressions set to Auto
- A separate audio file is recorded for each participant
- Participants name are displayed in the recording
- A timestamp is added to each recording
Zoom audio is recorded locally to a 13-inch, 2017 Apple MacBook Pro running Ventura 13.6.6.
Host audio is recorded on a Blue Yeti USB microphone by Logitech.
Episode liners, host-read spots and most in-person interviews are recorded in Apple's GarageBand.
We use an Audio Technica ATR1200-USB when an additional external microphone is needed.
Headliner.app is used for creating promotional assets for YouTube and other social media outlets.
Social media automation and cross-platform posting handled by Publer.
Internal team workflow managed in and documents shared through Google Docs and Google Drive.
Statement on AI usage:
The team at Spotlight On uses these AI tools in support capacities while producing and distributing the podcast.
- Descript for audio-to-text transcription and certain video editing services
- Anthropic's Claude 3 Opus for transcription clean-up, drafting show notes and episode titles
- Zoom's AI Companion product is engaged to send us an AI summary of each interview which includes a capsule description of the entire discussion as well as a paragraph on every major theme discussed. As of this writing the output is not usable
From time-to-time we experiment with other AI tools for workflow tasks but none have been incorporated at this time.
At this time, we do not use AI to create episode introductions, guest questions or any other content heard in the podcast. We have used episode titles generated by AI or based on AI suggestions.
As AI begins to be deployed natively or in the background to other applications we use, there may be instances where an AI system is providing a support or other service that we are not actively aware of engaging with.
We do not willingly or knowingly make Spotlight On available as training content for any AI system but it is unclear to us how the tools, platforms and systems we use handle AI training, nor is it clear how all of the outlets Spotlight On is available through do. We believe rights holders / owners should be compensated for the use of their work in training AI but as of this writing this is not a settled matter in the AI ecosystem.
Spotlight On Credits:
- Lawrence Peryer, Executive Producer and Host
- Michael Donaldson, Producer
- Q-Burns Abstract Message, Theme Music
- Craig Snyder, Producer Emeritus
The roster of contributors to Bonus Tracks, the official blog of Spotlight On, can be found at the bottom of the home page to this site.