What to Expect

The Clio Dialogues isn't a traditional "tell me about your new book" interview. It is a conversation-style podcast that brings historical scholarship to a broader public audience. Our conversation will generally begin with a contemporary question or issue before we explore the history.

Think of the experience less as delivering prepared remarks or chapter-by-chapter summaries and more as having a thoughtful conversation with an interested colleague.

It will be perfectly fine to pause, think, or change direction during the conversation. Those moments often make for the most engaging interviews.

If you would like to see an example, please check out a previous episode.

 

A Few Helpful Tips

  • There's no need to prepare a formal presentation.
  • Feel free to answer naturally rather than trying to give "perfect" responses.
  • If you'd like to rethink an answer, simply say so. We can pause and start again.
  • The interview is prerecorded and edited, so minor stumbles will disappear in editing.

 

Joining the studio

  • Choose a quiet, well-lit room
  • Silence phones and notifications
  • Close unnecessary programs and browser tabs
  • Use wired headphones or wired earbuds (required)
  • Join from a laptop or desktop (Chrome, Edge, or Safari)
  • Click the link to the studio and do the following (see image below)

FAQs

What software will we use to record the interview?

  • We will use Riverside, a browser-based recording studio. You can find the link in your appointment confirmation email. For ease of access, I'll send another email with the link a couple hours before we meet.

How long will our meeting last?

  • We will meet for one hour. 

What if my internet drops or my image appears fuzzy during recording?

  • Riverside captures your recording directly to your device. In the process, the locally captured audio and video tracks progressively upload to the cloud. For this reason, it is imperative that your browser remain open for a few minutes after we stop recording. The end result is typically a high quality recording.
  • That said -- the image will only be as good as your device's camera is able to capture. So, if you have a choice between devices, choose to use the one with the higher quality camera resolution. 

In what format will the episode air?

Will I be able to use a virtual background?

  • No. Virtual backgrounds can introduce distracting visual glitches, things like flickering edges and mysteriously vanishing body parts. On the other hand, a bookcase, artwork, or a tidy, uncluttered room creates a more natural and engaging setting.

What happens if I have a problem while trying to log in?

  • I will be monitoring my email until you are logged in to the studio. If you have any issues, just let me know by replying to one of the emails I've sent you.