About

Hi, my name is Steve Swanson, and I’m the host and producer of The MuppetCast.

I’ve been a fan of podcasting for a long time now, and creating The MuppetCast for Muppet fans and admirers of Jim Henson has been one of the most personally rewarding experiences of my life. This show tries to embody the hallmarks of Jim Henson’s work, both in Muppet projects and in his other endeavors; presenting shows and telling stories that are interesting, funny, sometimes a little sentimental, and always a little bit silly. Whatever we’re covering, we try to make sure we’re having fun doing it.

The MuppetCast is an idea that came to me while sitting in a hot tub on a cold morning in Beavercreek, OH. Hot tubs on a cold morning are always great, I suggest you try it if you haven’t. I had just recently returned from a vacation in which I got to meet some of my heroes in the radio entertainment business, and got to watch a nationally-syndicated show done live for a few days in the Bahamas. And now here I was, soaking in a hot tub while it snowed outside (again, just try it), and thinking to myself “Self, you need to get more involved with podcasting.” I’m not a radio professional, but I know quite a lot about audio and video production, so a week later I made the first episode of The MuppetCast.

I’d also never run a blog before. Websites yes, but not a blog. Wordpress is wonderful, I found. This website is driven by Wordpress, and I absolutely love what it’s capable of. If you find yourself wanting to set up a website, and want something easy and fast, try it! The majority of what you see on this website is the result of hours of programming by people who create the individual widgets that together make up muppetcast.com. As I learned about how the WordPress engine works, I’ve been lucky in picking just the right widgets to make this site very easy to use. Wouldn’t you agree?

Along with being a podcaster, I’m a musician, computer programmer, and web designer. I love being able to sing and play on the podcast every now and then, in the MuppetCast Unplugged segments. One of the nice things about being proficient with audio production is the ability to put together what I feel are some very nice renditions of Muppet, Fraggle, and Sesame Street songs as a tribute to the people who made them in the first place. Many of the songs I include in these segments are songs that I’ve grown up with and loved all my life, and the unique ability to thank these people with my own version of their work is a huge thrill!

I hope you enjoy what I feel is the most unique online tribute to Jim Henson and his life’s work that exists on the web. This podcast began as my simple idea, but it has grown and continues to grow because of the wonderful and ongoing support of Jim Henson’s fans worldwide. I always welcome listener feedback, so please feel free to email me at me@muppetcast.com, or call me at 614-364-4270 (the voice line of the podcast).

And now as they say, “It’s time to play the music, It’s time to light the lights…”

Enjoy!

–Steve