Podcasting from the ‘nerd cave’

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Naugatuck resident and host of the Super Duper Nerd Squad Podcast Jay Labansky adjusts the sound prior to the recording of an episode of the podcast last month. –LUKE MARSHALL
Naugatuck resident and host of the Super Duper Nerd Squad Podcast Jay Labansky adjusts the sound prior to the recording of an episode of the podcast last month. –LUKE MARSHALL

NAUGATUCK — A group of friends has begun broadcasting a podcast on all things nerdy from the borough.

“I know podcasts have been around for quite a while but I only just recently got into them,” said Jay Labansky of Naugatuck.

Dubbed the “nerd cave,” Labansky’s basement is filled with comic books and movies and a poster of The Avengers hangs in on the wall. It is also the recording space for the Super Duper Nerd Squad Podcast, which has been broadcasting every two weeks for the last three months.

Labansky was introduced to podcasts by listening to The Talking Dead, a podcast that comes on after the AMC show, “The Walking Dead,” and The Nerdist, a podcast by BBC America.

“I thought, wow, these things are great. I should be listening to these all the time, to which then I was like, I could be doing this. This is easy,” Labansky said.

Labansky with the help of his friends decided to start their own podcast to discuss their views on all things nerdy.

Along the way April Harris, a former Naugatuck resident who now lives in Thomaston, joined in the fun.

“Jay had sent me a message on Facebook and said, ‘Hey, one of my friends and I are doing a podcast and we might need your technical expertise.’ Then later than night he emailed me again and said, ‘Hey do you want to join us and be our third host,’” Harris said.

The topics for the podcasts stem from the group’s everyday conversation.

“It kind of just works conversationally. Something we say is funny or something rings a bell and afterwards we say we should touch on that next. So it comes pretty easily,” Labansky said.

During episode two, “Spoilers,” the group talked a little about movies from the 1980s. They decided since it was a topic they new a lot about, they would dedicate a whole episode to the topic. That became the basis for episode three, 1980s movies.

After spending the first half of the typically two-hour-long podcasts discussing what ever subjects tickle their fancy, the remaining time is taken up by three segments: what is “cheesing” them off, what they are digging and what they are endorsing.

The first segment is the opportunity for the group to vent about something that is “cheesing” them off or annoying them. During a recent podcast taping, what was “cheesing” off Labansky was how someone responded to an ad for a couch he was giving away but didn’t come to pick it up.   

What Labansky has been digging or enjoying lately is the television show “Doctor Who.”

The podcast wraps up with everyone giving their quick endorsements of whatever they’re a fan of at the time and Harris always gives a fan-fiction recommendation.

The logo for the Super Duper Nerd Squad Podcast sums up the fun-loving nature of the show. 

Labansky designed a logo for the podcast, a pair of underwear with the podcast’s name written on the waistband. The logo is a tribute to both nerds and superheroes.

“You have the nerds in elementary school who have their names on their underwear and then you have the superheroes with the underwear over their costume,” Labansky said.

Over the past three months, the group has settled into a pattern for the show and has become more comfortable producing the podcast.  

“In the first episode, even though it’s a mic and nobody is watching you, you’re kind of real nervous,” Labansky said. “I feel like things are definitely getting better and it’s easier to talk.”

Labansky said the group has also become better at reading and feeding off one another.

“I feel that we have come together more. I feel like we’ve been able to read each other better,” Labansky said.

The Super Duper Nerd Squad doesn’t see an end to their podcasts anytime soon and will continue broadcasting as long as it remains fun. The podcast is available on iTunes, stitcher.com, and libsyn.com.  

“I would definitely like it to continue and if it turned into something better and bigger, that would be great too. I say as long as it is fun and we enjoy doing it, we’ll keep going,” Labansky said.