Bob LeMent Shares Tech Tales and Podcasting Pioneering Moments from Static Radio’s Origins

On this episode of My Guest Tonight, host Jeff Revilla sits down with an absolute legend in the world of podcasting: Bob LeMent. Bob is one of the original 50 podcasters, whose show Static Radio has been on the airwaves since the days when dial-up tones reigned and streaming was a tech pipedream.

Bob hails from Decatur, Illinois, but has called St. Louis home for the entirety of his podcasting journey. He’s the creative force behind Static Radio, a comedy show first conceived as a college radio program alongside co-host Miles. Over the decades, Bob has witnessed, and contributed to, podcasting's evolution—from landline phone recordings to MP3s, RSS feeds, and beyond.

Jeff and Bob take a deep dive into the history of podcasting. Bob shares how Static Radio began as a college experiment, morphing from an old-school radio show into a pioneering online broadcast. The duo discuss everything from hand-coding HTML websites and hosting audio files on company T1 lines, right up to making the shift to WordPress and podcast syndication. Bob offers insights into the technical challenges of the early days (think real audio formats and syncing iPods), as well as the community spirit that drove podcasting’s explosive growth.

The episode is packed with vintage anecdotes—like Bob’s memories of podcasting before the word “podcast” existed, being one of the first shows imported into iTunes, his foray into character animation, and the humorous ups and downs of landing a show sponsor (RIP pets.com!). The conversation also touches on how the podcast landscape has changed, why persistence matters, and Bob’s adventures with guest appearances and new creative experiments.

Whether you’re a podcast veteran, an indie creator, or just curious about how the medium came to be, this episode is a fun, insightful trip through two-and-a-half decades of podcasting history with a guest who’s truly been there for it all.

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