Narrator Spotlight: Nick Podehl

By day, Nick Podehl gives voice to a multitude of characters that heretofore only existed on the page. By night he balances time as husband, dad, and amateur armchair general. His castle stands proudly in The Mitten State where he hopes for snow each and every day. View the impressive Podium Audio catalog that Nick has built up over the years on his performer page.

As is tradition, we asked Nick some unique questions to really get to know him.

Q. If you could transform into an animal at will, which animal would it be?
I would very much like to transform into my Husky, Grayson. I think for no other purpose than to see what it would be like to see life from his perspective. He clearly has thoughts going on behind those ice-blue eyes so I think it would be an interesting head to be in. He has an insane vertical leap, layers upon LAYERS of fur to insulate from cold, gnashing cat-teeth, and blunt force impacts from our other dog. I just think it would be fun to experience life the way he does.

Q. What kind of futuristic technology would be the most useful to your life and why?
Time dilation! Oh how I wish I had more time in each day. More time to get caught up on the back-log of recording that needs to get done. More time to play games and have dance parties with my girls. More time to paint my wargame miniatures and make terrain. So many things I could get done if I could just slow time down and speed it up at will.

Q. If you could enter any fictional universe right now, what universe would it be?
Middle-Earth. I would love to see the creation of the world as Tolkien described in The Silmarillion. I guess, it would be more accurate to say that I wish I could “hear” the creation of the world.

Q. If you were to have a supervillain alter-ego, what would this alter ego’s name be?
Hans the Herald of Destruction! Using my subliminal vocal abilities, I would charm the masses into heeding my every command. Hear my voice and tremble, oh you masses!!!
My middle name is actually Hans, so there is genesis of that one.

Q. Sweets or spicy food?
Sweet, as long as it is chocolate. Who has two thumbs covered in chocolate? This guy!

Q. If you could teleport yourself anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
Ideally somewhere tropical. I love the sea-breeze. There is something about the salt-kissed air that just makes my soul happy.

Q. Name something that is totally useless but you love it anyway.
LED accent lighting. There is no real purpose for it, but my goodness do I like the way it looks.

Q. Which celebrity would you want to be your best friend?
Steven Colbert. He makes me laugh on a regular basis, but I also feel like I could have deep and meaningful conversations with him sprinkled in among the hilarity.

Q. Did you ever have a childhood celebrity crush? Who was it?
I was in love with Gadget from Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. She checked all the boxes when I was younger: Cute, funny, and so stinkin’ smart!

Q. What is a new hobby or skill you’ve picked up during the lockdown?
I can’t believe I finally drank the over-priced Kool-Aid but WarHammer 40k. My friends have been chipping away at me and I finally broke down and bought a starter box of Tyranids and I am LOVING magnetizing and assembling them. Now I just need to paint them!

Q. What is your most unusual talent?
My ability to make miniature terrain for war games. I love working with small scale natural terrain and buildings. It is my favorite part of the hobby.

Q. What is your signature dance move?
Embarrassing my wife and daughters.

Q. Do you have a favorite mythical creature? What is it?
I have always been fascinated with Dragons. I hope they do exist and that they are just smarter than us which is why we have no proof of their existence.

Q. What is your favorite rarely-used or unique word? What does it mean?
Superfluous. It means Not necessary, especially through being more than enough. Not really all that rare, but I don’t hear it much these days. It is part of one of my favorite sayings I heard growing up. “My sufficiency is suffonsified, any more would be superfluous.” Meaning, I am full.

Q. What is your least favorite color and why?
Puce. I think it sounds too much like puke. I also do not care for the look of the color. According to Wikipedia, it is the color of bloodstains on sheets left over from the droppings of fleas… why do we need a color for that?

Recently, Nick joined Podium’s very own Victoria Gerken and author Robert W. Ross to discuss their recent audiobook Paradigm 2045.