Meet Simplecast Staff Software Engineer Sarah Frisk!

Where do you live?

I've been living in Maine since before it suddenly got cool to live here. I guess that makes me a hipster Mainer?

How long have you been working for Simplecast?

I've been working at Simplecast since December 2018.

What was the first podcast you listened to?

Probably Digital Llama Radio, a Star Wars fan podcast from the early 2000s back before they started calling them podcasts and instead called them Radio Shows. (You had to go to the physical site to listen, no RSS feeds for you). For more traditional podcasts (aka, they were starting to call them podcasts), it was probably Major Spoilers' Critical Hit podcast, which is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast.

What's the last podcast you listened to?

It was either ComicLab (https://comiclab.simplecast.com/) or MusicalSplaining (https://www.stitcher.com/show/musicalsplaining).  I pretty much listen to podcasts anytime I'm doing errands and those two are on my most common rotation right no.

What's your favorite thing to help Simplecast customers with?

I just really love making tools that make creative people's lives easier. Also honestly I just really love front end architecture/accessibility and could geek out about that all day.

What blog post/newsletter/youtube video/conference/etc has been the most inspiring or helpful to you?

Not podcast related, but comic related (another passion of mine): There was a really good symposium last year on making comics for the blind and low vision readers that was interesting .  I have my own comic I work on outside of work, and I tend to use it to explore how to make comics a more accessible space.

On a podcasting note, I absolutely loved the panel Caitlin Van Horn hosted at Podcast Movement last year on accessibility in podcasting and it gave me a lot of ideas on projects I would love to tackle.

Why did you start working in podcasting?

I've always been really into audio entertainment.  One of my favorite things to listen to as a kid was the Star Wars radio drama NPR did in the 80s and mid 90s, which naturally led to enjoying listening to podcasts (see first podcast I listened to).  I liked the idea of working on a product for creative people, and Simplecast seemed the perfect match. Also the tech stack looked really cool.

What are you most excited to see in the podcasting world in the next year?

I'm excited about some of the projects we have coming up for the Simplecast platform. I'm hoping people will like them!

What did you want to grow up to be when you were a little kid?

A ballerina and a bridge builder.  Not like a metaphorical bridge builder, I just wanted to build bridges.  I'm not sure why, I just have a very clear memory of telling my parents those were my career goals as a kid.

What skill are you trying to learn in 2022?

I've been trying to teach myself Japanese lately, which has been fun!  Also I have a bunch of home projects I want to do this year, so I've been working at getting better at home DIY projects and painting a room larger than closet (I like to practice on closets since if I mess up, only I will see it).