GREENFIELD — Chuck Fields has always been a space buff. So it’s no surprise that many of the episodes of “Online Coffee Break,” his weekly podcast, are space-related. Since he began in February of last year, he has interviewed astronomers, scientists, authors, movie producers and two young guys whose coffee blend is served on the international space station.
Fields’ interest in space grew out of a family tragedy. When he was 12, his older sister was diagnosed with leukemia. It was about that time that he asked for — and received — a telescope for Christmas.
“I don’t know if I was looking for her in the heavens,” he recalled, “but looking at the craters on the moon and the rings of Saturn helped me through that time.”
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Fields earned a degree in communications from Indiana University, and then taught himself coding in 1998 when his employer wanted a website for the business.
Currently, Fields’ day job centers around web application development through his own company called, naturally, Space Tech Corporation. With an office at the corner of State and Main in Greenfield, he works with clients all over Indiana.
Technology buff that he is, Fields had been a podcast listener for a few years before he got the idea to do one himself.
Together, with his wife Dawn, they came up with a name — “Online Coffee Break” — and some parameters for the podcast.
“I wanted a name that was generic enough to cover any subject,” Fields said, “I wanted to keep the episode short — about 15 to 20 minutes — just the amount of time for a coffee break. And I wanted to cover subjects so intriguing that people would say, ‘Oh, I want to listen to this.’”
Fields’ first few episodes focused on tech tips such as how to reduce the risk of cyber attack and how to create a customer-friendly website. A November 2017, episode featured an interview with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-enabled virtual assistant.
But Fields felt there was something missing. He’d grown frustrated with the negativity on social media and wanted to give people something positive to think about.
With that goal in mind, he drew from his love of space and managed to get an interview with Story Musgrave, a retired astronaut and the only astronaut to fly on all five space shuttles. He followed the Musgrave podcast by interviewing astronaut Scott Kelly, and from there, his listenership increased dramatically.
“We went from a hundred or less to a thousand in a single month,” Fields said.
In the six months since the back-to-back astronaut podcasts, “Online Coffee Break’s” audience has grown to more than 6,000 individual listeners across more than 50 countries.
He asks himself two simple questions in selecting his guests: What am I interested in, and what do I think would make a good program?
With that guiding philosophy, one of his early guests was Kari Byron from the scientific testing grounds of the “Mythbusters” television show as she promoted her new book “Crash Test Girl.”
He interviewed Gary Varvel, the award-winning editorial cartoonist, actor and screenwriter whose political cartoons have appeared in “The Indianapolis Star” for the past 30 years.
As a huge “Dukes of Hazzard” fan, he got to interview John Schneider — Bo Duke himself — for a conversation about Schneider’s television years and his ongoing successful music career.
He struck up a friendship during his interview with fellow software engineer-turned-author Andrew Weir. Weir authored the science-fiction suspense story “Artemis” and the book “The Martian,” which was turned into a movie starring Matt Damon.
The executive producers of the Netflix series “Lost in Space,” Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni were also guests on his program. The 2018 reboot of the 1960s TV show featured 10 new episodes of the Robinson family’s survival in hostile space when their ship is thrown off course.
What tricks does Fields have up his sleeve for procuring his guests?
“I ask very nicely,” he said.
Although many podcasts bring in revenue from advertisers, “Online Coffee Break” hasn’t reached that stage yet. But, Fields was quick to point out, it has opened several doors — including the invitation to take part in a NASA Social opportunity.
As a badge-carrying member of the media, Fields was able to take his audience on location to Cape Canaveral in Florida for the launch of the SpaceX CRS-15 Falcon 9 on its way to resupply the International Space Station. The visit included behind the scenes tours at the Kennedy Space Center, a meet-and-greet with NASA representatives and a chance to sit in on a NASA TV briefing.
Fields admits that his podcast is not the same as being there, but at 4 miles from the launch pad, it’s as close as you can get.
“The sound is unbelievable,” he said. “You can feel it rattle in your chest.”
Fields has plans to continue his podcast for a good long while yet, and has a list of ideas for future guests.
“I want to reach out to people who are signature-worthy,” he said, “that is, if I met them face to face, I would want their autograph. But if I can’t meet them face to face, then I get to share a conversation with them with all my friends. … Anyone who takes the time to listen to me, I consider my friend,” he said.
And Fields’ friend list grows longer with each download.
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A podcast is recorded programming that can be listened to on any electronic device. Podcasts differ from radio programs in that they can be downloaded and listened to on demand.
The word podcast derives from the words iPod and broadcast. Pod + cast = podcast. Although the word brings to mind the Apple iPod, podcasts can be listened to on any portable digital media player.
Anyone with something to say can create a podcast. According to podcastinsights.com, there are more than 525,000 podcasts comprised of more than 18 million episodes.
Podcasters usually pick a consistent theme or topic for their podcasts. The two men who host the “Men in Blazers” podcast discuss the international soccer scene. “The Dollop” features two guys who take turns sharing stories from American history. “My Favorite Murders,” hosted by two women, offers a comedic spin on true crime.
Podcast tend to be short – usually less than 30 minutes. A podcast series can run as long as its authors have something to say. The podcast series “This American Life” dates back to 1995 on National Public Radio.
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