I've heard many stories on the escape artists podcasts and one thing I noticed immediately when I started listening to podcastle was the poor sound of the host(s) mic and sometimes the readers as well. Usually it sounds like the intro was recorded 10-15 feet away in a very live room. Not every home can be a studio and top quality gear can be very expensive but just a little listening and asking around would probably solve this. I still and will listen through this to the incredible stories you offer but as a recording engineer it is sometimes painful for me to listen though.
Thanks and keep up the good work.