Glossary
What is a cold open in a podcast?
A cold open is starting the episode on content — a strong quote, the most dramatic moment, the question the episode answers — before the intro music and the "welcome to the show". It gives a listener a reason to stay in the first fifteen seconds, which is where a lot of listeners decide whether to keep going.
Television invented it; podcasts borrowed it because the first minute decides whether a new listener stays. The standard shape is: 20–40 seconds of the best moment, then the theme, then the normal intro.
To build one in Cast, cut the moment in the transcript and move it to the top — or record it separately — and place the intro music after it on the timeline. Ducking keeps the music under the voice wherever the two overlap.
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