Someone who’s been in podcasting far longer than I have—after all, I only launched the first episode of Eating the Fantastic on February 10—has taken note of the file size for each of the first four episodes and suggested I begin uploading them in mono rather than stereo to save listeners from straining their bandwidth. The episodes so far, all stereo, have have ranged from 72-77 megabytes, and if they’d been mono, the file size would have been cut approximately in half.

I’ve been advised that those with capped data plans might be unwilling to download these files to their mobile devices for fear of maxing out on their monthly usage allowances, and I’d hate to lose out on potential listeners due to that. But my gut feeling is this file size won’t discourage downloads, as I assume everyone these days has access to wifi, which makes those monthly data plans not as much of a barrier as they once might have been.

As for the storage issue, I assume that others, like me, have podcast episodes deleted automatically once they’ve been listened to, so they won’t stack up and clog anyone’s phone.

The reason I don’t simply go ahead and shrink the files is because, having listened to both mono and stereo versions of the upcoming Episode 5—which will go live on April 1 and feature Carolyn Ives Gilman—I find the stereo version preferable to my ears, more filled with life, with a greater sense YOU ARE THERE to it. And yet—if potential listeners are put off by the file size, what good does that do?

Of course, there might be also be people who find the amount of ambient restaurant noise of the whole Eating the Fantastic concept distracting, and would be unwilling to put up with it regardless, but that I can’t help. That’s what this podcast is.

So what do you think about the state of podcasting today as it relates to optimal file size and the mono vs. stereo sound issue? I don’t want to be shooting myself in the foot by retaining stereo sound out of my own personal preference if the larger resulting file size keeps people away.

Any thoughts?