About Nerd & Tie
Nerd & Tie is a Wisconsin based collective of independent creators producing original podcasts, shows, books, and other media. From actual play to true crime to witchcraft, Nerd & Tie has been creating original media since 2013 serving every corner of geeky interests.
We are independent, our content is creator owned, and we do this for the love of it.
Who are Nerd & Tie?
Nerd & Tie is run off the contributions of a number of people. This is the current list of people producing content for the site.
The Nerd & Tie “Core” Team:
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Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Celeste Startwin – bsky / tum / yt / patreon Gen Prock – twt / etsy |
Show Hosts:
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The Nerd & Tie Podcast: Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Celeste Startwin – bsky / tum / yt / patreon Gen Prock – twt / etsy BS-Free Witchcraft: Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Hex Positive: Bree NicGarran – twt / ig / www / patreon Celeste is Best: Celeste Startwin – bsky / tum / yt / patreon On This Day With Trae: Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Cool & Unusual Punishment: Jodie Haas – fb / ig Tyler Haas – fb / ig Pour Man’s History: Jodie Haas – fb / ig Tyler Haas – fb / ig 2BWTT: Sean Corse – bsky / www / patreon “Vinnk” – bsky / www / patreon |
Stormwood & Associates: Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Celeste Startwin – bsky / tum / yt / patreon Gen Prock – twt / etsy Becca Johnson – bsky Let’s Be Legendary: Cris Sass-Council – bsky / patreon Megzie Sass-Council – bsky / patreon Molly Hexcroft – bsky / patreon Jes Richards – bsky / patreon Chris Johnson – bsky / patreon The Meatgrinder: Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Gen Prock – twt / etsy Becca Johnson – bsky Crysta C Amy Quinlan Celeste Startwin – bsky / tum / yt / patreon Scott Logan – twt Sean Corse – bsky / www / patreon Famicom Dojo: Sean Corse – bsky / www / patreon “Vinnk” – bsky / www / patreon Casual Trek: Charlie Etheridge-Nunn – bsky / Ko-fi Miles Reid-Lobatto – bsky / Ko-fi |
Authors:
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Trae Dorn – bsky / tum / www / patreon Charlie Etheridge-Nunn – twt / Ko-fi Bree NicGarran – twt / ig / www / patreon |
Other Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Where are you guys based?
A. Nerd & Tie is proudly a Wisconsin based podcast network, and come from all corners of the state. For the main Nerd & Tie crew, Trae lives in Eau Claire, Celeste is in Janesville, and Gen in Stevens Point.
Most of our hosts are based out of Wisconsin, but as the network has grown there are a few exceptions now. And before you say “Well Casual Trek is so British” I will remind you that Miles has been living in Wisconsin for over a decade, and even though he hasn’t lost his accent, he’s one of us now whether he likes it or not.
Q. I’m an individual, and I’m interested in supporting a Nerd & Tie show. How can I?
A. Individuals interested in helping support our shows should head over to our sponsorship page for more information. Some of our shows can be directly sponsored, while others can be supported through Patreon.
Q. I represent a business and I am interested in advertising on one of your podcasts. Who should I talk to about purchasing ad space?
A. Companies interested in sponsoring podcast episodes are welcome to reach out to us at tips@nerdandtie.com or directly to Trae Dorn at trh@trhonline.com. Ads are handled differently for different shows, so they will put you in contact with the correct person. Since Nerd & Tie heavily reports on conventions, as policy we do not accept sponsorships from conventions or convention venues.
All advertising directly on our website is handled by Google Adsense, and we do not run any other advertising on the site. Nerd & Tie does not run sponsored posts, so do not contact us about it.
Q. What’s the difference between an “In-House” and a “Partner” projects?
A. Nerd & Tie is a combination of creative projects owned and created by Nerd & Tie itself (“in-house”) and creative projects produced by independent creators (“partners”).
In-house (or “Internally Produced”) projects like The Nerd & Tie Podcast, Stormwood & Associates, The Meatgrinder, BS-Free Witchcraft, and On This Day With Trae are made directly by Nerd & Tie and production is paid for by the network. Hosts have a stake in these shows, but so does the network itself.
Partner (or “Externally Produced”) projects like Cool and Unusual Punishment, Casual Trek, Celeste is Best, Let’s Be Legendary, Hex Positive, and Famicom Dojo are independently produced shows wholly owned by their creators.
From the listener perspective, there is no difference between these shows. The distinction is purely based on who’s footing the bill for production. While being a part of the network, partner shows agree to abide by the policies of Nerd & Tie and our values. We stand behind these shows, and they are equally a part of the Nerd & Tie team.
A party’s no fun if your friends aren’t there.
Q. Can I join your network?
A. To be completely honest, probably not? We’re pretty selective about who we work with, and every current member was selected and approached by our core team. People and projects that are a part of our network need to reflect our values and ideals. That said, it can’t hurt to ask I guess. You never know.
But again, probably not.
Q. Will Nerd & Tie come to [INSERT CON NAME]?
A. We might! If the con is in or near Wisconsin there’s a good chance at least one of us is walking around. Outside of that area it’s a bit more rare, but if your event is interested in having Nerd & Tie (or Nerd & Tie creators) show up, you should run on over to our Nerd & Tie @ Cons page and reach out to us with the contact information there.
Q. I heard you were being sued?
A. Unfortunately, yes. Convention runner Ryan Kopf, who operates a number of events including Anime-Zap!, AniMinneapolis, Anime Midwest, QC Anime-zing!, Con Alt Delete, Meta Con, Yoi Con, Kanpai!Con, and Liberty City Anime, sued Nerd & Tie owner Trae Dorn and former contributor Pher Sturz twice. Thankfully, both cases were dismissed. You can find the full details, including the case filings, over on our Lawsuit Info Page.
Q. What equipment do you use?
A. In our years of producing shows, our equipment has evolved and changed tremendously.
A variety of microphones are used by different show hosts. None of these should be seen as endorsements, but we could give you some examples. Trae Dorn and Gen Prock currently use an Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB/ATR2100X-USB mics. Celeste Startwin, Becca Johnson, and “Vinnk” all currently use Blue Snowball microphones. The Let’s Be Legendary team uses a Blue Yeti. Bree NicGarran of Hex Positive uses a Yanmai SF-777 currently, and Jodie Haas and Tyler Haas use Shure SM58s.
Sean Corse uses a mysterious unlabeled dynamic XLR microphone whose origin is unknown to any living person and frankly we’re all a little bit scared of it.
Q. I heard you guys had a convention?
A. We did! With the help of some of our friends, the Nerd & Tie Expo took place September 23-25, 2016 in Eau Claire, WI. Unfortunately due to a litany of issues (including the venue getting torn down) we didn’t schedule a second one. Will we run another one? Probably not! But, like, never say never.
Q. Comments policy?
A. Comments policy!
Q. I have a question you didn’t answer!
A. Then hop on over to the contact page and ask it.