The Around the Nation podcast is usually not done like this, since Keith lives in the D.C. area and Pat in Minneapolis. But it's a podcast. It doesn't have to be.

By Pat Coleman

Keith McMillan and I started the Around the Nation Podcast on a whim back in September 2007. There have been changes over the years -- it's gotten longer, Pat has moved halfway across the country, and it's gone from being recorded in a bus shelter outside Keith's newspaper and on airport baggage carousels to being a mostly virtual production.

• 2013 Around the Nation podcast finale
• Pre-order Kickoff 2014!

This year after some soul-searching, we've realized there need to be some changes to the Podcast. We could ramble on forever and ever, but while there are a lot of hour-plus podcasts out there, we know not everyone has the time to listen to us talk for an hour. 

We'll endeavor to rein ourselves in, talk about the same amount of topics, but do it in a more succint way. You would think that considering both of us used to work at USA Today that we would be capable of keeping it short and to the point, but maybe we're out of practice!

While we won't go as far as to put a literal timer on ourselves, like Keith's (former?) Washington Post colleagues Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, the end result should be a little more fast-paced and I will interrupt Keith if necessary. Hopefully he'll do the same.

We look forward to an eighth season of the Around the Nation Podcast and hope you do, too!

There will be more related changes we'll talk about closer to the start of the season. Meanwhile, Keith and I are working our tails off on Kickoff 2014, so make sure to pre-order for the Aug. 26 release!