@willhopkins I have a few tips both as a music and discussion podcaster:
1) Get a quiet space and mic everyone in the conversation. You can sort of get by with a room-based microphone but if everyone is mic'ed then it works so much better.
2) Keep your intro music short. No more than 20 seconds tops.
3) Release in mono. Some folks don't hear in stereo so splitting to make a "Table" effect doesn't work for them.