Ep 20 | How We’ve Changed
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Description
On this episode of Loose Change, I only felt the need to reflect on what I learned about podcasting from producing these last two seasons. I wanted to talk to you about what I learned about interviewing, editing, and endurance, just being able to follow through and complete the season. But this season didn’t go the way that I planned it, but probably because these last six months did not go the way that we planned it.
So today, on the second season finale of Loose Change, I want to celebrate you and me and us by reflecting a little bit on the journey to get this far. I’ll share a little bit on my thought process and the work process and what I see coming next and how you can be a part of it!
Full episode transcript
INTRO
On this episode of Loose Change, I only felt the need to reflect on what I learned about podcasting from producing these last two seasons. I wanted to talk to you about what I learned about interviewing, editing, and endurance, just being able to follow through and complete the season. But this season didn’t go the way that I planned it, but probably because these last six months did not go the way that we planned it.
Rather than just learning about podcasting, I ended up learning so much more about myself, and about you, and about people. For me, I learned that I could be stretched, pulled, beaten down and grown in ways that could only make sense in this crazy decade of 2020. I learned that you and I can be so much alike and so very very different. I learned that today is a great day to arrest the police officers that murdered Breyonna Taylor. I learned that words matter.
I did also learn a lot about podcasting.
So today, on the second season finale of Loose Change, I want to celebrate you and me and us by reflecting a little bit on the journey to get this far. I’ll share a little bit on my thought process and the work process and what I see coming next and how you can be a part of it!
Today, on Loose Change, Episode 20, How We’ve Changed!
HOW I’VE CHANGED AS A PODCASTER
When I first thought about season two, I knew that I wanted to interview people, I think I might have mentioned this to you before. But I don’t actually have much interviewing experience. I’ve done a little bit at work, but I’ve never had to come up with my own topic, my own questions or anything like that. And then managing the interview, keeping people on topic, keeping track of time, getting people comfortable, it was a lot to account for in the moment and that’s just from a content standpoint. On the production side, especially when doing the interviews remotely because of covid, I had to work on sound quality for myself and the person that I was interviewing. Recording. Editing. I had whole interviews that I couldn’t use because the sound on playback was terrible.
Pro-tip I got from Christine Job from the Flourish in the Foreign Podcast, have the interviewee record their own audio and send it to you! She records black women from literally around the world, so she should know.
Before I learned that, I recorded via Zoom because it lets you record each audio separately which is a huge help when editing. And then it saves directly to your computer.
There were quite a few things I picked up this season. I started learning how to use Adobe Audition to clean up the audio and piece together each episode. Derek’s coaching episode, “How to Deal” was the first Zoom interview that I worked on and I’m really proud of how it came out. Is it perfect? Ha! No. But it’s audible. And I think I cut down the content pretty well. That was another huge thing I had to learn, editing down content. Each interview lasted about an hour and I try to keep my episodes down to 20–30 minutes. That’s a lot of things that I have to leave out. So then it’s like, ok what single story am I trying to tell? What’s the goal? And then I listen for what doesn’t add to that story or goal. Then I listen for redundancies, tangents, things like that. And then if it comes down to it, I figure out what gaps can I fill in during the outro.
Yeah, it’s just been a lot to pick up in just over 10 weeks.
HOW I’VE SEEN LIFE CHANGE
But like I said, when I first thought about season 2, I knew I wanted to interview people. And I thought it was going to be about changes they were going through in their own lives.
I appreciate how open they were, like Moon speaking on how she was able to figure out who she was when she no longer felt tethered to where she came from. That was the first episode of the season “How to Move.” I loved hearing on the “How to Podcast” episode from the hosts of Derefinery on how motivated they were to jump into the world of podcasting, but how they wanted to stay true to themselves and speak openly to their generation. And I was perfectly happy continuing the season this way, bringing you relatable interviews about change.
But then we found out about Breyonna Taylor’s death. And Ahmaud Arbery died. And George Floyd died. And it was just too many things, too much tragedy, too much of the same old bullshit at once. And I couldn’t deal, I couldn’t process. Every time I would go to record a podcast, I felt like I was holding back and therefore lying about where I was at. Or I was a little too honest about currently unresolved issues and it became something that I couldn’t release to the public.
The tipping point was when I realised how many people around me were also dealing with one tragedy after another. I left work early because I kept crying at my desk. I was sick at dinner. And then I sat down to write the Grief episode, “How to Grieve Because It’s Okay to Grieve.” Fun fact, Oliver from Episode 19 edited the content of that episode. That one for me was deeply cathartic, but to be honest, I was a little hesitant to release it. Will it be helpful to anyone? Is it just self-indulgent? Am I saying everything that I need to? But the response was unexpected, it resonated with so many people around the world.
I think change and grief have that in common, it can be so broad and so unique to people. We mourn so many things in our lives. We are exposed to traumas that we aren’t prepared for. Our lives change and aren’t what they once were or how we planned them. And yet, we are forced to keep moving, keep producing, keep going.
So then it came to a point where I wanted to make sure, as much as it depended on me, that the support that I offered would help more than it hurt. That I wouldn’t advise someone on how to lift themselves out of their trauma. That I wouldn’t rush their processing. That I would listen instead of trying to solve their problems. Because, deeply that was the care I wanted to receive. And as much as I had friends that offered just that, I had more people offer the opposite.
And that’s how the “Don’t Ask Me If I’m Okay,” episode was born. It was made up of stories that I was hearing, conversations I was having with family and friends and my own personal experience with well-meaning people not fully appreciating what they were asking for. It was hard, there were multiple recordings because I wanted to be careful about the delivery. There were references that I refused to explain because Google exists. As in my feelings as I was in that episode, I was careful about my word choice while staying true to the message. Because one thing I realise about this collective season that we are all in is that it is a season of learning. People are listening and learning and acting on what they’ve learned. And we are not all required to speak at this time. But if we so chose, we don’t have to be 100% right, but we do have to speak from our truth and with love. So I wanted to be sure that I was speaking from the experience of this black woman named Deanna, wife to a black husband, mother to two black girls, graphic designer, podcaster, black science-fiction reader, griever, lover, cryer, absolutely not a hugger, follower of Christ, woman full of fear but is doing it anyway. I wanted to speak from her experience and what she sees around her and what she has learned from the brilliant people she has read from and come in contact with.
It turned out that by the end of the season, we were able to offer our expertise, our hearts and our personal experiences. And for that I am eternally grateful. Dear Listener, we made this season for you.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
And here we are, the end of the second season. So, what’s next for me and the Loose Change Podcast? Now that I’ve reached 20 episodes, now that I’ve kept that promise to myself, I can start putting more behind it. I’ll be buying a new, professional microphone to use. I’m thinking about making a destination, like a website or a Patreon where you can get bonus content, resources and leave feedback, maybe start a conversation. I’ll work more on marketing and promotions so that I can reach more listeners. You, dear listener, are wonderful and very dear to me. I want to reach more people like you.
As far as content, there will definitely be a third season. During this break, I will be researching and working on my production process. Honing my interview techniques. Getting more of my friends in to meet you. I have to tell you, I have absolutely amazing friends that I just know you are going to love.
While all this is happening, I’ll put out a few bonus episodes, content that didn’t make it to main episodes because of length but are just gems that do not deserve to stay on the cutting room floor.
I feel like… I picked a very hard but really relevant topic for this podcast. And I’ll be honest, I don’t think I have a very clear vision for Loose Change, yet. But I hold on loosely to that “yet.” There’s power in the word “yet” if you take it seriously. For me, it means, I’m actively working towards it. That will be one of the most important things I work on during this break, what is the vision for this podcast on change?
Dear Listener, I want you to know that I’ve made this podcast for you. Because you are going through change. Because change is so broad and so unique to each of us. Because change can feel terrifying, exciting and overwhelming. Because I’m going through it, too. So like I’ve said from the beginning, let’s go through change together.
I want to give you a special thank you to David, Moon, Derek, Clare, Christine, Nsikan, Julianne, Yvette, Aria, Oliver, Anne, Sherry, Justin, Emmanuella and everyone who helped make this season possible.
And thank you for listening to season 2 of Loose Change.
As we move into the next season, here are 5 things you can do to support the podcast.
The most valuable thing you can do is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform you are listening on right now. If it doesn’t have a rating system, head over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and review there.
You can also follow the podcast on Instagram @loose_change_pod.
You can subscribe! That’s big! You can subscribe so you always know when a new episode is coming!
You can send feedback, let me know which episode has been your favorite so far or share your own experiences with change at the brand new Loose Change email. Send your thoughts to TodayOnLooseChange@gmail.com
And finally... You can share the podcast with your friends and family. Share it on social media, tell people about it, especially if you see they are going through change too.
Okay? Cool. This has been great and I’m really looking forward to talking to you again soon. Love you. Bye!
