A Podcast with Family

What if you could hear stories from people who are close to you that you have never heard before?

It's easier than you think!

I recently took a stab at creating my first podcast and invited my parents to be my special guests.

Going into the recording, I prepped for the conversation as if I was a professional podcaster with a big name celebrity on the show! I wanted to focus on topics that I didn't know much about in their life. We ended up spending two hours chatting about what they were like as students, their career paths, character traits of their parents, and what they admire most about each other...and of course, a lot of fun surprises along the way. Here are ten of my favorite learnings:

1. I knew my mother got into politics when I was 11, but I didn't know why. "The incumbent had said a lot of hurtful things that year. He was not representing our ward and he was very biased. So I took out papers and frankly, that surprised a lot of people. I started walking the streets, meeting people. At one point, during the campaign, the incumbent came up to me and said 'you don't have a chance.' I shrugged him off and wished him well...and...well, I ended up crushing him."
2. I learned my mom was not afraid to dissent. Towards the end of her career, she was the lone vote in an 10-1 vote against reducing the number of elementary schools and then a few years later, she was the only person that took on the YMCA Board when there was a horrific crime on their premises. "It's not about winning an election or being the popular person in the room. It's about taking a strong stand for what is right."
3. On their favorite teachers growing up: My mom shared, "Mr. Gilgrist. He saw something in me that other teachers didn't - that I liked math and science. He gave me the confidence to pursue education past high school." My dad, confirming we are from Boston, shared a story of a teacher who whacked his whole class on the wrists with a "yahhd stick," but then laughed about the prank the students pulled the next day. He respected his firm discipline combined with a great sense of humor.
4. After college, my dad taught English for twelve years and he loved to make it fun: "Before exams, we would set up the classroom like a hockey game. The three forwards would quiz the two students playing defense about the book. If they couldn't answer the question, the goalie had a chance to make the save. The kids loved playing the game and they didn't want to let each other down, so they studied harder than usual."
5. Both my parents went through various stints of working multiple jobs 7 days a week. I am forever grateful.
6. On pursuing new ideas: "As long as the idea impacts a few people positively, it is an idea worth pursuing."
7. Their favorite quotes: My mom shared, "If you're not one up, you're one down" (a witty one liner passed down by her father) and my dad referenced "A day without laughter is a day not worth living."
8. When I asked about their parents' character traits, my dad's mom was "the life of the party" and my dad's dad was "quiet, hard working and full of integrity." On my mom's side, her mother was "creative and full of ideas" and her dad "had strong values and always wanted us to give back to the community and look out for each other." I can confidently say all four traits were passed on to my parents.
9. My mother suffered from severe anxiety and I would have never known it as a kid. My dad shared a story: "Mom came home one day and was all excited about us becoming Presidents of the PTO when your sisters were in elementary school. She said to me, 'if you handle the public speaking part, I will handle all the planning behind the scenes.' A few months later, we had to present to a gymnasium full of parents as the new Presidents. Because she was very nervous, I said 'why don't we plan to alternate sections of the presentation and if you don't feel up to it, I will keep going. If you do feel OK, jump in. I read the first paragraph, looked over, and your mother jumped in and never turned it back over to me. She delivered the most incredible, booming presentation." She never looked back after that day... My mom shared, "Your father gave me the confidence. I was not the person you know today until I met your father."
10. It was easy picking intro and outro music to align with their peronalities, but challenging to edit 2 hours of an insightful conversation into 50 minutes! That being said, as we approach their 50th wedding anniversary, I could not have asked for better guests for my first podcast.

Here's the link: Episode 1. I'm not expecting many people to listen to 50 minutes(!), but if you do have a chance to interview someone in your family and play around with some simple editing tools (I used Zoom, Alitu, and Podbean), I highly recommend the experience.

Go press record and see what you learn...