Why Do We Podcast?
It’s November of 2020, I am in my sister’s cozy wood-paneled basement, and I am editing Stomping Ground’s first podcast ever. If you have never done audio work, let me just say I have a newfound respect for sound engineers. I spent approximately 8 hours listening to the same 40 minutes of audio. Over… and over… and over again. It took time cutting out the “Um’s” and splicing together the nuggets of wisdom. But don’t get me wrong, if you have to edit someone’s voice for that long, I am glad it was our very own Laura Kriegel and Allison Klee.
That audio experiment has now turned into two fully-fledged podcasts. I wasn’t sure how this new venture was going to go, but you all showed up in every Spotify-Apple Music-Stitcher type app you can think of! You have heard us talk about restorative justice, decision making, and the wonderful origin story behind Stomping Ground’s creation. And you’ve shown that storytelling continues to be an incredible tool for connection.
If there’s anyone out there who wants to start a podcast, I commend you to try! Not only is it a ton of fun to play talk show host, but it provides a vehicle for you to share something you think is worthwhile to the world. As I was working with the team to launch these podcasts, I was taking a virtual class called The Podcasting Workshop hosted by Seth Godin and Alex DiPalma, which I would highly recommend to anyone out there looking to start your own! In their workshop, they employed all of us to think of one crucial thing before we got to producing. Before we made a theme song, wrote our first script, or interviewed our first guest, there was one critical idea to have down on paper. “The Why.” Why did we want to produce a podcast? Why was it going to be worth our time? Why would our listeners care?
1) We want to learn.
There will never be a shortage of knowledge and information we can acquire from our friends, colleagues, peers, and role models. Certain ideas and philosophies that are so engrained in camp today exist because we went out and asked questions. We saw problems with certain systems or had disagreements with particular ways to work with kids. The solutions and strategies that make Stomping Ground what it is today come from a long history of asking questions. How can we continue to develop our circle system at camp? How can we best prepare our summer staff to understand and implement the idea of humble curiosity? What does it truly mean to take the lessons we learn at camp and apply them to the rest of our lives? That pursuit of learning is what powers our camp machine, and we don’t intend to stop asking questions. These experts and thought leaders push us to dream bigger, and we can’t wait for you to hear them on the podcasts.
2) We want to make great content.
As we continue to use social media as a tool to tell our story, we want to provide a variety of outlets for folks to learn about us. We have made videos, memes, Facebook groups, and so much more. Each time we try to put our own unique spin on whatever thing we are making, but above all we want this podcast to be something worthwhile for you to listen to and share with your friends. With each episode, we take the extra time to add fun music. With each interview, we try to spice up the questions we ask our guests. As each season comes out, we hope to give you new tools and ideas to think about how we work with kids, staff, and the world around us.
3) We want to build our network.
We have been incredibly fortunate to meet so many great people from this podcast. The guests have been teachers, non-profit leaders, activists, business owners, social workers, contractors, and more. With each interview and episode, we learn several new ideas, but the relationships we make along the way are the most important. This work has helped camp to make a name for ourselves in the restorative justice movement. We have had the ability to form partnerships with organizations referred to us by our guests. Our vision for a more radically empathetic world is stronger when we align ourselves with inspiring and like-minded folks.
—
So that is why we continue to get behind our microphones and spend hours planning, scripting, and creating the podcast. These conversations and stories are a platform for growth, and the individuals who share the experience are incredibly courageous. You can find us on your Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, or whatever you might use to listen to podcasts. We hope you enjoy the first couple of seasons that are live, and we promise you there is plenty more to come. And best of luck to those who join up within the creating game!
