I Like to Listen

Every once in a while, friends say to me, “You should do a podcast. Interview all the people you meet in your travels.”

And I think, “Do you know how much WORK that is?!” (Which was exactly the answer I gave my mother when she said, long ago, that she wished I would be a writer.)

The reason it felt like too much work to me was the image I had in my mind of what a podcast like that would look like: thirty-minute or even hour-long interviews, like I used to do in radio, where you stretch it out with dumb questions to get boring answers that will fill the allotted time. I didn’t want to do that again.

I also didn’t want to do the kind of show where I would have to talk-talk-talk, giving advice or how-to information about productivity or whatever.

I don’t like to talk. I like to listen.

I like stories

I like to listen to the new wave of public radio podcasts that are jam-packed with stories — This American Life, Snap Judgment, The Moth, RadioLab… too many to listen to on my paltry 20GB-per-month, Verizon hotspot plan. But I try.

The thought that loops constantly in my head as I listen to them is, Why didn’t I go into public radio when I had the chance? WHY?! Of course, this kind of storytelling wasn’t even invented when I worked in radio. The granddaddy of them all, This American Life, began the year my career as a newscaster ended.

I had a dream once, of buying an RV and traveling the country interviewing ordinary Americans, like the old “On the Road” segments Charles Kuralt used to do on CBS Sunday Morning. I dreamed of sharing these stories on radio somehow, but I couldn’t then figure out how to make it work.

Now I am here, on the road, and I have everything I need: a vehicle to live and travel in, a Social Security check to pay the bills, an iPhone to record, free software to edit, the Internet to broadcast on for a few paltry dollars a month, and people with lives and stories to tell.

It’s time

A podcast doesn’t have to be a set number of minutes long. It can be as long or as short as the story it shares. I have recorded and edited two interviews so far, both less than five minutes. Others may be longer, but they will depend on the story and the teller.

I might string several stories together into a longer show, or just release each one as a stand-alone podcast. The structure and process will evolve over time.

Right now, I am in the process of interviewing, editing, and setting up the tech aspects of the podcast. I hope the first episode will be ready to go in a week or two. When it is, I will let you know.

Here’s a clip from my interview with 14-year-old Russell, who lives on the road with his mom and two dogs. Hope you like it.

The name of the show?

Passing Through: Stories from the Road