Every so often I’m asked how I got started in podcasting. It stems back to my highschool days riding home from school with my dad listening to Paul Harvey on KGO Radio. I loved Paul’s storytelling and how every episode offered a surprise ending. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, KGO Radio was the main news talk radio station with a line-up of talk show hosts whom I eventually came to enjoy. I think I’ve heard every episode of Paul Harvey and as a young adult even purchased his book, ”The Rest of the Story” where he memorialized some of his most beloved episodes. Later on I grew to appreciate the likes of talk show hosts Jim Eason, Lee Rodgers and for a while, Rush Limbaugh. I even had the opportunity to see Rush Limbaugh perform live in Sacramento at Arco Arena when he was a featured host of KFBK in Sacramento. Perhaps that makes me a bit of a goober, for I never knew any other 21 year old women who drove 45 minutes from San Jose to San Francisco midweek after work to be part of a live studio audience of talk show hosts. And to get a photo with these men and an autograph made me especially nerdy.

Right around the year 2017, I was introduced to a podcast called NoAgenda, which began back in 2007. It was the first podcast I’d ever listened to and to this day, I still tune in. No Agenda airs Thursdays and Sundays. The hosts, Adam Curry, a former MTV VJ and entrepreneur, along with John C. Dvorak, columnist and writer are a stimulating duo providing news, insight and humor from a mostly apolitical leaning perspective. Adam Curry is also known as “The Podfather” who was one of, if not the inventor of podcasting. After NoAgenda, I discovered Mark Moss who regularly discusses financial and economic matters. I enjoy Kristina Smallhorn, a fellow realtor with eXp Realty who has a really fun and informative real estate podcast. I also enjoy Dan from iAllegedly, a daily commentary about the news of the day and lastly, the Just Thinking Podcast which features Darrell B. Harrison and Virgil Walker who discuss social matters as it pertains to the church and the Bible.

After moving from San Jose, CA to Sequim, WA in 2015 and becoming a licensed Real Estate Broker in 2016, I noticed there was very little available about the area in the way of a YouTube channel or a podcast. So I started “The Sound of Sequim” which featured “Purple places and pleasant people.” This was a very amateur effort with little to no equipment. Some of those episodes still exist on YouTube like this one featuring Victor’s Lavender Farm:https://youtu.be/ahN6PRIQTfE In addition to meeting some really terrific people through The Sound of Sequim Podcast, the best part was that local music talent, “Bread and Gravy” permitted me to use their wonderful music, namely “The Sunny Side.” I use that song to this day. https://youtu.be/ijB6yagNiJ4

In 2022 when I moved to Arkansas, podcasting seemingly took off as did the popularity of YouTube videos. After deciding to jumpstart my business again and create a podcast about Northwest Arkansas, I knew I had to up my game. I needed to come up with a purpose, a brand, a logo and needed to spend some money on equipment. I later learned about Fayetteville Public Television as well as the local Fayetteville Public Library and realized there were lots of opportunities to both improve my podcast and to obtain meaningful training. The Dixiecast was born in May of 2022 and to this day, I feature one episode a week which airs every Friday. Fayetteville Public Television also airs my episodes Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday at 4:30 p.m. This week’s episode can be found at https://youtu.be/6PQX83L2d1E

Why do I podcast? Because it’s fun! I love the creative process of coming up with a weekly episode. If I feature an individual, I enjoy the process of conducting an interview, high-lighting a worthy business and then editing the video. Podcasting has become for me a creative outlet and the end result is especially satisfying because my labor of love can be shared. The best part is if I can feature some really special people and be the reason someone else might comes to appreciate them. Podcasting is a way to not only feature others and their talents, but in addition, to share a little bit of myself.