Why I Podcast
I’m not sure about the exact date that Podcasting became my my very-close-second love, but I do remember the day vividly. It happened almost instantly actually. A manifestation of love at first listen. One morning I was commuting to my nine-to-five. Taking the A train from Queens (the 104th Street station on Liberty Ave) the one that makes express stops (except for the often times when it switches to make local stops due to a sick passenger or signal issues or some other inaudible reason mumbled by the uninterested conductor) through Brooklyn and into downtown Manhattan (the Fulton Street station).
I was about a year and a half into my first Corporate gig, give or take. That morning, as one does, I was looking for something productive or consumptive to pass the time with. I had about an hour-long commute, mostly underground with no internet connection. My options were limited to reading (which usually didn’t vibe with my morning grog), sleeping (which was not only dependent on finding a seat, but finding one that was conducive to sleeping - like a non-aisle, non-middle, have a wall or window to lean on seat), writing (my dearest 1st love was also an option but it too required finding the perfect mix of privacy and seating that lent itself to pulling out a notebook and a pen). Or I could vibe out to some music (which usually consisted of 1990’s to early 2000’s hip hop or some Aventura).
Not being in the mood for any of the above, the term “podcast” serendipitously came to mind. I’m not even sure where I first heard the term but evidently it was floating around in the ether of my consciousness. “Oh yea, I’ve been meaning to look into what a podcast is. Might as well do that now,” I thought. I didn’t know if it was something I could watch or listen to while underground on the train so I pulled up my phone browser while the train was still lingering around the 80th Street Hudson station due to train traffic ahead. I googled something to the effect of “what is a podcast?” Or “how to listen to a podcast on my phone.” This led me to Apple’s podcast app, where I browsed different categories and show art. I remember clicking on a White House Podcast and listening to an episode that was only a couple of minutes long. It was a replay of a quick press conference President Obama recently had. Is this what a Podcast was? Just audio replays of things that happened, but on demand? That’s pretty cool, I guess. I kept browsing and stumbled upon the show that would ultimately impact my life pretty profoundly.
It was the 2nd Podcast I ever listened to; The Joe Rogan Experience. It wasn’t the behemoth that it is now. The colossal number one platform on the planet. The show that would become the envy of most mainstream radio and television shows because in their arbitrary minds, it didn’t warrant the unwavering attention of the hundreds of millions of viewers/listeners it would go on to garner consistently on a monthly basis. Back then it was just Joe Rogan and Brian Redban sitting on a couch in Rogan’s house along with a guest/friend of theirs while they streamed live, smoked way too much weed and shot the shit. When I stumbled upon it I remember thinking: “hey that’s the dude from the UFC. Let me check this Podcast out and see what it’s about.” The guest on the first episode I listened to was Ari Shaffir. It was either episode #118 or #129. I remember it being in the early hundreds but not #109 (I’ve since gone back to identify each of the episodes Ari has been on). I was instantly hooked. Ari has always been the type of recurring guest on the JRE that brings out the most versions of Rogan. So in retrospect it was the ideal guest for me to stumble upon on the perfect show at that most opportune time. The episode was over two and a half hours long. What was this unedited audio soup of hilarity mixed with introspection, fascinating anecdotes and vulnerable conversation that I wasn’t getting anywhere else? It was a free and open discussion about life and experiences where one minute they would be talking about outer-space while lighting up a joint and the next speaking inside baseball about the stand-up comedy world. It was such an intimate experience. Hearing that first Pod I had an epiphany. “Oh, this is podcasting too…podcasting can be anything.” I listened all the way to work, and probably for the first time ever in life, couldn’t wait to get on the subway again so that I could seamlessly pick up where I left off.
After then it was off to the races. If I told you that I was more hooked than Captain James, that wouldn’t be hyperbolic enough to describe my new obsession. I’d listen all the time. I mean all the time. The conversation was too pure to limit my intake to just Mondays thru Fridays while commuting. I listened at home while doing the dishes, in the car while driving (no AUX cable? No problem. I’d put up all the windows, turn off the AC and put my phone on speaker. Then I’d place the phone in the cupholder of the center console so that the sound would be projected loud enough…that’s dedication, son). Back in the day I used to smoke cigarettes. As any nicotine head worth their salt knows, the two best times to puff a bogie would be right after a meal and while taking a shit. But pressing play on that Pod you were listening to and having it pick up where you last left off, while you’re on the john, takes the cake my friend. I would even listen up until the moment I fell asleep. I put 15 minute snooze timers on so that the episode would automatically stop after as many minutes, and I would tack on another 15+ if it happened to shut off before I did. My reasoning to do that wasn’t something sensible like trying to avoid an outburst of laughter on the show waking me up from a deep sleep, but rather I did not want to waste time rewinding the next day! In the mornings when I’d wake up, before brushing my teeth, before getting out of bed even, I’d reach over to my night stand, feel around for my phone and press play to pick up where I left off before drifting away to sleep. An episode would be on while I showered and while I got dressed to begin my day. Today, when I get in my car, Podcasts are what automatically begin to play once I plug in my phone or the bluetooth picks up the connection.
You know that thing that addicts do when they get “bitten by the bug” of their vice? Where they get cajoled into doing anything and everything by that insatiable desire to get closer to obtaining the escape or relief or sense of satisfaction they’re seeking? - My Podcast obsession isn’t that. Objectively, I wouldn’t call it an addiction. Not because it’s not a true vice or negative thing, because I know folks can be addicted to “good things” like exercise or success. I’d probably call it a fetish, if I had to put a label on it. I have a non-sexual Podcast fetish. I mean, aside from being a voracious consumer, I fell so hard that within about a year and a half of listening to that first Podcast while on the train, I started producing my own. Me…introverted, self-conscious, ‘I-have-thoughts-and-ideas-but-seldom-think-them-worthy-of even-being-uttered’-me…decided to broadcast those same thoughts and ideas out into the world to become a forever record of my meanderings on the internet. Anyone can listen to any episode I’ve ever recorded (yikes), or ever will, in perpetuity, at any time, instantly and via their choice of the dozens of available platforms that facilitate them doing so.
That’s the power of Podcasts. They can take someone like me, who had no business speaking into a microphone (and probably still doesn’t) and give them the license to embark on a never before even thought of path and have them become someone who hasn’t missed an episode of his bi-weekly production of the Spun Today with Tony Ortiz Podcast - in seven years (see what I did with that shameless plug there?). Aside from highlighting new paths for you, Podcasts also have the ability of dusting off and reconnecting you with old ones. That’s what they did for me with writing. Whether it was listening to a writing-specific Pod like The Creative Penn Podcast with Joanna Penn, or listening to accomplished authors discussing their crafts on an episode of the JRE and others. I was put on to so many gems like The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, On Writing by Stephen King or Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, to name a few. I otherwise wouldn’t have known they existed. Or documentaries like David McCullough: Painting with Words or Hemingway, which helped reinforce and reinvigorated my own desires to write.
When it comes to Rogan’s Podcast I love the plethora of experts and variety of episodes. From the silly-fests to the brainier ones. When he has someone like Sam Harris, Brian Cox, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lex Fridman or Elon Musk on, to name drop a few, listening to those episodes makes me feel like my IQ is rising via osmosis. Like I’m eating vegetables for my brain. Like I’m taking a huge scoop of athletic greens’ micro nutrients for my dome (see what I did there)?
This excerpt can be found within the acknowledgments section of each of my books, and will always be included in any that I write in the future:
The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast was the motivating straw that broke the procrastinating camels back, for me. It has been a hub of fascinating conversations, inspiration, fun times, and life lessons. Not only did it make me realize that it was ok to pursue my dreams, but it gave me the necessary kick in the ass to realize that they were all possible too. It's truly a gift that each of you should unwrap. Joe, Brian, Jaime and every guest that has and continues to share their experiences on the show … thank you. I am eternally grateful.
Many years after that fateful morning train ride, I’m still an avid listener. What I appreciate most about Rogan is the essence of transparency that echos throughout his orbit. His willingness to sit and speak to anyone is contagious. Whether they are on his side of the fence on a particular topic or completely opposite it. Through egoless, unedited, long-form conversation he’s able to discuss his points of view while allowing his guests to flesh out theirs. He questions & pushes back firmly yet respectfully. He objectively fact checks himself and others in real time (“pull that up Jaime”). All the while doing us, the listening public, the huge service of allowing us to be a fly on the wall. Nowhere else that I’m aware of, does this nexus of humility, vulnerability and expertise exist. It’s empowering in that it has the unintended (perhaps) consequence of giving each of us the license to be just as vulnerable. To admit when we’re wrong. To say and understand that it’s ok to say “I don’t know.”
That’s why I Podcast. To reverberate that spirit. As an ode to those that came before. As a big-up to those that are currently doing it better than I could ever hope to which also inspire me to keep it pushing. It’s my way of paying it forward, if you will. Apologies in advance if my show happens to be the first Podcast you ever listen to but just know that my intentions to put you onto something worthwhile is pure. I want to highlight the parts of movies that encapsulate an emotion. The moments within shows that inspire the spirit or the prose in books that resonated with some dormant place within me. I aim to share the insights of a poignant stand-up comedy special and let you know where I stand on current events at a particular moment in time all while chronicling my journey to becoming the writer I know I could be.