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Headshot of me wearing red lipstick Kara Babcock

I have a podcast now. Podcasts are cool.

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In what is probably the most millennial move of my life, I have started a podcast with my bestie Becky. The podcast is called We Just LIke to Talk, and it launches today. Subscribe to it however you get your podcasts!

We Just Like to Talk logo

You may recall Becky as the friend I visited in Montreal at the end of the summer. We’ve known each other for several years now, but we’ve grown a lot closer over the past year and a half or so. One of the defining features of our friendship is our easy yet intense conversation—by which I mean, we can talk with each other about anything (literally no subject is off limits), and we can have incredibly intense discussions, without it ever feel awkward or acrimonious. Our topics range from inane banter about our lives to deep discussions of feminism, relationships, and heavier topics. We learn a lot from each other when we have these conversations, and I always look forward to them.

So at some point along the way, Becky said we should be recording our chats—we should, in fact, start a podcast. Although I didn’t doubt her sincerity, I also didn’t, at the time, think anything would come of such an off-hand remark: after all, she was soon moving to another province, and we would both be quite busy. I didn’t get my hopes up. Nevertheless, the idea lingered in the background of our friendship over the next few months, and we eventually started discussing it seriously. What would it be like? What would it take for us to actually do this thing? What would we call it?

I was amenable to the idea of podcasting with Becky from the start, because if there’s anyone I would want to podcast with it, it has to be her. Nevertheless, I’ll be the first to admit that she had to talk me into committing to this. While I’m very eloquent in writing and produce thousands of words a year in blog posts, tweets, and book reviews … the idea of putting my voice out here online is daunting. Also, there’s a small part of me that’s thinking, “Does the world really need another white dude bloviating on the Internet?" So much of my personal praxis when it comes to checking my privilege and being an intersectional feminist involves stepping back and listening to different marginalized voices and amplifying those voices when I can. So at first, I wasn’t sure about starting a podcast—and a potpourri podcast at that.

But then I realized that this is not network television, where only a small number of shows get greenlit. There is space here in cyberspace for all of us, and if anything, I can use our podcast as a platform to share my learning and amplify other voices.

At the end of the day, when I sit down to record with Becky, the feeling I have is never nervousness or reluctance. It’s always excited. Then, after we recorded and edited the first few episodes, and we started to finalize our launch plans, that excitement began to build and build into awesome anticipation. Last week, when we received the final version of the logo, I finished the website, and Becky started our Facebook page … well, without going into the details, the past few months have been draining for other reasons, but this podcast has been a shot of electricity that has kept me going.

We're aiming to release an episode every two weeks, 30 to 40 minutes a pop. Just enough to satisfy your ears without overstaying our welcome—even though Becky and I tend to talk for hours! Our first few topics range from positivity and rejection to TV and books we like: we have a slate just as varied and fascinating prepared for 2019, and of course, we’re open to feedback and suggestions.

Working with a best friend on a passion project really is one of the best things in life. I am so elated to finally share it with the world!! Please give us a listen, share and review us if you like it, and let us know what you think. I hope we uplift you and entertain you. I hope you enjoy listening to us, because we definitely enjoy talking.