Re: my new live podcast (your input wanted!)
Re: my new live podcast (your input wanted!)
I'm launching a new live, interactive podcast called UPROOTED—as an extension to this newsletter!
The first episode will take place 12/28 at 5:30 pm PST in the new social podcasting platform, “Callin”. Details below.
As an extension of this newsletter, UPROOTED (live) will similarly explore sustainability with deeply critical lenses.
Compared to my existing podcast, Green Dreamer, UPROOTED will be live, more conversational and off-the-cuff, less planned, and with more of my own analyses and syntheses of all that I'm learning—as I've shared in these newsletters. Most excitingly, they will be interactive, allowing listeners (you!) to call in with questions or contributions to *be a part of the episode recording*!
It will be an experimental, non-formulaic space: I may invite past Green Dreamer guests or collaborators to chat with me, leaving time for audience engagement. It may be me solo-ranting about current events or things I cover here—then allowing for open discussions. I may invite people I disagree with to see where our conversations may go… I may host bonus gatherings with this newsletter's paying subscribers as an extra thank you. And I may invite multiple speakers with contrasting viewpoints to see how they may expand our minds.
But I need and would love to get your input!
What topics would you like me to live-podcast about?
Which Green Dreamer episodes would you like me to host debriefing chats about?
Which past articles or posts I published would you want me to dive deeper into?
What controversial topics would you dare me to unravel?
Who would you want me to bring in as speakers?
(They can be people I've already interviewed for Green Dreamer—if you want to hear more from them or ask them questions! Or, I can bring in multiple guests into the same discussions—who would you dream of seeing converse together… with their complementary or contrasting views? Maybe there are people who you know I would not agree with, but you're interested in seeing us have a constructive dialogue?)
(Note: As explained in my P.S. at the end, I can no longer receive email replies here. So please leave a comment in the post via the link above to reach me!)
Where to find the show?
UPROOTED (live) will be hosted exclusively in the new social podcasting app called Callin—which created the tools to enable the live audio show to be interactive and have live transcriptions! (Other independent media journalists and commentators who have recently created their own shows for the platform include Briahna Joy Gray, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and Andray Domise.)
The podcast will be recorded and published as episodes so that anyone unable to attend during its actual recording can still listen in later on.
The app is currently only downloadable on Apple devices, but anyone can listen via their website afterward, and the Android app will be launching soon.
Join me by downloading the app through this link (for iPhones), and follow me in the app @GreenDreamer, as well as the show UPROOTED listed on my profile.
(For non-iPhone users, you will be able to access the episodes via their website. I'll share the links with you after they publish.)
A personal note…
I'm going to be vulnerable and share that Instagram has not been great for my mental health.
Other than the typical “comparison” games that I try hard to not care about, communicating through its limiting comment sections has felt dehumanizing. Things easily get twisted, the heart of the messages get lost, and the sense of anonymity emboldens people to say things they would never say to someone’s face. I also prefer speaking with people one-on-one, at a human level, getting to know them as a person, and my heart does not love the reactive, judgmental culture encouraged by short-form social media.
So, part of my hope in hosting a live, interactive show is that it would facilitate more fruitful, empathetic, and meaningful dialogues. The format, space, and extended time allow people to provide clarifications, to elaborate on things that may otherwise be misconstrued, and importantly for me, to feel one another's senses of humanity and states of emotion and being even amidst disagreements.
I dream of having the content I share being offered through mediums that encourage people to slow down, to be present, to deepen our awareness, to show up with compassion, humility, and rootedness.
This is why I have gravitated towards creating long-form content—hour-long interviews for Green Dreamer, or Substack articles with no character limits. I made my decision to join Callin after a lot of these considerations. And I am excited to share this new path with you!
That said, while I have published over 300 episodes of Green Dreamer, I am new to hosting live conversations, and that makes me nervous. I feel my anxiety and heart racing even as I write up this announcement.
So, I hope to have you and my most beloved readers and listeners join me on the platform, especially in the debut episodes, for some moral support! I also would love to meet the beautiful humans beyond this list of email addresses. :)
Outside of exceptions to accommodate different speakers’ schedules, I generally will plan to host them in the evenings (Pacific/Eastern Time) of Wednesdays or Thursdays, running 30 - 60 minutes in length.
Extra year-end gratitude…
I would not have had the confidence to move away from blogging while relying on brand sponsorships—only able to write about what I was told to cover or what was the most trendy or appealing for advertisers—have I not had those constantly cheering me on.
Intentionally taking the path of “slow growth”, rejecting many shiny but not-aligned opportunities to maintain integrity to the best of my ability, has been challenging. I have thought about quitting quite a few times.
But all of the support I have received, morally, monetarily, or socially, have kept me going. And I am proud to have reoriented my incentives as a writer, podcaster, and creative, away from palatability for potential brand sponsors, and towards just being as raw, real, and honest as I can be—as an aspiring “truth-seeker” (whatever that means).
So, here is my heartfelt gratitude to my most supportive friends, collaborators, listeners, and readers. Sending my love to you and yours this holiday season!
P.S., I had to turn off the “reply-to” function as someone used my Substack address to do a mass send out of SPAM emails, leaving me on the receiving end of angry messages. So, I will no longer receive replies from people responding directly to my newsletters. But I will still see the comments made on the posts and maybe use them to guide future articles!
Year-end ways to support my in(ter)dependent writing and now, two podcasts!
UPROOTED (newsletter and new podcast): Sign up as a paid subscriber to this Substack newsletter (and get need-based discounts listed here).
If you need a physical planner for the new year, check out Green Dreamer's 100% recycled, fundraising planners here! They feature the major socio-ecological awareness dates, gratitude and mindfulness guides, inspirational quotes from Green Dreamer's past guests, and more. All proceeds support Green Dreamer Podcast's continued production into 2022.
Join Green Dreamer's Patreon here, or make a one-time donation here.
I would love to hear again from Bayo Akomolafe. I haven't listened to every episode but so far, that one it my favorite. As Kayla mentioned, asking him to speak more about slowing down to address global problems when the messaging we are getting is one of urgency/emergency. I think he'll probably be interesting no matter what though! I can't wait to see this play out and I love the interactive component, like a call in radio show, which feels like a great way to actively engage, rather than passively consume. Fantastic idea! Good for you and good luck
Hi Kamea, what you have accomplished with Green Dreamer is truly incredible and inspiring, and I'm looking forward to this new live podcast! I will tune in live whenever I can. 😊
As far as topics, something I would love to hear more about — because it's something I think about a lot — is that tension between the perceived need to urgently implement solutions to global problems, and what might really be required: slowing down. Bayo Akomolafe spoke on this, and it was a much-needed perspective that I feel deserves more exploration.
I would appreciate a discussion, or many, about how different people imagine communities/societies that "embody reciprocity, respect, and care" (your words from your recent newsletter). I think it's important to not only understand what's wrong, but also imagine and embody healing pathways. (William Padilla-Brown could be one interesting guest for this conversation.)
More personal to you, I would love to hear about the struggles, rewards and lessons learned of remaining values-aligned in your work, rather than doing what gets you the most money or acclaim. I am at a point in my life that this would be extremely relevant and interesting, and I bet lots of people would benefit from hearing more about your journey!
Thanks a bunch,
Kayla