In April, Spotify USA put out the call for up and coming women podcasters of color to participate in its first ever podcasting bootcamp for women of color. The global streaming service received an unprecedented number of submissions-over eighteen thousand applications for just ten spots.
I submitted my application which included the pilot episode of my podcast, High, Good People, a “potcast” about cannabis in the new age of legalization from the perspective of people of color. I was one of the ten women selected. After taking a couple of weeks to process and to reflect on the experience, here are five key takeaways I want to share from my time in New York:
1. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” -Wayne Gretzky
I almost didn’t get selected for the SoundUp Bootcamp because I almost didn’t apply. My defeatist brain almost won, but two hours before the deadline optimism and wishful thinking prevailed.
Imposter syndrome is real, and it came up more than a few times between me and the other women in and outside of the classroom. We all experience it, and I don’t think it ever really goes away. What changes is how we choose to deal with it.
2. “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” -Farrah Gray
Inclusion rates in public radio are abysmal. Yet I can think of at least 17,990 reasons why NPR, its affiliates, and other media organizations should follow Spotify and create their own fellowship programs geared toward women of color. But if they don’t, we’ll do it ourselves. That brings me to my next takeaway…
3. “No black woman writer in this culture can write “too much”. Indeed, no woman writer can write “too much”…No woman has ever written enough.” -bell hooks
Ten thousand dollars each in funding for three of the ten of us is pretty amazing, but even more badass than that is the small but mighty women of color podcasting movement that sprung up while Spotify staff were reading through all those applications. The Women of Color Podcasters groups on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram is an excellent resource for women of color who are looking to hatch their ideas for telling their underrepresented stories through podcasts.
Need help deciding whether to invest in a high end recorder or to start podcasting with your iPhone? Looking for advice on copyright free music and how to score your episodes? Can’t decide if you should be the show host or producer, or both? Ask away because the hivemind of the WOC Podcasters group has the answers.
4. “There are tons of podcasts, but there are never enough good podcasts.” -Graham Griffith
Just because someone has done it before doesn’t mean it can’t be done again, and done better. So just do it!
5. “I just want to see in cannabis media what I know to be true—people of all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds have a relationship with cannabis.” -Tiara Darnell
When I pitched my podcast idea to the panel of judges at the end of the Spotify training I recall telling them at one point that “my podcast has legs.” They didn’t seem to understand what I meant, so let me clarify: The cannabis industry is booming, and with money, power, and politics pouring into it, now is the time for communities of color to address the decades of stigmatization and shame that have come as a direct result of our being disproportionately affected by the policies and the legacy of the War on Drugs.
We need to be willing to speak more openly about our experiences in everyday conversations with friends and family, and to wider audiences through publications that make up the cannabis media landscape. People of color, our voices are needed in all areas of media, but especially in cannabis media. Join me and join in on the ground floor of this movement.