🌎 Podcast Captures the Power of Travel

Presented by Thought-Leader

🐾 Griffin: Podcast Companion of the Week

This handsome fellow is Griffin the Jack Russell. He’s been Teresa Duncan’s podcasting companion since she started her podcasting journey. “Early episodes feature his snoring,” she says. “In one episode he actually fell off the back of the couch while sleeping. We kept it in the recording and people would ask if he was okay before saying it was one of the funniest things they'd heard.”

Hear this hilarious moment for yourself by scrubbing to 16:22 in this episode of Nobody Told Me That!

📸 Do you have a pet who’s also your podcast companion? Reply to this email with a photo and a bit about them (and your podcast) for a chance to be featured in a future issue.

🎙️ Signal Flow: Marilyn Ball

Industry game changers and valiant minds from creative professions share their wisdom, adversities, and paths to innovation.

Marilyn Ball is the dynamic host of Speaking of Travel, an iHeart Radio show and global podcast. Marilyn's passion for travel and adventure shines through as she shares captivating stories from fellow globetrotters, offering a portal to unique, inspiring, and enriching travel experiences that will ignite your wanderlust. Speaking of Travel helps raise awareness of our planet's natural wonders while fostering a community of globally conscious citizens.

Everybody has beautiful stories about traveling. Even if you just went to grandma's in the station wagon with your family, travel—big or small—shapes your life.

My neighbor across the street is a farmer. One day, he saw me at the mailbox and came over and said he had just been listening to my show. And it wasn't because I was his neighbor, it was because he was listening to my show on WWNC. He told me he doesn't travel, but listening to my show makes him feel like he's going somewhere.

Here in western North Carolina, where I live in Asheville, it's pretty progressive little place. And a friend of mine was creating a small network of community radio stations across the region. That’s how Speaking of Travel got started, and here I am 11 years and 900 episodes later.

I was just looking at some notes I had taken back in 2020. I was talking to people about traveling who couldn't travel; they were going through these inner journeys. It really shifted the dialogue for the last three years and created a deeper dialogue around travel.

I think that's an important part of what my show is about. Many people over the last four years have gone on some kind of inner journey—and that's a form of travel.

I always do a pre-interview chat. That was a lesson learned after years of experience. That way I can talk in a leading way. I want my guests to tell their stories, I just want to be the facilitator to help bring the stories out of them.

I think pivoting is a big part of what humans are all about. If something doesn't go the way you want it, change course.

Podcasting is the future of the marketing industry. It's not buying newspaper double spreads anymore. It's really looking at what are people going to listen to. So as a marketing person, I recognize that, and I’m able to sell that. I'm talking to people like the Asheville Airport and Subaru and I have some good (knock on wood) loyal sponsors who believe in what I'm doing. They want to endorse what my storytelling platform is about. That makes me proud.

I’ve spent the last decade of my life, every single week, being inspired by somebody who’s had a challenge I never thought I would face. I'm hearing people who went to Tibet and climbed the mountain and went to visit the nuns and I'm like, I can hardly get in my car. It’s been like therapy to me.

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As my global network expands, the world feels smaller and smaller. Through my network, I’m able to connect others. Oh, you should talk to so and so in Australia. And then before you know it, they're all connected.

I work with an organization called LEAF Global Arts. They're an international organization that started right here in Asheville, North Carolina. They bring these incredible, what they call World Changers, global culture leaders. Who ever thought there was a career like that? But there is. Their job is literally to be a peacekeeper or culture keeper. And they're right here in our backyard. 

I just did my show live at LEAF at their big retreat. I had three people that I interviewed, one being Michelle Obama's personal photographer, and another who worked with Jane Goodall. And they're sitting there telling me their stories in front of a captivated audience. That gift keeps on giving. There’s no money exchanged, but the richness of each story is such a big deal, and I think it brings the world closer together.

A key thing for people to remember: Community is the most important thing.

I feel like I'm this little anomaly of a radio person mixed with a podcast person, but most importantly, I'm fortunate to have a platform where I can find my voice and allow my guests to have theirs. It's a beautiful thing.

🎧 Podcast of the Week: The Best of Car Talk

Cars aren’t my thing. But Tom and Ray Magliozzi had me hooked to my radio when Car Talk came on NPR.

Though the show isn’t produced anymore, you can listen to past episodes of America's funniest auto mechanics taking calls from weary car owners all over the country, and cracking wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus.

🥾 Further Exploration

Do you warm up your voice before hopping on the mic? If not, then it’s time to change that (a vocal warm-up practice is key for both performance and the longevity of your vocal cords). Here’s a quick video with five easy vocal warm-up exercises. Sure, it’ll feel awkward at first. But you’ll quickly wonder why you’ve gone this long without it.

ICYMI:

🧠 Podcast Wisdom from Industry Pros

🎉 EVEN MORE Podcast Wisdom from Industry Pros

🎧 Rob Rosenthal on Good Storytelling