Adventures with PodMatch

This fall, I decided to try podcasting. I've listened to podcasts for years, and as circumstances in my life allowed for more creativity, I branched out and started Join the Conversation with Denise Clark. What started as following my curiosity has grown into a passion project that fuels me and, I'm told, my listeners. 

I've coordinated three seasons now, each on a large, overarching topic: Teaching, Learning, & Surviving.  For the most part, I reached out to people I already knew, who I knew had stories worth sharing with others. Along the way, guests were recommended to me and my circle began to expand. 

Since November 2021, I've had nearly 1500 downloads of my show, and I've published 28 episodes. With season 3, I decided to take a leap of faith and publish two episodes a week, instead of just one. I've been able to keep pace, despite working full-time, raising my kids, and completing my dissertations. 

About three weeks ago, I received an email from a company called PodMatch, inviting me to try their service. Envision online dating, but for podcast hosts & guests.  I created a profile, uploading links to my show & answering questions about my vision for the podcast. Every few hours, I am sent potential guests matches to review. There is a potential to earn money for completing interviews, and there was a nominal monthly fee for me to join. My show has never been about making money, but if I can generate some income without losing the goal of my project, I figure -- why not?

Before I knew it, I had over a dozen new interviews booked with a variety of guests, from writers and speakers to activists and moms. Reflecting on my recent fascination with connection, I settled on the theme of connecting for Season 4 of my show. Here I am, connecting with people from all over the world, from all walks of life. My new season launches April 15, and my first episode is with a former male exotic dancer whose work now centers on men's mental health and authenticity. 

I'm still finishing up a few interviews for my season on surviving, and I'm finding myself booked for the next few weeks already. I'm learning how to navigate the scheduling app to balance my life a bit better, but overall, my adventure into PodMatch has been a positive experience. I'm excited to see what happens as my show grows and these conversations reach the ears of more and more people. 

This time of year is a bit of a mixed bag -- at school, the feeling is that of winding down, finishing the year. In nature, it's supposed to have the feeling of spring coming, starting fresh (but we are in Central PA and it was 17 last night...on March 29). In our personal life, we are selling a house and buying another one, so it's a combination of both finishing and starting. It seems only fitting that my podcast project would feel the same: ending the era of only interviewing people I know, starting a phase of connecting with new people. 

Stay tuned! I think you'll be as pleased with Season 4 as I am! 

Join the Conversation about Surviving #7: Rays of Hope through the Clouds of PTSD with Melissa Harrop

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses trauma & PTSD and may not be suitable for all listeners. 

Melissa (Missi) Harrop is a wife, mother, farmer, and passionate advocate for agricultural education. She served our country in the U.S. Army from 2002-2006 and fought in the Iraq War. She also struggles every day with fibromyalgia -- a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. 

In today's episode, Missi shares how she has survived not only the trauma of the war, but also the trauma of a toxic previous relationship. Now in a healthy and supportive marriage, Missi has grown to be able to ask her loved ones for the help that she needs, when she needs it. 

For more information on PTSD, see the National Center for PTSD or the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

Please be sure to subscribe to Join the Conversation with Denise Clark so that you don't miss a moment of this exciting season! Check out Denise's blogs for more of her musings: The Stories that We Weave.

Find us on Instagram @jtc_with_denise_clark  
Email show comments and ideas directly to Denise: jtcwithdeniseclark@gmail.com!

Music Credit: Ikson 

Join the Conversation about Surviving #5: Beating Breast Cancer while Pregnant with Jaclyn Gailit Trepanowski

Join the Conversation about Surviving #6: Living with Joy & Cystic Fibrosis with Amy Stubanas

Re-Connecting the Disconnections

As COVID-19 eases its vice grip on our personal and social lives, we are find ourselves faced with the invisible pandemics of isolation and loneliness that have fractured us collectively. The next time you are in a public place, take a look around to see how many people are on their phones, with headphones in, or otherwise disengaging from those around them. I've already written about the decline of volunteers in some organizations, but we are seeing disengagement across the board -- from the "Great Resignation" to the employee shortage facing nearly every industry in America. People are isolating themselves, turning to TikTok and YouTube over in-person interactions and community gatherings.

In schools, we see students who would rather put in their AirPods and tune out the world as they walk from class to class. Who am I kidding? We are seeing students who would rather tune out the teacher and their peers while they sit in class. 

While technological advances are incredible, we have allowed them to replace human contact -- and we are suffering as a result. We are perfectly poised as a society to rethink our goals and values. We need to re-humanize our worlds. In politics, in education, in the workforce -- we need to realign our priorities and re-connect. 

Re-connecting the disconnections is not as herculean as it sounds. I, for one, hate when Those with the Theories have no practical examples of how implement their Important Ideas. So, allow me to share a simple example with you. 

Each morning, a handful of colleagues and I are assigned to hall duty. Supposedly, our adult presence will deter students from making poor choices between 7:20 and 7:40 AM. Most of the time, it even works. But, being the kind of people who want to do more than just monitor, my colleagues and I have made it a personal mission to make our hall space welcoming and fun. Admittedly, we are led by a very creative, out-of-the-box guy who teaches science and has experience in school administration. (He's the kind of guy who owns a 3-D printer. You know the type.) 

At the beginning of the school year, we put a random lamp post left in the hall to good use and created a pen for an invisible dog. Imagine a cage at the zoo, but with one of those gag dog leashes -- 

We had a water dish, fake food, even zoo-like informative signs about the "Caninis Invisibilis." It was fun, but eventually it ran its course. 

Our fearless leader then began what we've termed, "Random Hub Surveys." He stands in the center of the hall and takes a survey . . . every morning. Questions range from, "Are there more doors or windows in the world?" to "Do you sleep with your socks on or off?" 

At first, kids were like, "What? Are you talking to me? I have my headphones in, and I'm clearly trying to ignore all of you people." Now, we have kids saying, "What's the question today?" as soon as they come up the stairs to our hall. One day when our colleague was absent, a senior jumped in with a clipboard to ask if students liked the morning surveys. (A resounding YES! One student even said, "It's what gets me here in the morning.) 

The questions spark little conversations among teachers and students -- even students who aren't necessarily friends with each other. Sometimes, the questions inspire heated debates, like the day we asked about iPhone or Android preference. I'm not even getting into the Xbox vs. Playstation day. 

We've been posting the results in the hall, and a cross-curricular activity with a statistics class may even come out of it. 

As silly as this sounds, the "Random Hub Survey" goes beyond having a little fun in the morning. When I look at the numbers posted, I see that we make contact with roughly 130-160 students every single day. Eye contact, quick Q&A, maybe a little follow-up discussion. Every single day. 

What's a non-school equivalent? Making eye contact and saying hello when we see people in the store or on the street, perhaps? As simple as it sounds, acknowledging our common humanity is a crucial step toward re-connection, to re-humanization. 

As educational leader and consultant Angela Maiers says, "We have to move from commonsense to commonplace and common practice." Small steps toward each other will ultimately make us stronger and closer -- even if we don't all believe that Lucky Charms are magically delicious.