Join Jessica Kidwell as she embraces the messy, exciting, and continuous process of growth in the new season of "We Should Talk About That". She'll be sharing her own experiences and thoughts on starting this fresh chapter, her comfort in the transitional phases, and her intrigue with evolution - a process that beautifully mirrors the metamorphosis of the podcast, our lives, and the world at large.
Here's a promise - this podcast is going to be interactive! The latter half of the episode is a cordial invitation for all of you to be part of the dialogue. So, buckle up and get ready to ignite conversations, build connections, and explore a myriad of riveting subjects in this evolving journey of our podcast. Let's get talking, shall we?
This podcast was created to be a space for conversation. The topics will vary, but the conversation will always be honest, authentic and sometimes even a little uncomfortable. My hope is that through these conversations, we will build a community of people who might not always agree with each other, but will definitely feel less isolated and alone. So I'm Jessica Kidwell and this is we Should Talk About that. Hi, how are you?
Speaker 1:
I have been procrastinating recording this episode. In fact, I'm recording this right now, on Friday, and this is supposed to go out on Monday, and I'm sitting in my pajamas because I had to get up and I had to make this happen. And it led me to think why am I procrastinating this so much? And I guess the best answer is I am nervous. I am nervous to start this new season. I'm excited, which is a great thing, but I'm really nervous. I have been pretty open that endings are not my favorite, but something occurred to me recently that beginnings are also very, very hard for me. Apparently, I am very comfortable in the messy middle of all things. Beginnings can be the start of something new, they can be exhilarating, but they can also be overwhelming or lead me to feel uncertain or have doubt, and I think that's why I procrastinate so many things in my life, because I think I'm nervous of beginnings. However, for me to get to my comfy, messy middle, I have got to start.
Speaker 1:
So welcome to season five, and the theme this season is evolution. I really am digging the word evolution and it occurred to me. It is because, technically, an evolution never has a beginning or an end. It is constantly growth in one direction. So maybe that's why I'm really drawn to an evolution, because it keeps me from ever having to start something or end something and I can just stay in the messy, growing middle. Nevertheless, it is a great theme when you think about the fact that this podcast is changing. This world is changing. Our life, circumstances are changing, my body is changing. There's a lot of change going on and change is important. I don't think any of us like to stay stuck in one place for too long, even if it feels super comfortable, but we have to keep moving forward.
Speaker 1:
So I have gotten up, I did brush my teeth I am wearing my pajamas and I came into my little homemade, sweet corner of the guest room recording studio. And here we go. I keep looking at this picture that I have of myself from Olin Mills. Did anyone else ever have pictures taken at Olin Mills From when I was probably one and a half, maybe two years old? And I keep her with me close by any time I do the podcast, because talk about an evolution. Looking at who I was and trying to remember who I want to be kind of helps keep me grounded. This little sweet cherub with her blue quilted pants and her smock shirt, my little white leather saddle shoes very, very cute, was nothing but possibility.
Speaker 1:
And now fast forward to many, many years later. I think I want to stay in the place of nothing but possibility. I also want to tell you about all the possibility that can be laying ahead if you, we, choose to take it. I love to interview.
Speaker 1:
I don't love a monologue and I actually promised that there would never be a monologue once the new iteration of Weestat started, but I couldn't quite figure out how to premiere the season with someone else. I figured I would just talk to you. We're gonna go back to that old saying I have said over and over again as we've talked about this podcast changing I need you guys to be my we. You are the we of we Should Talk About that, and so, with that, I have asked you to submit ideas and topics that you think we should talk about, and if you have someone in particular in mind that you think I should talk about it with you can let me know, and if you want to talk about it with me, I can make that happen Podcasting not as overwhelming as you may think, and I can help figure out a way to get you recorded with me having a conversation about something that you think we should talk about that the website has had a bit of an overhaul and there is a way for you to get in touch with me on the website if you are interested in submitting a topic, talking to me about the topic or pointing me in a direction to somebody else that you think I should talk about.
Speaker 1:
I've already recorded interviews with a couple of really interesting authors, also fellow podcasters, about really important topics. I even heard from Craig, who emailed right after that last episode of season 4 aired and wanted me to know that he is one of the four male listeners that I always joke about must listen to us other than our husbands, which that means maybe I have less listeners now that there's less husbands associated with the show. Anyway, it made me hopeful that there are all sorts of topics that I haven't even thought about that might be out there for us to have conversations about. I really appreciated hearing from Craig and I hope that maybe, craig, you'll think about writing in again and telling me some of the topics that you think we should talk about Over on our Instagram page.
Speaker 1:
When I did kind of a call to action to have people tell me topics they thought should come up in the new iteration of the podcast, I had the Mystic Chicks write in saying that we should talk about energy and metaphysics and educate me more on how the energy around me impacts me as well as everyone else. Someone else asked if I could think about maybe doing more trending topics, like perhaps pop culture things that kind of take over the world for a period of time. I am open to that, for sure. I certainly love going to other sources. Does anyone else listen to Dumois or follow Dumois on Instagram? That's where I get all of my pop culture gossip from. I highly recommend Dumois, but I'm not sure that I'm the one that should be sending out the information. I'm happy to give it a shot if it's something other people think we should do, but it's that hearing from you guys directly that will continue to help move me forward and making sure that this podcast goes on.
Speaker 1:
So coming up in the next few weeks we have a mixture of timely conversations I had a great conversation about climate change and we also have heavy conversations coming up. I know that people sometimes accuse me of only wanting to talk about heavy things, but I feel like the entire premise of this podcast is to talk about things that make people feel uncomfortable and I have to say, in the list of things that make people feel uncomfortable, a lot of them are pretty heavy. I do hope you'll stick with me through those conversations because, much like everything else in my life, I like to have the real conversation about it, but I also really try to find the relatability as well as the humor associated, if there can be at all. So I think I did it. I think I got through a beginning and I am ready to move a little farther away from the nerves and a little bit more into the excitement and exhilaration of the possibility of what can happen through this evolving period of the podcast.
Speaker 1:
There's the point of view of when your screensaver comes on and therefore you cannot stop the recording. You get to hear me furiously pounding on my keyboard to try and make my screen come back up. So a little reminder that you should go to the website the brand new website Thank you, lauren Buchanan, for helping me with that and click on the form to submit topics. You can also just get in touch with me via the website or any of the social media platforms. All of which website, social media, all of it are all at WeStatPod, w-e-s-t-a-t-p-o-dcom for the website, or just at WeStatPod, anywhere you get your socials. So I will talk to you guys next week. We've done the beginning.
Speaker 1:
Now let's get into the messy middle we Should Talk About. That is hosted and produced by me, jessica Kidwell. The audio engineering is done by Jared Nicolay at Mixtape Studios in Alexandria, virginia. The theme song Be when you Are is courtesy of AstraVIA. Graphic design is by Kevin Adkins.
Speaker 1:
Do you have a topic we should talk about? Let me know. Submit your idea on our website, wwwweestatpodcom. There's a form right on the main page for you to get in touch with me. And if you don't have a topic but you want to let me know what you thought about the show, think about leaving me a voicemail. You can call Weestat at 631-4-Weestat, that's 631-493-7828. Or you can send me a comment on any of our social links Facebook, instagram, linkedin, threads, that platform formerly known as Twitter. On all of these you can find me at WeestatPod. You may even hear your comments on the air. And finally, there is no we without your participation. I really couldn't do this podcast without your support. So thank you for being here, and if you or your business want to monetarily support the show, I'd appreciate that too. Email me at info at weestatpodcom for more information. It's very, very hard to have a stream of consciousness conversation with just yourself. I'll tell you that that is a for sure.