I am a diehard follower of 99% Invisible. There is just something about the voice of Roman Mars that makes you want to listen to it more. The earliest episodes of his podcast are better than the latter as I really liked the inclusion of his kids at the end of the episodes. In one of his more recent podcasts, he mentioned a new program Zig Zag from Stable Genius productions. If it comes from Mr. Mars, you gotta give it a try.
Stable Genius
Direct from their podcasting website it states: “Stable Genius Productions is a media company with a mission to help people navigate personal and global change. SGP uses podcasts as a lab to test new ways journalists can educate, entertain, and inspire through narrative.” I am a big fan of podcasts as I drive 30 minutes to work one way. I can get one in the morning and another in the afternoon. So when Roman mentioned something about these ladies bringing some new professionalism and transparency to the journalism field as well as being funded by a blockchain startup…well, I had to take a look.
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You may have heard about the cofounders before. They are Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant. Besides having a completely cool sounding name, Manoush is a very accomplished journalist and author. She has participated in Ted Talks, written a book called Bored and Brilliant and many other note worthy things. She also gives a lot of credit to her co-found Jen Poyant as helping her acheive this success. Before Zig Zag, Ms. Poyant was Executive Producer on Note to Self with Manoush. Other podcasts include 2 Dope Queens and Sooo Many White Guys, contributed to many other programs at WNYC studios, as well as being quite educated with a BA in English and Masters in Cultural and Critical Studies.
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Ms. Zomorodi
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Ms. Poyant
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First and foremost. This podcast is NOT about the nicotine ZigZag. In my first google search I ran into that. Instead, this is all about about “changing the course of capitalism, journalism, and women’s lives.” They do it in a very authentic way taking a combination of voice memos and studio tape and putting it together to give it a professional feel. They are experimenting with how to finance the show through in show personal advertisements. In the beginning they seem to consume more of the show, but have gotten much better as the shows increase in length and content.
The show is also tech friendly as they are also showing us more about the inner workings of crypto-currency. This part also brings in one of their backers through a company called Civil. I also mentioned earlier that they are also in bed with Roman Mars and his Radiotopia which I think will give them a huge push to get in front of people.
Where They Are At
At the time of this writing, they are through episode 5 and are just getting into the crypto stuff. So far it has been all on how they have spent the last few months getting their start. The ups, downs, and everything in between. I can relate as my wife and I have our own business. She runs it day to day and feels the impact of being a female business owner. What it is like dealing with customers and the new complications of online customers.
Zig Zag Podcast gives a real glimpse into each of their lives. The feelings that they have on all aspects of starting a business. The difficulties in trying to make ends meet. How their significant others feel about the situation. The honesty that their children have with them.
I really love it and think you need to give it a try. You can find the website here or find it on your favorite podcasting program.
The pictures used in this article are from the zigzagpod.com website. They can be found here:
https://zigzagpod.com/about/