Your Podcast Playlist | Featuring Podcasts To Enhance Your Listening Experience
2023 | ISSUE 8 | Delivered The Last Wednesday Of Every Month
Blacktivities: Don’t Be Koi You Talk
Bio: Shannon is a 15-year educator, wife, mother of two, and host of U Talk, I’ll Listen Podcast and Blacktivities Podcast. She is also the founder of Black Panache, LLC, which seeks to amplify Black voices and perspectives. A mental health advocate and believer in the power of storytelling, she started her first podcast, U Talk, I’ll Listen at the height of arguments over racial justice, politics, and mask mandates. U Talk centers around listening to others’ stories, perspectives, empathy, and mental health. Her second podcast, Blacktivities, celebrates Black history, Black culture, and the resilience of the Black community. It teaches the Black history we never learned in school and links it to our present-day experiences as Black Americans.
Name of your company? Black Panache, LLC - black panache is a term we coined that describes the extra flair that we as Black folks have; we add a little extra seasoning on everything we touch!
What is your mission/goal? To amplify Black voices and perspectives so that we can tell our own stories and talk about things that are pertinent to us.
Why is a role like yours important to the podcast space? A role like mine is important to the podcast space because the industry has been dominated by white males. We are Black females establishing our place in this space. We are sharing our perspectives and experiences, and that is unique.
What made you want to work in the podcast industry? I didn’t want to. I felt called into it and fell in love with it, but I initially resisted it because I’ve been quiet and shy my whole life. I always played in the background.
What is your occupation outside of podcasting (if any)? I’m a teacher and have been for 15 years.
What podcasts does your business produce or create? Blacktivities Pod and U Talk, I’ll Listen
What's it about? Blacktivities teaches the Black history we never learned in school and links it to our present-day experiences as Black Americans. We do this in a humorous way.
Why is there a need for an organization like yours? There is a need because we need to be the ones telling our stories. Other people typically do it for us, but they don’t do it justice.
How'd You get into podcasting? I had the idea to start my first podcast during the pandemic when tensions were at a high due to social injustice, political, and masking issues. I wanted to show how we could overcome our differences by just listening to others’ stories, but I had doubts about my ability to pull it off. I shared my idea with my husband; I came home one day and he had ordered everything I needed to get started. I had to follow through with it at that point.
How long have you been in the podcasting space? About 2.5 years
What's one thing you wished you'd known about podcasting when you started? People will listen because of you. They respond to your authenticity.
In a few sentences tell me briefly, about one of your favorite episodes or interviews from your podcast. I have so many favorites, but I loved interviewing my parents about their relationship. They kept me laughing telling stories about the past.
What are some resources or tips you've learned in your podcast journey? Tips…
You have to put as much effort into marketing as you do into creating.
Sound quality is everything!
You don’t have to take out everything when editing. Sometimes an “um…” has a purpose; sometimes that mess up shows your personality.
What are your hopes for the future of podcasting? I hope to build a successful podcast network and build a career in the podcasting space so that I no longer have to work a 9-to-5.
What are the names of some of your favorite podcasts and why?
The Daily - I love how they dive deeply into a topic and explore all angles.
Code Switch- it is very insightful and informative, and gives a look into other cultures; Heal Sh*t - it’s real and relatable.
U talk I’ll Listen
Host: Shannon Chatmon
U Talk, I'll Listen, hosted by Shannon Chatmon, is about mental health, healing, human connection and perspectives, and empathy through stories. New episodes released every other Monday.
Don’t Be Koi
Host: Unkle Lew
Don't be Koi is a table talk podcast where guests share the tools they have used to navigate some of life's challenging questions. Using interviewing, Don't Be Koi explores various life situations with diverse groups of people, and through these perspectives, we all learn and expand our life's pond.
C'mon with a black pod network Shannon :)