Featured: The Parenting Roundabout Podcast, part 1 of 3
We all know that there are a lot of podcast shows out there. Player FM is foremost, a podcast discovery app and we’re going to start to feature podcasters in this space for a glimpse on the people behind the shows and give fresh listeners a chance to hear them.
For this week, we are joined by four parenting writers that do the weekly podcast “Parenting Roundabout” - discussing things all parents talk, complain, and obsess about. In part 1, we asked Terri Mauro, Catherine Holecko, Amanda Morin, and Nicole Eredics how they all met and how they come up with featured topics.
1. What got you guys started in Parenting Roundabout? You each maintain different blogs and sites so how did you all meet?
TERRI: I met Catherine and Amanda when we were all writing for About.com. Nicole I met when she contacted me cold one day to ask if I wanted to do a podcast with her about inclusive education, and so we did The Inclusive Class together for … how many years, Nicole? I really loved podcasting and the way you can kind of blather on without having to waste a lot of time organizing your thoughts (as I am doing now), and I got an idea to do kind of a parenting version of one of my favorite podcasts, Pop Culture Happy Hour. It started out with different people every week, but after a year we settled on the foursome that we have now, and we are having a ton of fun.
NICOLE: I had already done a podcast with Terri for three (or was it four?) years. During that time, we had invited Amanda on the show to chat. I really enjoyed our conversations, so when Terri began Parenting Roundabout and asked me to join, it was a sure thing! I hadn’t met Catherine yet, but I knew that if she got Terri and Amanda’s sense of humor, she was someone I would enjoy chatting with!
AMANDA: I loved Terri and Nicole's podcast, so after I was a guest on it, it was apparent Nicole was as funny, thoughtful, and kooky as the rest of us. It was a great bit of chemistry and we complement each other well.
[We talked a lot about how we came to be on a “Thanks, Podcasting” episode we did for our provider libsyn; you can listen here https://player.fm/1ZGLjg]
(L-R) Nicole, Terri, Catherine and Amanda of the Parenting Roundabout Podcast
2. What made you decide to just do a group podcast instead of each having her own? So how do you decide what to talk about?
TERRI: I already think I talk too much as part of a foursome. An entire podcast of me going on is something even I wouldn’t want to listen to.
AMANDA: Ha! I like Terri's answer. But really, it's the dynamic that we have together that makes the podcast work. We all have things to say, but in isolation it's not as powerful or diverse. As for what we talk about, it really is about what people (we) are obsessing about or talking about right now. We do a lot of Facebook side-chatting, and ideas always seem to flow from that and our daily experiences as parents and, well, just real people.
CATHERINE: We all have different perspectives to share and bring different ideas and experiences to the table--plus it’s just way more fun to work together as a group! We have an ongoing online chat where we talk about scheduling, topic ideas, and just life—which is great for four people who work at home without any colleagues handy.
TERRI: As far as deciding what to talk about … I think we have a form up on Google Docs somewhere for the purpose of planning out topics in advance so that we have a good balance and can provide really thoughtful commentary. And then what we do is forget to put anything on there and Facebook-message frantically the day of recording to try to come with something to talk about. Catherine then heroically turns our random thoughts and meanderings into a script outline.