I admit it.

I’m behind the curve — woefully so — when it comes to podcasts, especially listening to them or even creating our own.

But boy is this a “miss” that I want to correct. That’s the one thing I’m certain of, as I’ve been listening to more and more podcasts these past few weeks that friends and colleagues have recommended.

(Two in particular that stand out, just in the past three days? The Origin Story and Women in Wine podcasts. My goodness.)

Which ones do you listen to? No, wait. Which ones do you love?

Here’s why I’m dying to know:

Podcasts humanize the subject in a way that is, for me, mind-opening.

Remember, I’m new to this. But I’m pretty sure it has something to do with voice, and the fact that I’m usually listening to podcasts with these crazy huge over-the-ears headphones because for whatever reason my ears can’t do ear buds or Air Pods.

The point is that hearing people’s voices, on a topic that I’m interested in, is intimate. Which means that I care. Which means that, if I listen all the way to the end, I care even more then than I did at the beginning.

That’s powerful.

So I did something this week that I never (never) do. I went back and re-listened to some podcasts I’ve joined as a guest, to talk about Enolytics and the work that we do. Like this short one from South Africa. And this one from CKLU radio station in Ontario, Canada. And this one with Sam and John in Sonoma, which was almost as much fun to listen to as it was to record.

What did I hear?

Conversations that, I hope, animate wine + data for listeners in interesting ways. But even moreso, I hope that listeners hear what’s human about this work. The questions, usually from the hosts, are human, real questions. The people on our team are human and imperfect. The people we work for are human and vulnerable.

Maybe you’ve tuned in because the topic is wine + data. But maybe you listen all the way to the end because the voices go beyond that.

I would like to do more of this, more humanizing of wine + data beyond the topic of wine + data.

Can I ask for your help?

Please tell me what you’d like to hear. No, wait. What would you like to hear, that would make you listen all the way to the end?

Drop me a note. I’m listening.

Thank you,

Cathy