Podcast presenters, producers and Toronto-based best friends Jordan Power and Brad Price came to the idea after one too many drinks. “Why don’t we start a podcast about all the nitty-gritty details of our romantic lives, and everything else? All the things we’ve been too embarrassed; too socially repressed to talk about in public until now?” It seemed a bold idea, perhaps too bold. But to date, their courage has only paid off: they have welcomed a million listeners in almost 12 months, with people listening in from almost 60 countries. In the first week alone, the podcast received almost 200 downloads and, today, the podcast airs a new episode every week without fail.
In a bid to spark a revolt against societal norms and shed themselves of the layer of shame that Price and Power found was almost always attached to ‘coming out’ as homosexual, the duo launched the Shame On You podcast as an unabashed sneak peek into the life of a 30-something-gay man living and trying to find love in one of Canada’s most buzzing cities. Podcast guests include ex-boyfriends, a gay priest and others plagued by the same messages of shame they have experienced for much of their lives.
Raw, honest and without a doubt at times very uncomfortable, the Shame On You podcast sheds light of the daily life and plight of any 21st-century gay man, at times leading listeners to laugh uncontrollably at the hilarity of the producer’s adventures and at other times forcing readers to reflect on how tough things can get for the gay community.
Why do podcasters try to pursue an avenue this isn’t necessarily true to themselves (i.e. speaking from behind closed doors, locked in a room with nothing but a microphone)? Word on the street is that touring the helps podcasters diversify their income, even if the revenue from shows on the road isn’t a significant proportion of a podcast’s overall budget. What going on the road does do is help keep a show’s producers true to what their audiences want from them, by letting them see their audience reaction to their content, live in person.
Taking the podcast on the road is the next obvious step for the Shame On You podcast: It will be a chance for Power and Price to connect with their listeners, spread the message of reducing gay ‘shame’ and encourage their audiences to do the same.
