Rising to the Challenge is out!

I am excited to announce that the first two episodes of Rising to the Challenge finished and published! Here are the links:

• Episode 1: Chronic Anxiety
• Episode 2: Coming Back from a Break

The creation process was a lot of fun.  Creating a sort of script to follow during the interview was easier than expected, but getting feedback on the script was extremely helpful. The feedback enabled me to not make mistakes in the interview, and to get all the information I needed in the first recording. This is important because I want to be respectful of my guests time, and in order to do that, my questions have to be aimed towards the information I am looking to present to my audience.

Recording was a lot of fun too. I learned a lot more about my friends during the recordings than I would have known otherwise. And more than facts about their life, I learned how they felt about their decisions and circumstances, which is a lot more heartfelt than most of my friendships in the physics department here. It was really great to have this conversation with them.

Editing is probably my favorite part. I just go to the coffee shop a block from my apartment for 3-4 hours each night and fire up my laptop. When I'm writing a blog post or written assignment, my hands hurt from typing and writing. When I'm editing a podcast, I don't get as much pain. I really like this activity, especially since it is the first creative activity that hasn't been limited by fibromyalgia.

I really appreciate my friends and colleagues for listening to my rough edits and helping me find areas for editing in the podcasts. When I've listened to the same voice for three collective hours, I don't have the same perspective as fresh ears do, and the podcast would suffer without their help.

This whole process is really exciting to me! It has been a lot of fun to create these two episodes, and I really look forward to creating future episodes. Feel free to ask me questions or make suggestions in the comments section.  I hope you enjoy the final product!