In the first edition of a new, more open-ended approach to Podcasting for Humans, I spoke to Katelyn Beaty, the co-host of Saved By The City. In addition to her podcasting work, she’s also a writer, and the difference between writing and podcasting is not lost on her:
“I’m a lefty. And writing will always be my left hand. Podcasting has been like trying to write with my right hand. I'm getting at things that I couldn't get at with my dominant hand.
I think podcasting is about relationship and what's emerging between two or more people.
Writing is solitary. Writing just feels like I have these things in my head and my head's about to explode, so I need to get the things out of my head so it doesn't explode.”
I appreciate Katelyn’s articulation of that distinction, because as someone who writes as little as I can get away with (consider yourself lucky you’re reading this at all!), I struggle to take on control, to be proactive, and to communicate ideas clearly without overthinking or spiraling into my own head.
Honestly, this is why I appreciate podcasting so much: it allows me to put my work into the hands of others, and trust that they have something meaningful to contribute to whatever my whole thing is in the first place.
That trust is not easy to come by. Auteur theory took hold in the film world because there was an assumption that the creator knows best - that communication is best when it is harnessed by a singular vision. And in some cases, that’s true! It’s hard to argue with the greatness of Oppenheimer, or a classic Scorsese movie.
But in the world of podcasting, there’s something lost in the restraining force of one creator’s vision: a deeper sense of real-world dialogue and relational interplay that makes the medium what it is.
The fact is, that kind of collaborative approach can often be messy. It can feel awkward or stilted. Sometimes it can outright fail. But it’s worth it, because the work itself is worth it.
If the point of podcasting is connection, that connection starts at home, as they say, with the very people you’re podcasting with. And building out that connection through a series of experiments, attempts, and yes, failures, is the only real way to build true chemistry.
If you’d like to hear more about how Katelyn Beaty grew more and more comfortable with the art of podcasting and the relinquishing of control, listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to Katelyn’s newsletter: The Beaty Beat.
Listen to Katelyn and Roxy’s podcast, Saved By The City.
Saved By The City's Katelyn Beaty: Trading Control for Chemistry