It’s an absolute pleasure to feature a podcast from my city.

Their show hits home with a lot of my childhood, and especially the stories from my real Portuguese friends growing up. They’re doing a lot of things right with their podcast, pay attention to more than just their #podcastsetup.

Cheers!

Listen to a recent episode:

Summarize your show for us

Millennial children of immigrants reflect on their intangible heritage.  

Mel & Kel share stories, anecdotes, and historical information about growing up as first generation American millennials in the city with the nation’s most dense Portuguese population.

Why do listeners subscribe to your podcast?

Culture is a funny thing.  It can make you feel connected to a total stranger.

It fascinates me how people living all across the world can share mannerisms, sayings, traditions, recipes, beliefs, and fears.  Our listeners often tell us that we remind them of their family members and that our show feels like home.

What makes your approach to podcasting different from others?

We are sharing our own  personal stories (and those of our guests and listeners) across the backdrop of the immigrant experience.  

This folk culture niche is not well represented by the existing catalog of podcasts, despite immigrants and their first-born children making up 25 percent of the US population and rising.  

I’ve seen creators sharing this experience in other formats but I couldn’t find anyone doing so in this medium, which propelled me to create it myself.

What do you hope listeners gain from your show?

In my 30s, I realized I had work to do to ‘unlearn’ ideas of guilt, fear, shame, and social norms influenced by ethnicity, religion, and media.  

Armed with a sarcastic and humorous delivery even when handling the most sacred of topics, I continuously explore and challenge how to break-free from these ideas throughout the show.  

Each episode also has a segment dedicated to specifically talking about mental health (the elephant in the room of our culture) and sharing best practices.

What does your podcast legacy look like?

My podcast legacy is an entertaining collection of stories and discussions that preserve the past of our culture and help shape the future of it.  

I am also eager to expand the show to include voices from other cultures — I bet our foreign parent upbringings are more similar than not.

What’s the best piece of advice you have for other podcasters?

Perfect is the enemy of the good.  I’m a recovering perfectionist, so I struggled with this one myself.  

My podcast would have never launched if I waited to feel ready.  I told myself we were doing a practice run — hit record, gave editing a good college try, and then I decided to go ahead and put it out into the world with all of its imperfections.  

Now, I simply try to focus on moving the needle to improve one thing each week. Done is better than perfect!

What software do you use to produce your podcast?

• GarageBand (edit imported audio files)
• Auphonic (post-production web service)
• Anchor (hosting)
• Adobe Rush (video clips)

What hardware do you use to record your podcast?

• MacBook Pro
• Audio-Technica 2100x Mic
• ATR2005 USB Mic
• Audio-Technica ATH-M20X Headphones
• Adapters, stands, and lighting galore!

What makes your podcast setup work for you?

My cohost and I live in different states and we originally would travel because we felt it was important to record in person together while we got our feet under us. I found that there was some minor mic bleed that made editing difficult because the audio, though recorded on separate tracks, was never truly separate.  

We made the switch to remote recording via Zoom, which solved the bleed through problem, made for easier editing, and gave us the ability to easily record with guests.  

The simplicity of our setup is what works best for us, but we ARE about ready to upgrade to a remote recording platform with better video quality.

I use a padded tablecloth to add cultural flair while minimizing the dreaded table tapping sounds.  And my personal favorite but least practical part of the setup is the custom church pew seat — all style, zero function!

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