Podcasts by Ella Boleynn (I'm Finally Ready to Speak)

Skip the story and jump straight to links for the three new podcasts by Ella Boleynn.

I spent 8 years hibernating from this blog and the public eye as I decomposed and rebirthed myself and my voice. And now, I am finally ready to speak. The last several months, it has felt so good to be back in the routine of writing, creating, and sharing the things I create with others. Trauma stole my voice for almost a decade, but once I started speaking, I just couldn’t stop.

My Little Girl Radio Dreams

I’ve always been an auditory learner, and when I was a little girl I dreamed of having my own radio show just like Delilah. I would lay in bed or ride in the car with my parents listening to Pillow Talk every Monday-Friday evening through my childhood and adolescence. I learned a lot about humanity from the dedications they made on her radio show. The two times I managed to call dedications in were incredibly exciting to me.

Delilah wasn’t my only radio “experience”. I recently found the local radio clip where I was interviewed about the high school play. My friend’s mom got us the interview. When I stumbled onto the file, it was still saved in my inbox from when I sent it to myself half a lifetime ago.

Its title?

“My Radio Debut”

Like some wannabe would-be starlet just waiting for her break.

Why I Avoided Podcasts for So Long — And Why I Finally Made The Jump

So I guess it’s surprising that I have never tried to podcast before. I’ve watched afar as a couple of acquaintances found success in the medium, but for some reason, I just never looked into audio content. Because I wasn’t a listener, I didn’t really think about being a creator — and I just assumed it would be overly complicated technically.

But when I resurrected this blog a few months ago, something inside of me shifted in a major way. The need to speak bubbled up. I felt — in a visceral way — my voice straining to come out, needing to be raised.

Part of my decision to start podcasting was because I finally became a consumer of podcasts. Where short-form video and audio content are not at all enjoyable to me, a well-done podcast can truly transport me and educate me in a way that nothing else can. As an auditory learner who thinks in voice rather than image, podcasts are just a good fit for how my brain works.

I know the impact that a podcast can have on someone. I have been more strongly impacted by the few podcasters I listen to than any other influencers I follow online. There is something personal about listening to a podcast — something so often done as part of a routine. A podcast host feels more like a friend than a blogger ever can.

Finally, I decided to just DO THE THING.

I’d been outlining ideas for a few podcasts for a couple of years, but I just assumed that I needed a fancy microphone and all kinds of equipment to get started.

Then, one day, on a whim, I thought I would go ahead and start the process of making the ExMormon podcast I’d been outlining for years — just as an experiment to see how difficult it would be. I realized that I’d been putting it off for too long and that even a terrible podcast was better than no podcast at all.

So I chose to just DO THE THING.

In less than a day, I had released the first episode on Spotify.

I couldn’t believe it was that easy. Within just a few days, the episode was on all the major podcast streaming platforms. I even lucked out and got a few people listening because ExMormon facebook groups are so active and supportive. Within 24 hours, I wasn’t just speaking, I was speaking to genuine and real people.

One Podcast Just Wasn’t Enough.

I’ve always loved poetry because it is the music of words. The pauses and how the words are said are as important as the actual meaning. The sound of language is art itself — separate and detached from the meaning it ascribes.

When I write, I hear my own voice saying the words. I can’t visualize a thing when I close my eyes, but I can always hear my inner voice.

And now, my voice, my words, my music, my poetry, my songs, my soul —
can be heard.

Just as easily as I can type the words here, I can speak them straight to your ears. And truly, it is just about as easy as typing them here.

As soon as I realized that creating a podcast wasn’t technically difficult, I went ahead and created the other two podcast series I had been thinking about starting.

And that’s how I went from having no podcasts to having three.

Building podcasts can be a slow process, and getting the first 100 listeners is a big step. sEXyMOfo has already reached that threshold, but Ella Boleynn Speaks and Ella Poetica are still getting started. Listens, shares, reviews, and subscribes on your podcast platform(s) are immensely helpful. Thank you in advance for anything you do to support these projects!

Also, if you’re interested in being a guest on any of the podcasts, let me know. I am very interested in connecting with other artists, philosophers, content creators, and researchers seeking to maintain and refine our humanity as technology and inhumanity catapult us into this brave new world.

These podcasts are representative of the broader change in the direction of my content now that I’ve resurrected the blog. I’m no longer interested in creating just to create — in writing solely for income. Now, I am creating for my soul, sharing only the types of content that I feel compelled to share. Be on the lookout for more community-driven and intimately educational content in the coming months.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! Don’t forget to subscribe / share whichever podcasts seem interesting.