Podcast: A Boy's Life - Episode 2

The second episode, The Boxer, of my (experimental) podcast A Boy's Life is now available for download. My intentions are two-fold. First, working on a monthly podcast is giving me a better handle on what I can realistically expect from an 8th grade student--producing a podcast is not easy. Second, it gives me someplace to revise and publish many short pieces I have written about my adolescence.

This episode is about the fighting and violence I was exposed to on regular basis from about 6th grade through my Junior year of high school. Fighting was just a matter of life. Behind the narratives are the decisions we made as kids--to start a fight, fight back, to stand and take it, or to run. It has been interesting to look back at that social order taking shape--in some respects, aspects of it were really quite dangerous and threatening.

As far as the technical side of podcasting is concerned, I have learned just how deliberate sound is. My struggles run the gamut from decisions on music (how much; when do I lead it in; when do I fade it out) to creating an easy delivery--trying to sound conversational while reading from a script does not come naturally.

Writing for sound is also a very different animal. While composing this episode, I found myself writing in two voices--the style I have come to develop as a writers, and the persona (a work in progress) who comes out as a reader. Suddenly, my voice takes on an edge and my old speech patterns from those days returns.

The music has become one of my favorite parts of writing and producing the podcast...and it isn't even mine. National Writing Project Fellow, and friend, Ben Smith is a young, brilliant musician. He teaches high school English by day, and must spend a large portion of his other life immersed in music. I enjoy his style and voice, and had to laugh when he suggested his song "I Recognize Your Fist" as the music for this episode.

Use the link below to access a direct link to it:
A Boy's Life: Episode Two - The Boxer

Or subscribe to get each monthly episode through iTunes
A Boy's Life Podcast (iTunes)