Hi, friends! The last two days I have been enjoying my time at the Detroit Podcast Festival 2019! This is the second year of the podcast festival and also my first time attending.

So far, Travis and I have attended the Kick-Off Mixer at Marble Bar and Shannon Cason’s Homemade Stories Podcast at MusicTown Detroit. Both events have given me a glimpse into the art of storytelling. 

KICK-OFF MIXER FEATURING SNAP JUDGMENT’S GLYNN WASHINGTON

Following the Storytelling 101 event (featuring Satori Shakoor), the Detroit Podcast Festival hosted a kick-off mixer at Marble Bar. Two big highlights of the event were Satori Shakoor and Glynn Washington sharing their stories. 

Shakoor is an acclaimed storyteller and the founder and executive producer of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers. According to its website, the Detroit-based, storytelling society is an award-winning, live curated storytelling event. Every month the group hosts storytelling events. You can read more about The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers here.

Erin Allen and Joy Mohammed are the co-founders of the Detroit Podcast Festival 2019.

I have heard many wonderful reviews about The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers and I have been wanting to check out one of the group’s events. (Hopefully, this will happen very soon!)

Unfortunately, we arrived a little late to the mixer so we missed hearing Shakoor speak. We did, however, get to hear Glynn Washington share two stories.

Glynn Washington shared two stories at the mixer event.

Washington is the host of NPR’s Snap Judgment. I think Travis and I were the only ones in the room who hadn’t heard of Snap Judgment. I’m fairly new to the podcast scene. I just started listening to podcasts a few months ago so I’m still discovering the hot podcasts out there. 

Either way, I’m so glad I was able to hear Washington speak and learn about Snap Judgment. I even added it to my Spotify podcast playlist so I can start listening to it!

Washington shared two personal stories– one from his youth and another from his college days. I love the way he tells stories. Washington is very animated and the stories are engaging.  

The mixer was also a great opportunity to network with other creatives and storytellers. We even ran into Becky Scarcello and Seth Resler, co-founders and co-hosts of The D Brief Podcast!

Seth Resler and Becky Scarcello are the co-hosts of The D Brief podcast!

SHANNON CASON PRESENTS: HOMEMADE STORIES PODCAST LIVE!

On Friday, we attended Shannon Cason’s live podcast event. The Detroit native is an award-winning storyteller and podcast host of “Homemade Stories.” According to his site, Cason is the chief educator for the Brutally Honest Storytelling workshop series. I heard Cason also pops in on Snap Judgment from time to time. 

Friday night’s event focused on “Brutally Honest Storytelling.” The podcast was recorded live and a couple of audience members were invited to share a brutally honest story. 

Highlights from the event included Cason, Glynn Washington, and Lily Be share their stories. Okay, first Cason opened up the podcast by greeting the audience with “What up doe?” He explained to the audience that’s when you know someone is truly from Detroit. When you greet someone with “What up doe” and the person replies back with “What up doe!” 

I loved that he greeted us with Detroit’s famous expression “What up doe?” As someone who is new to the area, it took me a couple of years to fully understand what “What up doe?” means and to also use it as a greeting, too.

So when Cason said “What up doe?” to all of us, I happily replied in unison with the others, “What up doe!” 

This is a picture of the $30 microphone Cason used when he started podcasting. He recorded his first 50 podcasts with this mic!

Cason also shared a story that was a throwback from a few years ago. The story focused on when people would often ask him, “What the fuck is storytelling?!” 

Washington shared a humorous story about from his college days. Well, it started out kind of funny, but then it ended on a thoughtful note. Meanwhile, Lily Be shared a story about her fear of mass shootings.

The two audience members who shared stories did a great job, too! I know I would have been very nervous to get in front of everyone and share an honest story about myself. 

But I think that’s what makes Cason’s Brutally Honest Storytelling so wonderful. For me, watching the podcast inspired me to think about what stories I can share on Good Life Detroit.

I sometimes feel very shy when it comes to sharing my personal stories. Experiencing “Homemade Stories” live podcast definitely motivated me to start considering opening up a little more!

Glynn Washington
Lily Be

I am attending two more podcast fest events and I will share my recap with you later so stay tuned! You can also follow along on my Instagram as I will be posting real-time updates on my Instagram Stories!

Special thanks to Erin Allen and Joy Mohammed for giving me the opportunity to attend the Detroit Podcast Festival 2019!

ALSO, CHECK OUT ON THE BLOG:

    All photos are courtesy of Good Life Detroit.

    Written by

    Jennifer Hamra

    Freelance creative Jennifer Hamra created her blog Good Life Detroit in 2015 after relocating from Tennessee to Southeast Michigan.

    Inspired by her love for personal blogging and photography, Jennifer likes to share her favorite Detroit things, from cool places to visit (the hidden gems are her favorite!) to the amazing people she has connected with over the years.

    When she's not busy juggling family life and her creative projects, you can find her at an art gallery, community event, farmers market, or spending quiet time at home with a good book and cup of tea.

    Jennifer lives in the metro Detroit area with her husband Travis and their six children.

    Connect with Jennifer on social media @goodlifedetroit on all social media platforms or via email at [email protected].