Alberta Podcast Network
Teen explains her media to her mom on ‘That’s a Thing?!’
If you’ve ever wondered what on Earth the kids in your life are talking about, there’s a podcast that may be able to help.
That’s a Thing?! is billed as “a sometimes belated, already outdated guide to your teens, tweens and everything under 20.”
The idea emerged from conversations between Karen Unland and her daughter, Elizabeth. She would mention something like creepypasta or the antics of some YouTuber, and her mother would literally exclaim, “That’s a thing?!”
As they are both avid podcast listeners, and Unland is the founder of the Alberta Podcast Network, it made sense to have the mics on for the resulting conversation.
You can hear Elizabeth “teensplain” her media culture to her mom once a month. On occasion, Elizabeth brother Jonathan makes an appearance as well.
If you want to see them in real life, That’s a Thing?! is putting on a live show at Edmonton’s SkirtsAfire festival on March 17.
Here’s a bit more from the mother-daughter team behind the show:
Q. What will people get out of listening to your podcast?
A. People who don’t understand what kids these days are on about will find our podcast illuminating. But this isn’t a “get off my lawn” kind of thing — Karen isn’t so much disdainful as amused and fascinated, and Elizabeth takes a bit of an anthropological approach to it. We laugh a lot, and it’s kind of a chance to overhear a mother and daughter having a conversation across the generation gap.
Q. What’s the most interesting comment you’ve received from a listener?
A. I’m not sure the comments will make any sense in isolation, but we’re proud to have former Edmonton Journal columnist and now Canadian senator Paula Simons as a fan, and it’s pretty cool to hear her reactions to the shows.
Q. What podcasts do you listen to?
A. We listen to way too many podcasts. Elizabeth likes everything that Night Vale Presents puts out, as well as Sawbones, You Must Remember This, Let’s Find Out, and a lot of true crime. Karen listens to as many members of the Alberta Podcast Network as she can every week, plus a lot of Slate Gabfests, On the Media, Recode Media, Canadaland and Reply All, among others.
Q. Why do you think people enjoy podcasts?
A. They are hands-free, eyes-free entertainment that you can program yourself. You can hear people speak passionately about the very thing you are passionate about.
Q. Write your own epitaph — what would it say?
A. Karen: I tried.
Elizabeth: I wanted a green burial — why do I have a headstone?
Q. What has been your favourite episode and why?
A. Don’t forget to floss (or do) — it explores the music and dance trends of both our eras, and it was fun to research.
Be sure to connect with That’s a Thing?! on Twitter and Instagram.
Over the next several weeks, Todayville will introduce you to members of the Alberta Podcast Network, so you can invite even more Alberta-made podcasts into your ears! You can find That’s a Thing?! and dozens of other shows at albertapodcastnetwork.com.
About Alberta Podcast Network
The Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, is on a mission to:
- Help Alberta-based podcasters create podcasts of high quality and reach larger audiences;
- Foster connections among Alberta-based podcasters;
- Provide a powerful marketing opportunity for local businesses and organizations.
Alberta Podcast Network Ltd. is pursuing this mission with funding from ATB Financial and support from other sponsors.
If you’re interested in looking after yourself a little better — and who isn’t? — Healthy Lifestyle Design provides an easy and pleasant step in the right direction.
This is a podcast featuring Janet and Pamella Heikel, a mother and daughter who believe “it takes only a single step to make a positive change in your life: body, mind, and soul.”
Every two weeks, they have frank, intergenerational conversations about health and wellness, grounded in their own experiences. They also offer tips and suggestions, and the episodes often end with a few minutes of guided meditation, to send you into the rest of your day in a more relaxed frame of mind.
Each episode features not only useful insights, but also just the pleasure of hearing two people with a deep love and respect for each other.
Let’s learn a little more about the women of Healthy Lifestyle Design:
Q. What will people get out of listening to your podcast?
A. Perhaps inspiration, feeling connected to a community, solutions to their health and wellness challenges, a different point of view.
Q. If you could have any guest on your show, who would you want?
A. Janet would want Oprah for sure, just to have the chance to talk to her about how they both are very determined women who don’t let anything hold them back! Pamella would want Peter Rollins. He is a co-host of The Fundamentalists podcast and a modern-day philosopher from Ireland. We would talk about God, religion, and the human condition, while sipping gin.
Q.What podcasts do you listen to?
A. Rob Bell’s The RobCast; You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes; The Fundamentalists; Armchair Expert; Bliss and Grit; Conversation with Alanis Morissette; SuperSoul Conversations; Serial; Under the Skin with Russell Brand; Move Your DNA; The Living Experiment.
Q. Do you have any unusual hobbies or talents?
A. Pamella is a poet (something she doesn’t always talk about but would define herself as solely). Janet is ambidextrous.
Q. Write your own epitaph — what would it say?
A. Pamella: I loved and lived deeply and died passionately.
Janet: I came. I saw. And lived it ALL my way.
Q. What has been your favourite episode and why?
A. Episode 75, Samskara: We got a lot of traction with this topic from listeners. We talked about what this word/idea is and how it shows up in our life. It finds its way into almost all of our episodes. The idea of repeating habits and patterns; stored energy; clinging to life that is always changing. It was a great conversation.
Click to listen to ‘Samskara’
Be sure to connect with the show through Pamella on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, and Janet on Instagram.
Over the next several weeks, Todayville will introduce you to members of the Alberta Podcast Network, so you can invite even more Alberta-made podcasts into your ears! You can find Healthy Lifestyle Design and dozens of other shows at albertapodcastnetwork.com.
About Alberta Podcast Network
The Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, is on a mission to:
- Help Alberta-based podcasters create podcasts of high quality and reach larger audiences;
- Foster connections among Alberta-based podcasters;
- Provide a powerful marketing opportunity for local businesses and organizations.
Alberta Podcast Network Ltd. is pursuing this mission with funding from ATB Financial and support from other sponsors.
If you’re looking for advice and inspiration from someone who walks her talk, look no further than Girl Tries Life.
Host Victoria Smith provides women with “the tools, strategies and inspiration to live their best lives.” And she knows whereof she speaks.
Her podcast recently passed the 100-episode mark, which is all the more impressive when you know she had a toddler son when she started, and gave birth to her daughter last year. Plus she has spun her work off into a business, called Stress Less Ladies, which has been accepted into the ATB X incubator.
Girl Tries Life alternates between interviews with women who are living incredible lives and continue to strive for more, and coaching episodes to tackle specific challenges that Smith has observed and sometimes lived through herself.
Let’s learn a little more about empathetic, knowledgeable host of this show:
Q. What will people get out of listening to your podcast?
A. Inspiration from the badass women that I interview. And every coaching episode provides a tangible tool, skill or mindset shift to help them with their daily challenges.
Q. If you could have any guest on your show, who would you want and why?
A. Catherine Reitman, the creator of Working Moms. It’s an incredibly funny show, she’s whip-smart, and I think her perspective on how women can move up in the workforce even when their resumes don’t reflect it would be incredible.
Q. What podcasts do you listen to?
A. Pod Save America, HPX, Rise Podcast, Rise Together, Rise Without Compromise, Armchair Expert, Here to Make Friends
Q. Do you have any unusual hobbies or talents?
A. Does podcasting count? Also, avoiding piles of Lego and other small sharp toys my son leaves on the floor.
Q. Write your own epitaph — what would it say?
A. It’s not about the achievements, it’s about putting in the effort and enjoying the journey.
Q. What has been your favourite episode and why?
A. So hard to choose! Probably one of my favourites would have been when I interviewed Bryony Gordon to talk about mental health. She is someone who I have so respected, and is so well known in her field. I’d say she was my “big fish” of interviewees.
Be sure to connect with Smith on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
Over the next several weeks, Todayville will introduce you to members of the Alberta Podcast Network, so you can invite even more Alberta-made podcasts into your ears! You can find Girl Tries Life and dozens of other shows at albertapodcastnetwork.com.
About Alberta Podcast Network
The Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, is on a mission to:
- Help Alberta-based podcasters create podcasts of high quality and reach larger audiences;
- Foster connections among Alberta-based podcasters;
- Provide a powerful marketing opportunity for local businesses and organizations.
Alberta Podcast Network Ltd. is pursuing this mission with funding from ATB Financial and support from other sponsors.
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