Well hello there! Long time no see! New here? Recent listener or old? Big news, so read on!
**Disclaimer: This post was written with the consent of only one other person, though I believe is respectful to other people’s ownership of the Bitter Infertiles podcast. I have made every effort to do so.
Two and a half years ago, in an attempt to find some healing, I had an idea. That idea later became a podcast. It was a podcast that originally started with four hosts, then down to three, then down to none.
There were a lot of reasons we stopped doing it. Some would say it was “drama” because there was a backlash that the three remaining hosts were all pregnant. Some would say there was “drama” behind the scenes.
But that’s not the truth. Yes, there was backlash. There was some drama behind the scenes. But I think most of you know me well enough to know I can deal with backlash and I thrive on drama.
That’s not why we shut down. Not really.
We shut down because I, being the primary driving force behind it, was very down. It was February. I was just heading into bed rest and dealing with Nadav’s first birthday. I was struggling. I couldn’t keep it going because I just couldn’t find the energy.
Then other stuff happened. But we won’t go into that.
A couple of months ago, me and one of the other hosts had a lovely discussion about possibly passing the torch. The podcast was important to us. It was important to a lot of people. It should have a chance to thrive.
We still hadn’t figured out the semantics of how to pass on the torch without hurting feelings. Because we knew it didn’t just belong to the two of us. It was a discussion. We were getting there.
Then another host decided to beat us to the punch without thinking about others’ feelings or discussing it with us. Which inevitably has forced our hand.
Notice I’m not naming names. If you know, you know. That’s fine.
I am not writing this to start a flame war. Because the truth is the person who “forced our hand” had a darn good idea, despite the very bad way she chose to go about sharing it. The past is the past. I have bigger and more productive things to do. And I don’t want this amazing thing, which a lot of people worked very hard to make happen, to be marred with bitterness and BS.
Here’s the thing: This podcast was and is bigger than egos. Bigger than passive aggressive BS. Bigger than drama. It meant a lot to a lot of people It meant a lot to me and the other hosts.
So after discussing it at length with one of the hosts, I am passing the torch, because I know I am no longer built to hold it.
I am passing it on with fairness and love of what it was, what it can be, and the good it has done.
Here’s how it’s going to work:
If you want to take up the Bitter Infertiles brand, complete with iTunes approval, blog and gmail access, podcast hosting service password, EVERYTHING, send me an email and tell me why you want it and what you’d like to do with it.
I will forward your email to ALL FOUR ORIGINAL HOSTS of the podcast. Because we all deserve a say. There will not be drama, we will vote on the merit of the person who wants it. Nothing more.
When a consensus is reached – and it will be reached because I don’t intend on making any of this personal – the new owner will be announced on this blog and on my personal blog, and will be handed the keys to the kingdom.
A few things to keep in mind:
1) Running a podcast costs money, and the more popular it gets, the more it costs because of hosting and streaming costs. At its peak, I was spending $300 dollars a month to keep the podcast running. You can try to crowdfund it, but whatever you do, you need to find a way to fund it.
2) This will take a lot of time out of your week. I spent an average of 5 hours a week planning, answering emails, and booking guests, 2 hours recording, then anywhere between 5-10 hours editing the podcast every week.
3) Running it requires a minimal knowledge of audio editing and exporting.
4) This podcast meant a lot to a lot of people. Please be willing to take my baby and nurture it for the long haul. I can promise you the rewards are worth the hard work.
When something is created, all of its creators deserve credit and a say. This is the way to do it. I want this podcast to live on. I can’t keep it going myself.
Though I hope whoever takes it over will let me and the rest of the girls drop by for a visit every once in a while.
So… Who’s up? Feel free to share this post with anyone who you think would be a good fit.
For anyone still here, thanks for sticking around, and as always – thanks for listening.
Love,
Mo
Bitter Infertiles 