BONUS: Interviewer Inspo

Some pods offer a peek behind the curtain. But in today's bonus episode, Michelle and Joan give peeks inside their heads!

Now that they're doing the asking, whose asking acts as examples to emulate?

And, yes, you'll be left asking yourself "wait, who had their own talk show?!"

Some delicious samples from this bonus served up in paper soufflé cups below:

Michelle:
"These are things you maybe you talk about with your friends over a happy hour and you commiserate and then you go on to do something else. But if they're actually, in our case, real barriers to not only us, but lots of other people being able to not only go after their dreams, but have financial wellbeing. So, maybe we should talk about them."

Joan:
"For so many years, if not decades, I did not know I had the right to inquire, to ask people to explain or clarify things, which is a big deal."

Podcast cover art by Lisa Orye
Executive Producers,  Joan Kanner and Michelle Bond

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Transcript

Joan Kanner (00:00.494)
Now, Michelle, this is a very different format for the pod. This whole us interviewing people thing. Do you have any interviewer inspo? Anyone that you look up to as an interviewer and just kind of like [go], "yeah, I'm going to... I've learned from this person. I'm going to emulate them." Like a Phil Donahue, maybe a Jenny Jones. I mean, where are we going with this? 

Michelle Bond
Oh boy. I'm going to, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about me right now in this response.

Joan Kanner
Does it involve Tempest Bledsoe? What's happening? 

Michelle Bond
Oh gosh, no, but I saw that. I was in college when Tempest was out and I got tickets to see a live recording and it was, it was everything you would expect it to be. 

Joan Kanner
I don't know what I would expect. 

Michelle Bond
Just picture those kind of shows of that era, right? 

Joan Kanner
Got it. Like Ricky Lake, who I love. 

Michelle Bond
Oh, Ricky. No, Ricky was. Is, I mean... She's still around. But I mean, that show, that's just on a long time but um interviewing uh.

Michelle Bond (01:12.238)
Yeah, I've got a few. I mean, clearly. Yeah. Interviewing inspo, I got to say in terms of topics and this kind of balance of like tenderness and humanity with also directness and getting to the juice is, um, is Anna Sale from "Death, Sex & Money." I feel like my entire tree of pod, like my, the entire tree of podcasts that I consume these days started like 10 years ago with.

Anna Sale on "Death, Sex & Money," and then things that have like, you know, um, had ads on that show over the years that then have led to other things and other things and other things. Um, and so I just think her journalism background mixed with like this, um, desire to have some of these real conversations that stem from topics such as "Death, Sex & Money," you know, it means no surprise, right? These are things that don't get talked about, but are important.

And that's kind of similar to what we're trying to do, right? These are things you don't, maybe you talk about with your friends over a happy hour and you commiserate and then you go on to do something else. But if they're actually, in our case, if they're actually real barriers to not only us, but lots of other people being able to not only go after their dreams, but have financial wellbeing, maybe we should talk about them.

Michelle Bond (02:42.67)
So that'd be my answer, Anna Sale. How about you? How about you? 

Joan Kanner
For me... how about you? I have two main folks I'm thinking of in this moment. Not realizing you'd be turning the tables on me and asking the same question.

I feel like I would, okay... so one inspo is myself. Let's see where I'm going with this.

For so many years, if not decades, I did not know I had the right to inquire, to ask people to explain or clarify things, which is a big deal. 

Michelle Bond
Huge, yeah. 

Joan Kanner
Which is huge. It was not modeled for me. I was not encouraged to do so growing up and it's taken a while.

I've also been, like, I've had negative consequences to me questioning people, right? Like whenever I'm asking a question it's seen as questioning sometimes, especially professionally - and personally, actually for that matter. So just generally, right? I ask a question and it's questioning. 

Michelle Bond
"Why you being so negative?" 

Joan Kanner
I'm gonna because... right? Exactly. "You don't need to know. Don't question me." So there's that and I've gotten over that. Mostly.

Some of the inspiration from this phase of being okay with things. I will also draw from Dr? Sheila. 

Michelle Bond
Dr? Sheila. I hope some of our listeners know Dr? Sheila. 

Joan Kanner
I hope so. Short -lived pod, but beautiful. And because she's fantastic at improvising and you have to do that. And like, I'm going to have a couple of questions that I know I'm going to write down to ask our guests, just to make sure I cover them. My hope in the moment to be as...

Joan Kanner(04:32.27)
... swift and quick-witted as Dr? Sheila. And I also love sometimes when there's just like empty space, she'll just say, "say more..." And I hope to also know when to just be simple. Say more. 

Michelle Bond
I just can't get that song in my head. Yeah. 

Joan Kanner
So hopefully I will also like know those moments. So there we go. Inspo, where I'm at right now. And also Dr? Sheila. 

Michelle Bond
I love it. I love it. I'd listen to that.

Joan Kanner
This has been a bonus episode of the Proofing Stage Pod.

Michelle Bond
Listen, subscribe, share it. Thanks for supporting the show.