Welcome to the next in the Podcast Showcase series, where we share podcasts with you in the words of the podcasters themselves. This time, we talk to Like I’m a Six-Year-Old
Sum up your podcast in three sentences
It’s a one-on-one interview show with people from across the political spectrum, featuring me asking dumb and basic questions about the state of the world. It’s about having honest conversations about politics and trying to figure out where people are coming from. Plus I swear a lot and get angry and try to be funny.
Who is your ideal listener? Who loves your show?
Hopefully people who know that the current political economic system stinks and we should do something about it, but who still have a sense of humour.
What made you start this podcast?
I just felt like it was what the world needed, you know? Not enough white male comedians talking bollocks out there. I wanted to change that.
What have you learned about your subject thanks to this podcast?
I’ve found that if people have the space and time to really lay out their thinking – and to have that thinking interrogated – you can get to some really interesting places, intellectually. We don’t have to agree with someone’s position, but I find it rewarding to get my head around why they think that way, and what premises that thinking is based on.
What has your experience of podcasting been? What do you love / hate about the process?
It takes up a lot of time (I record, edit and post it all myself) and I am too lazy to do all the cool extra stuff you need to do to massively grow your audience. But I love the community of listeners that have built up around the show. That particularly comes through whenever I do a live version of the pod.
If someone wants to start listening to your podcast, which episode would you recommend they start with? Why?
If you want to hear a frustrating but good-spirited conversation between me and a young conservative, I’d recommend the episode with commentator Caleb Bond.
If you want to feel good about resistance and struggle (and hear some live music!), I’d recommend my chat with UK folk/protest singer Grace Petrie.
If you want to hear from one of the few decent MPs in Australian federal parliament with a clear moral vision for a better world, I’d recommend my live chat with Adam Bandt from the end of 2019.
Which other podcasts do you love listening to?
I really like Chapo Trap House, Flood Media’s Floodcast and Novara Media’s TyskySour.
For less political things, I enjoy Wil Anderson’s Wilosophy, Josh Earl’s Don’t You Know Who I Am? and The Little Dum Dum Club.
If people want to find you online, where can they do so? Drop your links here (social media, podcast subscription, etc.)
The show’s on my website tomballard.com.au, on Patreon, iTunes and Spotify.
Read the rest of our Podcast Showcases here and find your new listening addiction from among our features!
Do you have a podcast that could be showcased in this spot? Email editor@globalcomment.com with more details.
Image credit: Daniel Friesenecker