NAME: Humans of Twitter
HOST: Steve Molk
One of the best perks of the technological age is when you encounter awesome people online: people you probably would never have met otherwise. What's doubly cool though is when you DO meet them in real life, AND they turn out as awesome in person.
Such was my experience with the wonderful Steve Molk, who runs the Humans of Twitter podcast: a series I am so glad to recommend to you here.
Steve - a respected online journalist/reviewer/blogger with a penchant for people, pop culture, current affairs and cool stuff - and I first met via Twitter a couple of years back. I'm not even sure what it was over actually, except that I know it was inevitably TV related. Because we are both ridiculous TV nerds and nerds will always find likeminded nerds as long as they have a heartbeat and an internet connection.
Three things about Steve stood out to me immediately. The first was that he's a very funny, very genuine human being. He's good value and what you see is what you get. The second is that he's respectful but honest; he values the thoughts and opinions of others but likewise isn't afraid to tell someone off if they're being a prat (something he does with no small amount of sass, for the record).
The third thing you'll notice about Steve, though - straight off the bat - is that he's plain and simple just an easy and really insightful person to talk to.
Hence why - when you listen to his podcast - you will find a plethora of some of the most interesting and wonderful Australians currently working in the wider media community. Writers, journalists, actors, comedians, social commentators: all kinds of interesting folk,
The premise is simple. Each podcast is a profile/conversation of sorts with a person who owns a Twitter account. The episode - usually around 30 minutes long - is designed to help us get to know that person beyond what we see or get to know of them via the 140-character boundaries of Twitter.
What makes Humans of Twitter special though is it's done in a way that makes it feel kind of like you're just the quiet third party at the coffee table, listening to two very interesting people just shoot the breeze. The people like the episodes are suprising, funny, unexpected, challenging and at times quite moving. It stops you ever being able to look at those people the same way again I think; you lose the ability to be indifferent.
Case in point, one of Steve's most recent podcasts, with TV/radio host and all round nice guy, Osher Gunsberg. It's one of my favourite interviews, namely because I loved how - much like the other podcasts in the series - it easily and insightfully stripped away the 'personality' and revealed the person underneath. I liked how it stripped me of a few cynical prejudices that I subconsciously had, too.