noun : an accumulation of loose stones or rocky debris lying on a slope or at the base of a hill or cliff.
Adapted from a series of Instagram posts by Weiss, the film blends reenactments, live action and, of course, some exquisite microscopy to explore how his tendency to seek ‘comfort in unusual places’ culminated in his spending up to 16 hours at a time with only single-celled organisms as company.
~ from, A body called life
Watch.
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He smiled a little. He looked forward, thinking, perhaps about the movie, as if it hadn’t crossed his mind for a long time. Then he grinned and said: “Money job.”
~ Ben Stiller from, Gene Hackman’s Simple Truth
It’s not clear, of course, exactly how Hackman meant for Stiller to take his simply reply. But, having seen The Poseidon Adventure, I’m taking it this way: Hackman is a consummate professional, able to deliver. “You need what done? I can do that.” That’s a professional.
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How does a podcast serving millions still make each listener feel personally connected?
Discover why “connection, not perfection” became the north star for one of the world’s most-listened-to language shows.
[Do you ever freak-out thinking about 200,000 people listening?] I think that our vision of the human connection is still so strong inside me, that I think about that. I think about that listener who might feel isolated right now because of language. They’re either living in the US and they’re struggling to get connected in their community, or they’re on a call from Japan to New York and they’re cringing because they think they just said the wrong thing and they’re not building the business relationship.
~ Lindsay McMahon (19:00)
This conversation with Lindsay McMahon explores the strategic structure and guiding values behind one of the most successful podcasts for English language learners. Lindsay discusses how the show’s consistency in structure, length, and tone builds trust and supports learning. The format was intentionally designed from the beginning, and every episode follows a clear template. The recurring message, “connection, not perfection,” drives the brand and resonates deeply with listeners around the world. The show targets global English learners, particularly professionals, and publishes five days a week, delivering a sense of reliability and approachability.
Lindsay shares her team-building strategy, including how co-hosts are hired, trained, and retained. She emphasizes treating podcasting as a business (for example, offering benefits like 401(k) matching), which contributes to long-term team cohesion. The show’s monetization model is also discussed, covering courses, sponsorships, licensing, and Apple+ subscriptions. The team uses lead magnets (like quizzes), and consistent calls to action are embedded in every episode. Additional topics include burnout, managing production buffers, and ambitions to expand into live events and podcast coaching.
Takeaways
Designing a consistent episode format — A deliberate structure supports language learning and creates a predictable listener experience.
“Connection, not perfection” as a guiding principle — Prioritizing human connection over grammatical precision challenges traditional language instruction.
Podcasting as a business, not a hobby — Hiring co-hosts as paid team members ensures accountability and long-term consistency.
Lead magnets drive engagement — Quizzes are particularly effective at converting listeners into email subscribers.
Outlining instead of scripting — Episodes are outlined with teaching goals but intentionally unscripted to maintain spontaneity.
Batch recording and long buffers — Maintaining a three-week content buffer ensures uninterrupted delivery despite emergencies.
Burnout isn’t hypothetical — High-stress periods, like losing a team member, can lead to physical consequences and force reevaluation.
Team chemistry matters — Rapport between co-hosts is essential and carefully considered during hiring.
Being contrarian creates distinction — Challenging industry norms, like overemphasis on perfection, helps define a unique brand identity.
Listener-first thinking — Constant attention is paid to whether the listener is engaged and whether the show is truly serving their needs.
Video is a distribution channel, not a core product — Repurposing podcast audio for YouTube helps reach wider audiences without diluting focus.
Podcasting isn’t the business — The podcast functions as the top of a funnel for a multifaceted language education company.
Seasons don’t make sense for some formats — A continuous delivery model supports learners’ expectations and needs.
In-person events are powerful but resource-heavy — Listener meetups provide deep engagement but require significant logistics.
Launching early provided advantage — Entering the English-as-second-language podcast market in 2013 gave a head start with less competition.
Resources
All Ears English — Main site for the language-learning podcast and its related offerings.
All Ears English YouTube Channel — Video recordings of podcast episodes for additional reach.
Apple Podcasts: All Ears English — To listen, but also if you want to see what they’re doing with Apple+ subscriptions and how that shows up in the Apple player.
Business English from All Ears English — One of the brand’s additional podcasts focused on business-specific English learning.
IELTS Energy Podcast — Show for students preparing for the IELTS exam, also under the All Ears English brand.
OptinMonster — Tool mentioned for generating email opt-ins from website traffic.
Podcast Movement — Mentioned as the location (at the 2024 event in London) of recent discussions on the future of video in podcasting.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Reading my previous journal entries (as I do every morning) I was surprised to find it’s been only a year since I move my 7 for Sunday weekly email off to its own site. (If you like reading my blog posts, you’ll love reading my weekly email. ;)
It was quite a lot of work, although I’d completely forgotten all about it. What a gift it was to my today-self; yes, the work to move the project making it even better, but more so the delight of being reminded to look back and appreciate the project now.
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What happens when faith, logic, and vulnerability collide in a personal search for truth?
Cassian Bellino has turned personal doubt into a public quest for answers interviewing scholars about Christianity.
I think just, over time, you really understand that God invites these questions because He doesn’t want us to live blindly or have blind faith.
~ Cassian Bellino (36:55)
The conversation explores the origin and evolution of Cassian’s podcast, Biblically Speaking, focused on asking scholars direct, often difficult questions about Christianity. It begins with her internal conflict—wanting to live as a Christian while not fully understanding or agreeing with the faith—and follows her decision to start a podcast to resolve those doubts through dialogue. Cassian’s podcast is a place for intellectual exploration, built from personal curiosity and a desire for logical clarity rather than blind faith.
The discussion touches on content strategy, emotional challenges, and the mechanics of sustaining a solo creative endeavor. Cassian recounts her journey through building community platforms, hiring coaches, learning software systems, and dealing with burnout. Marketing, guest outreach, and pre-call preparation processes are shared in detail, alongside reflections on episodes that felt like failures but later proved meaningful to listeners. Throughout, the conversation centers on the power of asking questions and trusting intuition to guide the creative process.
Takeaways
Starting with doubt — A podcast was born from unresolved questions about faith and a desire for logical understanding.
Living authentically — The tension between personal beliefs and behavior pushed a transformation toward integrity.
Faith as inquiry — Rather than blind acceptance, the creator invites and pursues questions to deepen belief.
Community encouragement — Support from family and friends played a pivotal role in catalyzing the podcast’s launch.
No formal training — The project began without vision, planning, or marketing infrastructure, yet succeeded organically.
Scholarly access — Professors were invited via public contact information, creating opportunities for deep conversations.
Iterative development — The podcast and related projects grew through trial, error, and continuous refinement.
Strategic pivoting — Several initiatives were launched and later shut down based on response and sustainability.
Emotional cycles — Creative highs and lows are acknowledged as normal and are met with grace and reflection.
Guest preparation — Pre-calls, topic selection, and clear expectations ensure productive and respectful interviews.
Mismatch recovery — A seemingly misaligned episode later proved invaluable to a listener, showing the value of publishing anyway.
Platform building — Tools like Go High Level, automated funnels, and lead magnets were adopted through hands-on experience.
Future expansion — Plans include more complex episodes with multiple guests and potential sponsorship monetization.
Audience insights — The content resonates strongly with stay-at-home mothers and reflective older men.
Constructive doubt — A major theme is that God welcomes questions and wants people to understand their faith deeply.
Resources
bibspeak.com — The Biblically Speaking podcast’s official website, with guides and merchandise for its audience.
@thisisbiblicallyspeaking — Instagram
@thisisbiblicallyspeaking (TikTok) — TikTok
Biblically Speaking Podcast — YouTube
Go High Level — Platform used for building funnels, automating email, and managing community outreach.
intro.co — Platform used to connect with podcasting coaches and mentors.
testimonial.to — Tool for collecting and displaying user testimonials.
The Hansel and Gretel Code — Curtis Cates’s podcast mentioned by Craig that explores intuitive storytelling (particularly episode 31, The Power of Plan B.)
David Wasicki — Podcast coach mentioned by Cassian, who provided guidance on branding and emotional support.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.
~ Steven Pressfield, from Writing Wednesdays: The Unlived Life
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For me there’s a huge tension between those two. I see so many things that I want to do—and I don’t mean binge-watch TV shows. I imagine something I’d like to write—for example, a weekly, emailed publication for paying subscribers—and the complexity of creating it overwhelms me. The writing is the easy part; Or, am I deluding myself? The only salve I’ve found is to remind myself over and over and over that I consistently overestimate what I can get done in a day, and underestimate what I can get done in a lifetime.
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Claude and I discussed it, and my theory (Claude is giving me full credit) is an LLM of this sort is not a communications medium at all. There’s no way for a human to put a new idea directly into it and no way to send that message to another human. Instead, my take is that Claude brings us everything it knows, and that its function is to help us go within, not across.
~ Seth Godin, from Across and within | Seth’s Blog
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A slightly longer than usual blog post from Godin making the interesting point differentiating across time, versus across space (just normal space, not outer space.) I know I find “talking” with LLMs very helpful for various reasons. I think the biggest is that it is (or at least “feels like”) one-on-one communication; It’s very much not social media where I always feel like I’m serving corporate masters by making grist for their mills.
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There’s a pretty obvious incentive at play when companies have the ability to unilaterally alter how their products work after you buy them and you are legally prohibited to change how the product works after you buy them. This is the first lesson of the Darth Vader MBA: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”
~ Cory Doctorow, from Pluralistic: Brother makes a demon-haunted printer
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There are many wrongs to right in the world. This one “small” legal wrinkle doesn’t seem like a big deal at first glance. And then…
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In a word, Senecan joy comes from within, from a good person’s own character and conduct: it arises from goodness itself and from right actions that one performs. This means that joy will not always be a matter of smiles and laughter, for good actions may be difficult and unpleasant: one may have to accept poverty, endure pain, even die for one’s country. A good person does these things only when they are right, and only for that reason, but the doing is itself a good and a reason to rejoice.
~ Margaret Graver and A. A. Long from Letters on Ethics
I don’t understand how we got to the common definition of “stoic”—the suppression of emotions. It’s a shame, because Stoicism is literally the opposite of suppressing one’s emotions. Emotions and reason have their right place. Stoic joy.
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However, the amount of discomfort and whether people agree to the possibility in the first place are essential to ethical practice. I contend that sayings like ‘It has to get worse before it gets better’ often gloss over the reality that some meditations and therapies simply don’t work for everyone, while others are actively harmful. So, when is getting worse a sign that ‘the process’ is working, and when is it an indicator that the approach is unhelpful or even harmful?
~ Nicholas Van Dam, from In therapy or meditation, is it normal to feel worse at first?
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I had bookmarked this a while back after reading it. I was reminded of it as I sat in a warm patch of sun meditating this morning. For me, the sort of meditation I practice—every day, as best I can—is absolutely helpful.
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The spot of the “QM Flow” session that I taught with Evan the weekend past at the Move NYC event. Sometimes I just take pictures where nothing is happening… yet.
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I spend far too much time “working” inside the virtual world. When I get a chance (as I just did) to go do stuff entirely in the real-world, with scarcely a moment to check in online, I end up with piles of backlogged “work.” It’s at this point that I try to pare things down. I’d love to do zero computer work—but that’s not happening while my faculties hold out. Until then, I’ll continue to trim and optimize.
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As I’m getting ready for a road trip, I’m finishing up as many things as I can. I always say I want to spend less time at my computer. That will definitely be the case for the next five days. Yes, please.
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I keep a board with sticky-notes. Right at eye level, right next to my most-common workspace. What’s the simplest thing that could possibly work? In this case it’s rows for day-of-the week, and date at the top. Then I just stick notes for rocks where they need to be. (The metaphor is that of putting rocks and sand into a glass jar… put big rocks in first. Also sometimes phrased as, “Eat the toad first.”)
This really works well for me. Every time I see the board I think: Am I actually doing the right thing?
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I spend a lot of time reading—frankly, as much time as I can sequester for it. I’ve read several of Seneca’s letters, randomly over the years. A while back I bought this delightful edition from Chicago Press and I’m beginning at the beginning. (There are marks in the book where I’ve already used it for referring to some of the letters.) What knowledge are you putting into your mind?
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The view, when I’m doing my work is quite often a notebook and a computer. I try to make it be outside as much as I can too. Show-your-work photos are booooooring, I know. But capturing and gestating my thoughts, and then tapping on a keyboard. That’s mostly what I do.
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I know tonight’s talk is supposed to be about decaying tech platforms, but I want to start by talking about nurses.
~ Cory Doctorow, from Pluralistic: With Great Power Came No Responsibility
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Interconnection can be good. But generally, in the tech industry these days, it’s not. Interconnection is used against us.
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In the most-recent Podcaster Community campfire we got to talking about what tools and services are we currently paying for as part of podcasting. So today I put up a simple post in a few places to ask just that.
It’s one thing to talk about what we prefer, it’s another for us to have voted with our dollars. Me?
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Stany Foucher recently wrote a book, Art du Déplacement: Au delà du saut. I’ve been working on translating it for my own reading. I can read the French language at an “advanced beginner” level. From the epub version of the book (which I printed so I can write on it), I’m working in a notebook… writing things out longhand is part of the learning process. I don’t simply want to read this book, but rather I want to apprehend this book.
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This morning I was working on adding some quotes to the ‘ol collection. I have a little box with the most-recent quotes, blank 3×5 cards and other little office-supply-ish things. Every now and then I pick up a bunch of those new quotes and move them back into these boxes. Today I realized, the second of these boxes is now nearly full—it seems like only yesterday that I moved the first few inches of cards (like ~400) into the first box. Time to order more of these storage boxes!
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