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The Joyful Warrior finds his Tribe and Goes to War… Sort of…

Guest host

The Joyful Warrior finds his Tribe and Goes to War…

Sort of…

According to a 2020 National Research Group (NRG) study, Americans across political ideologies and ethnicities are noticing a lack of diversity in the stories that are represented in mainstream media. Greg Howard Jr, presenter and producer of THEE Joyful Warrior Podcast Network, is working to change this. 

 

I recently met with Greg via Zoom to talk about what he calls his “unexpected passion” for podcasting. “I have always been a performer,” he tells me. He has participated in theater, drag, and stand-up comedy. When asked how that led to podcasting, he lists a handful of larger podcast networks and tells me  “the voices that I felt should be represented in those particular podcasts were not represented,” so he started his own. 

Together with a few other friends, Greg began his mission to diversify the voices being heard on important issues. Bothered that the majority of networks are “geared more towards the bigger named people whose opinion on the news and politics that we hear constantly,” Greg has ditched the traditional style of management and gives his people full creative control. “Nobody is told what they have to talk about,” says Greg. He tells me that everyone works together as a collective group and votes on content and topics. “We will succeed together, or fail together,” is how he approaches his network. 

We will succeed together, or fail together

Greg Howard Jr, producer of THEE Joyful Warrior Podcast Network

On a recent episode of a podcast on his network, like most of the country, Greg and Brandon recently chose to talk about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars. But unlike the majority of the unyielding flow of commentary and opinions on the incident, Greg and Brandon’s show offered listeners to explore the various layers that often remain buried beneath casual racism in this country. The two hosts of Coastal Elites Podcast offer listeners more than one-dimensional opinions on the episode And The Oscar Goes To… THESE HANDS! and their perspectives are not only worth listening to, but their news commentary has a natural flow that is funny and enjoyable. 

Greg and Brandon

Greg’s goal with his network is to get the perspectives of people “that the issues that are in the news every day actually affect.” He tells me he is proud whenever he and his team make content that people want to hear and every time they launch a new show.  To date, there are twelve shows total on THEE Joyful Warrior Podcast Network. 

Sources:
https://nealschaffer.com/podcast-statistics/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20podcasts%20are%20still%20popular,48%20million%20episodes%20in%20total

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/representation-matters-study-nrg-black-americans-media-1234772025/

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