I’ve been working on my podcast project for around 3 years now. I’ve really enjoyed learning how to use the medium as a creative outlet and wanted to reflect back on the experience so far. I’ve found it helpful for me to distill my experiences into some highs and lows that I’ve encountered along the way. I hope that you enjoy this honest look back at my podcast journey so far.

Summary: Bush League is a sports podcast made for people with interests that span more than just sports. Despite a genuine love of watching and playing sports, I loathe ESPN and sportstalk radio because they seems to focus on things I can’t relate to: celebrities, large amount of money and vapid stats. Instead, I wanted to tell human sports stories in a way that anyone can understand and enjoy. My favorite stories are where athletics intersect with some of my other passions — politics, geography, travel and history. You can read more about my reasons for starting Bush League here.

While I called this past year the “first season” of Bush League, I had actually put out a number of crude episodes in 2015 and 2016 that laid the groundwork for what the show is now.

My goals: I’ve realistically placed myself in the hobbyist camp of podcasters. I retain a glimmer of hope that with enough years of work and some luck, I could one day make some supplemental income from podcasting — but I know that it’s unlikely. So in light of that, I’ve calibrated my goals accordingly.

Foremost, I want to make content that I enjoy. I want to enjoy the process of researching, interviewing and producing the episodes. Each takes work, but I don’t want this to feel like a second job. I want to only make episodes that I’m excited to share with people.

Although I want to make the show for myself, my second goal was to grow listenership. It’s a fun challenge and nice to get some positive validation from other people. Doing this would also push me to put out a more professional and polished product.

With that being said, here’s some of what I experienced thus far in my podcasting journey.