Reader Matthew Monberg commented on my planned podcasts:
“Podcasts–although a “new” technology–are really just a return to the oral tradition in a high tech package. All interesting audio is based on story, and that would be the value to me…freeing stories about philanthropy from various perspectives. I’d want to hear from donors, beneficiaries, nonprofits, foundations, government officials…they all make up the “world” of philanthropy and have stories to contribute.”
I think Matthew gets it exactly right. The mission for my podcasts should be “freeing stories about philanthropy from various perspectives”. The world of philanthropy is so multifaceted, and the people involved so diverse, that hearing from them through a common lens might help all of us come to a better understanding of what philanthropy means.
The podcast would help reveal the many voices that make up philanthropy. It would be the job of each of us to weave these voices together. Phil at Gift Hub is working on a project to draw these voices together in an offline format. What’s interesting about philanthropy right now is that the people who are moving the sector forward come from so many different backgrounds. I believe that most true knowledge resides in the gaps between disciplines. It is at the intersections between the generally recognized bodies of knowledge that most exciting discoveries are made. My hope for the podcast would be that by giving an outlet for the many voices that make up philanthropy today, a latticework of wisdom might emerge.