Early Guide to Joining The ArtWithinPod Discussion
Hello, new Art Within listeners! Houston here.
Especially if you’ve listened to our season one introduction episode, you know that one of the things we’re passionate about with this podcast is “cultivating community” around it. I think it’s still going to be a creative process of figuring out what that looks like as time goes on, but for now, we’ve worked out a few ways of engaging with the community.
Discussion Questions. One of the staples of L’Abri, the ‘monastery hostel’ where Nate and I both met, is the idea of a lunch discussion where someone tosses out something they’re honestly thinking about and everyone around the table seriously engages with that topic/question for the next hour. What does this look like in podcast form? Well, in the days before each episode we record, Nate and I will publicly post a discussion question for people to think about and reply—and then we’ll read and engage with some of the responses during the episode. This question could be as simple as “what’s a physical space where you experienced meaningful human relationship?” or “what’s the most walkable place you’ve ever lived, and what was that like?” These questions will show up on our personal socials, and as you’ll see in a minute, they’ll be here on Substack too.
Substack. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve already discovered this one! As much as I’m glad the podcast will be available on Apple and Spotify, my ultimate hope is that we get the majority of listeners on the Substack email list. It’s more personal, it allows for bonus non-podcast posts like this one, and it means we have a more direct line of communication.
Audio Messages via Speakpipe. This is one we’re really excited about: the ability to receive audio messages from listeners and play them on the show. Just go to SpeakPipe.com/ArtWithinPod and you can quickly and easily send us an audio message without even making an account. We’re hoping to use it for discussion questions and any other general participation you might want to have.
Discussion Threads in the Substack App. I’m pretty pumped about this: Substack has an app for smartphones, and that app includes a conversation space for subscribers—kind of like a group chat. The discussion questions for each episode will go up here, and you can jump right into the conversation with (hopefully) other thoughtful people. In fact, there’s a question up there right now! This feature is only available on the Substack App and so it may take some time for people to start migrating and giving it a shot, but you could be part of that. We’re not sponsored or anything, but Nate and I both think it’s a pretty solid app, especially because there are no ads and you can listen to the podcast directly from there.
We’re looking forward to finding our feet and meeting more of the lovely people who tune into the show and want to join the conversation. Hope to hear from you soon! Here’s Substack’s little pre-written guide to getting their app and joining the chat:
To join our chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app, now available for both iOS and Android. Chats are sent via the app, not email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens. It’s probably best to set a password for your Substack account, because the app tends to log you out if you don’t.
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into our thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.