Season 1 : Episode 01 // Part 1: Where Home Begins
Wow, I’m so excited to share the first episode of UN/ROOTED with y’all!
How did I decide to start this podcast?
As an adult, I’ve had trouble putting my finger on home, but last year really made me take a deeper look into the question of “Where is home?” The idea for this podcast was born out of struggling with the concept of home as I unexpectedly moved from Los Angeles to NYC last year. Instead of trying to sweep the discomfort of homesickness and uncertainty under the rug, I wanted to lean into the questions of "What is home?" and “How do you know you’re home?” I believe everybody has a home story and I've always been fascinated by these stories… whether someone has lived in the same place their whole life or they live on the road, whether home is a physical space, a smell, a food, a community, or something that is unknown.
Though this season will include a lot of my own story, it is just the thread that links many stories together. Each week we’ll hear from different people who will share their perspectives on home.
In this episode: "What is home? Where is home? How do you know you're home?" I begin to lay the groundwork for why I am asking these questions about home, I go back to the beginning, and I talk with a few of my family members…all of whom are seemingly more rooted and have a less fraught sense of what home is.
Featured in this episode:
My paternal grandmother (Mimi)
My Dad (Ed)
My sister (Jenna - @jixi)
Shout out to my Mom and two youngest sisters who didn’t appear in this episode but are just as big a part of my life. xoxo
Listen to the first episode below (or find it on your favorite podcast app):
CALL FOR VOICE SUBMISSIONS! I want to hear what home means to you, to include your thoughts in an upcoming episode. Is “home” a specific place, a ritual you have, an object, a person, a food, a smell, a mindset, or something you’re still trying to find? All answers are welcome, whether traditional, funny, out there, or heartbreaking. Record a short voice memo on your phone or computer and send it to unrootedpodcast@gmail.com. Don’t forget to include your name in the voice memo. I won’t be able to include every voice submission, but I can’t wait to listen to them all. (Fine print: By submitting a voice memo, you are allowing UN/ROOTED to use your submission in whole or part, in any upcoming episode.)
If you enjoyed this podcast please: Leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast app, subscribe to the show, follow @unrootedpodcast on Twitter and Instagram, tell a friend, or share about it on social media.
Show hosted and produced by Julie Hotz. All music for this episode was composed by myself.
Some family photos…
My “Mimi” and me, early 1980’s.
Me, Dad, and Jenna (Mom is taking the picture). Late 1980’s.
Jenna holding her baby Bea (the Rifle Paper Wallpaper mentioned in the episode is in the background). This is not an ad, but Rifle Paper, if you’d like to work together, just slide into my DMs.
The wallpaper in “Mimi’s” kitchen.
“Mimi” and Jenna sitting down. Mimi’s house.
Mimi, sitting in her “home-chair” and holding her great-grandson (my sister Shelly’s baby).
Me and my Dad + Texas vibes. Mid 1980’s.
My Dad and I, in Polebridge, MT. circa 2015