'Out of office'
But content never stops so here's what I have for you this week...
I first got into podcasts during the first lockdown back in March 2020. As part of my role at Premier, I was permitted to go into the office because the work we do is considered vital communication. However, without a car or running public transport, I decided to walk instead. Previously, my 25-minute commute was accompanied by a changing song playlist of new and existing favourites, compiled to block out the annoyance of “leaves on the track” leading to delayed tubes, crowded carriages, tourists standing on the wrong side of the escalator and my fellow commuters. But the hour-and-a-half walk to my office (and hour-and-a-half walk back) was filled with an eerie kind of silence amid the unusually empty streets of London.
To counter this, I began listening to what feels like a modern interpretation of talk radio. I realised I had missed the kind of conversations you might overhear on public transport about both the important and inane things of life. This was a platform for both celebrities and ‘regular people’ to deep dive into the things that matter most to them; films, music, books, television – everything was up for conversation, and I loved it!
Three years on and I’m so honoured to be hosting the brand-new Woman Alive podcast in which I get to speak with all kinds of people about all sorts of things; all discussed within the realms of our Christian faith.
The premise of each episode is this: we choose an article covering conversations that have been trending online at womanalive.co.uk -
Should Christians be rich?
What does God think about women in leadership?
Fostering and adoption as a single woman
And (almost!) nothing is out of bounds. I then invite the author of that article, along with two other guests from different backgrounds, to discuss it further. At the end of the conversation, we also do our best to respond to a question from our popular Great Sexpectations series (search for ‘Great Sexpectations’ at womanalive.co.uk) where the Woman Alive team tackle sex and relationship dilemmas from readers.*
There are some aspects of my job that don’t feel like work and the podcast is one of them. I love speaking with the women who are part of our growing Woman Alive community and I’m keen to hear what you think of the episodes we’ve released so far.
The Woman Alive podcast is available on Premier.plus, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Please do rate and review the podcast and share the episodes you’ve enjoyed, with the women – or indeed men – in your life.
*Email womanalive@premier.org.uk if you have a question. All questions will be published anonymously.
Tola x
I’m the editor and creative director at Premier Woman Alive and co-host of the YouTube show Sisterhood. In 2019, I delivered a TEDx Talk on Debunking the Myth of Success and my first book, 'Still Standing:100 Lessons From An 'Unsuccessful' Life' (SPCK) is out now.