Building Uncompromisingly, From the Core
Reflections from a podcasting journey that mirrors how I’ve learned languages, and lived life.
For most of my life, I’ve figured things out as I’ve gone along. I’ve rarely had a roadmap, but I’ve always had my instincts. My unwavering gut. This approach has served me for both better and worse, but over these years, it’s taught me one thing with absolute clarity: staying true to what feels right, even when it doesn’t look right on paper, is non-negotiable.
In many ways, it reminds me of language learning.
In this day and age, we’re taught to believe that strategy is everything. That if we follow the right framework, memorize the right phrases, master the right grammar, we’ll reach our goals. But anyone who’s learned a second or third language knows that it doesn’t work that way. Eventually, especially as an adult, you come face to face with the limits of structure. You realize that intuition, instinct, emotion, and rhythm matter just as much (if not more). You realize your gut has already given you the roadmap it needs. Because even if it looks different, this isn’t your first time navigating something unprecedented. And as time goes on, you realize how much you’re powered from all that you’ve been taking in.
You realize you have to bring it back to you.
Your self. Your mind. Your gut. Your lived reality.
A core. That’s the same place I’ve built this podcast from.
Two years ago, while on a hike with my husband in Middle of nowhere, France (a.k.a. the very official name he uses to refer to his hometown), I stopped.
Me: “I just feel like I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be alone like this anymore. I have to make something… I don’t know what… a space dedicated to these conversations. A space for people who can SEE how challenging it is to LIVE out real-world aspects of language and communication. Throw in culture, throw in personal identity… I mean… why is every single language-related resource trying to sell this like it’s a bed-in-a-box situation?”
He’s not from the States, so I had to take a second to explain the bed-in-a-box analogy.
Still, he got my point.
Me: “I feel like it’s do this, or stay silent forever.”
Him: “I’m pretty sure you’re going to do it.”
Naturally, he was right. (He also didn’t know he would be looped into helping me.)
Fast forward to today. Two more episodes until we go on a production break, and a whole lot of emotions are swirling. Since Dec/Jan, I’ve produced and released roughly 20 episodes. Recorded conversations with others also desperately seeking this sort of dialogue.
Sitting in my Drive, I also have about 30 hours of unedited footage to sift through. I’ll be at 40 hours by the end of this month.
No formal blueprint. Just a clear sense of purpose and a deep desire to unearth the hushed murmurings of everyday people, the adrenaline-ridden interchanges at post-work beers, the moments of “wow multilingual kids are really something” between parents, guardians, and teachers at school pickup.
And like everything I’ve ever done, even this first phase has been different than anything I could have ever expected.
From the outside, growth looks slow. But I believe that what we’re building has depth. And I know how rare that is to say. The conversations I’ve had so far have only confirmed how much this work is needed.
Even now, while in the middle of a June campaign to hit some milestone numbers, I’m still fairly convinced that the numbers matter less than the people behind them.
That much like with my personal life, opening the gates based on resonance, not only reach, has always been the best move.
The goal has never been to go viral. To entertain for entertainment’s sake. To prop myself up as the expert-iest expert of the bunch.
The goal has always been to stay grounded. To speak plainly but powerfully.
Not because I’m anti-traditional education (I hold multiple degrees myself) but because I believe we’ve lost sight of something critical: your lived experience is expertise, too.
No one needs a PhD to know what it’s like to navigate life between cultures, or to feel the weight of language that doesn’t quite fit. To enter into conversations about communication, power, or the stories we often carry alone in silence. No matter where we’re from originally, or where we are headed.
So contrary to what many people think “works for the online world,” I’m building this project a little differently. Uncompromisingly. From the inside out.
🛠️ Quick content update: Substack no longer plays nicely with my podcast host, which means new episodes won’t automatically appear here unless I migrate the whole show to this platform. But in true “make-it-work” fashion, I’m using this as an opportunity. Not a setback.
Starting this month, I’ll be sharing written reflections (think: post-mortems) for each episode, here on Substack. This was already on the list, and now it gets to live in its own container. I want this space to feel like an extension of the audio. Not just a copy of it.
It’s been six months of podcasting as a second, unpaid, full-time job.
I’ve learned a lot. But I’m just getting started.
🎧 New here? Catch up on recent episodes:
→ Spotify
→ Apple Podcasts
→ YouTube
Thank you for being part of the start. I’d love to get to know each of you better, so if there’s anything you’ve connected to in my writing or in a podcast episode, I hope you’ll share it with me below.
Keep an eye out for the first episode reflection coming later this week.
–Michelle