Why do you podcast? Yes, plenty of selfish reasons are important if only to keep you podcasting. But does it go deeper than that? I asked the community and was blown away by the responses I received. Garret Godfrey says his show, Good Patron, explores “...how we can better support the bands & musicians we love.”Dr. Carrie Gillon says her show, Vocal Fries, exists ”...to highlight the fact that judging language is judging humans in racist, sexist, classist ways, and more.”

Susan Ni Chriodain says: “Over 80% of people are disengaged in the workplace. In Life Beyond the Numbers, conversations are about how to have a more fulfilling work-life.”

Travel podcaster Amanda Kendle says that her podcast, The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, “...connects to my whole kind of life/career purpose, which is sharing the value of travel as a tool both for personal growth and to make the world a better place.”

Martha Lawton of Squanderlust says her show’s purpose is: “To help people overcome fear and shame around how they have managed their money, so they can face where they are now and change it for the better.”

Neil Hedley of The Snooze Button says his show is “... an effort to save people from the hucksters who would capitalize on ignorance by pushing ridiculous solutions that don’t actually help people.”

Gary Arndt sums up the purpose behind Everything Everywhere Daily with: “I'm trying to combat ignorance. Too many people just don't know much about the world around them. How it works and how it came to be.”

And Andrew Clews says the Motoring Podcast wasn’t started for a goal, but that: “As we’ve gone on, we have found ourselves fighting misinformation/lack of understanding….”

Again, there’s no requirement to do that. Podcasting just for fun can certainly be quite fun. But if building something bigger with a true community around it, it’s probably worth your time to figure out the bigger mission your podcast plugs into.

I have some additional thoughts plus links to the initial thread and more in the article of @PodPont, which you can find at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/podcasting-with-a-purpose-even-if-its-your-own.

You’ll find more thoughts on this topic and other questions every working podcaster should be asking themselves athttps://podcastpontifications.com/ ( PodcastPontifications.com).