013 - Kelly Pollock - Unsung History

About this episode

Kelly Pollock of Unsung History --- SUMMARYIn this episode of Talk That Pod, Sebastian sits down with Kelly Pollock, creator and host of Unsung History, a podcast spotlighting American history through the lives of women, people of color, immigrants, laborers, religious minorities, enslaved people, and Indigenous communities. Kelly traces her path from a religious studies master's program and a long-running politics podcast to building a history show centered on the people conventional narratives leave out. Along the way, she unpacks her distinctive narrative-plus-interview format, her preparation process, how she balances production with a full-time job, and her candid take on what podcasting does (and doesn't) do for how society understands history. --- IN THIS EPISODE (01:21) How a religious studies background and a 50th-anniversary interview with her parents about the Kent State shootings sparked the idea for a history podcast (03:39) Why Kelly deliberately centers marginalized stories and turns down pitches about "rich white men" and presidents (04:34) The two-part format—narrative intro followed by an expert interview—and why writing the intro is the most time-consuming