With the prolonged lockdown in Malaysia due to the pandemic, many people are struggling, and have expressed feeling lonely because they can’t visit their family and friends.
Recently, a group of psychology students stumbled upon an intriguing idea to keep people connected and feeling heard.
It all started after they had a podcast session with Associate Professor Dr Anasuya Jegathesan about mental health.
They thought their podcast adventure would be a one-off thing, but another session with an undergraduate student who was a budding content creator fully cemented the idea.
The audience who tuned in to the podcast liked the low-key and genuine conversations they had with guest speakers. The group continued holding podcasts because it was also a productive distraction for them during the lockdown period.
Throughout the process, they picked up new skills along the way, and managed to do it all without a budget.
BUZZ had the opportunity to chat with the team behind #TimeToTalk to find out more about their creative venture. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
To start off, can you introduce the team and each of your roles?
We have three main individuals, namely Janak Ashok Teckwani as the host, Nicole Lee Yuk Cheng as the co-host and Goh Ian Shen as the editor. The platform provider, Suraaj Ravi, is also active.
What inspired the idea to start the podcast #TimeToTalk?
We really needed the distraction during the lockdown and starting the podcast enabled us to spend our time productively. The podcast became a platform for these cool, upcoming and untapped talents to share how they got to where they are. We definitely encourage free flow conversations and keep the show totally unscripted.
Does the podcast follow a specific theme or does it change each season?
We don’t have a specific theme. Our guest speakers are encouraged to share about their journey and how they overcame the hurdles along the way to achieve the dreams they strived for.
I was told the team managed to rope in some celebrities to join the podcast. Who did you manage to chat with, and what were they like?
We have been very lucky to be able to get celebrities solely through social media. A notable guest we had was Tanvi Shah, the first female Indian Grammy Award-winner who won for writing the hit song for Slumdog Millionaire. We even had Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, the director of the hit movie 99 Songs.
Others include Malaysian artistes, rappers and beauty queens such as Neha Verma, Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 third runner-up.
Since the podcast is free and easy, we managed to get very down to earth celebrities. The atmosphere is very relaxing because these celebrities agree to appear in the podcast of their own free will.
Is there a dream guest speaker you will like to have in the podcast?
To be frank, we don’t really have a dream guest speaker. We find putting these kinds of expectations on ourselves will betray the whole aim of starting #TimeToTalk in the first place. We want to create a low key experience and have guests share their life experiences, and not chase after fame. We appreciate, enjoy and get to learn from the stories behind their fame.
Can you share with us an uplifting story from a listener who tuned into the podcast?
An interesting thing that happens is that our podcast usually sways into topics that are very personal and we believe this is why the podcast gained traction. The worldviews of these guests are very intriguing and exciting because their stories humanise them, regardless of their celebrity status.
For example, Shloke Lal, who is an international lyricist and actor, shared about his music career, but the conversation expanded to his views regarding current issues. The session was so engaging until it went past the one-hour mark.
Some of our listeners have stated that the podcast helped them with their anxiety and it gave them a platform to overcome their bad days. The podcast also gave them a break from the monotony of life in a lockdown.
Which topic do you think Malaysians or your listeners like to talk about?
Our listeners seem to really like relatable sessions especially if they see themselves in their guests. They are most engaged when they can relate and identify with the hardships our guests go through.
Why do you not have a social media page other than Youtube? How do people keep in touch with #TimeToTalk?
The whole idea of the podcast being low-key is to encourage our guest speakers to feel safe and free to talk about any topic without worrying about social media or have their words being taken out on context online.
Since we’re psychology graduates, we understand the social desirability to engage with an imaginary audience by posting all over social media. However, we feel it’ll detract us from having genuine sessions and stray from our main objective for having the podcast.
This is why we hold and keep the podcast only on Youtube.
For those who want to reach out to #TimeToTalk, do contact the team on Instagram: Janak [@taintedandlost] and Ian Shen [@ianshengoh].
They can also drop us an email at hashtagtimetotalk@gmail.com
What are the plans for the future?
We are working on more things with our previous guests who are excited to collaborate with us again. #TimeToTalk will continue and there is already a line of guests coming up in the near future.
That said, we have no plans to get bigger crowds or listeners. We still aim to get more unique guests to share their experiences in a genuine and low-key manner.
This article was first published in theSun Buzz Edition.
