Greetings friends! It's Joshua Shelov. If we haven't met in person, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Written Out Loud's Founder & CEO. I very much hope to meet and speak with you soon. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to begin transforming our small, amazing, but somewhat siloed storytelling crews into a fully-connected community, one in which our students, parents, teachers, and friends can get to know each other, and support each other in our collective journey.
One of my OTHER New Year's Resolutions is [drum roll] the Written Out Loud podcast series! I couldn't be more proud to present to you Episode One of Written Out Loud, a podcast series about storytelling. This first episode is simply me telling The Best Story I've Ever Heard. And let me quickly add: the best story I've ever heard isn't really appropriate for young kids. It's not wildly explicit, and there's no profanity at all, but it is a bit dark. Most future episodes of this series will be designed for all audiences, but this one is best for mature audiences: adults and children over 14 or so.
This podcast series isn't simply going to be a series of me telling great stories. There are plenty of shows and series that do that quite well. Instead, the Written Out Loud podcast series is going to be an open-ended journey of learning and exploring what exactly a "story" is, that remarkable, invisible demon-spirit that bewitches and connects us all. I'm enormously confident that gaining a greater understanding of storytelling will be of enormous, timeless benefit to you as well as your kids. I consult with corporations as well: even seasoned executives at global multinationals like Microsoft, Suzuki, and McDonald's are deeply eager to learn some of the basic fundamental storytelling principles we teach 9- and 10-year olds, every day. Understanding these principles, and exploring how you can apply them to your life, is what the Written Out Loud podcast series is all about.
I'm honored and excited to take this journey with you. This podcast may very well be the first time you've heard the sound of my voice. And in all likelihood, I've never heard yours.
I'd like that to change, over the course of this year, and on this journey we're taking together. I'd love this podcast series to help keep all of us connected, and in conversation with each other. That's the essence of what stories are for.
The best expression of our need for shelter is a home; the best expression of our need for food is a home-cooked meal; and the best expression for our need for each other is a home-spun story, told out loud to a real-live listener.
Thank you for listening. Away we go.