Goldfinch is the name of the podcast I created, produced, and hosted (all by myself!) over ten weeks during the summer of 2023. I recorded three episodes, and ultimately, due to time constraints, decided to refine and publish only two of them. The episodes are edited versions of my long-form, semi-structured conversations with my guests. My questions are centred on their work and their lives. Through the threads of various anecdotes, we naturally arrive at powerful, universal themes in the human experience.
How did Goldfinch come to be?
Here I will take you through the journey of this project and how it came alive. To understand, we have to go way back… to the year 2019…
June 2019 — I start a TED-Ed Student Club at my high-school in Karachi, Pakistan. I lead a cohort of 15 peers through the process of developing a TED Talk. In the process, we build a community, and it is awesome.
August 2019 — We organise a TED-style conference for our school with a celebrity guest speaker. For the most part, everybody talks about their journeys and life experiences articulately, meaningfully, and movingly, in front of a decently-sized audience. We put up the talks on YouTube, and yes, they’re still there.
August 2020 — I start at Swarthmore College and make a half-hearted attempt at starting a blog on WordPress. I discover On Being with Krista Tippett. A podcast that so insightfully deconstructs the human experience! Maybe I could do something like this someday… I lose my way, however, encircled by mountains of coursework.
January 2023 — I start my study abroad in Paris, France. I revive my old blog to write letters to my friends. Having studied the structure of the epistolary novel, I am well-versed in the storytelling capabilities of the format.
March 2023 — I decide that I want to do my own project, after years of structured coursework and internships. I decide I want the liberty of my gap year once again. I decide to make something of my own.
June 2023 — The stars align, and that something turns out to be the culmination of various projects I’d done over the years. This podcast comes to life.
This project was generously funded by the Richard Rubin Scholars Program at Swarthmore College.