In the podcast room at FHC, loud shrieking could be heard: senior Lauren Brace and junior Addy Cousins had just posted the first episode of The Central Scoop to Spotify—the official podcast of The Central Trend—which is a moment they had been waiting for.

“I think the first time that we published our introduction episode [is my favorite memory of the podcast],” Lauren said. “We used this app called Anchor, and we   put everything in there, hit publish, and hoped for the best. We didn’t know how easy or difficult it was going to be. We were just chilling in the podcast room for a couple of minutes while we were waiting for Spotify to refresh. Then, all of a sudden, the first episode popped up, and we were screaming and hugging each other. It was a really cool moment to see that we were on Spotify. Like, our voices were there, and that was really cool.”

The Central Scoop is the official podcast of The Central Trend. It currently has five episodes out on Spotify. The podcast is run by Lauren and Addy out of the podcast room at FHC.

The podcast is something that has been in the works for a while and both Lauren and Addy have had an interest in it for a long time. They both jumped at the opportunity of working on The Central Scoop when it was presented.

“I was driving with my mom and two siblings to a family reunion, and my mom turned on a podcast called Flightless Bird,” Addy said. “It was really entertaining and funny. Before that, I could not get into podcasts, but I really enjoyed that one, and it made me want to be a part of a podcast, so I reached out to [English teacher and Adviser Ken] George and asked to join The Central Scoop.”

Addy found interest in podcasts during a car ride, and if she hadn’t, she might never have joined Lauren in creating The Central Scoop. Lauren found her interest in podcasts by listening to one for a review. Ever since, she has been wanting to have her own.

“I started getting into this podcast called The Friendship Onion, which is Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan from The Lord of the Rings,” Lauren said. “Their podcast is so fun to listen to. They’re two best friends who get to talk and have this form of entertainment that is so cool. I thought that it would be really awesome to do one on my own, but I don’t have that sort of equipment or time to do that. But, when we started a podcast with [The Central Trend], I thought it would be really cool if I got to be a part of that too. That was kind of where my interest in podcasting stemmed from.”

Lauren and Addy both found their interest in podcasts and that eventually brought them together to work on their very own. They have learned so much from creating The Central Scoop.

A lot of work goes into making a podcast which has taught Lauren and Addy a lot more than just patience. They have not only learned through the editing process but also the part that people hear: the speaking part.

“I’ve learned that there is so much value in a conversation,” Lauren said. “I feel like we don’t get the opportunity to sit and talk for a solid half an hour, or however long the episodes are. Every person has so many different viewpoints, so it’s cool to see those differences. But also, it’s cool to see how much you have in common, especially with the stories that we have from our past and how we can reminisce over those things.”

Lauren learned how important talking to people is and how fun it can be to reminisce over the past. Creating the podcast has opened her eyes to new experiences.

Not only is creating the podcast a unique experience but being on the podcast is a unique experience. Senior Payton Vincent was on the second episode of The Central Scoop, and she had so much fun.

“My favorite part was definitely talking about things I love talking about,” Payton said. “Lauren and Addy had us choose our topics and what we wanted to talk about, so it was really nice to kind of just let loose and go into a full discussion about some of my favorite things and know that people out there are listening to what I had to say.”

Payton felt like she could really open up during the podcast, especially since it felt very much like she was just having a conversation. She enjoyed talking about things that interest her and putting her opinions out there for people to hear.

Despite how fun making the podcast is, it also requires an immense amount of work. They have to set up the studio to record, do the actual recording, and edit. That can take a long time, especially since technology can sometimes go haywire.

“Normally, we are going to be spending a day recording and a day publishing, [along with] work outside of school to publicize it,” Lauren said. “Except recently, there have been [a lot] of technical issues with the microphones randomly not working or not recording the audio very well, so Addy and I have spent a lot of time trying to work around those things. But, hopefully, it will be about two hours per episode in the room.”

Creating a podcast is a very time-consuming task, but Lauren and Addy think it’s worth it. They realize how much fun they have recording episodes and editing them, and they get to hear so many opinions. Everyone that goes on the podcast has a different voice and different opinions.

“I have learned that people have a lot of stories to tell,” Addy said. “I knew this from The Central Trend and from talking to people normally, but when you put a microphone in front of someone, they don’t shy away, and it’s a great way to learn something new about someone. I guess the podcast has taught me to listen to everyone’s stories.”

Addy has realized that she can learn about people through the podcast and that it really helps people open up. She thinks that putting a microphone in front of someone and letting them just talk makes them open up more.

Payton agrees that being on the podcast is an eye-opening and unique experience. Being on a podcast isn’t an opportunity that many people get, and it can really help people to learn new things. The Central Scoop is a unique podcast that adheres to many voices.

“I think other people should be on the podcast because it’s truly a unique experience,” Payton said. “This could be the one and only time you have the opportunity to be on a podcast and it’s honestly just super fun. It went by super fast while we were doing it, and I hope to do another one in the future because I enjoyed it so much.”