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How to Start a Podcast and Magazine Without Really Trying

December 1, 2022 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

Also Known As

It Was the Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times

Deb Hunter

During the Covid lockdown of 2020, many of us turned to the Clubhouse app. Maybe we simply wanted to hear the voices of others, share our mutual passions, or just waste time. Who really knows? And, like many, I was right in there – ready to chat at a moment’s notice, often about things I knew nothing about. It was a lot like real life in that respect.

Then, I decided to try interviewing a few top historians – many in Plantagenet, Tudor and Stuart history, in order to give the members of my group, All Things Tudor, a new outlet. They are thirsty for knowledge whether it’s books, podcasts, or live events.

So next thing you know, I’m on Twitter messaging historians I didn’t know. These were all people that my group of 37,000 had requested to know more about.

To my great surprise, everyone I contacted responded positively.

Tudor Tuesday on the Clubhouse app became a thing. We chatted about new books, new theories, and made things from the past spring to life. We discussed history in general and why we enjoyed it. A good time was had by all.

Too soon it was over. By the end of 2021many of us were returning to work and a somewhat ‘new normal’ routine. My husband recommended starting a podcast. The members of my group give me numerous suggestions for guests and topics they would like to learn more about. Everything seemed great – the first few guests were lined up, and we were ready to go with All Things Tudor – The Podcast.

Except suddenly, I had to go into an unexpected round of chemo treatment.

To lift my spirits and give me a creative outlet, I decided to continue producing the podcast while receiving treatments. I set forth with a concept, a production team that understood what I envisioned for the podcast. From there, we recorded two months’ worth of episodes. Everyone involved was very supportive and I’m still thankful that they were so gracious to a new podcaster. Only one of my guests know about my health issues and chemo treatment.

In the meantime, I would connect with Terence Hawkins, founder of the Yale Writers Conference, and Dr Norman Jones, Professor Emeritus and Cambridge graduate. I had an idea…let’s start a history and literary magazine for those who enjoy Tudor history. By March 2022, the first issue of All Things Tudor – The Magazine had launched. The magazine is a quarterly publication, available in digital format and paper copy. It includes professional reviews, essays, fictional pieces and even recipes. We have something for everyone who enjoys the Tudor era.

As we wrap up 2022, although we generally think of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol at this time of year, I can truly understand, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” from A Tale of Two Cities.

The All Things Tudor podcast has reached a new audience for me – one that understands its unique blend of entertainment and history, and I’m thrilled that so many people are entertained by hearing Tudor historians and authors chat about anything and everything – all things Tudor! I’ve worked directly with the PBS – the Atlanta and Nashville stations especially, to interview most of the historians on the TV drama, The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family, with The Met to launch their exhibit entitled The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England, and with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville to welcome the musical SIX in February 2023. The week of Thanksgiving, the podcast hit the Spotify Top 50 History chart, too.

Likewise, the magazine has reached #1 on the Tudor history and 16th century categories with each issue. Articles and essays satisfy the craving some of us have in our passion for the past. With all this has come the sweetness of seeing my group’s membership triple since December 2021, my blog www.AllThingsTudor.com is noted as the most visited Tudor history blog in the U.S. on various social media sites that measure traffic and social media exposure. The podcast has hit lists and categories I never imagined when it was released in January 2022.

As for the other … right now I’m on a chemo-break, following a near-fatal anaphylactic reaction to my chemo treatment in late August.

The sweet and the savory. The highs and the lows. The yin and the yang.

So yes, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Can it be said that starting a podcast and magazine is, to paraphrase Dickens … a far, far better thing that I do? It probably isn’t. Yet through it all, it’s the work that propels the spirit ever onward and fuels the creative drive. You have to follow your muse, no matter what the rhyme or reason is. Even if the rhyme or work is drummed to the tune of a five-hundred-year-old Tudor Renaissance ballad, the beat goes on.

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Podcaster Deb Hunter is a Pulitzer-nominated, USA Today best-selling author with a knack for blowing the dust off the history books and bringing the Tudors back to life. She was elected to the Royal Historical Society earlier in 2022, and is a member of the American Historical Association, and the Organization of American Historians. She has completed projects with the Dangerous Women Project for the University of Edinburgh, (Scotland), the University of Tennessee, and the University of Texas. Her fascination with the history of Tudor England dates back to her childhood.

All Things Tudor – The Podcast most recently broke into the Top 200 History in the US podcast charts and consistently trends in the Tudor History category. November 2022 saw it hit the Spotify Top 50 History chart. It has been downloaded in 80+ countries since launching in 2022.

All Things Tudor – The Magazine is an Amazon exclusive publication that releases quarterly. It consistently ranks #1 in the Tudor categories.

For more information about Deb, visit her website, download her podcast, follow her on Facebook, or follow her on Instagram or Twitter.