Juleyka Lantigua-Williams
Juleyka Lantigua-Williams is the founder and CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co., a digital media studio based out of the Washington DC area. Follow her on Twitter here.
Kindly introduce yourself and tell us what you do!
Hi everyone. I’m Juleyka Lantigua-Williams. I’m the founder and CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co. We produce four original shows (70 Million, Latina to Latina, Feeling My Flo, How to Talk to [Mamí & Papí] About Anything) and produce digital audio for clients like Marvel Entertainment, Mcmillan Podcasts, NPR affiliates, and the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
How did you shift from journalism to audio?
I was working as a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine when I was recruited to lead Code Switch, a newsdesk at NPR headquarters that covers the intersection of race and much of American society today.
Were you always obsessed with storytelling, even when you were a kid?
Yes, very much. I read non-stop and loved geography because maps tell so many stories.
What did you want to be when you were 8?
Probably a lawyer. In my family, the most successful people are typically doctors or lawyers, but I can’t handle injuries and people being ill, so I was probably all set to be a lawyer one day.
Most of the stories and shows I listen to are from women and/or marginalized people, so I often forget that podcasting is still a straight, white man's world. Have you seen things getting better in your career or are things just still incredibly hopeless?
I have no idea on this one, as I tend to focus on my work and serving the audiences I am building. That’s a lot of work on its own, so I don’t allow myself to obsess about what the industry is doing when I believe the work my teams and I are doing can have a real impact on it. So better to continue supporting and encouraging the amazing collaborators we work with than to look far afield and get distracted.
What's the best way to get people to listen to diverse voices?
Make shows for them.
The country has been through some seismic shifts this month. Have you been happy with how the podcasting world has responded?
I don’t know that we’re organized well enough that there was an official response from podcasting. But I did see folks making helpful lists, and highlight work by very brilliant creators, which is what the moment calls for--each of us doing what we can with what we have to contribute to the change the country needs, starting in our industry.
What do you think of the Equality in Audio pact? Do you think we can remember to hold ourselves to it? I am so afraid that we are all angry and amped up now, but that things will slide back to how they were before?
This is a good pledge, but it’s intended signatories are people who have to make extra effort to be inclusive and fair, because being inclusive and fair does not come naturally to them. As to the issue of anger, white Americans are not angry enough because they still see this necessary activism as allyship with Black and Brown people, instead of a justified personal rage for a country that de facto prioritizes their comfort and racial supremacy at the expense of large segments of the population.
I bet there are a zillion dreams or ideas you'd like to pursue. How do you decide what to go with?
This is not as much fun as it sounds. Having lots of ideas is very distracting at times. I choose to develop projects for different reasons, including the subject matter, the collaborators, the intended audience, but they usually have in common that they are based on telling stories by, about, and for people from the margins of our society.
When you're deciding to make a podcast, how much do you worry about the market, and if people will like it?
Not at all. I have one ideal listener for whom we make our original shows. It’s a long hypothesis about audience acquisition and growth that take a while to explain, but suffice it to say that I ask myself two questions: Will she listen? Will she share it?
As you know, I am so obsessed with How to Talk to [Mamí & Papí] About Anything. How do you come up with ideas for episodes?
Thanks so much. I’ve been having so much fun. Micaela Rodríguez, the producer, and I have a running list of what topics we’d love to talk about but we have been so lucky that people reach out every week wanting to share their stories, so we [knocks on wood] have not had to go looking for interesting topics so far.
Women in podcasting are constantly being criticized for their voices. What is your relationship with yours?
I really want to say ‘No comment’ here. #UGH Honestly, my relationship to my voice is on a spectrum from ‘I sound like a trombone with laryngitis’ to ‘tonight on midnight soul sessions’ and I’m still procrastinating on listening to my own episodes, so I still need to work on getting more comfortable.
What battles are women of color fighting in podcasting that white women like me don't even know about?
How much time do you have? I’ll do this in bullet points, just to get the discussion started.
Not being able to pitch ideas to people who have the cultural competence and audience knowledge to understand their potential
Not having money thrown at them
Not being allowed to experiment and sometimes fail without serious repercussions
Not being paid for their labor, time, expertise
Being expected to be the ‘only one’ on aa team and act as a cultural translator
Not being allowed to be fully themselves creatively because doing so breaks the categories of Blackness/Otherness white colleagues are comfortable with
Rarely leading big projects at the bigger shops
Not being supported in their professional development at big shops
Being perceived as ‘lacking objectivity’--whatever that means
Boxed into only telling Black/Brown/Other stories
Having the role of ‘moral conscience’ imposed on them on important projects but not being given the power to do something significant when its called for
Not receiving enough or being encouraged to pursue technical training (i.e., mixing, engineering)
I have to stop or I’m going to reach for some wine….
If you could change one thing about the podcasting industry, what would it be?
I would eradicate the CPM as the standard measure.
If you could write one rule for podcasters, something they would all have to adhere to, what would it be?
Provide a transcript for every episode to ensure better accessibility to their work
If you could host a podcast with anyone, who would it be and what would the show be about?
Errin Haines, editor-at-large at The 19th, one of the most brilliant political minds in journalism right now. She basically predicted so much of what’s happening right now in terms of the political machine that runs the country. Our show would be me asking her the same question after something major happens: “What do we do now, Errin” and letting her talk uninterrupted.
Can you give us some secret information about something you're working on that is super exciting?
I’m launching something completely different--and not a podcast--this month. Podcasting Seriously, a three-part online course for mid-level podcasters and professionals who want to make a lateral move into podcasting. I’m so excited!!
What's a story about yourself that you would love to tell via podcast?
The months I lived in Japan in my early 20’s.
Who deserves more attention for their work, in podcasting?
Can you shout out some shows?
Thanks, Juleyka!