Boyertown, PA. Studio B Fine Art Gallery, 39A East Philadelphia Avenue in Boyertown, PA, invites listeners to tune in and consider being a guest on the “B Inspired” audio podcast hosted by Jane Stahl, the studio’s Director of Community Relations.
“We love getting to know people and learn what they are passionate about,” Stahl explains. “For me personally, sharing ideas is what I miss most about teaching,” she explained. Stahl served as a secondary school English teacher for 35 years and has been retired since 2005.
“The ‘B Inspired’ podcast offers the closest thing to the kind of sharing I enjoyed as a classroom teacher. I get to listen and to learn, become aware of what’s going on in the worlds of others, and maybe entertain a new way to look at the world!
“Plus, we all need to stay connected and to keep our spirits up in these challenging times, and I can’t think of a better way to lift up our spirits than to meet interesting, passionate folks and learn about what they’re doing to make life better for all of us!”
A recent episode, inspired by an essay she had submitted to Newsweek magazine 20 years ago suggested a need to revisit the country’s understanding of “freedom” and prompted a listener to suggest she share her thoughts with area media. Other episodes allow Stahl to share ideas and perspectives and some humor that she often shared in the classroom.
The podcast can be found on Apple podcast, Google podcast, Anchor, and Spotify, for example. More information about the podcast and about Studio B Fine Art Gallery is on our website or in the episode notes. To participate in an episode, contact Jane Stahl, at [email protected].
Episodes:
The first episode of “B Inspired” podcast aired February 27, 2020, featuring Bill Vitiello, Institutional & Business Development Manager for Victory Bank in Limerick, PA,
who instructed Stahl in creating the podcast.
Since then the podcast has aired a new episode each Thursday and has welcomed Nikki Johnson, presenter and author; Bob Wood, Studio B’s gallery adjunct; Sandra Williams, writer and teacher; Anita Zuber, president of the Junior Women’s Club and community volunteer; Studio B’s art and guitar instructors Ozzie Sneddon and Corey Klaus respectively; Taylor Quigg, entrepreneur specializing in essential oils, and Amy Muzapoppa, community advocate and executive director of Berks-Mont Business Association.
Intention: Looking Up
And while the podcast originated before the global pandemic forced the need to communicate virtually, Stahl was eager to initiate an opportunity to do what she loved best—showcasing the gifts, skills, and abilities of the people in her world who inspired her.
“When I first started thinking about creating a podcast, I thought about titling it ‘Looking Up!’ Since I’m always eager to learn something new. I figured ‘looking up’ could mean research—like I did in the good old days in a library. I pictured myself hunting through the card catalogue, drifting through the library’s shelves, choosing which of the people on the shelves I’d take with me to spend time with over coffee. I figured that chatting with interesting people and learning from them would serve as the “research” the program would offer.
“So, my guests represent the research. I ask my guests to answer the 3 most important questions any education should help to answer: who are you, why do you do what you do, and how can you make life better for yourself. Talking with people is the research. I want to know who they are, what they do, where they’ve been. I’m interested in their education, their job, their experiences and what they love!
Plus, through this podcast I want to “lift up” people’s spirits in some way—offer those who listen some lightness, some fun by introducing them to someone new.
“The ‘lifting up’ idea comes from an assignment that brought me joy in teaching. I asked my high school students to write about a moment in their lives which ‘transformed’ them, a moment that impacted them so deeply after which they were never the same.
“My students wrote about these ‘inspiring moments’ and I created books of their essays that I then bound and handed out to each of them to give to their parents and also to place around the community in doctors’ waiting rooms or hair salons, for example, to inspire folks who read the essays. It was great fun and a great way to introduce these young people to members of the community whose tax dollars supported their education.
“So, for the ‘B Inspired’ podcast I ask my guests about a transforming moment in their life, what moment—or person—changed them or helped them to know themselves better and helped them figure out how that experience helped to create the direction of their lives.
“I also ask them for a favorite quote or saying or song lyric that captures their ‘meaning’ or ‘intention’ or provides an insight about life that resonates with them deeply.
“And, finally, I ask my guests about their legacy—how they want to be remembered. Being remembered is the heart’s deepest longing. Given that, it will help to know where they’re headed. As they say, ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else!’
“But, honestly, while all that sounds rather ‘heady,’ my guests and I just enjoy a conversation and invite our audience to listen in!” she concluded.
