As some of you may know, I most recently co-created and hosted a daily news and culture podcast for WBUR, an NPR station in Boston, called The Common. Despite the vital role it played in local news and the loyal audience it amassed, the station ultimately cancelled the show before it could reach its full potential.

That broke my heart. Yet, the cancellation, along with some frustrations with journalism in general, made me realize the time has come for me to create something for myself that I own.

And now, I am excited to share a new show that I began developing earlier this year called Thru This. It’s a podcast that features conversations between me and a guest about the experiences or ideas that changed their lives and moved them forward.

For this first episode, I sat down with my friend Zach Mondesire. He recently adopted a child relative and had to do so between two states, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, moving the child from Philadelphia to Boston.

We talked about Zach’s entry into fatherhood and the distant relationship between him and his own father, the late Jerry Mondesire, an influential figure in Philadelphia. We recorded this in late March, but Father’s Day felt like the right time to drop this episode. It took a lot of editing to mold the original two hour-plus conversation into the 30-something minute piece you’ll hear. There was a lot of moving and re-tracking—all while maintaining the integrity of the convo, of course—to create an episode that would set the bar for more to come. I am really proud of this episode both as a standalone and a starting point. I hope you stay with me on this journey.

There is no set schedule or bigger release planned. This is just for us for now. Subscribe to my Substack for new episodes and other posts and updates, and please spread the word.Stay tuned. Thanks!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thruthis.substack.com