She's Thinking... alanna grayce by
In early 2020, before the pandemic was
launch date- the day I would be walking
even a twinkle in our eyes, I was hit with
across the stage to receive my degree. How
an inspiration. A revelation, even. I was at
poetic, right? May 2020.
my job as a Graduate Assistant, working
These decisions were made before the
with undergraduate students studying to
podcast was quite what it is today. With the
become intelligence analysts, FBI agents,
isolation of quarantine and the increased
and security agents. I was grading papers
ease of production, podcasting blew up
with a docu-series in the back for white
in 2020. I can’t tell you how many people
noise, and it hit me: I could be going about
I watched buy microphones and start
this so much differently.
dropping episodes before I hard-launched
My love for research and for learning
this project I’d been working on for months.
has been an omnipresent feature of
It was discouraging, but it made it so much
my personality- from retaining obscure
sweeter as I started to grow.
knowledge as a small child to devouring
Over the past two years, I’ve Been
literature as a teenager, and then flourishing
Thinking with Alanna Grayce has grown
as a political science and anthropology
and evolved in directions I couldn’t have
student at university. I love to learn, and I
foreseen.
love to share that knowledge with others,
called, has moved from research-heavy
too. To be honest, I can’t even count how
solo episodes where I talk about some
many times I walked a slightly amused
interesting historical fact or social issue for
friend or a too-nice-to-protest first date
20 minutes, and has become a platform
through a summary of the research I built
to challenge ideas and inspire critical
my Master’s Degree around.
thought. Episodes today are more guest-
IBT,
as
she’s
affectionately
So with this realization, I pulled out a
focused, allowing myself and the listener
notebook and started brainstorming. How
to learn together, hearing from a variety of
could I do this? How could I find a way to
perspectives on a diverse array of topics,
research, find interesting information and
uplifting these varying perspectives, and
interesting stories, and disseminate that
sharing these unique experiences.
to the masses? A book… a blog… a…
As well as being the host and producer
podcast. I started planning, and I chose a
of I’ve Been Thinking with Alanna Grayce, I
amuse | 31
