When I first started doing heavyweight, the things that were entertaining to others to my producers, that was very exciting to be able to perceive myself from without. We did 11 seasons, 26 episodes a year for 11 years. The conceit was basically monologues and phone calls with my friends and family but it kind of expanded into just conversations with people that I found interesting. It walked a line between fiction and nonfiction, reoccurring characters like my friend Howard and Gregor and Josh.
Jonathan Goldstein is an audio producer and the host of Heavyweight.
“I wasn’t taking myself very seriously, initially. I liked working with my friends and family because I think I was a little more comfortable with them. Then in the second season people were writing in with real problems, and they were looking at me as a kind of expert. It was terrifying to meet with these people and see the look of hopefulness in their eyes. ... I realized I need to step it up and even if I didn’t feel like an expert—an expert in an invented field that doesn’t really exist—that I’d really have to take that on with seriousness.”
Show notes:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices