Storytelling with a BEAT
Hosted by my hero, Glynn Washington. Snap Judgement mixes real stories with music, creating a doorway for listeners to step into the lives of others.
“This is not the news. No way is this the news…” But this is Snap Judgement, and this storytelling podcast has gotten me through some tough times. Five years ago, I was going through a quarter-life crisis. I had returned home to live with my mom after an eight-month trip to New Zealand that had ended in extreme homesickness. I was feeling aimless, picking up temporary jobs wherever I could, my hopes and dreams coming out of art college having gone nowhere. The circle of friends I had made before traveling had largely moved on or moved away and my boyfriend at the time was realizing I didn’t fit into his future plans of having 2.5 kids. Snap Judgement was there to remind me that I wasn’t the only one in the world struggling to find my way, struggling to find a place to fit in and belong. Despite all the heartbreak, loneliness, and boredom I had Glynn Washington and the Snap Judgement stories to keep me company.
Glynn Washington is a man of many talents as his biography from the Snap Judgement website will confirm, “Before creating the Snap Judgment radio show, Glynn worked as an educator, diplomat, community activist, actor, political strategist, fist-shaker, mountain-hollerer, and foot stomper. Glynn composed music for the Kunst Stoff dance performances in San Francisco, rocked live spoken word poetry in Detroit, joined a band in Indonesia, wrote several screenplays, painted a daring series of self-portraits, released a blues album, and thinks his stories are best served with cocktails” (Snap Judgement, 2020). Snap Judgement is also supported by an incredibly talented and diverse team including (but not limited to) producer Regina Bediako, graphic artist Teo Ducot, sound designer Renzo Gorrio, and operations manager Florene Wiley.
By 2018 I knew I needed to make some big changes. I packed up everything I owned into my car and moved across the country from Alberta to Ontario. It was my first time traveling to Ontario and let me tell you, that 36 hour drive was LONG (even with the podcasts for company). I enrolled in an environmental program after having been out of college for five years. Soon I was making new friends and laughing at nerdy nature jokes and making fun of bagged milk (it's an Ontario thing). Through it all Snap Judgement was there to entertain me, letting me know that changes in life can be hard and that’s okay.
Storytelling connects us all. It is how we empathize, learn and remember what should not be forgotten. Whether the words come from somewhere back in history or far in the future—elders passing histories to the next generation, teenagers telling ghost stories around a campfire, slaves singing in the fields as they are forced to work, friends talking over drinks or a thick novel science fiction novel--stories matter. They aren’t all charismatic, or funny, or emotional. Some may feel unworthy of telling, or might rally against popular opinion, they might not even be true but every story will mean something to someone. As long as stories exist there will always be someone out there to connect the threads, see-through different eyes, or walk in another person's shoes.
Then, in December 2019 I started to feel sick—it wasn’t COVID, it was gastritis and it was awful. I’m not sure how I made it through the rest of the school year. Due to the pandemic, I ended up back at my mom's in Alberta giving me time to recover for the summer. Snap Judgement was there to make me laugh and let me know that we might all be stuck at home but we can still tell great stories.
Snap Judgement isn’t just about stories, it’s about sharing and celebrating creativity. The podcast has featured many creatives including inmates of San Quinton State Prison from Ear Hustle, 17-year-old Monaea from Vice News Reports telling how 2020 has been for her, The Secret Adventures of Black People, and many more, including another favourite podcast of mine, The Truth. There are stories of sharing culture and crossing boundaries that seem impossible to pass like a black detective infiltrating the KKK, disturbingly white-washed plantation tours, and meeting people named Hitler around the world. Honestly, there are simple too many episodes to highlight in ten articles let alone one.
It’s February 2021 now and I am so grateful to have my health back. Soon I’ll be moving to Nova Scotia and I know that Snap Judgement will still be there to keep me company. It’ll be there for me whether I need a laugh, a good cry, or just a great story to listen to. Listen for yourself wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Who knows, maybe you’ll be hearing one of my stories on there soon—or I’ll be hearing yours.
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Everything is connected. Written by Kelsey Reich on February 16/2021 in Ontario, Canada.
About the Creator
Kelsey Reich
🏳️🌈 Life-long learner, artist, creative writer, and future ecologist currently living in Ontario.
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