Amanda B.

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6 Degrees of Cats

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Amanda B. (a.k.a. the entire production team for 6 Degrees of Cats) is a Korean American transracial adoptee based in Brooklyn, New York and was in the first cohort of Spotify's Sound Up program.

She has worked in ESL, public health, social impact and professional development in the U.S., Japan and Switzerland. As a musician, she has supported pop star Peaches as a member of Thundercunt! on The Samantha Bee Show’s 2017 Not the White House Correspondents Dinner broadcast, and records and performs with her rock ‘n’ roll band Leathered. Amanda also consults for The Podcast Academy to direct their community and educational programming, and serves on the board for OkaySo, a free mental health app for youth, especially LGBTQ+ young people.

“If folks showed their household tax return and odds of inheritance in lieu of their self-styled “bootstrap” story, I think everyone would feel so much more validated.”

What was one obstacle you faced during production?

Without a doubt, scarcity of resources (which I continue to navigate). A dirty secret about the world is the real proportion of merit to material wealth that helps people be “successful”. If folks showed their household tax return and odds of inheritance in lieu of their self-styled “bootstrap” story, I think everyone would feel so much more validated. But I digress. Despite some majorly transformative life events that really, really slowed me down, I’m thankful that living and being scrappy and resourceful has helped me pull together every single available resource that I could appropriate towards this podcast. It’s kind of funny how I consult for an organization where experts in marketing and monetization are sharing very insightful “you must”s left and right…none of which are really executable until I hit a certain listener or income level. For now, I’m steadily working up to that point and I have faith that I’m getting there, and having as much fun as possible doing so.

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What advice do you have for prospective podcasters or Sound Up alumni?

Treat your creative enterprise like a child you love - protect her from influences and voices that aren’t helpful to her at her age or stage. Honor her valid right to be as she is, in the moment. Do not denigrate or punish her for failing to be ahead of where she’s naturally meant to be. Do not compare her to others, and do not speak ill of her to others. Hold her to a reasonable standard of integrity - and focus on addressing feedback in honor of her singularity, in order for her to grow into the fully formed being you know she will be. Allow her to surprise you in what she becomes by laying off on the “shoulds” - let her be who she and she alone can uniquely be. This is revealed through the process you are in together. Commit to loving her fully, joyfully and fiercely. And especially in tougher times, be playful and humorous throughout. It’s at times very hard, but you are her primary advocate and people will follow your lead in how they hold space for her. [Disclaimer - I don’t have children, just cats. And I’m a work in progress on this, too. It’s the process.]

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What can we look forward to in the new season of your podcast?

I really hope folks who appreciate a quirky take on culture, science and history find 6 Degrees of Cats! We launched today, March 14th, and a new episode will be released every other week thereafter for a total of nine episodes per season (guess why I picked that number!). This season, I consult with a diverse, international roster of guest experts including animal behaviorist and “Inside the Mind of a Cat” star Dr. Kristyn Vitale, trap-neuter-return activist and influencer Sterling “TrapKing” Davis of TrapKing Humane, Kosovan animal activist Elza Ramadani, doula and Planned Parenthood Director of Training and Learning Jade Hillery, M.P.H., and Icelandic folklore expert Terry Gunnell, Ph.D. What do all these people have to do with each other? You’ll have to find out! Anywho. I’d love to have Sound Up! friends all over my Discord - we learn best from each other. Thanks so much!!

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